National Agricultural Library

Culling for Eggs and Market

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Every boy or girl who keeps poultry naturally desires to make as much profit as possible. To do so it is important that every hen kept should be a good layer and that all cockerels except those for breeding purposes (as well as pullets that lack vigor and vitality) should either be eaten or canned for home use or be sold as soon as they are large enough. Selecting or " weeding out " the hens that are poor layers from those that are good layers and picking out for market the cockerels of the flock that are the least likely to develop into good breeders is commonly spoken of as " culling," or culling for eggs and market. If you are to succeed and make money from your poultry it is necessary that you learn to cull your flock accurately so as to keep only such birds as will pay a profit on the feed they eat.

WHEN TO CULL.

The best time to cull the hens is during August and September, (usually from August 15 to September 15), for at that season it is easier to tell which ones have been good layers and which have been poor layers. At that time of the year hens which show signs of laying or are laying and have not molted are usually the ones that have been the better layers during the entire season, and the hen that lays best during her first year will usually lay best during the second and third years. She is, therefore, the one that should be kept. It is not often advisable, however, to keep hens of the heavier breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Eeds, and Brahmas, beyond their second year, or of the smaller breeds, such as Leghorns, and Anconas, beyond their third year, as they seldom prove profitable.

Farmers' Bulletin

Number 1112