The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-09-11
A RANCH FOR CHICKENS.
a New Industry la Which Thousands o.
Dollars nre Inverted.


poultry supply business is flrst-rate,
said well-known dealer In respons,
to inquiries made by reporter for the
New York Mail and Express. There
are many new parties coming In every
day now looking at machines who In.
tend starting in the chicken-raisine
business this fall to make q regular
trade Of 1t. Incubators increasing il
NUMBER Yes, sir; there are in the
market from twelve to fifteen machines
of different patents. We have here il
our store eight Of the leading ones IL
constant operation night and day. The
prices range from 500 to $500 each
with varying capacity of from fifty e
1000 eggs. AS q rule, q first-class in.
cnbator matches from 80 to 80 pe,
cent of the fertile eggs that are put
into it. Most Of the machines are au.
tomato in their regulation, so that
they require very little care"
"How much capital does it require
to start in the chicken raising bust
nessp" was asked.
81 know OF one party whose capital
is 500, and another who we fitted oul
the capital for whose stock was $4O,.
600. All the eight machines that We
keep are Matching chickens every day.
These we send to our chicken ranch
at Franklin, N. j. Some days oul
machines hatch out as many as three
hundred chicks. Yes, the chicken.
raising business is a new industry thai
has sprung up within the last two
years. But aside from those who gc
into the business as business Their.
are many wealthy men, owners o.
country seats, who have gone into i
for the novelty of the thing. But vol
will be surprised when / tell you, and
statistics will prove the truth of the
statement, that the poultry industry
has become one of the largest indus
tries in this country. and amounts tc
more than even the trade in wheat
Even now there is not sufficient sup
ply of eggs in the market. and 1t /,
necessary to import them in large
quantities.
"Has not tins growth of the business
increased the demand for poultry sup.
pliesp"
"Yes, very largely. Among the ar.
ticles in great demand are ground
bone and oyster shells, which are fec
to the chicks. Why, we sell at leas,
fifty tons of this material 3 year, anc
the demand has made q new way Of
of bones and oyster shells
Not long ago man started q manu-.
factory at Yonkers for the especial pur.
pose of grinding bones and oyste,
shells for the chicken trade. and he hal
q big trade in it already. 1t has also
made a great demand for wire netting
for fences to poultry-yards. The other
day we sold and put up for one party
q mile of this wire netting"
"You spoke Of a chicken ranch
What is it likep"
'Ours at Franklin covers six acre!
Of ground. 1t is enclosed by a fenc,
about six feet high. 1t contains .
number of wooden buildings, built es.
pecially for chicken-ra raising. One Of
these measures 60 by 80 feet and q
feet high. 1t was originally built fol
the fattening of poultry. It IL divided
into pens for flocks of chickens of diff
erent breeds. The pen measures abou
10 by 20 feet, and each contains mes
boxes. roosts. and feeding troughs
Another building on the ground is Ions
and narrow, 100 feet by 10, and is df
vided into pens, the same as the other.
Still another is 40 by Is feet, which w
use principally for ducks. 1t has 9
small pond adjoining. On a knoll
back of these buildings we keep large
number of the artificial brooders fol
young chicks taken from the incu
bators at the store. They are kept In
these breeders four weeks, and are
then old enough to be put in with the
larger stock"
what is the capacity of such 9
ranch?"
without crowding, it will accom-.
modate nicely one thousand full grown
fowls, five thousand young chicks, and
one thousand ducks. The cost of such
q ranch complete, without the land, ID
about $4,000. One man and o boy
can attend to it nicely. Their duties
are to feed and water the fowls regu'
larly and keep the buildings thorough
ly cleaned. II this is properly done !,
keeps the fowls in perfectly good
health. Such q business, properly
carried on, will yield profit Of al
least 100 per cent on the capital in
vested. and even that is q low esti
mate. Take fancy.breed fowls and
they bring from 81 to $40 apiece, and
l know q man who has partridge CO.
chin cock which 500 couldn't buy.
Then take broilers. They are worth
to-day, and 1t is the dull season, ~
cents pound live weight. Each one
will weigh "a pounds, and the cost to
raise it is not over Is cents. In win
ter they bring from 80 to 60 cents q
pound, or $2 O pair.
1.-The demand for eggs for Matching
is great, and large part Of our bust
ness Is to supply eggs for this purpose.
In fact, our ranch Is carried on fol
raising thoroughbreds, not for market
poultry. DO we allow visitorsp Yes.
we set apart Fridays for any who want
to see the place. But there have been
a number Of such ranches lately start
ed in the neighborhood 0f this city.
One on Long Island conducted by q
stock company is the largest The
capital invested is 100000, and the
place is conducted for the exclusive
of broilers. 1t has now q
for Matching seven thousand
eggs, and they are putting up more
so that the place will have q
for Matching out one thous.
and chickens q day. They find the
business profitable, and their trade ID
in this city. Another somewhat diff
erent ranch is one in New Jersey,
which is devoted to the production o.
eggs exclusively, its owner having con
tracts with parties in this city. The
man who owns 1t started the bushes,
three years ago with a capital Of just
$25. He has now one thousand lay.
ing hens, and his present buildingi
cost him $1,000 all Of which he. made
out of the business. Yet. all this time
he has been engaged in regular bust
ness in this city, and has come In ever
day."
A story Is going the round Of tn,
French papers to illustrate the ways o
the English abroad. A couple" stay
ing at Schatf hansen ordered an illum
ination Of the Rhine for their own spe
cial benefit, and the work was pu
In hand accordingly. The villagers 60
wind of the matter. and assem- bled Z