Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1919 — EARLY HATCHING OF IMPORTANCE [ARTICLE]

EARLY HATCHING OF IMPORTANCE

Fowls Realize Full Benefits From Propitious and Longer Growing Season. FOSTERS EARLIER MATURITY Hatch in Time for Best Broiler Markets and Also Produce Pullets Ready to Lay When Hens Want Needed Rest.

Fable is transforming into fact It has been customary in allegorical statement only to allude to the hen that lays ths golden eggs. In view of the present prices of eggs and poultry, it begins to look as if the age of the golden eggs had arrived. With marketing conditions for poultry products better than ever before, with a stabilized demand for quality products, and. with prospects of larger amounts, of feeds being available as a result of the cessation of war, there is every incentive for the poultryman’s best efforts. A fundamental factor w’hich makes for greater success with hens Is to hatch early. The early chick catches the worm both in the garden and in the economies of poultry production. The poultryman who aspires to beat the calendar and to hatch several weeks earlier than the cut-and-dried practice gains an advantage whtqh permits him to market quality cockerels at fess" cost and greater profit much in advance of his associates who are remiss in lighting their incubators or setting their hens, Chicks thrive and develop rapidly during the early days of spring; the early hatched fowls thus realize full benefits from the propitious and longer growing season. • ... Why to Hatch Early. ... The early hatchTspells sure profit?, other conditions being equal, because it fosters the earlier maturity and egg production of the pullets; it induces a stream of eggs at the season when eggs are highest in price; it gives the chicks a chance to develop Into strong healthy birds before hot weather sets in; it provides a supply of wage earning pullets to replace the old hens in the flock as soon as the latter birds begin to develop star-boarder characteristics ; it produces chicks which are robust and rugged and better able to withstand the attacks of lice and disease ; it means early cockerels for market when the supply is scant and the price correspondingly attractive. Hens take a three months’ vacation every fall during the molting season while they <F»n new plumage. When the’hens are idle, the stream of eggs ceases unless early hatched pullets are ready to substitute for the older fowl as egg-producers. As fall and winter eggs are always in demand at profitable prices, early hatching returns rapid dividends where the pullets are geared up for active service when the hens begin their rest. Less Disease Among Robust Pullets. Where lice attack the flock, the smaller, weaker chickens are first to succumb. Lice are worse during warm than cold weather and hence the early hatched chick? are less exposed to such pests while still very young. Furthermore, immature pullets are subject to colds during the fall and are v likely to/spread colds throughout the entire flock; To remedy this difficulty, hatch early and have the pul-, lets reasonably well matured when they are placed in winter quarters. As more cockerels are produced than are needed for breeding purposes It is imperative that the surplus stock be rapidly matured and sold as broilers and springers at early ages. The demand for such chickens is best early in the season when the price is at its peak ahd, on this account, the young nudes should be hatched .early,

forced and fattened for these special markets. Hot Weather Hard On Chicks. Severely hot weather Is hard on little chicks. Constant, care'and attention are essential to carry the young birds through the first six weeks without loss, particularly if the weather is hot and oppressive during this period. It is highly Important that chicks shall have passed the danger point before summer is on full force. This necessitates that the chicks be early rather than latehatched. Unless pullets are hatched early, matured and well settled In their winter quarters before cold weather sets in, it is difficult to get them to lay. Generally it takes from six and onehalf to eight months for pullets of the general purpose breeds including the Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Wyandotte and Orpington varieties to mature and start _layliig. Hatched early in the season they will have ample time to mature. Early hatching one season will make it easier to hatch early the following year. Early hatched pulletsbegin to lay in the fall and winter and by the time early spring comes will usually have produced a considerable number of eggs and many of them will show a desire to sit. If on the other hand, the pullets are hatched late, they do not begin to lay until late winter or early spring and consequently are not likely to be broody when it is time to start hatching. Early hatching leads to early laying and early laying develops early broodiness, completing a cycle which should be the roundrobin aspiration of every progressive poultryman.