38 



$4223.00 PROFIT IN ONE YEAR 



CHAPTER V 



GETTING THE EGGS 

 Importance of Male Bird 



IN my former edition of this book I made the statement 

 "The male is half the pen and should be a bird of 



l" ' r^^^^ good type." I feel satisfied in my own mind, after 



recent experiments, that the male bird is more nearly 



seven-eighths of the pen. The hen is a factor — but 



by no means the dominant one. If a breeder mates 



a hen of great laying capacity with a cockerel whose 



parents were moderate egg producers, the chances 



are that the "kin"' will take after the male, and also 



be moderate egg layers. If a hen of moderate egg-laying capacity be 



mated with a cockerel whose parents held a high record, the chances 



are the progeny will also take a high place in egg production. 



Admittedly the greatest profit from hens is in the eggs— and par- 

 ticularly winter eggs. It costs a certain amount to feed and care for a 

 pullet until it reaches the laying age. And then there is a constant 

 monthly "overhead" and feeding expense, all of which must be figured, 

 and for which the hen must be made to pay before she produces a profit 

 for the owner. It is important, therefore, to bear in mind the necessity 

 of getting male birds from a prolific egg-laying strain. If you want more 

 eggs, one of the cheapest and most effective ways to secure them is to buy 

 best cockerel possible instead of purchasing an entire flock of pedigree 

 hens and then mating them with a second-rate male bird. You get prac- 

 tically all the inherited ability to lay, transmitted by the cockerel. 



