Who’s Laying?

excerpted from Profitable Culling and Selective Flock Breeding
by Homer W. Jackson and Grant M. Curtis
photos from Cornell University

PLATE VII – PIGMENTED BAND INDICATING LONG REST

The banded beak here illustrated tells a very interesting story. This hen laid for a considerable period, during which time her eye ring, ear lobe and beak entirely faded out. She then stopped for a rest which was of sufficient duration to permit the pigment to come back into most of the beak. Later, she resumed laying and at the time photo was taken had laid long enough for the pigment in eye ring, ear lobe and base of beak to fade out a second time. If she continues laying a little longer the yellow band will entirely disappear.

PLATE VIII – PIGMENT COMING IN AFTER LAYING CEASES

This hen laid until the yellow had entirely faded from her beak. Later she ceased production and had been idle probably a month when photo was taken, that being about the time necessary to repigment the base of the beak to the degree here shown. With a few weeks more of idleness this hen’s beak will be fully pigmented.

PLATE IX – HEAD OF NONLAYING PLYMOUTH ROCK

This Barred Rock was a naturally inferior layer as well as an idler at particular time photo was taken. It took many weeks of loafing to acquire that highly pigmented beak. The shape of head, the eye and the fat face all point to the fact that she is an habitual offender and not merely one that has taken a more or less well-earned rest of a few weeks. Repigmentation is not apt to follow a brooding rest of moderate length, as the ovary still remains more or less active at such times.

PLATE X – HEAD OF LAYING BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK

The Plymouth Rock hen in this picture has been laying long enough for the pigment to fade completely from her beak. The red of her face and comb also has a different shade from that of the hen shown in Plate IX, this being caused by a lack of yellow, the presence of which in the comb and face of the nonlaying bird may readily be noted. Fowls of this and other dual-purpose breeds require several weeks more time for the beak to become fully bleached out.

It is known that long before the present interest in culling had developed, observant poultry keepers in different parts of the country had found that some external characteristics were associated with heavy production. For example, Dr. O.B. Kent, of Cornell University, writes as follows in an article in the Journal of the American Association of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Husbandry under date of May, 1916: It has been known for some time that during production the yellow pigment goes out of the shanks, beak, ear lobes, plumage and skin.

PLATE XI – HEAD OF NONLAYING WYANDOTTE

This highly pigmented Wyandotte hen had clearly not been laying for a considerable period prior to the time when photo was taken. The pigmentation, with the long narrow head and generally unintelligent expression would indicate inferior productiveness in this hen even in the natural laying season.

PLATE XII – HEAD OF LAYING WYANDOTTE

There is a complete lack of pigmentation in the head of this bird, and a decidedly longer productive period is indicated than was necessary to produce the same condition in the case of the Leghorn. Several characters in the head of this bird indicate ability for high egg production. Compare the shape of beak and head, expression of eye, etc., with those of the nonlaying hen of the same breed and variety shown in Plate XI.

PLATE XIII – HEAD OF NONLAYING RHODE ISLAND RED

This nonlaying Rhode Island Red shows high pigmentation of beak, though it is not so readily observed as in the case of the Wyandotte and Plymouth Rock heads, on account of the horn color in the upper mandible.

PLATE XIV – HEAD OF LAYING RHODE ISLAND RED

Complete absence of pigmentation in the beak, eye ring and ear lobe is readily detected and means exactly as much as in the case of Rocks, Wyandottes, etc., but variations in degrees of pigmentation are difficult to detect. The lower mandible usually is sufficiently free from horn color to permit some pigment observations, but this part of the beak loses and regains its color more quickly than does the upper mandible. Hence the observer must depend more upon the condition of shanks and abdomen than is necessary with other birds in determining length of laying period.