Montana Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics F. S. COOLEY, Director Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperating Acts of Congress May 8 and June 30, 1914 NUMBER 44 MAY, 1920 Culling F~G. 1. External characters used in culling. By R. L. Smith,E.xtension Poultry Specialist.
CULLING CHART Characters Como and wnttleh Eyelid Ear-lobe Boah Lr.gs and tul's Abilomen Feathers Molt Temperam ~IIt and activity Good hen Large, full, ret'l, warlll, wnxy, hard. IPull, l'muld, oright, prominent. Pale. Full, smooth, waxyi in Leghorn, white. Large, moist, pule. Pale. Pule, flat, slliooth scalds. WidG, thin, ll!iable. vvide, fu)), sltinsoft l\uti pliable. Worn, I'ngged. Late (Supt.-Dec.). Active, yet gentle, happr eueldo. POOl' hen r:" Small, seuly, palc, dry, cold, Dull, depressed, overhanging eyebrow. Yellow.,;1:008e; flabby" dry; ill Legl;ol'll;yellow. Sllln)), puckered, yellow. Y(~llow. Yellow, full and round, coarse scales. Nal'l'ow, thick, stiff. Nal'1'ow, hal'll, skin thick and coarse. E'ine, glossy. Ea~'ly (June, July, Aug.). Flighty, shy, lazy, squawl<er. MtLturity Quicl, i1c'veloping. Slow developing. Notc.-Yellow color noes not show in 'beak or legs uf Orpingtons or Langl:lbanB. Ali other points apply to all other breeds.
Culling SELEOTING LAYING HENS BY EXTERNAL OHARAOTERISTIOS For a num.ber of years the method of determining when and how long a hen has been laying has' received a great deal of study and investigation by expert poultrymen all over the country. The only reliable and accurate way of ascertaining this is by the use of the trap nest, but the large amount of labor involved has prevented the general adoption of this method and a demand has been created for a system of judging' egg production by observation of external characteristics. Poultry investigators have in recent years given more attention to this subject and by a careful study of the body changes which take place in the laying hen have evolved a fairly accurate system of detecting the poor producers without using trap' nests.. The various characteristics of the good or poor hen are so plain that any P0!11tryn1en or fanner can very easily cull out all,his poor, "non-profit-making" hens and thus save a large amount of feed. It should be remembered that this method is not as accurate as the trap nest and'does not in any way rep1ace it. Culling serves three purposes. First, it increases the profits by insuring that the feed will be consumed by the better-producing. hens, "the profit-payers," and not by the poor producers that are kept at a loss. Second, it makes it possible to save the hens best suited for breeders and' 'thus gradually increase the egg production. ThIrd, \veeding out the poor hens give's those left more room and a better chance, and this means greater profit for the owner. Culling has been generally adopted by the progressive poultrymen of the state and should be practiced more by the farmers who keep just' a few hens as a side line. The following outline of the method of culling has been l'ecently worked otit and approved by the American Association of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Husbandry. Note.-In lising this outline do not depend on 'uny one point but consider nil before passing jndgment. Always gh'e the hen the benefit of the doubt.
4 SELEOTING LAYING HENS JUDGING I'QlWLS FOR EGG PRODUOTION In order to lay well a bird must have a sound body. As a first consideration a bird must be vigorous and healthy if it is to be a high producer. Vigor and health are showil by a bright, prominent. clear eye, a well-set body, a comparatively active disposition and a good blood circulation. Further, the bird must be free from physical defe'cts such as crooked beak, excessively long toe-nails, eyelids that overha1?g so that the bird can not see well, scaly leg; or anything that would keep the bird from seeing or getting an abundance of food. :... FIG. 2. First step in culling. Examine for general health and vigor.
SELEC'l'ING LAYING HENS 5 LOSS OF FAT DUE TO LAYING. Color or pigmentation changes...'* (These should be observed by daylight.) A laying fowl uses up the surplus fat in the body. Especiall~ it removes the fat from the skin. In yellow-skinned breeds this los~ of fat can readily be seen by the Joss of the yellow color. The diffe...ent parts of the body tend to become white according to the FIG. 3. Second step in culling. Examine head, comb for size, and color, beak for, shape a'nd color, eyelid for color. *In considering color changes it should be borne in,mind that they indicate a withdrawal or an increase of fat and that they do not indicate future production. The eolor and the fat changes show what a fowl has done nnd not what it will do in the future.
6 SELECTING LAYING HENS amount of fat drawn from these parts and the amount of circulation of blood through them. It should be recognized that all yellow color changes are dependent on the feed, coarseness of skin, and size of bird. A heavy bird fed on an abundance of green feed or other material that will color the fat a deep yellow will not bleach out nearly as quickly as a smaller or paler-colored bird. The changes occur in the following order: The 'color goes out of the beak at the base first, "grad'ually disappearing until it finally leaves the front part of the upper beak. The lower beak bleaches faster than the upper but may be used where the upper is obscured by horn or black. On the average-colored, FIG. '1. Thil'd step ill culling. Examine vent for size, color, moisture and loosc1ll'ss of sl'in.
SELECTING LAYING HENS 7 yellow-skinned, bird, a bleached beak means heavy prodt!ction Jar at least the past four to six weeks. The vent changes very quickly with egg production so that a ",,,hite or pink vent on a yellow-skinned bird generally means that the bird is laying. The eye-ring, that is, the inner edge of the eyelids, bleaches out a trifle more slowly than the vent. The ear-lobes on Leghorns and Anconas bleach out a little more slowly than the ey,e-ring so that a bleached ear-lobe means a little longer or greater production than a bleached vent or eyelid. " The shanks ~ire the slowest to bleach out and henc~ indicate a much longer period of production than the other parts. TI~e yellow goes' out fro111 the scales on the front of the shank first and finally from those on the rea)". The scales on the heel of the shank are the last to bleach out and may generally be used as an index to the natural depth of yellow color of the bird. A bleached shank usually' indicates fairly heavy production for at least fifteen to twenty weeks. The yellow color returns to the vent, eye-ring, ear-lobes, beak, and shanks in the same order that it disappeared but the time required is much shorter. A vacation or rest period can sometimes be determined by the fact that the end of the beak is bleached while the base is yellow. BODY CHANGES DUE TO LAYING A laying hen has a large, moist vent, showing a dilated condition and looseness as compared wi"th the hard, puckered vent of a nonlaying hen. The whole abdomen is dilated as well as the vent so that the pelvic hones are widespread and the keel is forced down away from the pelvic bones so as to give large capacity. The more eg'gs a bird is going to lay the following week, the greater will be the size of the abdomen. The actual size is, of course, inauenced by the size of eggs laid and by the size of the bird. Heavy production is shown by the quality of the skin and the thickness and stiffness of the pelvic bones. Fat goes out from the skin and body with production so that the heavy producen;; have a soft, velvety skin that is not underlaid by hard fat. The abdomen, i 11 particular, is soft and pliable. vvhen taken in. the hands, a heavy producei' will show hy the
8 SELECTING LAYING HENS FIG. 5. Fourth step in culling. Examine spread anll pliability of pelvlc -bollc. sense ~f tollch great depth of body, especially at the frunt a.nd rear of the keel bone. The keel must be moderately straight, relatively long, and carried well back. The space between the pelvic bones-and the keel must be free from an' excessive accumulation of fat. When the hen is laying, these pelvic bones feel thinalld flexible; when not laying, they feel thick and less flexible, due to the fat which has accumulated there. The spread or distance apart of these pelvic bones is one of the best indications as to whether or not a hen is laying. The spread can best be measured by determining how many fingers can be laid between the bones. If it measures two fingers or less, the probabilities, arc that the hen is not laying, while if the spread is greater, she is probably laying. A large, heavy hen will naturally have a greater spread than a small hen.
SELE'CTING LAYIN-G Hlo:NS FIG. 6. Fifth step in culling. Examine abdomen for capaeity (distance 'between pelvic bones and end of breast bone) and pliability and softness of skin. One of the finer indications, but yet one of the most valuable in picking the high layer, is the fineness of the head and the closeness and dryness of the feathering. The head of the high layer is fine. The wattles and ear-lobes fit close to the beak and are not loose and fl,abby. The face is clean-cut. The eye is full, round, and prominent, especially when seen from the front. The head of a heavy producer should be well balanced, being moderately, deep and broad. The extremely 'full fat head of the beefy bird and the long, thin, pointed head, of the bird of low vitality are both undesirable. The lowproducing bird generally shows a depressed eye with overhanging eyebrow and wrinkled skin at the base of the eye. The high layer is thinner, that is, the feathers are closer to the body and after heavy
10 SELECTING LAYING HENS FIG. 7. Sixth step in culling. Examine thickness of pelvic bones. production the oil does not keep the plumage relatively sleek and glossy but it becomes worn and threadbare.. OHANGES IN SEOONDARY SEXUAL OHARAOTERS The comb, wattles, and ear-lobes enlarge or contract, depending' on the ovary. If they are large, full and smooth, or hard and waxy, the bird is laying heavily. If the comb is limp the bird is only laying slightly, but is not laying at all when the comb is dried down, especially at molting time. If the comb is warm, it is an indi'cation that the bird is c oming back into production. MOLTING When a bird stops laying in the summer, she usually starts molting. The later a hen lays in the summer and the longer the period over which she lays, the greater will be her production, so that the high producer is the late layer and hence the late molter. The length of time that a hen has been molting or has stopped laying can be determined by the molting of the primary feathers. It takes about six weeks to completely renew the primary wing feather next to
SELECTING LAYING HENS 11 FIG. 8. Seventh step in culling. Examine logs for color and loss of fat. the axial feathers and an additional two weeks for each additional primary feather to be renewed. TEMPERAMENT AND ACTIVITY A good layer is more active and nervous and yet more easily handled than a poor layer. A high layer shows more friendliness and yet elusiveness than a poor bird. A low producer is shy and stays on the edge of the flock and will squawk when caught. 'While the characteristics discussed have dealt specially with the current year's production, it should be borne in mind that a high pt'oducer one year is, generally speaking, a high producer the next year. If a pullet has been hatched early and starts laying by N ovember first, her first year's record will, on the average, be higher than
12 SELECTING LAY'ING HENS FIG. 9. Eighth step in culling. Examine wing feathers, which denote length of time of molt. in later years. The second yea~ her production will be approximately 80 per cent of her pullet year and the third year about 60 per cent. There are more Leghorns that' produce profitably the second and third years than there are of the heavier breeds. In other words, the Leghorns will be profitable for a longer period than the heavier breeds. HOW TO TEST THIS SYSTEIM OF CULLING Some time during June, July, or August, go over your flock and pick out the birds that, in your judgment (after reading this circular), are the poor producers, and either dispose of them entirely or keep them separate from the good hens. Then keep an egg record on the last page of this circular for at least two weeks, or longer, if
SELECTING LAYING HENS 13 possible. The Poultry Department of the Extension Service of Montana State College is desirous of obtaining as much data as possible on culling, and will appreciate having the egg record from your flock, both before and after culling. They will also be glad to give any further advice or assistance or explain any points which may not have been made clear in this circular.
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SELECTING LAYING HENS REPORT ON VALUE 01' CULLING EGG RECORD Nmnbel' of heu8-.. Before culliug Date 1. 2 ;.. 3 4 5 6.. j - 8.. 9 10 11 12.. 13. I N_O_'e~g_g_s Number of hclls. After culling ----------- I I Date No. eggs --- Number of hens.. Record of culls Date.... ; i.. I ;..., I.....:.:.. 1.:'::. I! I :::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::~ I:::~::::::::::::::::::::::: ' :::::::::::::::: i...!.. No. eggs TotnL. \. Date heus were culled.. Breed. Na.me.. Address.. Detach and return to the Extension Service, Poultry Dept., Montana State -College, Bozeman, Montana.