To prevent the males tearing out the feathers on the backs 

 of the females during the breeding season is quite a problem 

 where there are but few females with the males. 1 suggest, 

 as the best plan, to have one male serve several pens of birds, 

 taking them out at night and placing them in a different pen. 

 Even if he is in each pen every third day, it will be sufficient 

 where there are but few birds in a pen. 



In the selection of breeding pens, the proper basis upon 

 which to work in building up your poultry business is that 

 of selecting your breeders. If you will but breed year after 

 year from the best of your birds and from the most perfect 

 specimens, you will soon have a strain that can be depended 

 upon for breeding true to color, shape, size, etc. It is well 

 known that all the chicks that are hatched will not come up 

 to the standard, but it is also well known that pure bred 

 birds carefully selected and mated will bring a large percent 

 of good specimens. There will be fewer culls when great care 

 is taken in the selection of the breeders. When the breeding 

 season is approaching, it is well for everyone, especially be- 

 ginners, to be mating up their breeding pens. Do not wait 

 too long to do this but have them in shape early. Get them 

 acquainted with one another and there will be but little fight- 

 ing among them when you want the eggs for hatching pur- 

 poses. If you have a Standard of Perfection (which by the 

 way you should have) , look up and read very carefully what 

 it calls for in birds of your breed and variety. Note the dis- 

 qualifications and requirements, then you can look your 

 breeding birds over with some degree of intelligence. You 

 can tell the disqualified specimens and these can be discarded 

 at once without further consideration. Those that are left 

 can then be considered for their good qualities. Here and 

 there you may find one that measured up pretty well to the 

 standard. These you should put at once into the breeding 

 pen then by strict process of elimination you can pick out 

 the best of the flock to go with them. These birds will con- 

 stitute the best pen that you have. If you have enough birds 

 in this pen to supply your needs during the hatching season 

 you will not have to pick out a second breeding pen. Person- 

 ally I do not like seconds in the breeding pen. I would either 

 have the best in the flock or none at all. I would much rather 

 raise but a few birds from a selected pen of breeders than to 

 raise a lot from several inferior pens of birds. Now you will 

 want a male bird to go with them. If you have an old cock 

 bird of known value, you can mate him with these females 



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