62 PRACTICAL POULTRY PRODUCTION 



incubated for a week to see whether they are running fer- 

 tile. If they are not fertile, the male should be removed and ' 

 another male bird substituted. The lack of ability to fer- 

 tilize eggs is not a very common defect among male birds. 

 The mating should be done as early in the year as possible. 



SIZE OF MATING 



To a certain extent the breed influences the size of the 

 mating. When fowls are yarded it is usually desirable to 

 place from 12 to 15 females of the lighter type, such as the 

 Leghorns, with a male bird. For birds of the general-pur- 

 pose class, such as the Plymouth Rock, the proportion 

 should be 1 male to 10 or 12 females, under yarded condi- 

 tions, and from 8 to 10 females of the meat breeds, such as 

 the Brahma, with 1 male. But, whenever the fowls have 

 access to free range and the male is strong and vigorous, 

 it is possible to obtain fertile eggs from a considerably 

 larger flock of females. A vigorous Plymouth Rock or 

 Wyandotte cockerel, for instance, on free range should be 

 productive of good fertility when mated to 20 to 25 females. 

 A male of the egg breeds, such as the Leghorn, under the 

 same conditions, can be mated successfully to 25 to 35 

 females. When eggs for hatching are desired from a flock 

 of hens that is too large for 1 male, 2 or more males can be 

 placed with the flock, either at the same time or by alter- 

 nating the males on successive days. 



AGE OF THE BREEDING STOCK 



As to the age of breeders, either pullets or hens, cock- 

 erels or cocks, can be used in the breeding flock. Hens, 

 however, are preferable to pullets in that they lay larger 

 eggs and seem to give better fertility and produce stronger 

 chickens. Yearlings and two-year-old hens are more desir- 

 able than hens over two years old. An early hatched, well 

 developed cockerel is oftentimes as desirable as a breeder 



