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Farmers 9 Bulletin 1116. 
TIME OF MATING. 
Matings should be made at least 2 weeks before beginning to save 
the eggs for hatching. If less time is allowed, the maximum fertility 
is not likely to be obtained. It is often desirable to mate even 
further ahead than 2 weeks so that a few eggs can be incubated for 
5 or 6 days to see whether they are fertile. If these eggs are not 
fertile, there is still time to change the male bird and thus be sure of 
fertile eggs for the earlier hatches. 
SIZE OF MATINGS. 
The breed influences the size of the matings. If the fowls are 
confined to a yard it is usually desirable to run from 12 to 15 females 
Fig. 3.— A good producer, having laid 160 eggs in a year. 
of the smaller breeds, such as the Leghorn; from 10 to 12 females of 
the general-purpose breeds, such as the Plymouth Pock; and from 
8 to 10 females of the heaviest breeds, such as the Brahma, with 1 
male. Where the fowls have free range and the male is strong and 
vigorous, it is often possible to obtain fertile eggs with a considerably 
larger number of females to each male. A vigorous Plymouth Rock 
cockerel on free range should give good fertility when mated to 20 
females, while a Leghorn male under similar conditions can be mated 
to 25 or 30 females, with good results. If eggs for hatching are desired 
from a flock too large for a single male to fertilize, two or more males 
can be run with it, either at the same time or preferably by alter- 
