Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1911 — Winter Months on the Farm [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Winter Months on the Farm

Hodto Improve Them

Poultry Breeding How lo Choose a Bleed', Male and Rear Fowls Thai W3l Give Largest Net Returns

By PROF. J. G. HALPIN

W itcomin College of j4gricultum

The universal question of the farmer interested in poultry is “What breed will prove most profitable for general farm purposes?” He Incessantly besieges the poultry fancier, the editors of poultry Journals and similar authorities on chickens with this query. It is impossible to answer jthis question in the way the farmer desires. He expects a particular breed to be named outright and characterized as the premier money-ma-ker of all varieties. [ Due to the great similarity existing ■between the breeds, extreme variajtions in local conditions exist. As a result. of Individual peculiarities and [preferences of the owners of the I flocks, no one breed can be named as tale most profitable for all farm purposes. ' In general, the dual-purpose breeds, capable of both meat and egg production, are best adapted to farm conditions. Specialized varieties are imjpractical for the general farm, as they (require too much attention and care. The farmer needs a bird with much

vitality and constitution which will ;be able to rough it with a minimum i amount of attention. Some people have a natural liking (for certain breeds and by the practise of careful, painstaking selection can obtain the best results from their 'use. Anyone who constantly overfeeds should select one of the special egg-producing types rather than a i meat-producing bird. The Leghorn is the variety best adapted for such classes of feeders. Choosing a Breed. The average countryman, according to his natural preference, should choose one of the dual purpose breeds for the farm hennery. Any of the common varieties, Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red or Orpington, should satisfy the farmer for a rough-and-ready, hardy, profitable fowl. Any special preference for birds of a certain color can be readily satisfied by the wide range of: colors offered in the varieties of these breeds. A very misleading idea prevails among many inexperienced poultrymen that the color of the fowl radically effects its egg production. This Is an imaginary view of the uninformed as the color of the bird is of no importance in determining capacity for production. • There are some commendable features about the variety in the feathering of the breeds. The white fowl is admirable, due to the fact that no colored pin-feathers disfigure the dressed bird. On the other hand the white breeds present certain disadvantages, such as the fact that they are more conspicuous and afford inviting prey to hawks, and are hard to keep clean and presentable.

One Breed Best. A crying evil in rural poultry husbandry is the attempt to maintain more than one breed on (he farm. The countryman should definitely decide on the breed best adapted to his conditions and then should work only with this variety. The common condemnatory practise of the farmer 1b to maintain one breed for a time and about when this breed is proving successful, an alluring advertisement or a snappy bit of news matter characterising some other breed as h “world beater'* causes him to change the variety which he is raising. , This continual shifting of breeds reacts upon the farmers’ pocketbook and results in no good. A rigid rule should be followed: “Select the breed which has proved its merit and then adhere to this choice." Any of the above-named breeds will prove profitable If rigid selection of breeding stock is enforced and qrdlnary care Is afforded the fowls. Tbs search of the farmer for a perfect breed instead of devoting his energies toward the Improvement of his present variety should be condemned and derided. The countryman is not going to discover any such model variety no matter how ardent his search. He must develop his present breed by awtw of rigid selection, elimination of inferior stock, normal sanitation, and healthful surroundings. Rigidly Select Breeding Stock. One hen may lay 15 eggs a year, the majority of which are deposited

in some brush pile nest wherein the chicks are hatched. Another hen will produce 160 eggs annually under the proper conditions of housing and care. From which of these settings of eggs should one select the stock with which to replenish the breeding pens? Too often the choice is made of the inferior brush pile-reared roughers concerning whose egg-produ-cing qualities and prolificacy the farmer knows little. Always breed from the hens which lay the best in the fall as they best serve this purpose. Never save eggs for setting from a sluggish hen that hangs around the-roost “droopy” and sleepy and displays an inactive, lazy disposition. The habits of*'the hen can be studied beßt in the winter and this season is the proper time to select breeding stock. Accurate and rigid selection of breeding stock should commence early. Study the flock carefully, especially as regards the laying hens which have the reddest combs and which hover around the nests. Those,

which are first off the roost in the morning and last to seek their perches at night, which are the best feeders and exhibit full crops at night when going to roost, are the vigorous, hardy specimens which lay best and are the preferable types from which to breed. Select such birds, band them with leg bands, if not already marked, and keep a record of their future operations. The use of such stock precludes the liability of the hen stealing her nest or a failure In breeding due to the use of pullets and hens which have not inherited vigorous tendencies to lay. Belect Strong Males. In the case of the dual purpose breedß the maintenance of one male to every fifteen females is attended by best results. Much depends on the individual vigor, vitality and prolificacy of the male. A male of lazy, inactive, sluggish temperament should never be retained in the breeding pen as he would undoubtedly transmit these characteristics to his progeny. The breeding flock should be allowed access to a large range. Only the best pullets should be selected for breeding purposes, the others being sold for meat.. For good results in breeding, more than one pen should be available in the poultry houses. For example in the fall when the birds are brought in from the range it always pays to have one pen in which to hbuse the pullets, and a second one for the older hens. The pullets are thus protected from misuse and abuse of the older and' stronger hens until they mature sufficiently to be able to defend themselves. Close, rigid selection among the fQwls of these jiens should ultimately resffift in the choice of the cream of the flock to be used in future breeding operations.

Use Leg Bsnds. Too much emphasis cannot bs placed on the importance of marking the pullets with suitable leg bands in Order to distinguish between them. Ordinary leg bands can be purchased for ten cents a dozen and should be used as a means of Identification throughout the flock. A record Including the age of the bird and the setting from which the fowl was hatched Is absolutely essential. On the majority ‘of farms there Is no way of determining whether a hen is two or ten years old. Old hens unfit for further service are allowed to set and their progeny retained for breeding purposes. This evil can be remedied by identification marks which would serve as a check on the bird’s age and period of service. Another bad custom of the average farmer is to send for eggs concerning which he reads an Inviting advertisement, and then employing all, the birds hatched from this setting, irrespective of their Inherited tendencies toward prolificacy and vigorous constitution, in bis breeding operations. Promiscuous selection here permits the use of a|l these offsprings where rigid selection—the only ultimately successful method—would have condemned perhaps aU except one or two of the very superior pullets.. Breed only the beet and the Improvement will be steady and sure

A poultry house well adapted to the average farmer. It has four pens, each connecting with a lot in the rear.