SELECTING BREEDING STOCK FOR BROILER PRODUCTION 7 
Selection to obtain breeders that feather rapidly is most easily 
accomplished at the time of hatching. Fast feathering is a sex- 
linked recessive to slow feathering; hence, when mated together 
male and female breeding birds selected for fast feathering will 
produce fast-feathering chicks. 
Rate of feathering can be determined in day-old chicks by the 
length of the primary and secondary feather sheaths of the wing 
and the number of the secondary feather sheaths. The chick with 
highest rate has well-developed primaries and secondaries, with six 
or more secondaries. The next best has six or more secondaries 
which are not so well developed but are approximately as long as the 
primaries. The chick of the slow-feathering type has no secondaries, 
or less than six short ones, and no primaries, or very short ones. 
Figures 1 to 6 show different types of feathering in day-old chicks. 
Figures 1 and 2 show the best types of fast feathering. After a little 
experience a poultryman can select chicks of this type so that approxi- 
mately 100 percent of the selected birds will have relatively large 
primary and secondary wing- and tail-feather development at 10 
days of age (cover illustration and fig. 7) and they will be fully 
feathered with a minimum of pinfeathers at 12 weeks of age. They 
are the best for breeders. 
The second group (figs. 3 and 4) are good types of fast-feathering 
chicks but, unlike the best fast-feathermg chicks, some of them will 
be considered slow feathering at 10 days of age, and at 12 weeks of 
age such chicks will have pinfeathers on the back and a few on other 
parts of the body. The tail development at 10 days usually will be 
shorter than it is in the best-feathered birds. About 90 percent of 
the chicks in this group will be fast feathering at 10 days of age and 
well-feathered at 12 weeks of age. These chicks will make good 
breeders in respect to fast feathering. 
The third group (figs. 5 and 6) illustrates slow-feathering chicks. 
About 90 percent of such chicks feather slowly, have no tail-feather 
development at 10 days and small primary and secondary wing- 
feather development (fig. 7, left). Some of them will develop into 
“bare backs’ at 12 weeks of age and many of them will have a con- 
siderable number of pinfeathers. These are not good breeders with 
respect to feathering. In this group the males, in particular, should 
not be used as breeders. 
When selection is made of fast-feathering chicks (fig. 7, right), 
they should be raised by themselves, or if this is not feasible, they 
should be identified by some means. Wing banding is considered 
as the best and most permanent means of identification. If this is 
not practicable, then the chicks may be toe-punched, or a pair of 
scissors may be used to cut the web between the toes. In any case, 
some means should be adopted that will make it possible to recog- 
nize such chicks at a later age. 
