Page:EB1922 - Volume 32.djvu/157

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UNITED STATES

Profound changes took place in the American industry between 1900 and 1920. In 1900 " breeding-birds " and meat were the principal objects of poultry raising and furnished most of the profit. Eggs at that time were a by-product. Conditions had so changed by 1920 that eggs were the principal money producer and meat and breeding birds were the by-products.

Many factors contributed to this change. There had been a greater increase in the population especially in the cities, than in the number of hens kept. Consequently there was a greater demand for meat and eggs, especially eggs. Cold storage facili- ties and improved shipping methods had raised the average quality of the product marketed and by more nearly equalizing the supply and price, had increased the demand. The spring flow of eggs after the introduction of storage became profitable, although formerly it often had resulted in loss. The per capita consumption of eggs and poultry flock decreased because of the increase in price. The increase in price affected the consumption of meat more than of eggs because substitution of other meats was possible. Eggs, quickly and easily cooked, digestible, con- taining concentrated vitamines, clean, imparting their flavour and preserving qualities to cakes and pastries, remained in strong demand even at high prices.

During 1920 the total value of products placed the industry among the few of those connected with farming from which the 1920 return exceeded a thousand million dollars. The 1920 cen- sus showed more farmers reporting poultry than any other single crop, even apart from the large quantity of poultry raised in towns and villages not covered by the census reports.

Table 7 shows that, relatively, poultry-keeping rapidly de- clined in the east during the decade 1909-19. The west, especially the Pacific Coast states, continued to increase. The decline in the east was due largely to the high price of feed and the diffi- culty of obtaining it, particularly during 1917 and 1918, and the decrease in farm population and the number of farms. Opposite conditions obtained in the west. While feed was higher it was easily obtainable and relatively cheaper because of the freight congestion. During the decade there was an increase in the num- ber of farms and farmers in the west particularly on the Pacific Coast. The poultry farms in New England that were making a specialty of producing meat were to a large extent put out of business owing to the increased cost of feed and labour without a proportionate increase in the price of meat during 1917 and 1918. The same was true to a lesser extent of the specialized egg farms and farm flocks in New England and the North Atlantic states. These farms had not returned to normal when the 1920 census was taken, but at the close of 1921 a rapid development was under way.

The general depression in the industry from 1916 to 1919 primarily affected those who were obtaining comparatively poor egg production due to faulty methods of management or to poorly selected or poorly bred stock. The poultrymen who ob- tained high egg yields made greater profits than for the years 1910-1915. This condition drew the attention of poultry-keepers to the necessity of getting a good egg yield and led to systematic breeding and selecting for egg production. Many farms, partic- ularly those in the northwest, have bred their birds to the point where they are getting an average egg production of over 200 eggs per hen from large flocks of birds. From 1900 to 1915 an increasing number of commercial poultry farms were established primarily to produce eggs. These took the place of the broiler farms, which had been mainly failures. Through these farms and the value of the produce, poultry became a business or industry rather than a side-line for farmers' wives or a hobby for fanciers. Perhaps the most rapid change that took place in the industry during the period 1910-20 was that in 1910 but few baby chicks were sold, but in 1921 millions were sold to the advantage of the breeder, the hatchery man and the farmer raising the chicks. If the rate of increase of the chick hatcheries for 1918-21 should be maintained until 1930 comparatively few hens then would be used for hatching, and comparatively few hatching eggs would be sold except to the hatcheries.

Chickens and Eggs *

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sorting chickens on hand but no eggs produced. The returns for 1909 included all eggs produced. To obtain figures y ducks, in proportion to the number of ducks on hand in 1910. Eggs from fowls other than chickens and ducks are

jorting chickens on hand on the census date but no chickens raised during the preceding year. The returns for 1909 deductions have been made for fowls other than chickens, in proportion to the number of such fowls on hand in 1910. y, while the 1909 figures include the products of all kinds of poultry.

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Chicken Eggs Produced ' (Dozens)

Increase Per cent

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1,574,979,416

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1,656,267,200

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Chickens on Hand

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280,340,959

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09 include estimates for farms rej ve been made for eggs produced b

09 include estimates for farms re| ) obtain figures for chickens alone, ude chicken eggs and chickens on

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Division

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1 The figures for both 1919 and 19 for chicken eggs alone, deductions ha considered negligible. 2 The figures for both 1919 and 19 included all kinds of fowls raised. Tc 3 The products shown for 1919 incl 'Chickens 3 months old and over.

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