BREEDING. Good fowls are very profitable in the keeping of intelligent
breeders. It is stated, by those most competent to express the opinion,
that four acres of land, devoted to the rearing of the best varieties of
poultry, will, at ordinary prices, be quite as productive as a farm of
one hundred and fifty acres cultivated in the usual way. The eggs of the
common and cheaper kinds which might be used for incubators and nurses,
would pay--or could be made to pay, if properly preserved, and sold at
the right time--all expenses of feed, etc.; while good capons of the
larger breeds will bring, in any of our larger markets, from three to
five dollars per pair, and early spring chickens from twenty to
twenty-five cents per pound.
To make poultry profitable, then, it is only necessary that the better
kinds be bred from, that suitable places be provided for them, that they
be properly fed, and carefully and intelligently managed. These
requirements are too rarely complied with, in every respect, to enable a
correct opinion to be formed as to what may be made out of poultry under
the most favorable circumstances.
A few general principles, well-understood and faithfully applied, will
prove of great value. By "in-and-in breeding" is meant commerce between
individuals of the same brood, or brother and sister, so to speak; by
"close breeding," commerce between the parent and his offspring, in
whatever degree.
_Crossing the breed._ To insure successful and beneficial crossing of
distinct breeds, in order to produce a new and valuable variety, the
breeder must have an accurate knowledge of the laws of procreation, and
the varied influences of parents upon their offspring. All the breeds in
this country are crosses, produced either by accident or design.
Crossing does not necessarily produce a breed; but it always produces a
variety, and that variety becomes a breed only where there is a
sufficiency of stamina to make a distinctive race, and continue a
progeny with the uniform or leading characteristics of its progenitors.
_High breeding._ When uniformity of plumage can be effected in mixed
breeds or varieties without a resort to in-and-in, or close breeding,
and without sacrificing the health and vigor of the race, it is
desirable; and, in many instances, it can be accomplished in a
satisfactory manner. What are called highly-bred fowls are, however,
too often the deteriorated offspring of progenitors far below
the original stock. Genuine high breeding consists in the selection
of parent stock of the same race, perfect in all the general
characteristics, and _of remote consanguinity_. This should be resorted
to periodically, in order to secure the best results.
If a race is _pure_--that is, if the species or variety is absolutely
distinct and unsophisticated--the progeny resembles the progenitors in
almost every respect. The mixture of races, where the consanguinity is
remote, is productive of decided benefits.
To illustrate, in the case of fowls: when the blood is _unmixed_--as
with the Guelderlands, and some others--the offspring, _in all
respects_, resemble their parents; in plumage, general habits, form,
outline, etc. In this case, they look almost identically the same. But
when the blood is _mixed_--as with the Cochin Chinas, and many
others--the plumage will vary widely, or slightly, according to
circumstances, though many or most of the general characteristics may
remain the same. The close breeding, to which many resort for the
purpose of procuring uniformity, generally results in an absolute
deterioration of the race in important respects.
In some cases, close breeding--and, occasionally, in-and-in--seems to be
in accordance with the laws of Nature; as with the wild turkey, which,
in its natural state, resorts to these modes of breeding; and yet the
race does not change in appearance or degenerate. The reason is that the
breed is pure. In comparing any number of these birds, not the least
dissimilarity is discoverable; they all look alike, as they always
have, and always will. They are changed, or deteriorated, only by
crossing or confinement.
Most breeds of the hen kind degenerate rapidly from close, or in-and-in
breeding, because they are not perfect of their kind; that is, the breed
is not pure, but of mixed blood; and in such objectionable breeding, the
race degenerates just in proportion as the breed is imperfect, or
impure. The perfect Guelderland will admit of these modes of breeding,
for a great length of time, without deterioration; but the impure or
mixed will rapidly degenerate. This is also true of all breeds, wherein
the characteristic marks are uniform and confirmed, showing perfection
in the race.
As a general rule, however, close and in-and-in breeding should be
carefully avoided where the race is not absolutely perfect, if it is
desired to improve the breed; and as all the breeds of this kind of
fowls are of mixed blood, the danger of such breeding is greater or
less, in exact proportion as the distinctive characteristics are variant
or fixed; and the danger still increases if the breed is composed of
strains of blood greatly dissimilar, or of races widely differing in the
conformation or general habits.
_Preserving the distinctive breeds._ As to the time when the different
breeds of hens should be separated in the spring, in order to preserve
the breed pure, the most ample experience indicates that if the eggs be
preserved and set after a separation of _two days_, the breed will be
perfect, the offspring having all the characteristics or distinctive
marks.
When a valuable breed is produced, either by accident or design, it
should be preserved, and the subsequent breeding should continue from
that stock; otherwise, there is no certainty of the purity of the blood
of the new breed, for it does not follow that a different parentage,
though of the same name or original breed precisely, will produce the
same new breed, or any thing resembling it. The Dorking fowl, for
instance, was originally produced by crossing the Great Malay with the
English Game, as an accident; but it by no means follows that Dorkings
are the uniform, or even the common result of such a cross, for hundreds
of similar experiments have proved unsuccessful. The breeding,
therefore, to be pure-blooded, must continue from the stock originally
produced by accident; and as such breeding produces the leading
characteristics of the race with great uniformity, the genuineness of
the breed cannot be doubted.
In order to produce a good cross, the parentage should be healthy, and
from healthy races, not materially dissimilar in their general habits.
The _size of the leg_ should always be looked to, in order to judge
accurately as to purity of blood. If the leg is large for the
breed--that is, if larger than the generality of the same breed--the
purity of the blood, the fineness of the flesh, and most of the other
valuable qualities, can be relied on; but, if the legs are smaller than
most others of the same breed, the fowl is spurious, and of deteriorated
blood. The fifth toe and feathered legs of some breeds were originally
the result of accident; but by long and careful breeding, they have
become incorporated into the nature of certain races of general, though
not universal or essential, requisites. When a fowl exhibits any special
marks indicative of all the races or breeds from which the cross
originated, it is a sure evidence of extraordinary purity of blood, and
of the superior excellence of the race. The best fowls of the race
should always be selected for crossing or general breeding; otherwise
the breeds will degenerate.
The _quality_--that is, the fineness, juiciness, and richness of
flavor--of the flesh of domestic fowls is of much more importance than
their size. All coarse-meated fowls should, therefore, be rejected, no
matter how large they may be. There is no difficulty in discriminating
between coarse and fine fowls at any time. In the case of chickens, if
the down is straight and stands out, and the body and limbs are loosely
joined, the meat is coarse; but if the down is glossy, and lies close to
the body, and the body and limbs are compactly formed, the meat is fine;
and when grown, if the fowl is light in weight, in proportion to its
size, the flesh is coarse; but if heavy, the flesh is fine.
There is also a _fitness_ in the quality of the flesh; for, if the meat
is fine, the bones are fine, and the feathers are fine; and the converse
holds true. If the flesh is fine, it is juicy and richly flavored; if
coarse, it is dry, fibrous, and insipid.
The _color of the legs_, too, is quite material in judging of the
quality of fowls. All other things being equal, dark-legged fowls have
the finest flesh, and are most hardy. Turkeys, which have the finest
flesh of any fowl of their size, have black legs; the game-cock,
likewise, which is universally acknowledged to be the finest-fleshed of
any of the domestic fowls, except the Wild Indian fowl of Calcutta, has
dark legs. It does not, however, of necessity follow that all
dark-legged fowls are fine, or that all yellow or white-legged ones are
coarse, since much depends upon the breed; but it is true that the
darkest leg which pertains to the breed indicates the finest fowl.
The _color of the feathers_, also, has more or less to do with the
quality of the fowl. Some breeds have a much more brilliant plumage than
others; but when brilliancy of plumage is here spoken of, it is to be
understood in comparison with others of the same breed. If, therefore, a
fowl is selected of rich and glossy plumage, when compared with others
of the same breed, the legs will be dark of the kind, and the quality of
the bird will excel.
The _best_ breeding is to cross or mix the races; this process improves
the breeds, in all respects. When the object in view is to perpetuate
distinct varieties of uncontaminated blood, the first requisite is to
procure fowls known to be of pure blood, and possessing all the
necessary characteristics of their kind. Labor is lost, unless the fowl
selected is a perfect specimen of the variety; for whatever imperfection
exists is likely to be perpetuated in the progeny. Regard should be had
to plumage, size, and form, in making a selection either of a cock or a
pullet; and those are preferable which are hatched earliest in the year.
The _age_ of the fowls is a matter of considerable importance; and,
though it is true that a pullet will lay the greatest number of eggs in
her first year, yet it is believed that the chickens which are hatched
from the second year's eggs are more vigorous and hardy. Old hens are
generally preferred to pullets as sitters, on account of their more
sedate and matronly character. A young cock, though more active in his
earliest days, and likely to bestow his attention on the hens with less
reserve, is not, however, best for use in keeping up a breed. The eggs
impregnated by him after his first season are likely to produce the
strongest chickens. It is an error to suppose--as is often
represented--that his procreative power is decayed or vitiated after
three or four years. On the contrary, a healthy, vigorous cock, if not
allowed to walk with too many hens, may be valuable and useful in the
poultry-yard for a longer time.
An error is often committed by assigning too many hens to one cock; and
the result is a weakly and otherwise deteriorated progeny. Not more than
_five_ hens should be allowed to associate with a single cock, when the
quality of the breed is a matter of interest. _Three_, indeed, would be
the better number for restriction; but five is the farthest limit which
can be safely assigned.
Most persons, in obtaining a single vigorous cock and hen of a desirable
variety, find their anticipations more than realized in the production
of a fine progeny. The plumage is brilliant, and the chickens are of
increased size, and remarkably strong and healthy. This desirable state
of things continues so long as the cock is restricted to a small number
of hens; but as soon as his harem is enlarged, different effects
are manifested, and a deterioration in the stock is clearly
observable--attributable, not to close-breeding, but to the increased
disproportion of the females to the male, and the consequent overtasking
of his powers.
In breeding-time, great cleanliness should be preserved in the lodgings
of the fowls, and the quantity and quality of food should be attended
to. They should not be suffered to feed to repletion, and such kinds of
food as are most nutritious should be carefully provided. Variety of
food is essential; and a proper proportion of animal and green food
should be given with their usual fare. Suitable arrangements should, of
course, be made to prevent any intermixture of breeds. A constant
vigilance in this respect is the price of success; and when all proper
precautions are taken, the breeder may be perfectly secure that his
anticipations will be realized.