This document discusses characteristics used to identify superior egg-laying hens and factors that influence egg production. Key measurements like the distance between the pelvic bones and keel indicate egg-laying ability. Superior layers will have a wider spread. Other signs include a soft abdomen and molting at a later date. Proper management through nutrition, health, housing and minimizing stress are important to maximize production. Genetics also influence a hen's natural egg-laying potential.

1. Characteristics of a Hen in Production
1. Soft, enlarged comb and wattles
2. Wide, moist vent.
3. Increased distance between the pelvic
bones
4. Increased distance between pelvic arch
and keel
5. Velvety skin
6. Soft, pliable, enlarged abdomen

2. Characteristics of a Hen Out of Production
1. Short, hard, shriveled comb and wattles
2. Small, puckered, and dry vent
3. Little distance between the pelvic bones
4. Short distance between pelvic arch
and keel
5. Tight, coarse skin
6. Firm abdomen

5. Identifying superior egg layers
1. Pelvic bone arch and the keel to pelvic
bone spread:
 Each value is measured during peak
production periods in mature laying hens.
These measurements are comparative
assessments between birds within a breed.
 They are used as identifiers for birds with
superior egg laying ability.

6. Pelvic bone arch
 Good breadth of spread means the birds have
ample space for reproductive organs and for
eggs.
 Pubic bones should be of medium thickness and
be flexible rather than stiff.
 Extremely stiff or thick pelvic bones indicate
that the hen is not laying. Extreme thinness and
flexibility are also undesirable as they are
indicators of underlying illness or problems with
the bird.

7. Pelvic arch
• The two bones that form the pelvic arch are
located just below the vent of the chicken.
• As a hen lays, the vent moves down below these
bones and the egg is ejected.
• The distance between the two bones in a hen in
production is a good indicator of relative egg size.
Ideally, the bones themselves will be relatively thin
– having little fat and gristle coating them – perhaps
only 1/4 inch thick or less when pinched between
the thumb and forefinger.

8. Pelvic arch
• Distance is measured by the number of
fingers that fit within the pelvic arch – each
finger is considered approximately 3/4 of an
inch thick.
• On most Standard large fowl breeds, better
hens will have room to fit three or more
fingers between the pelvic bones.

13. 1. Keel/Pelvic Spread
• The distance between the pelvic arch and the rear tip
of the keel bone is a good indicator of the size of the
egg organs and the number of eggs produced (relative
to breed).
• Most Standard breeds will fit four or more fingers
between the pelvic arch and the keel bone.
• Large breeds, such as the Buff Orpington, naturally
should have greater space relative to number of eggs
laid than smaller breeds, such as the Leghorn.
• It is not unusually for a high-producing Leghorn hen
to measure a 6.5-finger span.

14. 2. Molting Ability
• Birds should be selected for their molting
abilities.
• Individuals that drop feathers almost all at once
are preferred over birds that take longer to molt.
The quicker the molt, the quicker the birds get
back to the business of laying eggs.
• It is preferable that the molt occur later in
season for optimal persistency of lay (such birds
lay eggs for a longer period of time during the
year). A mid- to late September molt is ideal.

15. Molting Ability
• August is acceptable, but July is completely
unacceptable.
• Caution: a late-molting hen will be out of
production for six to eight weeks; do not cull the
hen flock for lack of production during
September through November or risk culling
your best layers. To retain your best layers, band
the birds which:
 Wait to molt until September or October.
 Drop nearly all of their feathers at once.
 Grow nearly all their wing feathers back at once.

17. 3. Abdomen
• A soft pliable abdomen is a good sign of a
healthy hen.
• Sometimes a hen will be found that has very
good spread between the keel bones and the
pelvic arch but also has a hard abdomen.
• Such a hen very likely has a cancerous
tumor, though occasionally an egg is
mistaken for such a hard lump.

18. • Lecture 4 Dated 30-10-13

19. 4. Body Capacity
• The space within the body of a chicken is
filled with various organs. When one section
of the body is narrow or lacks space, the
organs of that area must be reduced for
space and thus tend to function below
optimum.
• Birds with good width between their legs
often are better layers, as this is one
indicator of body capacity.

20. • Birds with full, well-rounded breasts and with
legs set well back tend to be more
productive. This is another trait that indicates
body capacity.
• The body of high capacity egg layers is not
quite rectangular , when viewed from the
side – it is deeper at the rear than in the front
of the bird. This allows more room for egg
organs.

21. 5. Egg-Laying Points
• Here are some additional points that may be
useful in selection.
• Birds that begin to lay early in the year, while
the days are short, tend to be better egg
layers. Productive hens begin laying by late
February or early March – any hen not in lay
by early April may be culled.

22. Egg-Laying Points
• ???????
• Pullets that come into production between
180 and 215 days of age tend to develop into
excellent layers.
• Pullets that begin to lay early tend to lay
smaller eggs.

23. Egg-Laying Points
• First-year hens that lay 25 or more eggs
during August and March in the year
following hatching tend to be better
producers.
• Egg size and body size are correlated.
• February is the month that maximum firstyear egg size is obtained, nearly regardless of
hatch date.

24. Egg-Laying Points
• Second-year egg production is usually
reduced from first year by 20%.
• High-producing hens tend to have brittle or
broken feathers. This is caused by putting so
much of their resources into producing eggs.

25. Factors Affecting Egg Production
• The actual number of eggs laid by a hen are
influenced by a number of factors including
genetic potential and management. The
intelligent poultry man will manage fowls to
provide optimum conditions for egg
production.
• Water is required for the production of eggs.
Chickens with frozen water may stop laying
due to lack of consumable water during
winter.

26. • Chickens will drink more clean water than
dirty water.
• Light stimulates the pituitary gland, thus
leading to egg production. For optimum egg
production 14 hours of daylight is required.
Using a light bulb in the hen house to add 2-4
hours per day will bring hens into lay in about
three weeks.

27. Factors that Can Affect Egg Production
• Stress will reduce egg production. Moving
chickens to new pens or adding new chickens
(such as new roosters) can reduce or stop egg
production for a few weeks.
• Fat hens lay poorly. The fat coating around
the pelvic bones gives a good indicator of the
condition of your hens. Adding 1-2
tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per gallon
of drinking water, along with feeding a good
basic layer ration, can get hens back into
production.

28. Factors that Can Affect Egg Production
• Fattening feeds, such as corn, scratch feeds,
and oils, can reduce or stop egg production.
• Oats fed along with a good base layer ration
tend to encourage egg production.
• Feeding low quality feed may never develop
to their full potential. The first three weeks
are the most critical to proper development.

29. • Inexpensive, low quality layer rations often
lead to poor egg production. Feed a
good, well-balanced layer ration.
• Hens need to feel secure in order to lay well.
Provide well designed nest boxes in ample
quantities to avoid crowding. (A good rule of
thumb is four hens per nest.)

30. Factors that Can Affect Egg Production
• Overcrowded chickens do not lay at their
peak because of the stress they are
undergoing.
• Chickens that are exposed to ammonia may
become sick and often lay poorly during
exposure. Keep your chicken house clean – if
you smell ammonia then the chickens are
already stressed.

31. Factors that Can Affect Egg
Production
• Sick chickens lay poorly. Maintain the health
of your flock and address disease issues
quickly.
• Internal and external parasites will reduce or
prevent egg production. Check hens
periodically to be sure they are in good
condition and not troubled by parasites.

32. Factors that Can Affect Egg Production
• Brittle and broken feathers on hens can be an
indicator of a lack of calcium (as well as of high
egg production). Provide oyster shell free
choice, as high producing hens may require
more calcium in their diet than is contained in
their layer ration.
• Unless you have granite pebbles laying
around, you can assume that your birds will
benefit from supplemental grit. Grit helps grind
the feed and contributes to better feed
efficiency, and thus is well worth the cost and
effort to provide.

33. • Lecture 5 Dated 6-11-2013

34. Measuring Productivity
• Many different measurements have been
used over the years to record egg production.
• Number of eggs per year has had different
meanings including: number of eggs laid from
commencement of production until same
date one year later;
• Number of eggs laid from commencement of
production until end of production (which
may exceed one year)

35. • Number of eggs laid from January through
January
• Calculated number of eggs expected which
may include measures of actual eggs laid for
the first week of each month; etc.
• These measures invariably refer to the first
period of egg production, that is, the period
when the pullet is approximately 6 to 18
months of age.

36. Measuring Productivity
• Second and later years of production have
not historically been measured for
advertising and comparison purposes.
• One method was the approximation of the
expected number of eggs a hen would likely
lay during her first year of production.

37. • By focusing on healthy fowl in production
around the beginning of March, the
techniques revealed the better layers with
great accuracy and the poor layers with good
accuracy – the poorest hen actually laying
fewer eggs than expected.

38. Measuring Productivity
• To use this to compare to your own
breed, simply measure hens in production for
distance in fingers between the pelvic and keel
bones and then feel the thickness of one of the
pelvic bones – thus coming to understand the
amount of fat, gristle, and skin encompassing
the bone.
• The expected number of eggs may need to be
adjusted for breeds larger or smaller
depending upon body capacity may differ.

39. Estimating Egg Production Using Chicken Body
Measurements
• Keel/Pelvic Spread (measured by span of fingers)
• Pelvic Bone Thickness (measured by span of fingers)
• Approximate Annual Egg Production
•
•
•
•
•
6.0” .5” 205 eggs 6.0” .375” 235 eggs 6.0” .25” 265 eggs
5.5” .5” 175 eggs 5.5” .375” 205 eggs 5.5” .25” 235 eggs
5.0” .5” 145 eggs 5.0” .375” 175 eggs 5.0” .25” 205 eggs
4.5” .5” 130 eggs 4.5” .375” 160 eggs 4.5” .25” 175 eggs
4.0” .5” 80 eggs 4.0” .375” 110 eggs 4.0” .25” 138 eggs

40. Basic Qualities for Selection
1. Rate of Growth –
• Speed of weight gain influences profitability
and can indicate strength of the immune
system of the bird as well as suitability for
system of production. It is a welldocumented fact that both excessively fast
growing and extremely slow growing poultry
have less robust immune systems.
• The time it takes to grow to processed size
and weight, is ideally between 12 and 18
weeks of age.

41. • Fast growing birds can be more prone to
diseases because of thinner gastrointestinal
tracts which allow both faster nutrient
uptake as well as easier penetration by
bacterial, and possibly viral, agents.
• Rate of growth must also include fleshing; as
it matters not how large and heavy a chicken
is if it has no flesh when it is processed

42. 2. Mature Size
• The ideal weight for each breed is outlined in
the
American Poultry Association’s
Standard of Perfection.
• The figures given are an ideal with a
permissible range of plus or minus one-half
pound. It is important to remember that
mature size also refers to the fleshing in the
economically important sections of a bird’s
body.

43. • In order to reach ideal mature size, the bird
should reach desired weight and have ample
flesh in the sections important for that breed.
• The weights and body proportions given were
determined by the top poultry men of their
day, who used these breeds commercially and
identified the most productive fowl for the
systems and used this knowledge to create the
standard descriptions.

44. • Lecture Dated 13-11-13

45. Egg-laying Ability
 Chickens that do not lay eggs do not
reproduce.
• Egg laying ability is an important
economic consideration – few breeding
hens will needed to produce a given
number of offspring when the hens lay
large numbers of eggs. (Number of chicks
per parent)

46. Egg-laying Ability
• Selection for egg laying ability is a trait of
primary importance in egg laying breeds
• It is of significant importance to dualpurpose breeds
• It is of some importance even in meat
producing breeds – though high egg
production and high rate of growth are not
completely compatible traits.

47. Egg-laying Ability
• Most breeds will begin to lay at around six
months of age. It has been found that
selecting for earlier production reduces adult
egg size.
• Rhode Island Red breeders have found
superior overall health and production in
pullets that begin to lay at six months of age
over those that begin to lay at eight to nine
months of age.

48. 4. Breed Type
• Type is comprised of body shape and
conformation and is important because it affects
the size and shape of the internal organs and the
distribution of flesh, and thus the breed’s
suitability for the system of production.
• Breeds like the Wyandotte, Buckeye, and New
Hampshire have rather compact but deep and
wide bodies. Such bodies are ideally suited to
retaining heat, so it should be no surprise that
these breed do well in cold regions.

49. • The Leghorn, Ancona, and especially Minorca
tend to be rather longer and narrower
proportionally and are well suited to hot
climates, reflecting their Mediterranean origins.
• But Leghorns are also designed for egg
production primarily, whereas Buckeyes should
produce eggs and meat. So breed type is an
important consideration for purpose as well as
regional adaptation.

50. 5. Color
• You can’t eat color. So why should any
consideration be placed on this trait?
• Color can and does impact a breed’s suitability
for different systems of production.
• For example, while white chickens are healthy
and will do well on pasture, white chickens are
slightly more prone to predation. Color can
also be an indicator of breed purity, and
therefore an indicator of the genes that gave
the breeds the abilities for which it is noted.

51. • Historically, individual strains sometimes had
slight differences in color which were valued
for giving the ability to identify and
discriminate.
• A breeder might recognize that a given bird
was not a pure representative of a particular
strain, and therefore may not produce the
desired results expected of that strain.

56. Fertility and Vigor
• No animal that exhibits a lack of vigor or good
health or which proves low in fertility should be
used as breeding stock.
• The only exception is when salvaging a rare
line, variety, or breed. High levels of vigor and
fertility are the foundation upon which
economic value is built.
• Both of these traits are of the utmost
importance and together they give the breed
the ability to withstand challenges – including
inbreeding or disease.

57. Culling
• Culling is very important for breed
improvement. It is the single most beneficial
practice that poultry men can use to better
the quality and health of their flocks.
• An old saying is that the best tool you can
use to improve the quality of your birds is an
axe! This applies to immune function as well
as production, type, and feathers.

58. Culling
• A well-known Leghorn breeder and poultry judge, Mr.
Richard Holmes, used to tell a story about a master
breeder of White Leghorns who in his early years
hired an older poultry judge to come and cull his
flock.
• The old judge locked himself in the poultry house and
started catching and killing Leghorns. The story goes
that the discards came fast and heavy. When the
judge was finished the breeder had only one trio left
out of 150 birds. The breeder later commented that
from that day forward he made progress!

59. Disease Resistance
• The old-time breeders used to say to never use a bird
in the breeding pen that had been medicated that
year. While the bird may seem healthy, that the bird
suffered disease is one indicator of low immune
function.
• Also, in some cases of disease, the symptoms may
have dissipated but the animal may not have
completely recovered.
• Culling all birds that become sick is one way to
positively select for disease resistance in breeding
stock within the region in which the flock is located.

62. • Many poultry breeders have found that after a
few generations of culling all sick birds, illness
will no longer be found in the flock. This practice
should not be expected to work for highly
pathogenic diseases.
• Master breeder of Brown Leghorns, James P.
Rines, Jr., said many times, “Your flock will have
only what you tolerate.” This saying can be
broadly applied to all aspects of
breeding, including disease resistance.

63. Vigor
• Selecting for vigor requires selecting from
amongst the dominant cockerels and pullets
when choosing future breeding prospects.
• Select birds with bright, strong eyes with well
formed irises and correct eye color for breed.
Some diseases, such as leucosis, prevent the
iris from forming a nice round shape and may
leave the eye off colored.

64. • Select male and females that have bright red
combs without dark tips. Dark tips can be an
indicator of heart trouble.
• Very active and animated individuals are
often highly fertile and vigorous.
• Birds that have thick, well-fleshed shanks for
their breed tend to be more vigorous.
• Fertility into old age and longevity are
indicators of vigor.

65. • Lecture 6 Dated 13-11-13

66. The Law of Ten
Quality versus quantity.
• It is an old breeding saying that
improvements and high quality are found in
small portions of a population.
• Retaining only the top ten percent each
season will allow a breeder to make progress
toward their desired goal.

67. The Law of Ten
• The law of ten states that in order to
find one good representative, ten must
be produced; to find one great
individual, one hundred must be
produced; to find one exceptional
individual, one thousand must be
produced.

68. Quality versus quantity
• In one the best selection model, culling was
organized such that the best representatives
from each mating were retained so that no
mating was favored over all others, even ones
that produced more superior individuals.
• This approach allowed progress in productivity
to be made while still retaining much needed
diversity in the breeding population.

69. Quality versus quantity
• The law of ten was also applied by retaining
as breeding stock only those individuals that
made it to the top ten percent of those
produced that year.
• Three years of breeding represented
significant progress and overall increase in
quality of the stock produced.

70. Some Other Breeding Points
• Monroe Babcock, creator of the Babcock
B2000 commercial egg-layer, recommended
using hens for breeding that lay before 10
am. He noted that such hens tend to lay more
eggs, and are generally healthier and long
lived.
• Eggs from the best layers tend to hatch as
well or better than those from poor layers.

71. Some Other Breeding Points
• Evidence indicates that breeding from only twoyear old and older hens increases longevity and
reduces mortality within a strain.
• Keep track of your most productive hens. Sons
from these hens should be favored during
selection and mated, when possible, to hens
that lay near the top of your flock’s ability in
order to produce highly productive offspring.

72. Some Other Breeding Points
• First- and second-year egg production should
guide retention. Hens with high records from
these two years should be used as long as
productive.
• Mal position of chick or air cell accounts for
chicks that do not make it out of the eggshell
– this is highly heritable. Cull all chicks that
are unable to hatch unassisted.

73. Some Other Breeding Points
• Rough, coarse comb texture can be linked to
reduced fertility.
• Overly large eggs result in chicks that have
faults such as extruded yolks and other
incubator
related
weaknesses
and
hatchability problems. Placing too much
emphasis on large egg size can result in poor
hatchability for your flock.

74. Applying Selection
• In annual cycle to breeding, there is also an
entry point to get desired goal. Below is a
sample breeding plan for dual-purpose
poultry, which can be adjusted to fit the
particulars of any poultry breed.
• For making progress, it is best to hatch
sufficient numbers to allow selection and
retention of superior individuals rather than
maintain the status of the strain.

75. Applying Selection
• By understanding the law of ten, it is easy to
see that a target of thirty offspring should be
set to simply find one good trio – sixty to find
two trios to retain as breeders.
• In the first year, selection should be harder
on male offspring than females when starting
from a small group. In the Buckeye work, the
first year produced only five pullets – thus all
five had to be retained as breeders for the
following spring.

76. • Evaluate the young birds for rate of growth. For
the Buckeyes we choose 16-week weights and
evaluations as ideal because this age was a good
choice for selecting potential breeders, and
because the young birds would be at or near
processing age. Superior birds should be banded
for retention.
• Keep records of egg laying, fertility, and molting
ability of the parent stock used. Mark
individuals that excel in any of these qualities
and retain for use again in year two.

77. Year Two
• Set up mating to avoid close inbreeding and to
make good use of the genetic diversity available.
• In late February appraise the hens and mark
those that have begun production and which
indicate potential superiority as appraised for
egg laying ability. These should be retained for
continued use as breeders.
• Also in February, appraise the males for the
potential to pass on good capacity for egg
production in their daughters and make notes as
season progresses on fertility.

78. • Adult weights should be taken in March or
April, as at this time all cockerels and pullets
retained from the previous season should be
approaching adult weight. Compare weights
with standard requirements for the breed.
• Hatch. Again, allowing for selection of the top
ten percent. Ideally, produce 10-30 chicks per
female used so that hens can be evaluated as
well as males for the quality of their offspring.

79. • Evaluate young birds at 16 weeks of age.
Mark superior individuals and compare to
last year’s appraisals.
• During the late summer, observe the molting
of the adult birds. Make note of individuals
that molt in late August or September and
those that drop all their feathers at once.
Preference should be given to these
individuals.

80. • Throughout the year make note of egg
laying, fertility, and molting ability of parent
stock.
• Cull parent stock as necessary to retain
quality for egg production, rate of
growth, fertility, and diversity while fitting
flock size to facilities.
• Appraise all retained breeders for proper
type for breed – special emphasis should be
placed that females have correct type

81. Year Three
• Set up mating.
• Appraise cocks and hens in late February as
before.
• Weigh adults.
• Plan hatching to facilitate desired number of
offspring and good quantity from each hen.
• Evaluate young stock – same age as previously.
• Set minimum requirements for rate of growth
that all young must achieve to be retained – this
will likely equate to year one’s better rates of
growth.

82. • Evaluate molting of parent stock as before.
• Cull adult males based on a combination of
rate of growth, capacity for egg
production, adult size compared to the
standard for breed, fertility, and vigor. Color
may be included at this stage if numbers
allow.
• Appraise all retained breeders for proper
type

83. Year Four
• Continue as in year three, but minimum requirements
should be increased.
• Eggs may be culled for size and shape before being
placed in the incubator, though pullet eggs should be
compared only to other pullet eggs and not hen eggs
for size.
• Consistency of size, rate of growth, and color should
be more apparent in young stock.
• Color and plumage quality will certainly be
considerations for young males this year.
• Parent stock that continues to meet requirements
should be retained in the breeder flock as long as
viable.

84. Year Five
• Continue as in year four.
• Eggs may be culled for color before being
placed into the incubator.
• Females may now be culled based on color
and plumage as well as males.
• Minimum
requirements
may
need
adjustment.

85. Summary
• Breeding is not simply a static, intellectual
pursuit, but requires a certain level of creativity
and flexibility. The choices made by the
individual breeders not only help to mold a
strain of poultry, but they can be a source of
pride and satisfaction for the effort of managing
the breeding stock.
• Breeders should feel empowered to tailor choice
of selection criteria to fit their desired goals and
needs. However, there are some basic ideas that
should be kept in mind as you progress.

86. Summary
• In the first year of selection there is much
advantage to emphasizing rate of growth and
body capacity. Males in particular must be
viewed not only for their obvious positive
qualities, but also for their potential to
produce both excellent sons and daughters.
• To that end, appraising males as if they were
hens in production of eggs greatly supports
the maintenance of egg production within
the strain.

88. • It is better to keep your second best cockerel
for breeding if he is close to the best male for
rate of growth and fleshing, and if he has
superior width in the back and a larger
distance between keel and pelvic bones.
• Such a male will produce offspring that will
grow well and lay well.

89. • It is also best to give small consideration to
fine points, such as color, in the first few
years.
• As progress in other areas is made, emphasis
can be added first to male offspring and in
later years to female offspring.
• There are some cautions worth considering
that help to make sound long-range
decisions.

90. • Intelligent breeders must keep in mind their
long-range goals and avoid shortcuts so that
the final result is a strain that has the
diversity to stand on its own while producing
as expected.

91. • Much faster progress can be made by
discarding mating that do not excel for the
traits focused upon, but later the diversity
these “lines” lend is well worth the effort to
bring them up to the levels of the other lines
of the strain.

92. • Next Lecture

93. Rolling Mating
• Rolling mating are a good general-purpose
system. With this system, the breeder can
maintain a viable population while honing
breeding skills and refining artistic
judgments.
• Don’t be afraid of starting with imperfect
stock. Get the best you can, but selective
breeding is what any type of livestock
preservation is about.

94. Rolling Mating
• Rolling mating require at least two pens for
each breed or variety but a minimum of
record keeping.
• Small flock owners will be most successful
with breeds they enjoy. The pleasure of
surveying a handsome, uniform flock that has
grown from a successful breeding program is
hard to beat.

95. Rolling Mating
• Rolling mating select the best cockerels and
pullets from each season and breed them
back to the best breeders of the previous
season. Cockerels are bred to hens, cocks are
bred to pullets.
• Rolling mating can improve the stock and
maintain genetic diversity with a small
flock, but larger flocks provide more
opportunities to select the desired
characteristics.

96. Poultry Breeding Tips
• Breeding expert Bruce Lentz, a well-known
string man and breeder from the 1930s
through the 1970s, felt that a breeding
program should be founded on at least two
trios, preferably two cocks and eight to 10
hens. This gives you a deeper genetic base.
With that caution in mind, a single trio can be
the foundation of a small flock.

97. Poultry Breeding Tips
• Each season, the old birds are combined and
culled to the best cocks and hens. The best
cockerels and best pullets are selected from
the young birds. Putting the cocks with the
pullets and the cockerels with the hens keeps
the system rolling.
• The ratio of the sexes in the pens is very
important. For best levels of fertility, one
male to 10 females is about right.

98. Poultry Breeding Tips
• For light breeds, 12 females may not be too
many, while very heavy and feather footed
breeds often do better with only eight females
per male.
• Vigorous males may be hard on their mates if
too few females are kept. This usually isn’t a
problem on free range and can be controlled in
confinement by moving males from pen to pen
or by only allowing them with the females
every other day.

99. Poultry Breeding Tips
• Bruce often maintained side mating with the
intention of establishing highly desirable
characteristics. Such birds or unrelated stock
can be worked into the breeding on either
the pullet or cockerel side. The operational
word is best.

100. Poultry Breeding Tips
• That may mean the utility characteristics of
egg
and/or
meat
production, type, color, feather quality or
comb, or some combination.
• Rolling
mating,
like
all
breeding
systems, depend on the ability to select
breeders. This is a traditional small farm
method that has also been employed by
fanciers and show folks.

101. Grading
• Grading is the process by which a
population can be modified by breeding
repeatedly to another strain, variety or
breed.
• With patience, an existing flock may be
improved or changed completely. This is
an old system long used by professionals
in cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats, dogs
and other farm stock.

102. Grading
• For all practical purposes, eight cycles yield pure
stock. Most large stock breeders with open
registries grant Pure status after six generations.
• In cases where one variety is being graded to
another or one strain of a variety or breed is
being upgraded by addition of another
strain, far fewer cycles are usually required
before all of the offspring can be returned to the
regular mating system.

103. Grading
• Grading is sometimes criticized as changing the
character of a breed. If done properly and
carried to at least the sixth generation, the
breed’s purity is preserved.
• A combination of rolling mating and grading can
also be used to develop new breeds or varieties
by mating half- or three-quarter-blood brother
to sister and selecting once birds start to show
the desired traits. A combination of these
techniques can fix the desirable traits and build
up the population.

104. Clan Mating
• Clan mating are another traditional breeding
method for small flocks. Dick Demansky, a
prominent SPPA breeder of Old English
Games since 1966, has maintained a vigorous
flock with virtually no unrelated stock.
• The clan system separates a flock into distinct
families. The clans are then maintained as
separate stock and bred along either the
hens’ or the cocks’ lines.

105. • Mr. Demansky clan mates using a matriarchal
system. When they hatch, all birds are toemarked and wing-banded with their mother’s
clan mark. He records their numbers when
they are cooped.

106. • Matriarchal clans are traced through their
mothers, the hens. Patriarchal clans are
identified by their lineage through the cock.
Cocks and hens of the same clan are never
bred to each other.
• Matriarchal systems are usually pair-mated.
Patriarchal systems may breed a male to
large groups of, usually, related hens.

107. • Birds should always be matched to others that
can compensate for their weaknesses. "They are
all weak somewhere," Mr. Demansky writes. "In
all the shows that I have judged through the
years, I never scored any bird perfect.”
• With the matriarchal system, eggs must be
marked to identify each individual hen.
Incubating them together, by hen, is most
convenient.

108. • If a pair produces good results, they can be kept
together indefinitely. Or pairs can be changed to
check different combinations. "This keeps any
one bird from exerting too much influence on
the complete flock," said Mr. Demansky.
• A rooster with outstanding characteristics can be
bred to all hens not in his clan. Clans are defined
by relationships, not by characteristics.

109. • If a bird develops plumage or other
characteristics that resemble another clan, he or
she still belongs to the clan identified by lineage.
• Clan mating work best with a minimum of three
clans. Typically, breeders keep an odd number of
clans, although any number above two will
work. Clan systems have traditionally been used
by cockers and show folks.

110. Breeding Out-and-Out
• In its most extreme form, new males are bought
into the flock each year.
• Even when new males are brought in only every
second or third year, this method maintains a
high degree of genetic diversity in the flock.
Although uniformity may suffer, this method
tends to produce vigorous population, and was
primarily used in utilitarian operations. As with
any system, starting with quality stock yields the
best results.

111. Keeping Records
• Different breeding methods require varying
amounts of record keeping. Clan matings
keep track of every chick. Rolling matings and
out-and-out matings require little or no
record keeping. Although for best results at
least the year an individual was hatched
should be recorded. Matriarchal clan systems
require extensive record keeping but
document the exact ancestry of every
individual.

112. • Choose the method that suits your needs best.
"There is a time to inbreed, a time to line breed
and a time to out-cross," Mr. Demansky writes.
"Knowledgeable breeders do it all, when the
need arises."
• Small flock poultry keepers can find methods
that will suit them and their goals for their
flocks. The ambitious or eager can arrange two
breeding cycles a year. Others may find one
adequate.

113. • Selection of fowl with long, productive lives
will develop strains with low mortality and
vigorous constitutions, always the goals of
old-time breeders.
• Modern methods of intensive production
with extremely high rates of feed conversion,
rapid weight gain, early maturity and high
egg production have not favored longevity

114. • Inherent health problems are often
associated with today’s high production
strains. In most cases, modern methods have
actually shortened the profitable life as well
as the actual life of domestic fowl.
• For non-factory production and for
establishing a flock near the breed ideal, a
long-lived population with prolonged utility
is desirable.

115. • The goal of the poultry conservationist and
the serious backyard farmer should be to
breed a strain that lays plenty of eggs
without loss of vigor and retains fertility year
after year.
• Older birds should be subjected to normal
culling and selecting. Thus a tried and true
breeder might be replaced by a younger bird
with far superior type.

116. • Some feather patterns tend to deteriorate
with age.
• A bird with proper color during the first year
of life is not a cull due to later color
deterioration, but would not be selected over
birds of equal age, type and vitality that still
retained superior color.

117. • Actually this is pretty good advice for use
with any backyard breed, but certainly
should be followed by anyone working with
historic types. It can be safely concluded and
denoted as UNIQUE FLOCK.

118. Trap Nesting
• Selection of non-broody strains and trap
nesting are the tools modern breeds have
used to increase egg production in modern
production fowl. The selection against
natural broodiness has been going on for
thousands of years in areas like
China, Egypt, and the Middle East where
artificial incubation was available.

119. • Even in other areas where natural incubation
prevailed until fairly recently, certain breeds
were selected for high egg production and
simply hatched by fowl that had been
selected for enhanced broodiness or at least
retained natural levels of the trait.

120. • High production egg breeds and strains have
existed for a long time. But it was trap nesting
along with day length manipulation and better
feed formulation that took egg production to
the highest levels.
• Small flock owners can, and have, used such
technology. For those with the time and money
trap nests are still available commercially and
plans for home construction are also available.

121. • In the 1960s, people was aware of a number of
small breeders including some that were
working with broody breeds and trying to
enhance or maintain the characteristic that used
trap nest results as part of their selection
criteria.
• In some cases the pullet year was spent in trap
nested laying and only the best producers
moved on to the breeding program in later
years.

122. • For other breeders trap nesting and egg
production were just one of many factors in
evaluating which hens would continue with
the program.
• Whether we are talking about laying or any
other trait, pick your breeders by hand, as
well as eye and historical data.

123. • A breeder should be firm and well muscled
without being fat. Legs should be properly
placed. All breeders should be a good
representation of their breed’s type.
• Eyes should be bright, clear and properly
placed. Wings should be carried properly. Use
your breed standard.

124. Don’ts
• Most of all, follow your breeding program.
• Some people tend to breed cocks to pullets
and cockerels to hens but simply drop the
oldest generation each year.
• This reduces the system’s long-term selection
for longevity and deprives them of the longterm use of truly superior individuals.

125. • A breeding program should stress the
preservation of breed characteristics such as
meat quality and good mothering skills in
Dorkings and Games, or high egg production
in Minorca and Leghorns.
• In the first group a pullet that did not go
broody would not be a breeder a second
year. One with three cycles would be
preferred to the one with only one or two.

126. • In the second group, consider egg shape and
size as well as overall production.
• If at all possible, do not use birds that have
ever shown any signs of illness as breeders.
Selection for nothing but productivity tends
to reduce quality of type. Selection based
solely on fancy points often reduces
productivity.

127. • Combining such strains allows a good
breeder
to
quickly
produce
a
productive, near perfect flock.
• Small closed flocks have levels of bio-security
that crowded commercial operations can
only dream about so once your flock is
established, be very careful about adding
outside birds.