EGG PRODUCTION 297 



feeding, with little exercise, they may become very fat while still 

 laying heavily, — a fact that indicates very high digestive power. 

 If the birds remain organically sound, improvement of conditions 

 with respect to exercise is almost immediately followed by the 

 building up of specimens in poor flesh and the reduction of fat in 

 others, and by improvement of egg production if that has fallen 

 off. If there is any organic weakness it is likely to be devel- 

 oped in birds that are out of condition, and may interfere with 

 future production. 



Cleanliiiess, in poultry keeping, is a relative term. It cannot be 

 shown on any broad view of the subject, or on any comparison of in- 

 stances, that absolute cleanliness, or a condition approximating it, is 

 always an advantage. The accumulations of dirt in poultry coops 

 and houses come chiefly from the droppings of the birds, more 

 or less mixed with earth or sand from the floor, with litter, and 

 sometimes with waste food. While this is dry and odorless it is 

 apparently harmless. If wet, it heats and molds. The molds which 

 form on damp litter are a fertile cause of disease, much more 

 dangerous to some fowls than the pollution of their food and water. 

 The more thorough the ventilation in a house, the better will be the 

 sanitary conditions and the less need of frequent cleaning. The 

 best guides to the degree of cleanliness that should be maintained 

 are the condition of the birds and the keeper's sense of smell. A 

 house should never get so dirty that hens cannot keep their feet, 

 their feathers, and the eggs clean. Any offensive odor in a house 

 suggests need of a search for its cause and the removal of the 

 offensive matter. 



Broodiiiess is most aptly described as a negative factor in egg 

 production. Its characteristic tendency is to limit laying periods 

 and thereby reduce the annual output of a bird. 



Duration of laying periods. Broodiness breaks up the laying 

 year into a number of short periods, hence the common idea that 

 eggs are produced in litters and that, having once commenced 

 laying, a hen (or other female bird) will " lay out her litter." While 

 in birds which have the broody character broodiness may tend to 

 develop as production of eggs ceases, in nonbroody birds production 

 is influenced wholly by the other factors mentioned. In the most 

 perfect combination of these factors laying is almost continuous, 



