86 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



often a temptation to breed from a hen that may have won a prize, 

 or have beautiful feathers, or is high scoring, but has had roup or 

 is defective in vigor, and invariably this results in loss of vigor in 

 the offspring. Breeding from pullets or immature stock is another 

 source of lack of vigor in the offspring. An immature fowl cannot 

 impart great vigor to its offspring and the continued breeding, gen- 

 eration after generation, from pullets will result in smaller, weaker 

 and shorter lived fowls. I have experimented along these lines 

 myself, and I find that two or more years of age and still vigorous 

 is the best age for reproducing vigor. 



Forcing for egg production by heavy feeding during fall and 

 winter will also impair vigor. 



The most vigorous breeding stock is necessary to maintain the 

 vigor of the flock, for "like begets like." The breeding stock should 

 be selected for months ahead of the season, housed and fed for 

 vigor instead of being forced for heavy egg production for the 

 market. 



Keeping the young in limited space, in large numbers, is a cause 

 of lack of vigor. The young flock should be culled frequently, the 

 sexes separated as soon as distinguishable, and the pullets sorted 

 according to size, keeping only for future breeders those that show 

 early and rapid growth and development. 



The lack of exercise is a cause of low vitality, and slow growth 

 in the crowded pens. On the farm, where the chicks have liberty 

 and a good range, they have also exercise, but in our small yards 

 it should be provided by giving them a good scratching pen, kept 

 well supplied with clean straw or hay, and in this the grain should 

 be buried. Too much to eat and too little to do results in a lack 

 of vigor in the growing stock, and, worse still, brings infertility 

 in the eggs of the breeding stock. 



In mentioning eggs, I believe that carelessness in the handling 

 and care of eggs for incubation is not only a great factor in the lack 

 of vigor in the chicks, but also is a cause of the poor hatches of 

 which we hear so much. Our New Zealand cousins have made a 

 series of experiments in this line, and after testing the eggs of 

 thirty-nine different breeds, find that eggs keep best for hatching in 

 a temperature of from 50 to 60 degrees, that below 40 degrees or 

 above 70 degrees the germ becomes weak — dies in a short time. To 

 insure sturdy chicks eggs should be fresh, from a week to not over 

 two weeks old. 



Brooding and rearing chicks in insanitary, crowded conditions 

 results in low vitality, and though it is important for the parent 

 stock to be kept in healthy condition, it is equally important that 

 the chicks upon whom our future hopes depend be raised naturally 

 on the best of rations and on free range. 



The invariable rule for attaining vigor in the flock should be 

 to eliminate all weak stock whenever we see it. This holds good 

 at all ages, from the baby chick to the mature fowl. The chick 

 which shows weakness at any time should either be killed immedi- 

 ately or be distinctly marked and kept apart from its strong broth- 



