132 POULfBY PRODUCTION 



rather prominent eyes; carry a comb that is well developed 

 and fiery red, and a beak that is comparatively short, stout, 

 and well curved. 



A head that carries a chronically congested comb, a long, 

 straight beak, or is itself long and narrow, or sunken, will 

 usually be associated with functional weakness throughout 

 the body. 



The body trunk must furnish ample room for the vital 

 organs and particularly those organs which are associated 

 directly with the digestion and assimilation of feed and the 

 manufacture of eggs. There seems to be a decided correla- 

 tion between a capacious body and digestive and reproduc- 

 tive organs of good size and vigor. For a time it was held 

 that the rear half of the fowl's body should be deep in pro- 

 portion to the front half. This was largely based on the fact 

 that the ovary and oviduct and the gizzard and intestines 

 extend from about the middle "of the body (from front to 

 back) to. its posterior extremity. From continued observa- 

 tion, however, it appears that while the great asset is capacity 

 and all great producers have it, the form of body with regard 

 to its relative fore- and after-depth varies greatly. Fig. 66 

 shows a hen that produced 295 eggs in twelve months, but 

 does not show a wedge-shaped conformation. 



The heavy producers that are able to persist in their high 

 production for a number of years without becoming ruptured 

 or, as poultrymen term it, "breaking down behind," usually 

 have the abdomen supported by a long keel (breast) bone that 

 more or less precludes the greater comparative depth behind. 



The individual that possesses a robust constitution will 

 have the capacious body supported by strong, parallel legs 

 on which the nails of the scratching toes are well worn, 

 denoting activity: It is the highly active hen that is the 

 last to roost at night and the first about in the morning that 

 the trap nest usually points to as the high producer. 



Aside from the characteristics that go to make up the 

 general conformation of a vigorous bird, there must be a good 

 general appearance that is made up of the style and carriage 

 that is closely associated with disposition, on the one hand, 

 and that balanced development of all parts called symmetry 



