POULTRY FOR PROFIT 9 
or with an incubator. They make poor mothers, 
because they usually like to roam too far to 
properly look after their young. 
Another point in favor of the egg breeds, 
however, is their early maturity. Usually these 
birds will mature in close to four months. This 
allows them plenty of time to get into laying 
condition in the fall, before cold weather starts, 
and birds that can lay eggs during the mon|Jis 
of November and December are certainly an 
asset, as eggs always bring the highest prices 
on the market during these two months. 
These birds will live on less feed than any 
other class because of their small size, and 
their great foraging ability. However, these 
breeds are not as hardy as the heavier breeds, 
and will not stand the cold as well, because of 
their lack of feathers, and large combs and 
wattles. These large head parts are easily frost 
’ bitten in cold weather, and when this happens 
the birds generally stop laying until they have 
recovered from the setback. With these few 
words on the egg breed characteristics, let 
us next consider the general purpose breed. 
When we speak of general purpose breeds, 
we usually mean one of four different breeds. 
