BREEDING 



133 



on the other. The physically strong and, in the case of males 

 particularly, the sexually strong bird has a well-developed 

 oil sac, and spends considerable time oiling and preening 

 its feathers. The well-kept glossy coat and general neatness 

 and trimness of appearance that indicate pride in plumage 

 are assets not to be ignored. 



Allowance must be made on this point for faded females 

 at the end of a season of heavy laying. Heavy layers are 

 usually late molters and carry the old feathers after they 



Fig. 67. 



Barred Plymouth Rock, female. Record 62 eggs. Notice lack of femininity 

 and trimness. (Courtesy of J. W. Parks.) 



have become faded and frayed. At the end of the laying 

 season it is the "pretty hen" that must be looked on with- 

 suspicion, for she is likely to prove a drone. The heavy 

 producer will have laid the color out of her shanks and 

 partially out of her comb. 



To these characteristics of vigor must be added the high 

 development of those appearances associated with sex. 

 Poultrymen often speak of the " sweet" appearance of a pullet 

 or the "matronliness" of a hen as being desirable character- 



