14 



CHICK BOOK 



animals, when reasonably well born, to live, it is part and 

 parcel of that same "vitality." Healthy breeding stock, 

 when given a reasonable chance, are prone to remain healthy. 

 In maintaining , health and, vigor there, are only five, real 

 essentials and these are : 1 — Comfortable housing and yard- 

 ing without crowding; 2 — An abundance of fresh air to 

 breathe both day and night; 3 — Plenty of wholesome food 

 in variety; 4 — Ample exercise in the open air and sunshine, 

 and 5 — Pure water to drink. Supplying these essentials is 

 what we mean by giving breeding stock "a reasonable chance" 

 to remain healthy. 



Selecting the Breeding Stock 

 For the beginner's sake let's go into details a bit assum- 

 ing that we intend to breed only from vigorous stock that 

 we know has never been seriously sick. First make sure that 

 the birds which we intend to use for breeders are all well 

 matured specimens and if possible that they are neither ex- 

 ceptionally early or rather late matured birds. Too early 

 maturity is just about as bad as very late maturity if the 

 birds are intended for breeders and a medium average time 

 in" reaching adult size and plumage gives the best breeder. 

 Have the specimens of both sexes large, well formed, alert 



and active. The 

 bird should carry 

 its body with an 

 alert, active air, the 

 eye should be bright 

 and the pupil neith- 

 er too large nor too 

 small in a medium 

 light. Beware of a 

 bird with a dull eye 

 or with an irregular 

 pupil or one that 

 changes almost con- 

 stantly in size with- 

 out any apparent 

 change in the light 

 to which it is ex- 

 posed. The eye is a 

 good index to con- 

 dition and health if 

 you will take the 

 trouble to study it. 

 Insist on having 

 clear, bright, clean, 

 normal appearing 

 eyes when selecting 

 breeding birds. The 

 conib and face 

 should be a good, 

 clean, bright, heal- 

 thy red and free from abnormal lumps and bunches. Don't 

 use a bird for breeding that has a pale or dark face and comb. 

 If the face or comb of the bird turns either pale or dark when 

 the bird is excited or has been exercising freely better discard 

 that bird for a more, promising specimen. Try the tempera- 

 ture of the bird's legs with your hand, they should be cool. 

 If the legs seem quite hot to the touch, place the bird in some 

 quiet pen for observation. It is out of condition and prob- 

 ably unfit to breed from. Observe the plumage, it should be 

 clean and bring in appearance and fairly "close" for the 

 variety. Loose, mussed appearing plumage indicates that 

 the bird is out of condition. See that the body is well formed 

 and free from deformities. Do not breed birds with crooked 

 backs or breasts. 



Give the male bird ample time and attention for rem- 

 ember that so far as the progeny are concerned he is "half 

 your flock." Try him for a day or two with a few hens and 



AURORA LEGHORN FARM'S DRY-FEED 

 HOPPER 



Made from a Kirkman's borax soap box. The 

 dotted lines show the original box fines. Cap- 

 acity, twenty-five to thirty quarts. The open- 

 ing is four inches deep and four inches wide and 

 we have found these to admit of little or no 

 waste of the feed. The hopper is hung up so 

 that the bottom is six inches from tne floor. 

 — R. P. Ellis. 



see if he serves them properly and completely. He should 

 be attentive without being too rough and clumsy. W^t^h 

 him closely for a few days and if he does not seem all right 

 try another male. After he has been with the hens a week 

 or ten days try a few eggs in the incubator or under a hen 

 and test them out in five days 'to see how they run for fer- 

 tility. If one male will not give you fertile eggs in sufficient 

 numbers, try another or try the same male with other hens 

 if he is a particularly promising bird. If you have an ex- 

 ceptionally fine male do not let him wear himself out for 

 want of good care. Sometimes a particularly fine cock- will 

 almost starve himself while seeking to be agreeable and at- 

 tentive to his mates. If you find this to be the case take 

 the male apart from the flock frequently and feed some 

 delicacies like fresh meat scraps, fresh green stuff and some 

 mixed grain. Keep his toe nails blunt on sides and points 

 and blunt the spurs— a little care will prevent torn backs in 

 the females and save the loss of some valuable breeding birds. 

 Don't breed a male that is under one year old or over four 

 years old. 



In selecting the hens be sure that they are in the habit of 

 laying normal eggs in size, shape and contents. Trap-nest 

 them if necessary to make sure of this detail. It is import- 

 ant for you cannot get normal, healthy chicks out of abnormal 

 eggs. Some hens are liable to show a considerable per- 

 centage of infertility in their eggs, the trap-nest will show 

 you which ones are off in this respect if you mark and test 

 the eggs. Sometimes, mating with another male will correct 

 this fault if the hen is a good vigorous specimen. Watch 

 the droppings of your breeding stock of both sexes. The 

 droppings should not be either too soft or too hard, but 

 should be well formed and normal in color. Avoid birds 

 that commonly void green droppings. A bird that habitu- 

 ally voids deep blue green droppings is on the way down 

 and out. 



Importance of Fresh Air 



In order to keep fowls healthy and vigorous, full of 

 vitality, and that means the power to produce strong-germed 

 eggs, they must have an abundance of pure, fresh air to 

 breathe both day and night. In former articles on fresh-air 

 housing we have explained how this may be accomplished. 

 Do not forget that your birds need to breathe fresh air 

 twenty-four hours each day in order to do their best and 

 this fresh air must be supplied in such a way that you avoid 

 drafts about the sleeping birds when they are upon the 

 roosts at night. . This matter of fresh air is one of vital im- 

 portance. This rule applies the year round, in winter and 

 in summer. 



Exercise in the open air and sunshine whenever weather 

 permits is essential to health and the production of strong 

 germed eggs, eggs that contain potential vitality, — the power 

 to live when properly quickened. We let our breeding stock, 

 housed in fresh-air buildings, run out of doors at will in all 

 sorts of weather, summer and winter. They are used to it 

 and do not expose themselves unduly in stormy weather. 

 They can always get in out of the storm if they wish, for the 

 door to the run is never closed. Fowl^ that are not accus- 

 tomed to this treatment should be given an outdoor run on 

 fair days but should not be allowed out in severe winds, now 

 or rain storms in winter. Where the birds are confined, 

 keep plenty of clean, bright straw litter on the floors of their 

 open sheds or pens for them to work in on stormy days but 

 do not shut out the fresh air for fear of a little rain or snow. 

 Better remove the litter material when wet or damp and re- 

 place with dry straw. You cannot have health and vigor 

 without some exercise but do not make them work for all 

 the food they get. The food in the litter should be merely 

 an incentive to exercise, not for the purpose of compelling it. 



