THE POULTRY BREEDS
Before attempting to discuss the methods of raising poultry it is
deemed advisable to first take up a discussion of the different breeds
and their characteristics. Outside of a few fancy breeds, that are
raised more for curiosity or show purposes, we usually think of the
breeds of poultry as three distinct classes.
The first of these three classes that we will take up for discussion
is what is termed the egg breed. This breed is usually represented by
such birds as the Leghorn, Ancona, Campine, Minorca, or the Houdan.
Of these five breeds, the Leghorn and the Minorca are by far the most
popular. There are different varieties of all these breeds, but the
White Leghorn, and the Black Minorca are much more popular in their
respective breeds than are any other variety. The other breeds are
found scattered here and there, but the Leghorn and Minorca are easily
the leading egg breeds. Both of these breeds have many birds with
yearly records of over 300 eggs per year. Next let us consider a few of
the important characteristics of these egg breeds.
These breeds are small, light of weight, very active, and very hard to
confine in a small inclosure. The average adult bird of these breeds
weighs about four pounds. They are neat and attractive in appearance,
have clean shanks, and have large head parts, which are much more
susceptible to being frosted in cold weather, than the other breeds.
The egg production of the egg breed is of the best. As has been stated,
there are a great number of birds in this class that have records of
over 300 eggs per year. Their eggs are white shelled, of good size,
and rather long. However the meat of these birds, especially when
matured, is very tough, and the active disposition of the egg breeds
do not allow them to put on surplus flesh as with the other class of
birds. Quick maturity is characteristic of the egg breeds, however, and
because of this fact, they make excellent small broilers when but a few
months old. But it is useless to put them on the market for meat when
mature, as they will not fatten like the heavier breeds.
The disposition of these breeds, as has been said, is active, nervous,
and hard to confine. Therefore, for the person with a small lot on
which to raise chickens, it would be well to choose a heavier breed
that stands confinement better than these breeds. These birds are
active in the house in winter, or on the range in summer, and owing to
their natural tendency to roam, they are always uneasy when confined
to a small yard. They also have excellent powers of flight, and can
usually fly over a fence unless the fence is about eight feet high.
The egg breed, owing to the activity so characteristic to such breeds,
makes poor sitters and mothers. It is very seldom that a fowl of these
breeds can content herself to sit on a nest of eggs three weeks, which
is the time required to hatch the eggs. Their eggs are usually hatched
under a general purpose hen, or with an incubator. They make poor
mothers, because they usually like to roam too far to properly look
after their young.
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.