The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-07-01
Chicken Chat.

second year Of her age, 19O in the third,
and 100 in the fourth.
/ always test strange eggs by putting
them in cold water-.those that sink
quickly are 7fresh. and good, those that
sink slowly may pass muster, but those
that float to the surface are spoiled.
Pulyerizsd charcoal should be mixed
with the chicken feed occasionally. to
prevent the many Aputrid affections to
which they are liable.
Diarrhea in chickens generally results
from want tof variety in their feed. /
find Spanish whiting mixed with their
feed an excellent remedy.
Chickens suffer with colds as much as
do people, and hence, to have healthy,
and consequently profitable chickens, we
must provide them with dry and COM
Portable sleeping place. =.
Hens sometimes get in the,way. of eat.
ing theiE own eggs aipreventiye, is said
to existin opening the shell, pouring out
q portion of the contents and filling up
with ground mustard. give this on the
authority of ia neighbor woman who Gays
she has tried it often, and finds that one
taste ofgthe mustard satisfies her hens
that eggs are not edible.
Chalk mixed freely into the feed of
hens.is said to exercise a great influence
on the color of their eggs-white chalk
gives the shells very clear white color,
while red chalk makes them exhibit
almost an orange.
Gapes in chickens il caused by worms
in the throat, and many are coming to
think that the eggs which breed them
:existin corn meal. 1t ID not improbable,
and therefore it would possibly be best to
scald meal, invariably, before giving it to
the chickens. Persons who attend to
this; carefully, or who do not feed corn
meal at all, are said to. seldom have a
case ofsgapes in their poultry yard.
+ Turnips cooked and mixed with bran
OF meal, make an excellent feed for
chickens. 81;
tits now settled fact that ground red
pepper fed freely to hens greatly in.
creases their laying qualities. Give it in
their, feed once day.
"a rooster should not be kept over five
years; and, q hen ceases to be profitable
after! four years OF age.
It is best not to keepa large flock of
hens together -they don't do near so we'll
as when kept in focks of ten each.
Eightgood sized eggs weigh pound,
while itstakes. from ten to fifteen small
ones. Solyou see. there is no justice in
selling eggs by count-they ought to be
weighed. IS q, ~
"a, little neighbor of mine has just told
me how she broke q favorite cat from
killing young chicks. When the cathad
killed one she took it from her and tied
it tightly around her neck, where puss
was forced tolwear. it. two days. After
that she never troubled the chicks. ;.
Eggs Kept on hand lose constantly in
weight, and the loss is greater than any
one. .wonld suppose.
The Hamburgs are, I think, the best
layers among chickens, but in that quail.
,ty consists; their main value. They. will
not set If they can help il, and their flesh
is thought to be of inferior quality. &
IF you live in the piny woods. where
lime is as scarce as the teeth of your
hens, don't neglect to give them some
from time, to time. They must have
lime in some form to do well. Ground
bones mixed with their feed occasionally
is; excellent, and oyster shells finely pow
dered up will answer, every purpose.
Old plaster crumbled and thrown about
whore they are, will always enable them
to supply themselves with the requisite
quantity of lime:
Once day for fve,or six days before
the time of ha:cning eggs ought to be
slightly sprinkled with tepid water-it
makes them hatch better. There are
more losses within this period than at
any other time, and it almost invariably
results from too great drying up of the
eggs.
The Brahmas are considered our best
table fowls, and crossed with the common
dung hills they make an excellent breed
of chickens for the general stock, as both
are improved-the first in point of hard.
ness and the second in point of size.
| The fowl house may be deodorizel by
sprinkling the floor occasionally with fine
dry earth. The black material found in
sswamps and known as swamp muck,
dried and pulyerized, is the best deodor.
| izer within easy command.