These are the principal features in selecting the laying hen. If one can get these principles in mind, and go out into his flock and separate the hens into two flocks, and keep these two flocks apart for a while, he would discover some interesting things. For instance, cull out the poor hens and put them in one pen. Possibly you will have the largest pen, when you have finished, composed of the poor layers. Keep the good hens in another pen separated from the poor ones. Keep feeding the same feeds as you had been doing before you separated the flock into two pens. Now, for a few weeks, compare the daily egg record of the two flocks. You will find that there is about as much difference as between night and day. Now, to bring the lesson home a little more forceful, just figure out what it costs you per day to keep these star boarders, and see if you think culling is a paying proposition. Most every agricultural college has a bulletin printed on culling giving essentially the same information as I have given, but they usually have quite a few illustrations that will make the procedure a little more clearer than I have done.
CHAPTER XV.
PRESERVING EGGS FOR WINTER
It was deemed advisable to add a few words in this little booklet in regard to collecting eggs when they are cheap, and storing them away for the part of the year when eggs are high priced. During the months of March, April, May, and June eggs are the cheapest on the market, due to the fact that the birds are all laying during these few months, and consequently, the supply far exceeds the average demand. If we pay fifteen cents for a dozen of eggs in April, or May, and then in December we pay sixty cents or more for the same product, then it can easily be seen that it is a paying proposition to store some of these cheap spring eggs for winter use. We will now take up the method of storing these spring eggs for our December breakfast.
To make this process about 100 per cent efficient, it is best to candle the eggs first, before storing them away. This process of candling has been explained in a previous chapter. If the air cell, at the blunt end of the egg is small, then we may be sure that the egg is of recent origin. If the contents look clear, and the yolk is not loose, inside the shell, then we need have no fears as to the edibility of the egg. One very good way, for one not accustomed to candling, is to examine a few in front of the light, and then break a few in a dish, so as to get the proper relation fixed in mind. If we can secure eggs that are infertile, we will not have to throw out hardly any eggs in this process.
In preparing to preserve our eggs for winter, there are several methods used by people who follow this practice. Some just pack the eggs in sawdust in a box or barrel, but this method is not always reliable. There are two standard ways of preserving these eggs. One is in using waterglass, and the other is the use of lime water solution. Both methods are reliable, but the first named method seems to be the more popular of the two. In either case, earthen crocks or wooden pails are the best containers. Neither of these solutions affects them. A three gallon container is large enough to preserve ten dozen eggs. For this sized container, about six quarts of the solution will be necessary.
We will discuss the waterglass method first. Procure the amount of waterglass that you will need for this year at a drug store. Use this at the rate of one pint of waterglass to nine pints of water. Before mixing the two liquids, boil the water, and let it cool. Then mix the two liquids, in the proportion stated, and place in container. Then add the eggs, (about ten dozen to this mixture), and store in a cool place. Be sure that there is about two or three inches of the solution above the eggs, and add a little water occasionally to replace the water lost by evaporation.
The lime solution is mixed a little differently. Slack about two pounds of quick lime in a small quantity of hot water. After this has slacked, add it to about two gallons of water, and then add one pound of salt. Stir this in a thorough manner, and then allow the mixture to settle. There will then be found a sediment in the bottom of the solution. Pour off the clear liquid, and use this as the preservative material. Then keep the same as directions given for the waterglass preparation. In this manner, one can have table eggs the year round at a reasonable price.
CHAPTER XVI.
SELLING THE PRODUCT
We have discussed the main points to be considered in raising various poultry products in this little booklet. However, much of our success in the poultry business will depend on our ability to obtain the top prices for our products after we have raised them. In fact, this is the cry all over the country now among the farming population. The various agricultural agencies that have heretofore spent considerable time and effort in teaching the farmer to raise a large quantity of good products, have apparently accomplished this result, and now these same agencies are trying to organize the farmers into selling their products so that they can receive a higher price for them.
The farmer usually has no time to devote to the special marketing of his crop, as he is too busy raising farm products, so attempts at co-operative marketing have been made. There have been many failures in this method in the past, but now the farmer realizes that this system is really his only salvation, and he is receiving the idea of co-operation in a better mood than he did in the past. However, for the one living in town, with but a small flock of birds, more time can usually be devoted to this end of the business, with splendid returns. Many town lot poultry keepers can sell all the eggs that they can get just around to their neighbors, who are usually glad to pay a little more than the market price for the assurance that the eggs are strictly fresh. However, if one has a fairly good yield of winter eggs, and is not content to sell the eggs to his neighbors at around market price, there are other methods that can bring much higher returns.