282 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



a shipment of eggs, which may weaken or destroy their hatch- 

 abihty, and over which the poultryman has no control. Never- 

 theless he is held responsible. He seldom has a chance to defend 

 himself. He must either endure a dissatisfied customer, which 

 is a poor business associate, or he must make good the losses, 

 which wipes out his profit on the transaction. 



Most of this obscurity is eliminated with baby chicks. The 

 purchaser sees at a glance what he is getting, and thereafter if he 

 mismanages the chicks in the brooder, he cannot blame his in- 

 competence on the shipper. 



Of course, there will always be some doubt as to the quality 

 and productiveness of a flock of fowls raised from a shipment of 

 chicks. It is a matter of dealing with responsible hatcheries. 

 The reliable chick man is in business, not for a season, but for 

 an indefinite time; he has made a considerable investment on 

 plant and equipment, and to hope to derive profit from this in- 

 vestment it is absolutely necessary for him to render satisfaction. 

 As in all enterprises, satisfied customers are his chief assets. 



Satisfaction is more than landing baby chicks alive at the ex- 

 press station of the customer. It is giving the customer chicks 

 hatched from strong, vigorous, well-bred productive parent 

 stock, chicks which were properly incubated, and those which 

 should make rapid growth in the brooder, mature early and be- 

 come prolific layers. In other words, the success of the hatchery 

 depends largely upon what becomes of its products under the 

 care and management of its customers. It behooves the chick 

 man to aid his customers wherever possible, and to give them a 

 little more value than what was promised. 



On the other hand, the customer should not expect unreason- 

 able things. He must not anticipate exhibition specimens from 

 utility chicks, which were sold at utility stock prices. The aver- 

 age hatchery chicks, which sell for about ten dollars a hundred, 

 should be from well-bred, standard stock, but not show birds. 

 They cannot be expected to have the refinements in shape and 

 plumage of specially mated pens, whose eggs are seen advertised 

 at from five to twenty-five dollars per setting. 



