John was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called ‘pullets’,and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs. He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced.

     This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells.     Read the rest of this entry »