Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 5, 1917 Page: 2 of 8
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BREEDING AND RAISING
OF FINE POULTRY
Exchanging Males or Adding New
Blood Except for a Definite
Purpose Is Wrong.
By ROBERT ARMSTRONG
(Expert Poultryman and Writer.)
It is pretty generally agreed that
the greatest impediment to success in
the poultry raising is the inability to
mate birds of the required type. The
custom with most poultry raisers is
to trap-nest their hens, or else guess
at their prolificness and then use the
sons of these heavy layers to head
future breeding pens. This is a step
in the right direction, but the trouble
with this method is that while the hen
may lay a large number of eggs, she
may not have the faculty to transmit
her laying qualities of her offspring.
Moreover, her cockerels may be de-
ficient in both egg-laying qualities
and the ability to transmit certain
other good characteristics which they
might possess. The following article
is a discussion on breeding methods—
setting forth some facts and fallacies:
In the minds of many who raise
chickens and other fowls there is but
one idea and one kind of breeding—
that of mating males and females, re-
gardless of type, strain, variety, pro-
lificness or relationship. Needless to
add, that such matings sooner or later
—usually sooner—prove of little value
to their owner, and are finally com-
pletely dissipated. It is Nature’s way
of eliminating the unfit.
To be precise there are the follow-
ing methods: “In-breeding,” “line-
breeding,” “out-breeding” and “cross-
breeding”; and—shall we say—no
breeding at all, meaning rank mon-
grelism.
Definition of Breeding
Methods.
Primarily, it is not advisable to
make a practice of mating birds more
closely related than first cousins, and
the more distant this relationship can
be drawn apart the better the chances
for success. In making a start with a
flock of fowls, however, if one wishes
to preserve the same strain of blood,
or in creating a new breed, it is us-
sally necessary to breed fairly close
for a number of years, or until certain
qualifications become intensified and
fixed. If this breeding of related birds
is done intelligently with the view of
fixing superiority in color, shape and
so on, it is called “line-breeding.” If
the breeding of related stock is done
indiscriminately, and brothers and sis-
ters are bred together for generations
for no particular purpose, it is called
“in-breeding.”
In other words, “line-breeding” or
breeding in line, is keeping to the
same ancestry—the same blood lines,
without the disastrous effects of “in-
breeding.” It is carefully selected,
systematic in-breeding.
“Out-breeding” is a term applied to
the practice of introducing new blood
every year, but such blood is of the
same breed. “Cross-breeding” is in-
troducing entirely new blood of a dis-
tinctly different breed.
Through fear of the flock degenerat-
ing many poultry raisers consider it
absolutely necessary to bring in new
males each year. Very often they
make a practice of exchanging males
with nearby farms, which is the vogue
among farmers, especially. This is
inspired by the right idea, but it is
likely to be accompaned by trouble.
If it is desirable to introduce new
blood, the rule should be to do so—
not just because it is new blood, but
also because it is superior to your
own in vigor and other ways.
It is very difficult to raise standard-
bred birds if new blood is added to
the flock each year. You may buy a
pure-bred male to mate with your
pure-bred females, and later find that
the two strains failed to “nick” prop-
erly. That is, the mating may throw
offspring with defective combs, dis-
proportioned or poor color, which will
take several generations of special
breeding to eliminate. In short, the
advent of new blood is a speculation.
Two Divisions of
Same Strain.
A better way to introduce new blood
is to take two years to do it, and ex-
periment with individuals. Purchase
a few hens of the desired strain and
mate them to your best males, or se-
cure a couple of outside males and
mate them to your best females; then
study their offspring for a year, and
if satisfactory, mate the new blood
to the balance of the flock.
There is no evidence to prove that
“line-breeding” initiates degeneracy,
providing reasonable care is exercis-
ed each year in selecting only vigor-
ous breeders, and there is a large
number of fowls from which to
choose. The danger becomes even
more remote if two divisions of the
same blood are kept going year after
year. This consists of keeping two
distinct strains or matings on the
same farm, both of which have com-
mon ancestry, but which grow farther
apart every year. Every season the
males of one line are mated to the fe-
males of the other line, and vice
versa, these lines having been started
by mating the best male to the best
female, and continuing the second
generation by mating the original
male to his daughters, or the original
hen to the son. Proceeding in a sim-
ilar manner for the third generation,
the original male is mated to grand-
daughters and the original hen to her
grandson, which practically eliminates
from each line its original respective
sire or dam. It is difficult to explain
this system of line-breeding in writ-
ing, but if you will make a chart of it
and get down to actual figures, you
will soon see that it is very simple.
Crossing Is
Generally Bad.
Some time in the career of every
poultryman there is the temptation to
cross breeds with a view to improv-
ing one of their qualities. In most
instances this crossing of two pure
breeds is a mistake. The appearance
alone of a flock of cross-bred fowls
when compared with the pure breeds
when they originated should convince
anyone that this is a bad plan. The
first cross is not so bad, perhaps, and
occasionally it engenders some slight
advantage in egg producing or weight,
but these “hybirds” should not be
mated in any way, either among them-
selves or back to their parents.
Therefore, to continue cross-breeding
at all practically, it is necessary to
maintain two distinct pure breeds
year after year, and to destroy the
“hybirds” as soon as they cease to be
profitable. This occasions many sep-
arate houses and yards for the sexes
of each pure breed, and fpr the cross-
es, which is both expensive and
troublesome.
Some times it is profitable to “grade
up” a flock of mongrels, such as are
found on many general farms, by in-
troducing pure-bred males. Pure-bred
males of the same variety should be
used year after year, however, and not
the males from the offspring of the
first cross. In the course of four or
five generations, with careful selec-
tion, it is possible to “grade up” the
original flock of mongrels to the level
of the pure-bred male in appearances,
but scarcely in breeding qualities.
There is always more or less chance
of a reversion to type in breeding
from mongrels, hence it is often
cheaper in the long run to commence
with pure-bred stock.
Barnyard fowls are better than
none, of course, but why keep mon-
grels when pure-bred birds can be had
for almost the price of meat? Those
who appreciate the value of uniform-
ity in body and eggs, and who realize
the need of transmitting these qauli-
ties to the progeny, find no argument
in favor of the “manure pile diggers.”
There is more beauty and more dol-
lars in the thoroughbred—be it hog,
horse, cow, or fowl.
How to Select the
Male
In selecting males for breeding
purposes the first qualities to con-
sider are those in plainest evidence—
the general appearance of the birds.
Only such specimens should be chosen
as meet with the standard require-
ments of a particular breed. If a bird
has a poor comb, wry tail, color de-
fects, or if he is too large or too small,
he should be discarded immediately.
At the same time the males are be-
ing judged for their appearance, their
conduct should be carefully noted,
for a fowl’s actions furnish one of
the most reliable guides to its breed-
ing ability. The desirable breeding
cockerel is always on the alert, aris-
tocratic in manner, combative—a good
fighter, and one who believes in crow-
ing about it. Crowing is an indication
of vigor and vitality, and character-
izes masculinity. A cowardly bird is
totally unfit for the breeding pen.
Fear and physical weakness usually
go together. The male that runs at
the approach of another is apt to be
a degenerate.
After selecting the males for gen-
eral appearance and conduct, final
judgment is passed on their physical
qualifications, in other words, their
shape and build. The body of the
vigarous fowl is broad, deep and
blocky, as contrasted with the long,
thin, slender type. A bird’s plumage
is apt to be deceiving in this respect,
consequently all candidates for the
breeding pen should be carefully
handled and inspected. The male
should be selected for the same re-
quirements as the females.
A commonplace inquiry is: How
many females to place with each
male? No fixed rule can be given.
The breed, size of the flock, living
(Continued on page 3.)
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| Mercedes Drug Co. |
E Dr. F. E. Osborne, Propr.
C. D. Moody, Manager
I EASTER [
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Will soon be here. We have the
1 DYES TO COLOR THE EGGS 1
— 1
[ Our Drug and |
Stationery Stock
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5 Is Fresh and Complete
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| Mercedes Drug Co. 1
MERCEDES, TEXAS
.........................................................................................
A Word to Mothers.
There seems to be. more than the
usual number of children suffering
from measles, whooping cough and
other children’s diseases this spring.
Do not neglect any cold, for a cold
weakens the system and makes a
child more liable to attack of more
serious ailments. Foley’s Honey and
Tar relieves coughs, colds and croup.
Sold everywhere.
Buy your mother, sister or sweet-
heart a box of Easter candy at Had-
den’s. 6-2t
It will be a difficult matter to make
a profit on the animals this year un-
less you raise plenty of feed. The
profit will be largely in the feed pro-
duced. The animals will consume the
feed, thus save the cost of marketing
and save the plant foods or at least
a large per cent of them. There are
many advantages in feeding animals
on the farm, but most of them re-
quire that a large part of the feed be
raised on the farm. If this is not done
the feed bill is likely to take most of
the profit.
lillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIglllll
THE BLUE GOOSE BAR
DONNA, TEXAS
Full Line Wines, Whiskeys and Cordials^ j!
BEER CIGARS
S. A. BARNARD, Mgr. Your Patronage Solicited
Build For Yourselves!
FARMERS
SHIP YOUR STUFF through Your Own Organi-
zation and share in the PROFITS that Your toil
Produce.
THE UNIT MARKETING SYSTEM
Help Yourself and Your Neighbors by Supporting Your Own Organization
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Hoyt, L. T. Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 5, 1917, newspaper, April 5, 1917; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1063284/m1/2/: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.