30 The Hen at Work 



follow down the scale according to weight — Reds, 

 Wyandottes, and Leghorns. It costs at normal 

 prices for grain, fifteen and a half cents for each 

 dozen eggs produced by the Plymouth Rocks, and 

 only twelve and a half cents for a dozen Leghorn 

 eggs. It is safe to estimate that the heavier a type 

 of fowl is found to be, the more feed she will need, 

 to produce a dozen eggs. 



The cost for feeding a single hen per year, where 

 all food is bought, runs from one and one half to 

 two dollars, according to breed. This figure, of 

 course, is averaged on normal prices for grain. 



Hens which are laying heavily also consume 

 much more feed. In a late test, a pen of ten Leg- 

 horns which laid 2021 eggs, cost $20.09 for feed. 

 A neighboring pen of the same breed laid five 

 hundred eggs less, 1501, and cost $15.75 for feed. 

 The first pen turned in $41.74 above cost of feed, 

 and the second brought only $26.69 above cost of 

 feed. This shows clearly that laying hens are 

 hearty eaters and pay well for their boa,rd. 



Broodiness. — As the use of incubators and arti- 

 ficial brooders grows, the broody hen becomes more 

 and more of a problem. It is worth while to note 

 the results of careful surveys regarding the broody 



