12 .POULTRY FOR PROFIT 
There are four generally recognized meat 
breeds. These are the Brahams, Cochins, 
Langshans, and the Cornish Game, with their 
several varieties. The adult meat bird usually 
weighs about eight pounds, but the male birds 
weigh even more than this, sometimes reach¬ 
ing twelve pounds or more. These birds are 
rather awkward and clumsy, in fact, so much so 
that they make poor sitters, as their awkward¬ 
ness often causes them to break the eggs in 
the nest. They have an abundance of feathers 
and meat on their body, which makes them 
easy to winter. Generally speaking, the heav¬ 
ier the bird, the poorer the laying ability, and 
this is true with the meat breeds. They do not 
lay a very large number of eggs during the 
year, being raised mostly for their flesh, which 
is unsurpassed for table purposes. As is the 
custom with heavy animals, the meat birds are 
lazy and sluggish, do not roam far for their 
food, and consume a comparatively large 
amount of grain for this reason. The meat 
breeds take a longer period of time to gain 
maturity than any other class, the average time 
being about eight months. As has been said, 
they are primarily a- meat breed, and it is for 
