FARM POULTRY PROBLEMS 



141 



Egg Production. — It must l)e rcmeml)erecl that the happy 

 h(>n is the laying hen, and that fright, improper food, damp, 

 cold floor and yard, too e(jld, excessively hot weather, irrita- 

 tion by vermin, internal or intestinal parasites, too close con- 

 finement with no exercise, causing them to become too fat, 

 or any other discomfort, will radically affect egg production! 

 Not only this but the aliove conditions tend to lower vitality 

 in both parent and offspring. 



It is the desire to have hens that lay a large white egg where 

 we are selling to a market demanding this color sh(>ll, or a large 



Fig. 50. — Two eliic-ks fourteen days old, one weak the other strong in 

 constitution. The smaller one weighs 0.14 pounds and the larger 0.31 

 pounds. They w'ere fed the ration gi\'en on page 332. Both were from the 

 same breeding pen, eggs stored in the same storage tray, incubated in same 

 incubator tray, brooded in the same brooder, and ate of the same ration. 



brown egg if we are seUing where the market demand requires 

 this color of shell. Mixed breeds or scrub breeds do not lay a 

 uniform egg, which eggs do not bring the top market price, 

 and the undersized egg likewise brings a lower price than the 

 large egg. It is the desire that each hen lay a large number of 

 eggs each yesiY. It is well to select those which have light 

 pin-feathers and can be easily kept within the yards. In selling 

 dressed carcasses we find that the market looks \\'ith disfavor 

 on the dark pin-feathers, and in some markets dressed car- 

 casses with dark pin-feathers bring as much as two cents less 

 than other kinds. Likewise, there is a difference of four or 



