Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-05-19
Poultry Notes.

AAU Ol1O CCCSO1 WACh AC1AC cuI . AeNJ AA1S
abundantly, lime should be kept be-
fore them at all times, or there is a La
bility of soft-shelled eggs. The best
way Of feeding lime is IN the form OF
raw, crushed bones or oyster shells.
Young chickens need animal food.
When it fails to do them good it is con-
sequence of the common fault of over
feeding. They cannot bear large ra-
tions of rich food. Watch the mother
hen at liberty scratchingfor her young
| brood, and see how infrequent and
| how small the morsels and how many
the competitive mouths. A method
| has been recommended for producing
maggots as food not only for chickens
| but old fowls.
The first step is to dig trench
foot deep and six feet square, and
brick it up or cement the sides, so that
none OF the maggots can escape. Then
throw in enough straw that has been
used as bedding for horses to make
layer hreeinches thick. On this place
a layer OF horse manure g. couple of
inches thick. Next make layer of
scraps from the table, Indian meal,
yeast and almost anything which will
cause fermentation rapidly. Lastly
sprinkle about an inch of loose dirt,
and over all place roof tight enough
to keep out rain and sun, but open un-
der the caves. Soon the muck flies
will come and take possession and lay
their eggs. In q few days the pit will
be swarming with maggots, supplying
feast for your fowls. Two or three
pits of this description will furnish q
constant supply.
Fresh fish make g. mild nourishing
animal food for young chicks. The
best and simplest way of preparing
fish is to take portable boiler about
half full of fish, fill up with cold water,
water comes to a good boil, the fish
will be sufficiently cooked. When the
fish are cooked they fall to pieces.
Take some of the fish, bones and all,
and mix corn meal with this and the
liquid the fish were boiled in, and g.
mess is furnished which the young
birds will greedily devour.
In the absence of fish, potatoes
boiled in milk, where there Is plenty of
the latter, is an admirable preparation
for feeding to young, growing chicks.
A mixture of one third corn meal and
wheat bran with the above will make
the young chicks grow wonderfully if
given fresh every day. The best feed
for sitting hens is plenty of good,
sound, whole corn. They should have
plenty of fresh water to drink.
Tarred paper applied to the outside
of the building and exposed to all
kinds of weather, if put on with care,
will last two seasons. Tarred paper
applied to the inside of the buildings
will be of some service in protecting
fowls against vermin.
Mark the date of collection on all
eggs gathered and you will know just
which ones to set. II possible, make
the nests upon the ground. Ii not,
place fresh cut glass sod at the bot
tom of the box, and sprinkle sulphur
or coarse snuff upon the nest to keep
off vermin.
While fine hay or fine, Well-broken
straw makes good nests, very good
nest can be made with wood shavlDgs,
selecting only the thlnnest and softest.
They can be lightly sprinkled with
diluted carbolic acid to keep away lice.
Being very porous, they will retain the
smell and effect of the acid much longer
than any other material.
In preparing the nest of your sitting
hens, make the nests to ft as nearly
as possible theshape of thehen's body.
Use damp earth, as it is easily shaped,
and serves the purpose of furnishing
the eggs with needed moisture. Incase
trouble may be expected from rats,
cover the nest, hen and all, every night
with box having wire cloth at the
ends or sides, to let in air.
Hay is somewhat Objectionable for
nests, as the seeds sometimes bait the
mice, and again, the hens are likely to
scratch for hayseed, and thus break
the eggs. Straw, well broken and
made soft, is g. much better material.
Do not cut the straw in machine, as
that fills the nest with sharp points
which prick the hen and annoy the
young chicks. Shavings, as mentioned
above, are very desirable for nests
Poultry World.
General Farm Notes.