Trap Nests a Failure
There is another reason why trap nests really tell you nothing. Take two females of a pen whose numbers are one and two. For the first few weeks No. 1 surpasses her sister No. 2 in the production of eggs. To this pen, clover has been the green food fed, and of this ingredient the farm has run short. The shipment has been expected daily but did not arrive, and, because of that failure, for four or five days no other green food was provided. Then cabbage was resorted to to take the place of the clover. The pen having been without green food for a number of days was fairly greedy for it, and good, crisp cabbage suits the palate of many hens exactly, and they are very apt to overdo the matter in eating it. A great layer must be a large eater, and so hen No. 1 gorged herself on the cabbage. Her digestive organs were upset, and for a number of weeks she ceased laying, while hen No. 2 continued to shell out a fair number of eggs. The owner of these birds, when it came time for the selection of the breeders, expressed his great disappointment over hen No. 1. She had started so well, and then had blown up entirely, and so she is passed up, and hen No. 2 is accepted as a breeder.
ONE OF THE BREEDING HOUSES JUST AFTER MATING 1910
Now, if the anatomy of these two birds had been studied, it would have been found at once that hen No. 1 was much better qualified to take a place in the breeding pen than hen No. 2. The mere fact that the trap nest record of any female shows a phenomenal number of eggs laid in ten or twelve months does not necessarily prove that she is a proper animal to breed from. Post-mortem examinations show in many cases that they are freaks, and, while they have laid a great number of eggs, there was much to be desired in regard to the eggs, as to their size, shape, and color. As a matter of fact it would have been a great mistake to have bred from such an individual.