What is the Winter Layer?--The Properly Hatched and Reared Pullet
Many people have a very erroneous idea with regard to getting Winter
eggs. They seem to think any hen should produce eggs in Winter. The hen
generally moults in the early Fall, and Nature has provided this time
of rest for her. The egg organs cease to produce, for the hen finds she
has all she can do to supply the necessary material for her new dress,
and this is a very serious drain on her system. The natural time,
however, for a pullet to begin to lay is when she reaches maturity,
and, as the pullet hatched in the early Spring, properly cared for,
should come into eggs in the early Fall, the pullet, then, is the
Winter layer.
It must still be remembered that the domesticated fowl of to-day is
a bird of evolution. In its wild state a pullet did not begin to lay
eggs in the Fall, and neither did she lay a large number of eggs at
any time. With the coming of Spring, and an abundance of succulent
green food, and large quantities of animal food in the shape of a
great variety of worms and insects, she laid and hatched her brood.
Therefore, to have successful Winter layers, it is necessary to produce
as nearly as possible the Spring-time conditions.
[Illustration: INTERIOR LAYING HOUSE NO. 1 IN 1910]
Must Feed Green Food
On The Corning Egg Farm, when the pullets are brought up from the Range
into the Laying Houses, the majority of them have already been laying
on the Range, and they are in fit condition to be brought strongly
into eggs. They are fed a large quantity of succulent green food, in
the form which, perhaps, is more delicious to the hen than any other,
that is, Sprouted Oats. The quantity of animal food in their mash is
increased, and, with the vigorous digging for the grain in the deep
litter, the problem of Winter eggs is solved, and from day to day, the
number of eggs coming from the pullet houses, increases very rapidly.
On the other hand, the pullet which has completed its first ten months
of laying is well advanced in the moult, and is becoming a yearling
hen. Those qualifying under the drastic examination for perfect type
are selected for the next year’s Breeders, and are removed to the
Breeding Houses, which have been thoroughly disinfected and put in the
most sanitary condition to receive them. Those not reaching the Corning
Standard are marketed, as we sell culls only to the butcher.
The aim in handling the yearling hen is not to get eggs from her
during the Winter, but to give her a long rest, and to build her up,
and put her in the pink of condition for the coming breeding season,
and it is the aim at The Corning Egg Farm to have as few eggs produced
as possible from the breeding pens until about the first of January,
when an increased amount of animal food is added to the daily ration
for the purpose of bringing the hens into eggs, and within a few days
there is a very rapid increase in the number of eggs from these pens.
It must be remembered that the profit in Winter eggs is made from
pullets, and to be successful in this line the Laying Houses must be
well stocked with them.
Yearling and two year old hens are the proper breeding females. The
Corning Egg Farm Method is one of continuous rotation, as follows:
Incubator to Brooder House.
Brooder House to Range.
Range to Laying House. Those selected as coming up to the Corning
Standard go to the Breeder House.
At the end of the second year the Breeders are all sold for foundation
stock.
This gives an opportunity to the public to procure the very best
Breeders at a most reasonable price.