14 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



the heavier breeds, and they are not so contented 

 when closely confined, while they always remain 

 rather wild and cannot be petted like the representa- 

 tives of the larger breeds. 



Some of these qualities, however, commend them 

 to certain amateurs. The fact that they never sit 

 is much in their favor if an incubator is to be used 

 or if no chickens are to be hatched or raised, or 

 if day-old chicks are to be purchased and reared in 

 a brooder. Broody hens are a nuisance under such 

 circumstances. The fact that these light breeds eat 

 much less than the larger ones is distinctly in their 

 favor and the difference in the amount of food con- 

 sumed by a Leghorn and a Rhode Island Red, for 

 instance, is surprisingly large, especially when it is 

 considered that the smaller hen will lay the most 

 eggs, as a rule, and that the eggs are often as large. 

 The author has been keeping a pen of Anconas side 

 by side with a pen of Reds, and the eggs of the 

 former have averaged notably larger. 



It should be said, though, that the matter of strain 

 enters into this proposition as well as into the num- 

 ber of eggs produced. Some strains lay much 

 larger eggs than those of other strains of the same 

 breed, for some breeders make a point of breeding 



