We also have a large trap door for the use of the
fowls, in the solid lower part of the open end, and the large door, for
cleaning and sunning the house, in the west side.
A Point on Mating.
I have fine roosters a year old this April; would you advise keeping
them for mating with the same hens next season, or do you advise selling
each year and getting fresh stock?
The young males will be all right to mate with the same hens next season
- that is, if they come through the molt with vigor. They will be just
two years old and at their best. The molt is the test for both, hens and
cocks. If they show no signs of ailing or weakness during that period,
it is proof of the proper stamina and vigor.
Age for Mating.
At what age may a cockerel be mated with hens?
From nine months to a year is the proper age to mate a Leghorn cockerel.
Cockerels of the larger breeds should not be mated before a year old.
White-Yolk Eggs.
Why are eggs watery and light-colored?
The trouble is in the feed somewhere. Too much green feed, especially
green feed that springs from wet, soggy ground, will sometimes make the
eggs watery. Or if you are feeding more mash feed than dry grain, it
will have that tendency. Some people claim that the feed a hen eats does
not affect the egg at all; but if it does not, why do eggs differ in
color and quality? Eggs that are laid by hens fed wholly on wheat, or
the by-products of wheat, such as bran, shorts or middlings, all have a
pale yolk.
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