SURPLUS MALES INTO CAPONS 



359 



higher prices. Not caponized, it is quite likely they could not be 

 kept in prime condition for market longer than the fall of the 

 year, at which time poultry is so plentiful that prices are usually 

 low. Capons command 

 from twenty-five to forty 

 cents a pound, depending 

 upon locality and the 

 season, while the ordi- 

 nary rooster brings from 

 twelve to twenty-five 

 cents. These are pre- 

 war prices. 



Surplus Cockerels. — 

 On the average farm, 

 especially those devoted 

 to egg production, cock- 

 erels are taboo — unwel- 

 comed guests. Every 

 year several hundred 

 thousand male birds are 

 sold at an actual loss to 

 producers, because poul- 

 trymen believe they are 

 a nuisance. It is con- 

 tended that they do not 

 more than pay the ex- 

 pense of raising. This is 

 true if the young cock- 

 erels are marketed direct 

 from the range without 

 any special preparation. 



Cockerels sold off the range are too thin and muscular. As prime 

 table poultry they should be fattened for a couple of weeks in 

 crates, as described in the previous chapter. 



Increased Profits. — In our efforts to secure pullets for egg 

 productibn, we cannot evade raising an equal number of cockerels. 



{Courtesy Wisconsin Experiment Station) 



Fig. 233. — Well finished market fowl. 

 Note the plump breast, well covered body 

 and short thighs. 



