The business hen (a new brood) . be kept at workand in good condition. SELECTING BREEDERS.—Whena man is keeping poultry for profit, or expects to continue in the business,he should keep these selected breeders by themselves with the best malebird he can find. In this way he can use the eggs from these hens forhatching. Usually he will have to select the male by his appearance, buthe should try to have him close to the general type of the hens, and besure that he is strong, vigorous and active. It is not a wise plan to selectthese breeders in the Spring, just before their eggs are wanted for ha
The business hen (a new brood) . be kept at workand in good condition. SELECTING BREEDERS.—Whena man is keeping poultry for profit, or expects to continue in the business,he should keep these selected breeders by themselves with the best malebird he can find. In this way he can use the eggs from these hens forhatching. Usually he will have to select the male by his appearance, buthe should try to have him close to the general type of the hens, and besure that he is strong, vigorous and active. It is not a wise plan to selectthese breeders in the Spring, just before their eggs are wanted for hens are laying them, the lazy as well as the good ones, and the henthat lays 50 eggs a year may make more fuss while she is actually workingthan the one that lays 150. We should watch the hens through the season,and make the selection during the late Summer and Fall, when most ofthem stop. TRAP NESTS.—There is a way of picking the robbers from thtworkers by using what are called trap nests. Two of such nests are. Fig. 4. TRAP NEST OPEN. Parents of the Egg. 15 shown here. The nest is a box with the door so adjusted that when thehen goes in to lay this door closes and shuts her in. She cannot get outuntil some one opens the door. Each hen has a band on her leg carryinga number, and by marking her number on the egg she has laid, it is possibleto know what each hen in the pen is doing. Those who use these trapnests tell some remarkable stories about their results. They have pickedout hens by the eye and found by testing that some of them laid twiceas many eggs as others. It is claimed that by testing hens with the trapnests and using eggs from the best for hatching, through several gener-ations, an egg-laying strain of great value can be developed. The planis not generally practiced, however. Most breeders think it requires toomuch time. The hens sometimes refuseto enter the nests and lay outside. Itis also claimed that the egg-layinghabit alone is not a safe guide,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectpoultry, bookyear1904
