BREEDING AND MATING 91 



quick-maturing birds are best. If roasters are the object, 

 large sized, full-meated, slow-growing birds which are tender 

 at maturity are more desirable. Vigor, stamina, and good 

 health are just as necessary here as in breeding for egg pro- 

 duction. 



Pedigree. — The dairyman who hopes to succeed in his 

 business must know the exact ability of his cows to produce 

 milk. He can then dispose of the unprofitable ones. The 

 time has come for the poultryman to follow the same plan. 

 He should weed out unproductive birds, which might be 

 called culls or drones, and substitute in their places birds 

 which are good layers. This is known as pedigree breeding. 

 By following certain methods, he can rear a line of fowls 

 whose power of egg production is known. By consulting 

 these records when he makes special matiugs, there will be 

 immediate and continuous improvement. There are three 

 steps in pedigree breeding: First, trap nesting. Trap nesting 

 for a large laying flock is not profitable, and scarcely feasible. 

 The trap nest should always be placed in a separate mating 

 and breeding pen, and is so arranged that when the hen 

 enters to lay the egg she is caught. When the attendant 

 removes the egg he marks on it the number of the hen, then 

 releases her, and sets the nest. When a lot of eggs have 

 been saved from trap nested birds, they are hatched in an 

 incubator. Eggs from the same hen can be put in small 

 compartments or in small cheese cloth bags. This is called 

 pedigree hatching, and is the second step in pedigree breed- 

 ing. When the chicks are hatched they should be distinctly 

 marked, either by toe-punching or leg banding. The pedigree 

 process necessitates considerable labor, but its immediate 

 results in increased egg production are so apparent that the 

 slightly increased labor and cost are time and money well 

 spent. 



The only way in which poultry can be bred successfully 

 is to make special matings with selected birds. 



