xt71vh5cd867 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt71vh5cd867/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1918 journals kaes_circulars_001_1_061 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. 061 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 061 1918 2014 true xt71vh5cd867 section xt71vh5cd867 1
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
THOMAS P. COOPER, Dean
Extension Division
FRED MUTCHLER. Director
z
CIRCULAR NO. 61.
l‘1~].1|··i IY)
.I. ll<)I.Nl1·ZS )IA1{'l`lN
.\l`(il`S'l`. 1t·l\
Puhlishuml in ¢·•»1111<·¤·1ion wiih thv ;IK1'1l'1l]IllI`.ii ¢*XU‘I1SiUl1 work var-
ried on by vo-op¤·1·;1tiu11 of the- Volk-ge- of ;\g1*i¢·11lt111·v. iv!l1\'OI‘S1I}' of
Kt*11[1I(‘k)`. with tho l`. S. l>¢·p:11·m1<~11i of .»\;;1*i1·i111111‘v. amd mlistribiited
in fur1hv1‘z1m·•· of thv work pmvidvd for in thc Act of &`0:1g1‘ess uf
Many S. 1914.

 CIRCULAR NO. 61
CULL THE SLACKER HEN.* ·
Prepared by J. Holmes Martin.
How to Tell Her From the Layer:
Slr;\L‘l{Elt \\'()Rl(l·llt basl
(The hen to selll t'l`he hen to kcepl
1, Pale. shriveled comb t. Large, red comb
LZ. Yellow in ear lobe 2 llleaehed white ear lobe
tln white ear-lobed breed.=
onlyl
J}. Deep yellow shanks itc Pale yellow to white shanlts
4. Early molter 4. Late molter
  EX(`€°l>¥i0U1\ll)' lolll.: toe nails 5. Short toe nails
6. Lazy and listless li. Active ami always workiue
7. Pelvic bones close together T. Pelvic bones wide open
(Ong [0   f]ug(\[·5 yyjdthi I].: lt) 4 llll).{l‘l`S \\'l(l(hl
s. vent mimi- ami put-kt·r·t—ti ~. Vent 1¤¤l·~ uml i>li=¤l>l<·
g_ Skin Oy abdmmt,] pom-Sl. and El. Skin of abdomen dilated anu
tough soft
` ‘·??`· ' 
In order to lay well a bird must have a sound body. .\s a urs:  
Consideration u bird must be \'lGt)lt()l`S and lll·]AI,'l`ll\' if it is lo  
lay well. Yigor and health are shown by a bright. elcar eye, a well E
set body. a eoiuparatively aetive disposition and a good circulation " ·
Loss of Fat Due to Laying
The pigmentation or l`()l.Ult l`ll;\NGES should be observed lo
daylight. Laying uses up the surplus fat in the body. and it espei H";`_`v;
ially removes the fat from the skin. ln yellow-skinned breeds thi~
loss of fat ean readily be seen by the loss of the yellow color. Th·· T
different parts of the body tend to bleaeh and become wnite as th·~ H mu,
stored fat is used up. The changes oeeur in the following order: was
The VENT changes very quiekly with egg production so that :< yl-Um
white or pink vent on a yellow·skinned bird generally means thai i_ .t__
the bird is laying, while a yellow vent means a bird is not layiup;. lyloup
lt should be recognized that all yellow color changes are dependeui depth
on the feed. eoarseness of skin and size of bird. .-\ heavy bird fell dieat.
on an abundance of green feed. yellow eorn. or other heavy inaterial They
that will eolor the fat deep yellow will not bleach out nearly a— in th
quickly as a smaller or paler-<·oloretl bird. quiele
The color goes out of the lllCAl( beginning at the base and ;:ra¢l· Body
ually disappears until it finally leaves the front part of the llll}l*‘l` _
beak. The lower beak bleaehes faster than the upper. but mail {joy"
be used where the upper beak is obscured by horn or black. Un thi iuym
average-colored. yellow-skinned bird. a bleaehed beak means lieavl 1
production for at least the past four to six weeks. ing
··· *·*’* r —··‘ M V hone
’.~\dapt¢·l {roto a {·a;»·i }rl¤·p;ri··I lrx lla Fotntll .Iiitl;Zllt=; 5¤l.t..·E.

 !'tt// f/tt N/ttt /.‘t r [It tt. ll  
J A » .   _•1'.
. ~ · . —¤`¥.*l
bass of, fn , _ _- V gs.
t -,   . » · . w -¤¤ ,,
A . -`-`“.._ _ cr, . lz;} \_;"  I
r` ·• ' .  `. _ *· _ A '
u  =. ‘     ,·   -+ J9, .   "
.   .   pelvxc
¢ ¤ · .
V »” ~     .;  li  bO €S
  ZY ,7* ” ~   _ · **15.   , c ‘  
. L. > \ {3*  *0  '  ,,.` .7 · ' _ ‘
‘ - gr =        (""  a domen 
1,   .. ¤ r "·‘!t_‘ ~ · - ~ ·   ;<¤ t
_     .—. ~ —  heel 0 s an
u .' ,.5.;, ·   ‘     e`
V     if  “?¥i‘    ;  Y?=.’ ;3C-’ ·‘$7lfgZi·l,* " »··»-2~’Ji‘7¥:j;   gt egeltf   2   g,.
`[  IZ-C`      =" 1   ·L· -. · T   1     .
" " :é` ;l" ':? ;"*‘   · *7  — IW-,  · ·   '»   ;    " .· *¢ ""7 
_ V `rézé
t l.\lt\' \\'.\l.Xl"l` tttt.t,.
( ll-·Q.t.; ttt t · - :1 1 ~ -··t·ttt`tl t`tt:· -·ttttxtt t··-·< Mt.t- `. ~i ·-;< *1 ‘·l ··—-t;~·—1;-
_   .t,··.~   ·;;~ att il tttttttttw I;.t.·-tl ;tt.t·1· .tt l{»t2t·t· Y x .\;t;-
lf ·’lll‘ll`i\l l':\]¤'!!l!l"'i' $lt`1·*‘
V 'l`ht· SHANKS ill'<‘ tht- slttwvst ttn hl•·;1t·l1 ttm zml ht-m#•· imlit·;tt··
lv il mm·h lUl\j.{!*I' twritttl t»\` t>t·t1tltt<·ti\\`
gm-s ttlll frttm tht- st·ult~s tm tht- t'1·tt11t ttt` th-- t·s ttttt
I- .
‘ Body Changes Duc to Laytng
U .·\ luyim: llilll has il latrgt-. tmtist \'l·1N'i` sltttxxittg ;t tlllzttt-tl t·t»mli—
‘\“ · . .
L llflllillllllUUSt·1lt*S< ns t·<1111]1;t1‘t-tl wtth tht- h;tt`4l. tt\tt·l;¤‘t`t·l \`*`lll ttl il Il¤>Il·
ll" laying ht-tt.
ll ll and tht- t·lost-n•t~~
and dryness ot` l·`l·];\'l`lll·ZltlNtl. 'l‘lit- ht-;ttl of a high layt-r is tint-. 'l`i;t
wattles and ear lobt-s tit t·lost-ly to tht- ht-ak aiitl art- not loost- ai; ‘
flabby. The fact- is t-lt-an-t·nt. 'l`ht- t-yt- is t`ttll. rottntl antl proniint·i;· '
especially when set-n t`roin tht- front. ’l‘ht- high layt-r is trinnn··i
that is. tht- feathers lit- t·lost-r to tltt- hotly antl. aftt-r ht-ayy pro~hi
' ti011. the oil does not ket-p tltt- plninagt- rt-latiyely slt-ek and Qlltlsgt
but the pltnnage hecotnt-s worn antl thrt-atlhart-.
Changes in Comb. Wattles and Ear Lubes
The COMB, \\'.\'l"l`l,l·ZS and l·Z;\ll l,t)lll·ZS enlarge or t·ontrat·t. ti-
p€11di11g OI] the ovary. lt` these 1tl'•‘ large, t`ttll atttl stnooth, or hai".
and waxy. the bird is laying ht-ayily. lt` tltt- t·oinb is litnp tht- bir‘
is only laying slightly. but is not laying at all wht-n tht- t·oznh is dri-
down. espt-eially at niolting tiint-,
Molting
\Vhen :1 bird stops laying in tltt- stttntnt-r sht· nsttally starts tntw
ing. The later a ht-n lays in tht- sninnxt-r or tltt- longt-r tht- pt-ritt  
Over which sht- lays. tltt- gl‘t·ztIt‘l' will ht- ht-r prodttction, so that tit- M
high product-r is tht- latt- layt-r anti ht-nt·t- tht- latt- ntoltt-r. 'l‘ht- lt-ng"
of time that a hen has ht-t-n niolting or has stopped laying can l~
deterntined by tht- l‘z1lt* of i·t·nt-wal of tht- t`t-atht-rs. l·`irst tltt- htttijt
feathers art- sht-d. tht- tail nt-xt antl tht-n tht- wing. whit·h tnolts t`rtt·
the midtllt- ont. Klolting is ont- of tht- niost ya|ttahlt· t·harat·tt-i·s ix
picking the t·ttll ht-t·attst- of tht- si2np!it·ity of its ttst-.
Temperament and Activity
A good layer is tnort- at·tiyt- and neryotts antl yt-t ntort- t-asn} Publi
handled than a poor layt-r. A high Iayt-r shows inort- t‘i·it-nt'?int·ss anti jeg on b
yet elusiveness than a poor hirtl. ,\ low prolttt·t-r is shy and sta-— ¥·%!1U1€kY
0n the edge of the tlock and will sttttawk wht-n t·attght, mglghg
\Vhile the t·ltarzttrters tliscttst ht-rt- havt- dt-alt spt-t·itit·ally witlt `
the present yt-ar`s protlttetion. it shonltl ht- hornt- in niintl that a ltixlt
producer ont- yt-ar is. gt-nt-rally speaking. a high protltttw-i· in all otltvi
years.