CULLING THE FLOCK 233 



Laying hens of yellow-skinned breeds should show pale or 

 white shanks and pale or white beaks and vents. 



QUESTIONS 



1. What two purposes does culling the flock accomplish? 



2. What points should be observed when culling young stock? 



3. Why should continuous culling be carried on in a general way 

 throughout the year? 



4. What is the best time of the year when systematic culling of 

 the layers should be practiced? 



5. What are the characteristics usually associated with fowls 

 that lack vigor and are sick? 



6. Other things being equal, what hens should be retained as 

 good producers, those that molt in July? Those that molt in August? 

 Those that molt during the latter part of September? 



7. What effect has egg production on the color of fowls having 

 yellow legs and beak? 



8. Describe the appearance and color of the vent in a good and 

 of a poor producer. 



9. What is the appearance of the comb and ear lobes in a good 

 and in a poor producer? 



10. Where are the pelvic bones located? 



11. What should be the distance between the pelvic bones in a 

 good and in a poor producer? 



12. What governs the distance of the keel bone from the pelvic 

 bones of a hen? 



13. What should be the distance between the keel and pelvic 

 bones in a good and in a poor producer of the smaller breeds, such as 

 the Leghorn, and of the larger breeds, such as the Plymouth Rock? 



14. What is the condition of the abdomen when a hen is laying? 

 When not laying? 



SUGGESTIONS 



1. Culling the flock is of great importance. Cull systematically 

 at least once a year. 



2. Retain the non-producers that have been culled for a week or 

 ten days before sending them to market. These birds should be kept 

 in a separate place from the good producers and careful observation 

 should be made as to the number of eggs they produce, comparing the 

 number produced by the culls with those produced by the hens selected 

 as profitable layers. If this culling is done properly, the eggs laid by 

 the poor producers will be but few as compared with those laid by the 

 hens selected as good layers. 



3. Try to interest others in culling. A demonstration with per- 

 sons interested will be most beneficial. 



4. Remember that the hen that lays is the hen that pays, and 

 the way to determine the hen that lays is to practice systematic culling. 

 Instead of your keeping hens, let the hens keep you. 



REFERENCES 

 "Culling the Poultry Flock," U. S. Department of Agriculture, Circu- 

 lar No. 31. 



