Design For More Eggs (1962, sound)

[Music] egg production is a specialized business in a highly competitive field maintaining this unusual food in a favorable position and ensuring the producer a reasonable profit offers a problem that looks for partial solution to increased egg production per bird only with highly bred Superior chickens efficiently managed can profitable egg production exist the appearance of this fine layer is an indication of her capacity to produce more eggs vigorous alert birds with an inherited ability for heavy production of quality eggs have been selectively bred for Generations in a calculated program that rests on a foundation of Science and applied knowledge consider the egg it shell encompasses those elements of mystery that unfold to create new life here are grouped the qualities gathered by patient research designed to produce a growing pattern of improvement in Birds yet to come to ponder on these possibilities for improvement excites not only the geneticist but the Practical poultry man as well many concealed factors influence increased production but in general this developing embryo from a high producing line has a good chance to become a vigorous sturdy chick with good livability and the promise of developing into a high producing bird already this newly hatched Wonder shows the cleancut characteristics of her [Music] forebears here at a leading poultry Research Center in Hatchery a scientific breeding program is constantly carried on by trained technicians to develop for polman everywhere Superior egg producing stocks many families and strains are utilized in the breeding program to obtain combinations pointing toward increased production since records form the backbone of such a program trap nesting furnishes proof of the number and quality of eggs produced by each bird submerged in Salt Solutions of different specific gravity eggs with thick shells tend to sink in high density Solutions while eggs with thin shells float in dense Solutions shell weight is an indication of shell strength at the research Center's egg quality laboratory eggs are put through a number of measurements and tests each egg is numbered to identify the hen that laid it the number is punched on the hen's card the egg is weighed and this is entered on the [Music] card this device measures the ratio of length to width so it can be recorded in a single code number accurate tabulation of any egg characteristic is quickly accomplished through the punch card system after exterior characteristics are established the egg is broken to determine the nature and form of yoke and albumen multiple mirrors assist in observation as the height of the Albin is measured by a tripod micrometer in the pathology laboratory a veterinarian skilled in making postmortem examinations checks Birds which had ailments or weaknesses through this careful scrutiny is revealed the weaknesses which may run in certain families and is an important step in selecting for more vigorous stocks any acute communicable disease endangering the health of the flock may be arrested through routine autopsy the veterinarian dictates by code numbers to a punch guard operator in the record room all pertinent information at each stage of the examination the autopsy is hardly finished before the information is permanently recorded on the Punch Cards [Music] code numbers cover every condition which may be revealed and subsequent runs of Punch Cards through the machine develops statistics relative to strong or weak characteristics in any line of chickens the prevalence of Any Given disease in its relationship to a line will quickly show up in C runs where serious inherited weaknesses or diseases show in sufficient proportions entire families will be eliminated concrete results of scient iic Improvement these sturdy baby chicks are destined for the laying flocks of commercial poultrymen the hereditary factors behind them are well established the measure of their success commercially will depend largely on good management the fingers of the skilled grer tell him the story of health and vitality and while such quality chicks represent a relatively high cost their Superior production capabilities will more than justify their initial expense rapid maturity is important only 17 weeks are needed to transform a baby chick into this fine young pullet although her plumage is rough she is developing satisfactorily 2 weeks older she shows proper comb and wle [Music] development another 2 weeks growth shows further sexual maturity and 2 weeks later at 160 days of age this pullet is ready to begin her production career now in full production the superior quality of this hen is reflected in her appearance the large bright red glossy comb identifies a good producer an alert eye and bright red face indicate production Vigor and good health this producer has been debeaked to prevent cannibalism the plumage of the good layer is usually soiled and shows wear and tear from repeat needed visits to the nest her abdomen is expanded and is soft and [Music] pliable the vent is large moist and bluish white The Marked physical superiority of the good layer at the left over the non layer is easily recognized the non layer looks the part she's listless in poor condition lacking in Vigor her abdomen is contracted and hard the vent is shrunken puckered and [Music] dry the carcass of the non layer illustrates the contracted abdominal area and the narrow space between pelvic bones the vent is small and tight the good layer shows the full soft abdomen ample spread from pelvic bones to Keel and between pelvic Bones the vent is soft and pliable the full carcass of the good layer on the right contrasts vividly with the pinched carcass of the non layer wide space between pelvic bones pliable abdomen an enlarged moist vent contrast with the narrow space hard abdomen and contracted dry vent this hen is nearing the end of her first uction period as indicated by loss of luster and color in her comb the wilted and scaly comb indicates this hen is no longer laying the poor condition of the comb is a major [Music] indication this blind bird with a dull gray eye should be cul strong yellow pigment indicates a bird has not been laying notice the difference of pigmentation between the bird that has finished her laying period and the starter on on the [Music] right Rich yellow pigment in the shanks indicates the starting layer prolonged production results in bleached Shanks compare the two the order of bleaching as the bird progresses through her laying period occurs first in the vent followed by the iring beak and Shanks continuous culling is important to eliminate poor layers that pull down the production average the non-laying hen may be distinguished by her listless manner she is often in a mol the laying hen has laying eggs on her mind under the guidance of an instructor a student poultryman is learning the rudiments of culling by detailed examination of the bird hens mol normally in late summer and early fall the hen that spends a minimum time in mol is usually a better producer this hen has been in Wing molt about 2 and 1/2 Weeks the first primary feather is half grown while the second primary is newer and shorter the third primary is ready to shed hens usually stop laying when molting the wing feathers but make continue laying when molding other parts of the body the fast molting High producing hen grows more feathers in less time than the slow molter when a hen is molting the head feathers are usually the first to shed followed by the neck breast body wings and tail feathers here's a hen in a well Advanced stage of fast Mt she has two new matured primary feathers the new feathers are distinguished from the old by their soft quill broad outline and clean fresh look the old primaries are much more pointed and are rather worn many high producing hens do not mol all 10 primary feathers but continue to carry some of the old ones into the next year this is a hen and a state of breast mol notice the development of pin feathers which follow the body Mol [Music] the hen that is laying has all her Wing feathers 10 primary or flight feathers and 14 secondary feathers separated at the Joint by the axial feather her plumage is worn her comb is bright red large smooth and glossy her beak is bleached she has a full body with a broad [Music] back her abdomen is expanded soft and pliable the yellow pigmentation has long vanished from her Shanks into the volume of eggs she has produced she's a worthy hen there's no room in modern egg production for sentiment it's a high geared push button business and the hen has become the key part in this semi-automatic Egg Factory whether she makes the big leagues and how long she stays depends on just one thing how well she produces under these stringent business conditions the genetic makeup of the laying hen assumes first importance housing feed and care are expensive and cost just as much for a poor hen as a good one the development of high production layers has set up pattern of success for the poultry industry fine birds like these are truly the design for more quality eggs [Music]