Vol. LXXI. No. 4156. NEW YORK, JUNE 22, 1912. weekly, $i.oo per year 
WHAT TEN BUSINESS HENS DID. 
Do They Beat Your Cow ? 
We are late in reporting the final result in that hen 
contest which was conducted by Mr. W. J. Dougan, 
of New Jersey, but we are now able to give the 
figures. This contest started through a remark made 
by Mr. Dougan to the effect that he could make a 
greater profit with 10 of his hens than a farmer could 
make with one common cow. That was the way it 
started, but like most of similar offers it grew larger 
on both sides. Several men came forward to match 
their cows. Most of such cows were high-priced 
purebred animals worth $150 and more. It hardly 
seemed fair to match such cows against 10 common 
hens. Some of the cow men wanted to tie up the 
contest by compelling Mr. Dougan to sell all the 
eggs at the quoted market price and not set any of 
them. We regarded this as unfair, for if Mr. Dou¬ 
gan is situated so he can 
obtain an extra price 
for eggs that is part of 
his natural advantage. 
The contest between cow 
and hens fell through, 
but in order to make a 
fair trial Mr. Dougan 
put 10 Leghorns by, 
themselves, and also 10 
Wyandottes. They were 
fed in hoppers and all 
food weighed. Every 
egg was counted. It 
was agreed that Mr. 
Dougan was to sell the 
eggs or put them in 
incubators as he saw fit. 
He has a special trade 
for eggs at 45 cents a 
dozen. If he set thej 
eggs he was to count 
only the chicks that 
hatched out and lived. 
Credit was to be given 
for such eggs as the 
young stock laid inside 
of one year, and the 
young stock to be 
credited at market rates 
for live birds. In this 
way it was hoped to 
learn just what 10 hens 
could do in one year. 
The contest started March 1, 1911. Our last re¬ 
port was made December 1, after the hens had been 
working nine months. At that time the Leghorns 
had laid 1,030 eggs at a food cost of $8.27. The Wyan- 
dotts laid 1,036 eggs costing for food $9.32. Con¬ 
tinuing the figures to March 1 of this year we have: 
starter in poultry can expect. Let us tabulate the story. 
Wyandotte. Leghorn. 
Eggs per hen . 117.0 112.1 
Food cost per hen. $1.22 $1.11 
Food cost per egg. 1.04 cent 1 cent 
One hen per day.034 cent .03 cent 
Food cost per dozen. 12.48 cents 12 cents 
The eggs sold at 45 cents per dozen. Thus the 
food for the Wyandottes cost $12.25. If the eggs 
had all been sold they would have brought $44.10. or 
$31.85 to pay for care, rent investment and other 
overhead investments. Figuring in a similar way the 
Leghorns would also earn $31.85. In addition to this 
will be the value of the manure. These eggs were 
not all sold in this way. As we shall see later, most 
of the eggs up to November 1 were put into an incu¬ 
bator, as Mr. Dougan figured that he could take the 
risk of a poor hatch and make more from the chicks 
than from the eggs. 
Taking the egg record by itself we see what would 
happen if a man were selling eggs at the ordinary 
for this Leghorn young stock was $119.67. Thus, as 
we figure it, the following statement can be made. 
TEN WYANDOTTES. 
Income. 
311 eggs from original 10 hens at 45 cents. $11.66 
042 eggs from young stock at 45 cents. 34.27 
Young stock at live weight. 182.61 
$228.54 
Expenses. 
Cost of feeding hens. $12.25 
Cost of feeding young stock. 149.42 
- 104.67 
$66.87 
TEN LEGHORNS. 
Income. 
184 eggs from 10 hens at 45 cents. $6.90 
2067 eggs from young stock. 77.51 
Young stock at live weight. 155.60 
Expenses. 
Cost of feed for hens. $11.18 
Cost of feed for young stock. 119.67 
$240.01 
130.85 
Record of 10 Leghorns. 
First nine months . . . . 
Eggs. 
.... 1030 
December . 
January . 
February . 
1121 
Record of 10 Wyandottes. 
First nine months . 1036 
December . 27 
January . 23 
February . 90 
1176 
On the face of it this is no championship record. 
It is, however, we believe a truthful account of just 
what the hens did—on the whole—better than the 
CHICKENS HELP MULCH CULTURE IN THE ORCHARD. Fig. 275. 
market price. Where would he come out? As these 
hens were hopper-fed the cost of labor was very 
small. If Mr. Dougan had some new “system’’ to 
sell this record would not prove very effective adver¬ 
tising, yet it is as fair as anything we have seen lately. 
And now what about the young stock? Of the 
Wyandotte eggs 865 eggs were set. Of these 432 
hatched and 111 died while small. There were other 
losses before March 1, but on that date the young 
stock at the market price of young poultry brought 
$182.61, while the young pullets had laid 941 eggs. 
The total cost of feed for this Wyandotte young stock 
was $149.42. 
Of the Leghorn eggs 937 were set and 449 hatched 
out—105 dying while young. There were other losses 
by death, but by March 1 the young Leghorns hac! 
laid 2,067 eggs. Naturally the Leghorn pullets began 
laying earlier than the Wyandottes. On March 1 
figured at live weight market prices this Leghorn 
young stock brought $155.60. The total cost of feed 
$8.27 
1.01 
1.07 
.83 
$11.18 
Eggs. Cost of food. 
$9.32 
.89 
1.12 
.92 
$12.25 
$109.16 
We figure all eggs not incubated at market price. 
We have spent much 
time digging out and 
compiling these figures. 
They are correct or sub¬ 
stantially so. We shall 
leave our readers to 
analyze them and figure 
profit or loss. The Leg¬ 
horns are ahead. Their 
eggs hatched somewhat 
better and the pullets 
began laying earlier. It 
would take a great cow 
to give $240.01 worth of 
milk in one year—or 
else it would require a 
fine market for the milk. 
There is no doubt that 
(the 10 hens were re¬ 
sponsible for the income 
given in these figures, 
and the record is far 
short of what might 
haee been if the eggs had 
hatched better. In send¬ 
ing the last report Mr. 
Dougan writes the fol¬ 
lowing letter: 
“While I came no¬ 
where near what I ex¬ 
pected, I think you will 
find a substantial profit 
even with the extraordi¬ 
nary amount of ill luck. 
I am sending the bare figures, so you are at liberty 
to figure profits or loss to your own liking. When 
I started this thing I figured upon having fully 800 
Wyandottes for laying during February and, there¬ 
fore, that many to sell, which would have brought 
something like $609 at the same price these sold for; 
then the eggs would have brought more than $125 
more, and the droppings would have been worth $99 
more. It is understood that the cost would have been 
greater, but the profits would have been greater, too. 
I am making no excuses, nor complaints, and I am 
more than sorry that Mr. Cloud did not take my 
offer, as I feel the contest would have been sufficiently 
close to keep your readers much more interested than 
they were. I have the same 10 hens of each breed 
left and one of the roosters (that is the one I offered 
Mr. Cloud), but the Leghorn died and was replaced 
with another. Possibly the whole thing has been more 
instructive to me than to your readers, as I find it 
matters very little which breed anyone keeps, it being 
