Page 4 - Poultry Review June 2008

POULtRY REVIEW
of.
The hens were all kept in one long
ments. Culls from
house, and while the h^ase exhibition stock,
is divided
are not utility stock, as many breeders
into ten pens, the doors between the pens
would have us think.
were left open and the hens all occupied
Utility and standard poultry must
/ the same yard. There was some fifty
be bred along separate lines if the greatest
cocks and cockerels running with these
perfection is to be secured.
hens. Some of the old males which had One cannot
aim at a crow and kill a bear.
been kept over were Of course
disqualified. A there are great layers among the stand-
young man was there trying to buy s me
ard-bred exhibition fowls, and
males, and wished me to pick them out. there
are sometimes high-scoing
The proprietor caught a jaunty looking birds in
utility flocks, but these merely came by
bird and passed it to me with the re-
chance and are not likely to reproduce
mark that Blanchard would get $10.00
these qualities.
Each have their value
or $20.00 for a bird like that.
A single as breeders.
It would be folly for the
glance showed that he was disqualified,
man aiming to produce commercial eggs
having white in the
face, and such a to buy stock
bird should never have been allowed to or hatching eggs from
high-cost exhibition matings, wh:n by
pass the broiler stage.
going to some
Men who breed standard poultry utility breeder he can
secure a hundred eggs from stock that
should know what constitutes a good will answer his purpose better, for the
bird and should not be afraid to cull,
price of one or two
s ttings. Likewise
and cull closely.
No one has a right to the person desiring
sell a disqualified male as a breeder, to raise show
specimens and
representing it to be a standard or sell standard-bred eggs
pure-bred bird. If such birds are sold, and poultry would te foolish to invest
m utility stock or eggs from cheap, poor-
other than for market, they should be
ly-bred birds.
He should have the best
sold as disqualified birds.
The fact that
he can procure, and breed intelligently
the parent stock came from
a noted He should have a Standard and know
breeder carries no significance. Culls his breed.
will conie from the best breeder's best
In the spring, when market eggs are
stock, and they are no better than other
cheap and hatching eggs in demand,
culls. When you buy the best the nearly every
chances are that you will get a few good person keeping poultry
specimens; with cheap eggs from stock seems to be imbued with the idea of
promiscuously bred the percentage securing a fancy price for eggs. A city
of
man who moved on to a farm in my
culls will be larger.
neighborhood, purchased an incubator
A pure-bred chicken
is no more val- and went to a neighbor's for a supply of
uable than a mongrel, if it does not have
eggs to fill it.
something to recommend it more than When he had told his
errand, the neighbor's wife grasped the
purity of blood. If the bird is standard
situation and said, "We ask more for
bred, it is valuable as a breeder of hatching eggs."
standard ' poultry, and the nearer it The price was willingly
approaches standard perfection the paid, but the man wondered why these
eggs were more valuable than those the
more valuable it is, if it has good breed-
lady took to the store.
They were not
ing back of it.
If it comes from a utility especially sorted or cared
bred flock, it may be a great layer or for in any
special way, and the stock from which
have the power of transmitting the lay-
they came was nothing but mongrels.
ing trait, and consequently
is valuable
While it is just and proper that stock
if it does not meet standard require-
eggs should be worth more than com-