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.
Type Reproduces Type
It must be remembered that type produces type, and the only proper way to select birds for the breeding pen which will produce progeny capable of great egg production is to thoroughly understand their anatomy. It is impossible to produce a great performer in any line unless the animal is of a build capable of the performance. No one would expect to breed a two-minute trotter from a Shetland Pony.
The hen which is capable of becoming an ideal layer must have a deep keel, a long body, and, as she faces out, she must have an appearance of broadness, and must be the shape of a wedge back to the point where the wings join the body.
The Large Flock System is carried on in the Breeding Pen on The Corning Egg Farm, and it has been most successful. It has been found that the small pen does not produce the high fertility continuously which the Large Flock System does. During the season of 1910, for long periods, the fertility ran as high as 96%, and as early as the first of March it was above 90%. In the season of 1911, eggs incubated in the early part of February, ran above 91%, and during the season there were times when the fertility reached 97%.
The Breeding Pens are mated up two weeks before eggs are to be used for incubation, and early hatched cockerels are used to head these Breeding Pens. It has been found that the mating of cockerels with yearling hens produces a very decided predominance of pullets, and the youngsters are strong and vigorous from the start.
The proportion of mating is one to twelve, and the records of The Corning Egg Farm show that by this method of mating the number of cockerels produced, through the years that the Farm has been in operation, has been as low as one-quarter, and as high as one-third.
The males to head the pens are selected with the same care that the hens are. They are all perfect birds, of large size, and conform as closely as possible to the standard requirements, without interfering with the paramount aim of producing a Great Layer.