Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 227, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1919 — CULL THE FARM POULTRY FLOCKS [ARTICLE]

CULL THE FARM POULTRY FLOCKS

Two-fifths of the Missouri farm hens fail to pay their feed bill- . Unless a. hen lays from 60 to 75 eggs a year she is being kept at a loss. High priced feeds make it vital that only good layers be kept. To rid the farms of low producers each flock owner should practice some method of culling, says T. S. Townsley of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture. One Missouri county reported that 38,329 low-producing hens were culled from 858 farm flocks last fall with an estimated saving of more than $32,000 for feed. Proper culling reduces the feed bill but not the egg production. The system of culling is based upon the fact that nature stamps the hen with certain visible characteristics which indicate the traits and habits of the individual. As in the human faniily the hard working farm witfe is easil y distinguished from the social butterfly of the city, so in the hen family4*certain visible characteristics indicate whether a hen has been a high layer or a loafer. Anyone who studies the birds closely may easily recognize these differences. The ideal time to give the flock a complete culling is about the middle of the molting period. This will vary with the different flocks but usually comes in August, September or October. The characters which distinguish poor layers from good ones are most evident between August 1 and November 12 At this time the birds are being prepared for winter quarters and some reduction in the number is usually desirable. The hens have finished the heavy season of production by this time and the poorer ones have stopped laying. The low producers will not lay during the fall and winter months and should be sold. The egg production will not be decreased.