The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1878-11-01
WORDS OVER OUR WORK.

-.y5 WORDS OVER OUR WORK. i
53ss- '' Chicken Chats in 13ri ., D.
A good hen will lay $50 eggs in the
second year of her age: $50 in the
third, and 100 in the fourth. s-z
I always test strange eggs by putting
them in cold water-those that sink |
quickly are fresh and good, those that |
sink slowly may pass muster, but
those that float to the surface are
spoiled. |
Pulverized charcoal should be mixed
with the chicken feed occasionally, to
prevent the many putrid affections to
which they are liable.
Diarrahea in chickens generally re-
suits from want of variety in their
feed. find Spanish whiting, mixed
with their feed, an excellent remedy.
Hens sometims get in the way of cat
ing their own oggs-a preventative Is
said to exist In opening the shell, pour
ing out portion of the contents and
filling up with ground mustard.
give this on the authority of neigh
Dor woman, who says sho has tried 1t
often, and finds that one taste of the
mustard satisfied her hens that eggs arc
not edible.
Chalk mixed freely into the feed of
hens is said to exercise great influ
ence on the color of their eggs-white
chalk gives tho shells a very clear
white color while red chalk makes
them exhibit almost an orange
Gapos in chickens is caused by
worms in the throat, and many are
coming to think that the eggs that
4 S~~A~ S<,
not improbable, and therefore it would
possibly be best to scald corn meal, in
variably, before giving it to the
chickens. Persons who attend to this
carefully, or who do not feed corn meal
at all are said to seldom have case of
gapes in their poultry yard.
Turnips cooked and mixed with
bran or meal, make an excellent feed
for chickens. ... .
1t is now a settled fact that ground
red pepper fed freely to hens greatly
increases their laying qualities. Give
it in their feed once a day.
A rooster should never be kept over
five years, and :, hen ceases to be prof
itable after four years of age.
1t is not best to keep large tlocl<s of
hens together-they don't do near 80
we'll rs when kept in lots of about ten
each.
Eight good-sized eggs weigh a
pound, while it takes from ten to fifteen
small ones. So, you see, there is no
justice in selling eggs by count-they
ought to be weighed.
A little neighbor of mine has just
told me how sho broke a favorite cat
from catching young chicks. When
tho cat had killed one she took it from
her and tied it closely around her
neck, where puss was forced to wear it
two days. After that she never trou-
bled the chicks.
Eggs kept on hand lose constantly
in weight, and the loss is creator than
any one would suppose.
Tho Hamburgs are, I think, the
best layers among chickens, but In
that quality consists their main value.
They will not ssset" if they can help
it, and their flesh is thought to be Of
inferior quality.
If you live in tho piny woods, where
lime is as scarce rs tho teeth of your
hens, don't neglect to give them some
lime in some form to do woll. Ground
bones mixed with their feed OCCASION
ally is..cxcellcnt, land oyster shell finely
powdered up will answer every pur-
pose. Old plaster crum6lcd and
thrown about where they arc, will al
WAYS enable them to supply thom-
selves with tho requisite quantity of
lime.
Once day, for five or six days be-
1oro the time of Matching, eggs ought
to be slightly sprinkled with tepid
watcr-it makes them hatch better.
There are moro losses within this
period than any other time, and it
almost invariably results from Il too
great drying up of the eggs.
The Brahmas are considered our best
table fowls, and crossed with tho COM
mon tlunghills they make an excellent
breed of chickens for the general stock,
as both are improvel-the first in point
of hardness and the second in point
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