—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, December 24, 1960
8
Improved Breeding
Fewer Hens Lay
Impi oved systems of poul
try breeding developed
through Federal, State, and
pnvate lesearch are pay
ing big dividends in more
efficient egg production, a
recent issue of Agriculture
jf, search magazine stated
Thirty yeais ago, the av
< iage hen in the United St
ates laid 121 eggs per year,
today she’s laying 206 eggs
Our best flocks average 250
eggs or more per hen As
a result, 13 per cent fewer
hens on farms last year pro
duced 60 per cent more egg !
than their ancesters did in
1930 The savings in feed,
labor, and equipment repre
sent a net gam to the egg in
dustry ,
Better balanced rations, di
seasc and pc?t control, and
other improved practices ha
ve contributed to this pro
gress But is is the fltek that
produces more eggs per hen
than other flocks ' receiving
similar feed and care that
returns the highest net pro
fit To build flocks like this,
poultry breeders must have
stock capable of transmitting
high egg-laying ability to
them offspring
Development or moie ef
fective systems of bleeding
-Don't Neglect
Your Eyes
Visit Your Eye Doctor
if you are in doubt.
Doctor's
Prescriptions Filled
Adjustments, Repairs.
D A VID ' S .•
OPTICAL CO.
114 N. Prince St.
Lancaster
Phone EX 4-2767
Always See Better
for 'frill music
at it’s very
Ue magnificent
Magnavox
i ii ic <; tnn* ? .
uh ' I 1 1 9 r tit r o *<4 h
A o ’i<iLoi l sit{r*e U
iiiflli
the DllObOlllC <?YQ Oft
F-M/AiVJ RADIO*? I •/••>U
BHcH;s Audio Sales
2210 DOBSON ROAD,
SMCKETOWN. PA.
Express 3-7242
Holiday Hours will con
tinue Dec. 25 to Dec. 31.
Closed January 2.
Mon. - Sat. 9 - 5
Tues. & Fri. 9 - 9
Open other evenings by
app jintment
One b ock north of State
PoVc barracks, then one
!>i f cast on Hobson Road
60% More Eggs
has been a goal of USDA
poultry research since 1931,
when ARS genetictist C W.
Knox was put in charge of
poultry breeding investigat
ions at the Agricultural Re
seach Center, Beltsville, Md.
A few years earlier at lowa
State College, Knox establi
shed the first succesful in
bred lines of chickens. He
has been a pioneer in ap
plying to poultry breeding
the principles of hybridizat
ion, which have proved so
successful in corn breeding
Knox and his associates
set up long-term experi
ments with White Leghorns
and Rhode Island Reds to de
termme the best system of
breeding for improved egg
production, ogg and body
weights, viability, and other
economic characters. (Pre
vious research at Beltsville
had been concerned mostly
with such characters as plu
mage and skin colors, type
of comb and body size )
Since the early 1930‘5, two
standardbred flocks have be
en maintained as controls—
a Rhode Island Red (RIR)
“open” flock with new stock
intioduced every third year,
and While Leghorn (WL)
closed - ’ flock (no outside
stock added Experimental
breeding systems have in
cluded (1) Inbreeding
mating c£ closely related in-
8 S
COPE & WEAVER
g X
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?EHH SQUARE * h e &ovc**ave * moun*tviu.e ★ east *ete*s»u*o ♦ akron
\\ •ttmtaf jfderdl deposit imutancc corpor<Uwn
%
dividuals within a variety;
(2) Topcrossing inbred
RIR males mated to stand
ardbred' RIR females; (3)
Incrossing inbred RIR
males mated to unrelated in
bred RIR females; and (4)
Incross-breedmg inbred
RIR males mated to inbred
WL females and, reciprocal
ly, inbred WL 'males mated
to inbred RIR females.
Knox recently completed
a review of the records ob
tained in these experiments
during 1946-56. His studies
showed that incross-breds
(progeny of inbred WL_ mal
es x inbred RIR females)
out-produced all the others
They average 260 eggs per
bird annually (survival bas
is) during the 10 years. The
Crossbreds (WL ' males x
RIR females) ranked next,
with 247 eggs per bird per
year
The Standardbred control
flocks averaged only about
200 eggs per bird per year.'
Despite careful selection on
basis of both individual and
progeny records, as well as
improved rations, these fl
ocks have gained only 20
eggs in average annual egg
production since they were
assembled 30 years ago.
Topcrossing and Incross
ing within the same variety
resulted in little or no im
provement and were discon
tinued after a few years.
Inbreeding alone de pressed
egg production, but hybrid
vigor in the progeny from
crosses of inbreds pushed
their production to top place
The- biggest gains came
.Season's Greetings
These carolers bring, from
us to you, greetings of the
season, and every good
'' wish for a wonderful New
Year.
WILLOW STREET
from using Wlitie Leghorn
males in crosses of the two
breeds. In previous investi
gations, the scientists used
only RIR males—on the
theory that nothing would
be gained in making recipro
cal crosses. Fortunately, in
1946, Knox decided to test
this theory and found that
progeny of WL males x RIR
females averaged about 30
more eggs per bird than pro
geny of RIR males x WL fe
males. This was true of both
crossbreds and incrossbreds
Knox’s studies also show
ed that incrossfcreds out
ranked both standardbreds
and crossbreds in age at first
egg, viability, body and egg
\veights, hatchability, and
nonbroodiness. The inbreds
were inferior to their stand
ard-bred parents in most of
these characters, but when
they were crossed their pro- A registered Guernscj
geny_ regained whatever had cow, Witlas Le Betty, ownei
been" lost in mbrpeding. by J. Rohrer Witmer, Wil
Most of our commercial low Street, has complete!
egg-producing stock today an official DHIA productioi
includes some type of cross- record of 9,740 lbs. of mill
breeding either between and 538 lbs. of fat aS a sen
strains, varieties or' breeds ior three-year-old.
Increase your egg profits —
H&N MARK II
LEGHORN PULLETS
From FLORIN FARMS
companion famous H & N Nick Chick Leghorn
.... America’s all-time profit Champion.
LARGE WHITE EGGS at.an early age,
plus famous H & N Breeding for high production,
high livability and superior egg quality—Vitally im
portant now to qualify for USDA’s ‘'Fresh Fancy” pro
grams.
Free descriptive circular. Write or phone now.
FLORIN FARMS, inc
POULTRY FARM & HATCHERY
MOUNT JOY. R. D. *1
Knox says poultrymen a
becoming more aware (
these higher producing stocl
and are buying more ,
them each year. If this ti
end continues, he estimate
that average egg products
could go as high as 250 p f
hen within the next decade
This means that by 197(
the average flock in the Uni
ed States may produce a
well as our best ones do t (
day
• Demonstrations
f Vrom rage
Ponn Manor High Schut
will present “X Marks Hi
Spot”. An hour later t’> i
team from Manheim Centn
High School will dcmoi
strate ' “Animal Cut - u
Cakes ”
ORDER
OL 3-9891