The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1881-04-07
for the farmer.
sEAsoNABLE POULTRY NOTES.

March is an important month in the poultry
yard Many hens will be set and many chickens
hatehed this month. Good coops will be neees-
Sary for the earlier brood, and if not now on
hand, should he got ready at once.
Don't give a mem more than eight or nine eggs
at this time of the wear. She may hatch more,
Lnt will probably pot raise more than from six
To eli gbt chicks unless under more than ordinary
favorable conditions. In late April or in May a
hen may have dozen or fifteen eggs
/. Hens should not be allowed 10 disturb the sit
tiers by laying in their nests. Broken eggs and
a bad hatch will result. If the setting hen can
not be isolated in any other way, cover her with
an empty COOP basket, or box. being careful Ia
have her come of every day for feed, water, ex-
ercse and dust bath.
If YOU have not given the hens plenty of bro
ken oyster shells, yon should begin to do it i'm
mediately, If you want eggs, you must furnish
material to make the shells. Where such mater
ial is not furnished the hens may be seen pick
ing at scales of whitewash the fences or bnild-
ings, instinctively trying to find what should be
given them every day
When brood is Matched leave them alone IN
I'll all are Matched. Fussing with the chicks
aud carrying them into the house to peep and
sqneal does them no good, and it makes the hens
uneasy TO take her chicks away from her. If
you think yOu must do something, remove the
shells from which the chicks have emerged, but
leave the chicks with the hen until all are
Matched Ii is useless to leave the hen on the
nest longer than twenty-four hours after the
first chicks hatch. Those that are delayed long
er than that are not worth much if they do
hatch, and are apt to die in n day or two. If il
is thought DESTROYS TO hatch them, put them un-
der another sitting hen, and remove them as
soon as Matched.
Feed for your chickens is an important matter
Just now. Stale bread, moistened with sweet
milk but not wetted, is a very good feed for the
first few days. When the chicks are n week old
they may be fed on crushed wheat, OF oats or
corn scalded in warm water or milk-milk is
best. As soon as they are able to swallow grains
of wheat, or cracked corn, they should have
mnch of il as they will eat as late in the even
ing as they can he induced to eat. Give only a
little at a time, but give it often. Never allow
surplus feed to lie around and get sour. Give
fresh water three or four times day.
Our preference is for light Brahmas: First,
because they answer all purposes for which
fowls are kept. Second four foot picket, or
lath fence keeps them from your neighbours yards,
gardens, and choice -four beds; from your own
front yards, and other places where poultry are
not wanted. Third, they lay in winter during
cold weather, when eggs are scarce and high IN
price, bringing at least five cents q dozen more
than eggs from the smaller breeds, and are the
first picked out in market. Fourth, at three
months old they make good boilers, being hardy,
can be raised early in spring, when prices are
high; their skin being yellow, looks better
dressed than the pale fleshed ones. Fifth, all
the nice marked ones command a ready sale
among fanciers, n single bird bringing more
than three four pairs of common fowls. 1t
has been said they are inyeterate settlers. i
wish they were, so as to raise early birds; the
trouble is they keep laying too late in the season
before wanting to set, and some lay all summer
long, showing no inclination to broOdiness aud
when they do, are easily broken up by pen
ming up a few days. Often when raising q
brood of chicks, the old hen begins laying when
the little ones are no larger than robins.