The Langshan fowl; its history and characteristics with some comments on its early opponents by Croad A. C

Author:Croad, A. C
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Langshan (Poultry)
Publisher: London, Bowers Brothers
Published: 1889-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

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THE EGG, THE CHICK, AND ADULT FOWL.

■ N a yard where several Lang-shan hens are kept, the day's basket of eggs affords a really pretty sight. " Handsome and beautiful," have frequently been the expressions used by strangers on receiving their first sitting, and it has as often been remarked that they have all the appearance for a wild bird's egg, and not that of a

domestic fowl.

We have been told there is an individuality in hens eggs, and that the person used to collecting them can generally divine by which hen each particular egg has been laid. Be that as it may, the Langshan seems to defy all set rules in this respect, and indulges in a charming variety; the tints are varied from the palest salmon to the darkest chestnut brown. On some there is a bloom like that on freshly-gathered fruit, whilst others are spotted, often literally splashed all over with dark spots, and the same hen will tint her eggs differently one day from what she does on another. We have noticed that these spotted eggs occur most frequently during the spring months, when the secreting organs are most active .and the cal-careous matter which forms the shell is more readily obtained by the hen.

Langshang are unrivalled as the layers of rich medium sized eggs ; many of the younger hens lay during a greater part of their moult, but this is an exhausting process, and should not be encouraged. They do not like a damp atmosphere. By this we mean an unprotected roosting-place, or a yard standing in mud or water; this checks their laying powers and decreases the size of their eggs. One of our hens roosted in a yew-tree all last winter, and although the cold did not check her laying, yet her eggs were much smaller than those laid by her during the summer months! These birds are unaffected by frost and cold, and it is really a pretty sight to see a flock of them wandering about when the snow has lain, their brilliant plumage contrasting finely with the pure white of the " beautiful snow." At such times they seem as full of prank as a party of schoolboys, the birds frisking about, dipping their beaks down into the snow and scattering it abroad with evident enjoyment. The pullets usually commence to lay at about five months, but the early matured birds do not invariably prove the finest; for our part we prefer their being less precocious. A pullet that begins to lay, say in November, will often go through the winter with little interruption and will moreover, give her possessor an immense number of eggs before she evinces the least desire to sit. A breeder of these birds complained that up to May of last year, (1876), not one of nine hens had asked <for a nest. Langshans may bring out a brood of chicks at any season, but what we desire to enforce, and what is really the case,

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