Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1896 — The Vitality of Young Chickens. [ARTICLE]

The Vitality of Young Chickens.

The first e Sgs which a hen lays In spring have greater vitality and will produce strongter chicks than those laid later in the season, after a hen’s vitality has been partly exhausted by continuous laying. Experienced breeders understand this, and it is the reason why they- nqt only charge more for the earliest settings of eggs, but choose these for setting when breeding for their own yards. The eggs for hena. that are confined in close yards are often infertile, br the chicks from them have so little vitality that they easily succumb to disease. The wider range breeding fowls have the more certain their eggs will be to hatch. TJiis makes it generally Inadvisable for breeders to keep more than one variety, as unless one or the other is closely confined there is certain to be crpss breeding and confusion In the flock, which entirely destroys its value for breeding purposes.