Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-03-29
Sarm Copies.
CARE OF POULTRY IN WINTER.

CAHe Of POOL ! Ky i'm WIN En-.
A suitable place for layers can be con-
structed at small expense, If the fancier
has any faculty in the use of tools. The
main points to secure are cleanliness, sun
light and shelter from the piercing winter
winds. The first can be secured by hav-
ing the roosts movable, with movable
platforms beneath to catch the droppings.
These should be taken down once per
week, thoroughly cleaned, sprayed with
kerosene and put in place. A floor of sand
or gravel is the best, but if there be dan
ger of dampness have plank floor and
cover from one to three inches deep with
sand and gravel To get the sunlight the
house should face the south and east and
be largely glass on the side where the
sun shines the longest. Shelter from the
winds must be secured by putting one or
more layers of tarred paper inside the
building, or between the boarding, if it be
double.
Fully as important is the food. Too ina
ny feed corn, cracked corn, or corn meal
exclusively. This is too fattening and
soon fattens the fowls so that it is impos-
sible for them to lay, especially is this
true of the cochins, wyandottes, and ply
mouth rocks. A good food Is mixture
of middlings and meal in hot mash once
per day. At noon some small grain like
wheat, oats, buckwheat or barley thrown
into the sand on the floor so as to make
them work for it, and at night good
feed of whole corn. Plenty of old NOR
tar, pounded crockery, ground shells or
bones are also necessity. Pure water
is also an essential and in the coolest
weather it should be warmed enough to
take the chill off. Animal food of some
sort ought to be given once or twice per
week-meat, tallow or lard scraps, or any
thing of that sort are excellent A tur-
nip, cabbage or some currants suspended
in the hen house 80 as to just swing clear
of the floor once each week will furnish
needed vegetable food and give the fowls
exercise while picking it.
There are other foods which are excel
lent and can be given occasionally as
change of diet. Chopped clover hay
mixed with meal or bran mash is great
ly relished, also boiled or raw apples, po-
tatoes and other vegetables. This may
seem like a large amount of work to put
into the care of few fowls, but it pays.
There is nothing on the farm that pays so
well for the amount of capital invested
as the fowl, and, as long as we annually
import eggs by the hundred of millions
they will continue to pay.
am not an advocate of raising poul
try for market, yet the young cockerels
must be disposed of some way. If one
only knew which they were when first
Matched it would pay best to just pinch
their heads and raise only the pullets.
But we cannot tell and when they are old
enough so one can tell we cannot afford
to kill them, though in many instances it
would be far more profitable. broier
at two pounds weight can generally be
disposed of at fair profit, some, the very
early ones, bringing 60 cents to IS cents
piece here in the country; in or near a
city the price is larger.
One must not depend upon much profit
from the poultry, but eggs are the source
of abundant profit. Breed and feed for
eggs, making what you can from the sale
of the young cocks. All helps to swell
the total, and it is these little sources
carefully attended to and watched which
make up the stream of profit on the farm,
small enough at best.
1t is better, all considered, to raise a
pure breed, for occasionally an extra
promising cock, pair or two, can be dis
posed of at fancy prices. Do not try to
breed fancy poultry on the farm, hOwev
er, unless you have plenty of time and
capital to sink in the business. In these
times very few can succeed, for too many
are engaged in the work. The steady in
flux of moderate profits is the safest and
only sure way to succeed in any calling
and not less so in this Free Press.