Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-20
Poultry Raising.

try will be found on nearly every farm, so
little attention is given them it is rare that
any clear profit is made out of them. A
good supply of eggs for the family table
during two or three months in the year,
with perhaps surplus of one or two dozen
chickens in the fall to be carried to mar
| ket, would, doubtless, very fairly represent
the average results of our Southern farms
in the way OF poultry raising. Now and
then we may find q farmer-generally 1t
is his wite-whO can claim profit OF $75
or 500 in his poultry yard for the year.
A very few possibly make more than this
but poor management and small profits is
certainly the rule and there is very great
room for improvement. With the spirit
of the new agriculture which is gradually
being developed in the South, it is safe to
predict that this subject will also receive
the increased attention that it deserves.
! The intensive farmer of the future per-
chance will not be too proud to call to his
aid every little adjunct that promises
profit however small, and when intensive
principles are applied TO poultry raising
in Geo. gia the product in eggs ana chick
ems will represent millions of dollars add
ed to the wealth OF our farmers. Already
poultry farms are springing uD IN differ
ent parts of the State, and we have 4
considerable number Of breeders OF the
very best varieties of pure bred fowls.
Some of these keep their business before
the people, but the larger number have
never thought of such a thing as adver-
! tislng. and, consequently, many orders are
sent off to the North and West for eggs or
fowls that could just as well be filled by
breeders in this State. Those that must
have the improved breeds can get as good
stock in Georgia of the principal kinds as
they are likely to get anywhere, and the
only difficulty is our breeders generally do
not let the fact be known.
For practical purposes ON the farms.
however, it is not essential shat pure bred
varieties OF fowls be used, but it is desira-
! bic that we cross some of the best laying
| breeds on selected native stock-Our COM
! mon dunghill. By selecting good sized SYM
metrical pullets and hens Of our common
| stock and buying few cocks of some OF
! the best laying breeds, we can soon grade
/ up our common stock to be as good layers
| as there is any need to have. The Leg
| horns would be as good, perhaps, as any
! for this purpose, though there is the Game,
! the Black Spanish, the Hamburgs, the
! Plymouth Rocks, the DOminiques and
| several others to choose from. All these
! are good laying breeds. The size of our
! common stock may be increased by cross
! ing with the large Asiatics, the Brahmas
! VI NOGUluSs L uC IlOSb pODuldT UItGu vi
! poultry to-day is the Plymouth Rocks,
| and it certainly deserves all the good that
! has been said of it as combination fowl,
! but when it comes to eggs there is no breed
/ that surpass the LeghOTns.
/ There are two important facts in regard
/ to poultry that are not generally known,
| and which must be known to insure the
| highest success in the business. One oil
! these is that one bushel of wheat is worth
IL 1. 4.
| an egg producer. Wheat is worth its
/ especially ought it to be the food used
/ from November to March. Corn Is very
| fattening, much more SO than wheat, and
| laying fowls fed too much Of corn will
| soon get too fat to be good layers. AS
soon as the weather begins to get cold
late in autumn the poultry house should
! be made as warm as possible by closing
all the openings that admit any cold wind
to the rOOsts. During the mOultng sea.
/ son begin to feed wheat and continue it
during the winter, and the fowls viii lay
eggs right along without regard To the
weather.
The other fact in regard to poultry is
that the young chicks should be fed on
whole grain from the start. Discard
dough entirely. Keep the young chickens
in as warm, dry place as possible, fur
nfSh them 10Th pure 99dter, keep their
cOOpS clean by moving them frequently,
Do not teed at all until the chickens are
"A to 48 hours old, and then feed them with
some small grain-German millet, ivory
wheat or sorghum seed. AS rule, the
| German millet can be bought at very
reasonable price, but the poultry 10 User
can well afford to SOW an acre of ivory
wheat for this purpose. Young chickens
thus fed and cared for will rarely have
amy disease. Disease in poultry is not
easily cured, but 1t is easily prevented by
cleanliness, pure water and whole food,
and this is the secret Of successful poul-
try raising. The secret of successful egg
production is comfortable quarters in
winter and feeding wheat instead of corn.
1t will be Il little better still if part Of
the wheat ration is parched. With a few
exceptions the diseases OF fowls generally
are owing to impure water. Ii fowls are
made too fat from a corn diet exclusively
many of them are likely to die during the
laying season from rupture. A plat OF
sufficient size should be sOWn to barley or
other grain early in the fall for the benefit
OF the poultry, and the poultry should
never be confined in close quarters long
at time. In our Southern climate it is
only very small portion of the winter
when 1t is necessary to keep them in their
house, and then only a few days at Il
time.
The poultry house should at least have
two diVisiOns-one exclusively for rOost-
ing, and one for laying and setting. The
water vessels should be so arranged as to
prevent their walking or standing in it.
A shallow box containing dry ashes should
always have a place in the poultry house
for the fowls to dust themselves in and
thus prevent lice.
In setting the hens place a half tea
m in ho
fumes of the sulphur Will permeate every
feather Of the fowl and prove sure pre-
VentiVe of lice. Where the Matching nests
are made III boxes be sure to have several
inches of sand or soil, under a Slight COW
ering of soil. This will preserve "a uni
form temperature. Be careful not to put
too many eggs under hen--nOt over IA.
Twelve generally is better. The rOOsting
poles (always have round pOies) should
occasionally be painted with kerosene oil
and the inside Of the house and nest boxes
whitewashed occasionally. The dropDings
should be scraped up about once week
and put into barrels, and the floor sprin-
Killed. with lime or u cOpi0us sprlnkling of
land-Dlaster would be some better. 1t
should be ground floor and raised suffi-
cIeGtly to prevent any water running in
and standing on IT..
The disease known as gapes are not
likely t. appear in yard where the fore
going treatment is followed; but should
it be observed in any fowl a little Kerosene
oil should be mixed with dough and all
the fowls allowed TO eat little of it.
Scaly legs are due to parasites, and if any
fowl should be troubled with it make an
ointment of sulphur and lard with little
Kerosene mixed with It and rub the legs
thoroughly every two weeks for several
times. Thorough cleanliness will gene
rally keep Off both these diseases.
Rats, cats, weaseis, dogs, hawks are
enemies to the poultry yard and must be
guarded against. Sale quarters should
be provided for the setting hens, and Sc
cure hut light cOOps for the hens and
brOods. These GOODS can be made of latEs
and so light that they can be easily lifted
and carried from one place to another.
AS soon as hen has Matched out her
clutch she should he removed to one of
these cOops and kept in it until the chicks
have become strong, and then they can he
turned into the range, but should be with
in some enclosure at night. Vita plenty