348 



COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



pullets and kept by themselves. If permitted to run with older 

 fowls, they are constantly bullied and do not receive their proper 

 share of food, which, of course, retards their development. If 

 they are allowed to mature with the pullets, th^ males not only 

 get the lion's share, but they bother the pullets as well, which is 

 not good for the pullets' growth. If the pullets develop slowly, 

 they are not fitted for early egg production. 



Cockerels that are penned by themselves at the age of two 



(Courtesy Cornell Experiment Station) 



Fig. 225. — Wire-covered shed for housing cockerels in warm weather. Shed 

 is built in the lee of a barn. 



months live peacefully together, require very little attention, and 

 if properly fed they can be made to put on flesh very rapidly. 

 The quality of their flesh is greatly improved in this manner; 

 instead of being dry and tough, it is tender and juicy, comparing 

 favorably with the capon, and in place of angular bodies their 

 carcasses will be plump and well-rounded. 



The people of the United States are probably the greatest 

 consumers of poultry and eggs in the world, and yet we are said 



