Poultry for profit

by R. A. Power

Another point in favor of the egg breeds, however, is their early maturity. Usually these birds will mature in close to four months. This allows them plenty of time to get into laying condition in the fall, before cold weather starts, and birds that can lay eggs during the months of November and December are certainly an asset, as eggs always bring the highest prices on the market during these two months.

These birds will live on less feed than any other class because of their small size, and their great foraging ability. However, these breeds are not as hardy as the heavier breeds, and will not stand the cold as well, because of their lack of feathers, and large combs and wattles. These large head parts are easily frost bitten in cold weather, and when this happens the birds generally stop laying until they have recovered from the setback. With these few words on the egg breed characteristics, let us next consider the general purpose breed.

When we speak of general purpose breeds, we usually mean one of four different breeds. The Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Orpington, and the Wyandotte are the four leading breeds of this class. Then there are quite a few different varieties of each of these four breeds, such as the Barred Rock, the White Rock, the Buff Rock, etc. These breeds are very good both as egg birds, and for meat purposes, and find favor where ever they go. I will attempt to analyze their characteristics, bringing out their strong points and their weak points, as I have already done with the egg breeds.

These breeds have been developed for egg production, and as a result, have many birds in the 300 egg class, as well as the strictly egg breeds. If any are to be disposed of, they have the ability to put on flesh and to bring a good price on the market for meat. When one realizes that usually one half of a hatch of chickens are males, and the other half females, it can be easily seen that the general purpose bird has an advantage, in the sale of the male birds, and of the surplus females, as they can be fed fattening feeds, and a good profit made from this source.

The general purpose birds make excellent mothers and sitters. They have a broody disposition, and will set on the nest the required three weeks to hatch the chickens. They will also take care of their young as a parent should. In fact, one of the criticisms of this class of birds is that they are too broody, and are a nuisance in this particular. They are far more quiet than the egg breeds, and stand confinement with no apparent discomforture. They make an ideal bird for the back lot.

These birds are fairly good foragers, but take a little more feed to maintain their upkeep than do the egg breeds. They have smaller head parts than the egg breeds, and a heavier coating of flesh and feathers thus enabling them to withstand cold weather much better than the egg breeds.

These breeds, in most cases, have yellow shanks, long well rounded bodies, and weigh about six pounds at maturity. They are not as nervous or as active as the egg breeds, but require a month or two longer to mature and to get into laying condition, than the egg breeds.

We will close this discussion on breed characteristics with a few words on the meat breeds. There are four generally recognized meat breeds. These are the Brahams, Cochins, Langshans, and the Cornish Game, with their several varieties. The adult meat bird usually weighs about eight pounds, but the male birds weigh even more than this, sometimes reaching twelve pounds or more. These birds are rather awkward and clumsy, in fact, so much so that they make poor sitters, as their awkwardness often causes them to break the eggs in the nest. They have an abundance of feathers and meat on their body, which makes them easy to winter. Generally speaking, the heavier the bird, the poorer the laying ability, and this is true with the meat breeds. They do not lay a very large number of eggs during the year, being raised mostly for their flesh, which is unsurpassed for table purposes. As is the custom with heavy animals, the meat birds are lazy and sluggish, do not roam far for their food, and consume a comparatively large amount of grain for this reason. The meat breeds take a longer period of time to gain maturity than any other class, the average time being about eight months. As has been said, they are primarily a meat breed, and it is for this purpose that they are mostly used. They do lay eggs, however, and about 100 eggs per year is a good average. They, like the general purpose breed, lay a brown shelled egg, while the egg breeds lay a white shelled egg, which brings a higher price on every market in the country but the Boston market. The brown shelled egg brings the higher price on the Boston market.

CHAPTER III.
GETTING A START

We have now discussed quite minutely the good and bad points of the three main classes of birds. Each class, and each breed has its merits and demerits. The one who wants to make a start in raising poultry should choose the breed that appeals to his likes the most, and the one that he can realize the most success with, under the conditions that he will have to raise them. There is no best breed, whether it is chickens, cows, or hogs. They all have their good points, and their weak ones. It is up to each individual to pick the breed that appeals to him the most.