Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-08-21
The Small Poultry Yard Well Tended

Inc small Poultry Yard Well Tended.
American Poultry Yard
We read, in the agricultural Jour
nais, frequently, about "the little
iarm Well TILED, etc, This suggests
10 US the subject of small poultry |
yard well kept, and carefully man. |
ageu Tor the desired returns which he |
ginners III this pleasant pursuit be- |
ileVe tney should realize from the
outset'of their undertaking the bust
ness.
Thirty healthy hens of any of the
modern standard bretds should ave.
rage 100 eggs each per year. If well
fed and cared for the Leghorns will
exceed this number largely, and the
Asiatics will come up TO the above
estimate fully. The Cochin hens will
also give you ten to twelve dozen eggs
each annually. But all must be at.
tended to and never neglected, to "tiil
this bill.u
/ Ihls Is no paper estimate. Anybody
can accomplish this with three dozen
good fowls. And 1870 eggs each from
thirty hens counts up 325 dozen in the
year. If you use these eggs in your
family you will save the expenditure
OF at least ninety dollars, say at
twenty-eight cents dozen. If You
sell them 1t would be an Indifferent
neiyhborhood indeed where you could
not get twenty-eight cents dozen ION
The average) in cash for them. We
are speaking now of the parts Of the
country near manufacturing towns.
Now, deduct from this the probable
Tor possibie) cost of their feed, IL you
purchase It. Say $3.50 head--aud
This is enough, The expense would
be S45, The income over 500 Here
Is one hundred per cent profit ON your
thirty fowls-to say nothing of half
dozen broods of chicks which you may
raise, also, without half dozen dol
lars worth of extra expense. And this
Is a moderate calculation, reader, as
we knooC, through experience. No
live stock on earth will afford this
average percentage of clean profit save
poultry, remember.
Now this is what we mean by the
term "a small poultry-yard, well
Tends d." On large scale the result
might not be so promising or so salts
factory, In proportion. But it is
oftenest the case that 1.-THE little farm,
well titled" is the successful venture
OF the young yoeman. And so we rec
|
commence with u few birds; attend to
their cleanliness aud their needs,
steadily; afford them good shelter in
winter and comfortable range in
summer; never neg lect them for a sin
! gle day in the year; feed them system
atically and fully, but never to reple-
ton; and take the reward that will
follow such treatment OF your little
flock, as We have done, In our day,
and as hundreds of others haze done,
| ore doing now, and may do in the fu-
ture. Roaming about your place
there are some nondescript fowls
which now live upon Your charity, be-
cause they live so poorly that they
can produce nothing 10 pay for the lit
tie they receive. These are waiting
for you to bestow your care upon them
so they can reward you more than a
hundredfold for every attention they
receive. Don't wait until you feel
able, or the right time comes to build
a fine poultry-house and stock 1t with
choice fowls, but begin with those you
have about you, and develop a practi-
cal knowledge Cf their habits and
wants by the closest possible attention
to them. Make their place of shelter
warm, by banking up with turf or
earth; or, If the ground is frozen, try
cornstalks, or a thatch of straw-in
fact, make their quarters more COM
| Portable In any way which you can
contrive, with any means you have at
hand, and then begin. also, a regular
feeding OF Il mixture of corn-meal and
wheat bran in equal parts, by meas.
ure, wet up hot. Feed all they will
eat of this mush, and give them some
D. h..t nl nod
fine enough so they can eat 1t easily;
potatoes to feed warm to them occa-
sionally you will add to their comfort
and health and t, your own profit.
Put in an old sash or few lights Of
glass, In some way, down near the
ground; empty your coai-ashes along
the line where the sun strikes throue IA
these windows, so the hens will wal
low and dust themselves to show you
that they are thriving. Pound up
some bones and shells epeyy day for
them to make egg shells of Now see
to it that they have Water in plentiful
supply; tor hen can no more make
eggs without 1t, than COW can make
milk without a sufficient supply Of
water. Whitewash the inside Of your
hen house, and clean 1t out every
week, however small or rude the
structure, for present comfort and as
| preventive OF vermin for the future.
Put nest-box, with hay, or some
other proper material, In a sly corner,
and conceal 1t with few boards set
up before 1t, so that tie hens may
seem to act out their natural secretive-
ness, and you will have done your
part towards having eggs in abundance
through the season when the price Is
always high.
Keep an exact account Of oil you
| feed aud all you receive, whether you
use or sell, at market values, 20 that
YOU may be able to demonstrate the
fact, whichever way they turn, and
YOUR arithmetic will not need to ex-
tend beyond multiplication to show
YOU a large profit on all these invest.
inents OF spare time. Then lay out
the profits made on the common stock
| ia some good pure-blooded fowls. take
good care of these, and aim to sell some
Of their produce at high prices. Buy
the Standard Of Excellence with the
II rat dollar you have 70 spare, however,
we should have said. before you buy
fowls. II IL printers inn pre-eminent-
ly that brings about progress In these
latter days. So we say to every novice.
"Buy books before you buy fowls,
Attend the poultry shows, study up
~ hraad Won intend 10 adopt, and put |