xt7mkk949045 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7mkk949045/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1919 journals kaes_circulars_001_1_074 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 074 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 074 1919 2014 true xt7mkk949045 section xt7mkk949045 i
S. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
THOMAS P. COOPER, Dean and Director
Extension Division
CIRCULAR NO. 74
· CULL THE EARLY MOLTER
i Prepared by
J. HOLMES MARTIN, JULY, 1919.
. I i
TlLi€er: _ f ' · ' _ . ’_ ,7
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` ` 231 EGGS IN 1 YEAR 7:: EGGS IN 1 YEAR
MOLTISD IN DECICMIIER )lQI.'1`IiI`> IN AUGUST
How They Looked in The Late Fall
Pale yellow to white beak and Deep yellow btak and shanks.
` shanks.
` Published in connection with the agricultural extension work car-
1‘1ed0n by co-operation of the College of Agriculture, University of
lining; Kemuckl', with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. and distributed
ii.i{i§EL ln furtherance of the work provided for i11 the Act of Congress of
May S, 1914. C

   `
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CIRCULAR NO. 74
I
CULL THE EARLY MOLTER.*
Prepared by J. Holmes Martin. F
DETERMINING A HEN’S EGG RECORD.
(Apply this test in late summer.)
Molting
\\'hen a bird stops laying in the stunnter she usually starts mult·
ing. The later a hen lays in the summer or the longer the penal
over which she lays. the greater will be her production, so that tls
high producer is the late layer and hence the late tnolter. 'l`l1elt·t1uth
of titne that a hen has been molting or has stopped laying cattyle
determined by the rate ot` renewal ot the feathers. l·`irst the bolt
* feathers are shell, the tail next and then the wing. which ntolts ima
the middle out. Molting is one ol` the most valuable ('ll2ll`il('l•}l`$ E;
picking the cull because ot` the simplicity of its use.
Loss of Fat Due to Laying
The pigmentation or (`t)l.t')lt t"llANtll·IS should be observed 
daylight. Laying uses up the surplus tat in the body, and it esp»~.~ i
ially removes the fat from the skin. ln yellow-skinned breeds tis
loss of fat can readily be seen by the loss of the yellow color. The
(llI`l’E’l`€llt parts of the body tend to bleach and become white as the
stored fat is ttsed up. '1`he changes occttr in the following order:
The VENT changes very quickly with egg prodttction so dna; `
white or pink vent on a yellow-skinned bird generally means ttgt .
the bird is laying, while a yellow vent means a bird is 1lOI layizg '
lt should be recognized that all yellow color changes are tlepetrlezz
on the feed, coarseness of skin and size of bird. A heavy bird iei 1
on an abundance of green feed, yellow corn, or other heavy nmterial `
that will color the fat deep yellow will not bleach out nearly as
quickly as a smaller or paler-colored bird. \
The color goes out df the BEAK, beginning at the base and grae ,
ually disappearing until it finally leaves the front part of the upper l
beak. The lower beak bleaches faster than the upper, and slim  
be used where the upper beak is obscured by l1orn or black. Outhe `
average-colored, yellow-skinned bird, a bleached beak means lien? ·_
production for at least the past four to six weeks. _ w
The SHANKS are the slowest to bleach out and hence itttliwf W ’‘'‘
a much longer period ot production than the other parts. 'l`l1ey&lZcF
goes ottt from the scales on the front ot the shanks iirst and iill.1YEZ~' \`_l`-lul
fI‘OIll tho scales on the l‘C1ll`. The scales on the heel of the Slliili   {
‘ i. e., the back of the shank just below the hock joint, are the l2=5T?"   A
bleach ottt and 1nay generally be used as an index to the iuturet
depth of yellow color of thc bird. A bleached-out shank tlrllilllln? Cong;
dicates fairly heavy production for at least litteen to twent}'   1a\_`“_'
The yellow color comes back into the vent_ ear lobes, beak at1tlFll¤ll=’ ue} I
ill th€ Same order that it went out, only the color returns lllllfh NNY? ` K
quickly than it goes out.
` _ r;.t·lopt<·d from I1 paper prepared by the <‘·»i·nell Judging $<·h·*·*l-

 DETERMINING THE LAYER
(Apply this test at any time.)
A ‘‘ `   A  A ii    WA  A A
    t l, ; A M _:·;·'-Q? >
f f/ sz .;  x ’{"—% ,    
ul I `  A, "Q    " 
‘s mot.   \ . ,A . A », *‘ ·¢“ ‘ iA,;_>~*Lh·»»q  I- ,
; A _.   ‘ · ·`  Ar        —,¤·¢¥*"¤ .  
We period     ·  J ¤*     A ‘¥ ’ AYP
  A A- iter, A . F .
that ttl r “     ;;·»i»5#i *¢· V‘‘` " J A r· ’ A
lic length /   Q T-` ;*f>.» ~         T;  
K <·¤¤ le ’·~  = i"        iii;   tg EA ‘
the body · `X ‘   _ *qr, .;T’··_ _  A 
> » 3,_ U »;4__ · Q4: _·
oltsfm i gg? T; .     1,.-df
zicters in M     ·· · ' <.¢· ·j,
_ i.     gy  
i §’,`  . I 4 l.   ' Y ,
wrved by ' ‘ lb ’%,~ `   jig.;  
it www ._ n ' I Q §'T?#é N . {
    .` Q {cya  V. ` * — "'Ql __ ; I `
l_’ B. ~ _ · t * _» i • _
lor. The {Il   ’l   5 I  {vg}- a .4 AJ
to zrsihe , »A* I ‘   t   y "_y4—··L2A=‘:n: I
  i  ;; it A i  tl?
so time . I, l   V 4
>a11stl;zt · · · r-t
nt laying {
lcpentlect V   `  .; _
ntzitexz; f ,
rearly as Q
md gm V °
he upper . · ·
d slmuli I A
t. Ou ifi l “ '
`
ns lmli  
_ \\`i»lt!; l»·tu···it tE.·~ pin lmiits iiiilimites :i l;iyt·r. ¢_"l`l1t· tips of tlrc iirst
imlmzé if.1¤·t· littuitrs nix- ii1·l\\'i* ll ti:<· lww |>it1 i~··ll· F.)
10 WW i, \\`l·Zli Lu.\1—`i-J1:
H] m];fl}` l»li`llll·¤>l1t*sl_i»t·l\‘it·¢·1·];t)'l¤i·t1i·sl l. i'lt1 l·i¤I1<’S vlrwc lU§•JUlcl` (UIIO
,_ \\‘1·»~ 1it·urt. ti1r;··r`s width or li·>>.»
tO Fhimr   \`t·tit polo mill ].li;il»l··_ 2, \'·ti1t ywllirw uml ;rt1t·l{01‘@d.
1 INV;   irrrruv. full, l»ri;lit wil t·.»mlr Zi. l‘:tlt·, Nill`l\`·'i·’il womb uml wut-
W "‘ `, ait·.lmtti1.~¤_ tlvs.
z imturgt · _
·irillv1t» lit order to luy well ar bird must lurvu zi sound body. As zt first
V “_é_\k;` A A€0¤$iH1‘2lti\’<*ly ztvtive dispositiori amd :1 good oiwtilatioii,
~olr

 l
. Body Changes Due to Laying
A laying hen has a large, moist VENT, showing a dilated condi.
tion and looseness as compared with the hard, puckered vent of a nan. L
laying hen.
Just below the vent, are the two pin or pelvic bones, one on
each side, projecting towards the rear. By placing the fingers, flat,
between these bones, the width apart can be determined. (See cul
on Page 3). lf the ends of the bones are soft and pliable and the
width of two or three ordinary fingers (varying with the size of the `
hen) can be placed between them, the hen is, in all probability, lgy.
ing at the time of examination. lf the bones are close together ann
the points hard, the bird is probably not laying.
The whole ABDOMEN is dilated, as well as the vent, so that the
pelvic bones are widespread and the keel or breastbone is forcei
· ' down, away from the pelvic bones, so as to give large CAl’ACITl',
The more eggs a bird is going to lay the following week the greater
will be the size of the abdomen. 'I`he actual size of the abdomen is,
of course, influenced by the size of eggs laid and by the size of the
bird.
Heavy production is also shown by the quality of the Sill);.
Fat goes out from the ski11 and body with production, so that the
heavy producers have a soft, velvety skin that is not nnderlabl ly
layers of hard fat. The abdomen, in particular, is soft and pliable
_ One of the finer indications, but yet one of the most valuable ;;
picking the high layer, is the fineness of the HEAD and the closeness  
and dryness of FEATHERING. The head of a high layer is fine. Tie
gwattles and ear lobes fit closely to the beak and are not loose nzi
flabby. The face is clean—cut. The eye is full, round and pro1nine;t,
especially when seen from the front. The high layer is tri:.
that is, the feathers lie closer to the body but, after heavy produs
tion, the oil does not keep the plumage relatively sleek and gloss;.
the plumage becoming worn and threadbare.
Changes in Comb, Wattles and Ear Lobos
The COMB, WATTLES and EAR LOBES enlarge or contract, de
pending on the ovary. If the comb, wattles and ear lobes are large.
full and smooth, or hard and waxy, the bird is laying heavily. line
comb is limp the bird is only laying slightly, but is not laying at all ,
when the comb is dried down, especially at molting time.
Temperament and Activity
A good layer is more active and nervous and yet more easili
handled than a poor layer. A high layer shows more friendlinesi lil Publi
_ ‘yet elusiveness than a poor bird. A low producer is shy and SMF? ed On I
on the edge of the flock and will squawk when caught. A  emuckv
While the characters discust here have dealt specifically wil __ furthe
the present year’s production, it should he borne in mind that ll lllll  am H3
producer one year is, generally speaking, a high producer in all other ’
years.
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