A REVOLUTION IN EGG PRODUCTION 99 



To arrive at the average number of hens in any one 

 month, we must understand that we cannot either deduct a 

 hen dropping out, say, on the Sth of the month, from our 

 number of hens ; nor can we leave such a hen to be accounted 

 for in the figuring as having equal value, in the results, with 

 those in the flock for the full month. 



The only way we can get an exact percentage is to figure 

 on the number of single hen days, and divide this number 

 mto the egg record, for the period for which we want the 

 percentage. 



This method is shown on Page 97. 



Suppose we have a flock of one hundred sixty hens for 

 the first ten days in a month, then sell ofif sixty hens, leaving 

 one hundred hens for three days, and then sell off forty hens, 

 we would have left sixty hens in the flock for the rest of the 

 month. 



The erroneous way sometimes used to figure this per- 

 centage, would be to add the numbers up for each period, and 

 then divide by three (the number of periods) to get the aver- 

 age number of hens in the flock; thus 160+100+60=320, and 

 320h-3=107. 



This figure would be multiplied by the number of days 

 in the month, and then the result would be divided into the 

 number of eggs to show the average percentage of eggs laid, 

 by each hen, of a possible egg per day. Suppose we try this 

 on a month of thirty-one days with an egg record of 1,192 

 eggs. We get a percentage of 35.94 per cent. 



If we figure this correctly, we should multiply 160X10= 

 1,600; 100X3=300; 60X18=1,080; and 1,600+300+1,080=2,980 

 single hen days; which, divided into the number of eggs for 

 percentage, in this case 1,192, would make an exact percentage 

 of forty per cent. This shows a difference of over four per 

 cent due to wrong method of figuring. The errors of this 

 method may show errors as either more or less than the cor- 

 rect results. 



Using this method for our 1914 production, we had re- 

 sults as follows : 



