Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-05
PROFIT IN POULTRY.
Incessant Attention and Care Necessary
to Success.

InceSsant Attention and Care Necessary
| to Success.
DO you think there is any money in
pOultry?" said young farmer to me
one day. MY wife has the hen fever
and thinks of going into poultry-raising
quite extensively another winter, for
the purpose of raising broilers. She
| likes to fuss with hens, but when &c
near them, they fly all over me, get on
my head, and are altogether too IA
miliar; can't stand it." His question
was fair one; it has been asked hun
| dreds of times before. and in all proba-
bility will be asked times innumerable
in the future. Any man embarking in
any new venture, financial, mechanical,
agricultural or otherwise, wishes to
know whether the dollar be puts into
it is likely to be returned to him with
a few added cents as interest on his
investment. Any man (and man en-
braces woman, tits said with a sound
head will settle this point before en-
barking in any new enterprise.
In the case mentioned above it is safe
to say that the farmer referred to will
not make poultry pay. He "can'tspend
time fussing with them" He doesn't
want them climbing all over him. !"
He had better ''quit the business before
he begins it." If there is one occupa-
tlon that requires ''fussing" more than
another, raising poultry is that one.
The secret of success in the whole bust
ness is attention to little things. That
farmers wife will be very likely to
make it pay if she goes at it in the
right way. Women are usually more
successful with poultry than men, for
the very reason that they will pay more
attention to the details.
As to the profits to be derived from
poultry, the same pains-taking care,
and the application of the same bust
ness principles that would insure sue
cess in any other occupation, combined
with a thorough knowledge of the
business, would prove fairly remunera-
tive in this. There have been many
failures and disappointments among
beginners. These have usually resulted
from over-enthusiastic individuals en-
barking in it without sufficient expert
ence, or a willingness to give proper
attention to details. A man has
small flock of hens which prove quite
profitable, yielding a net income, say,
of 81 per head. Ten hens, SO profit;
1000 hens. 1000 profit. Thus he rea-
sons. Why not? If the poultryman
can surround his 1000 hens with the
same conditions which surround the
10, there is no earthly reason why he
can not make proportionate profit.
But. can he? Hens will not succeed
in large focks, hence they must be kept
in small numbers.
He must expect to spend more time in
caring for large number than he
would for the smaller one, He must
learn the business thoroughly before
engaging in it extensively. He must
remember that good things come
slowly, and must not expect to make
fortune all at once. If he really wants
to make business of keeping poultry,
he should try few hens at first and
get all the information he can from all
possible sources. II he succeeds with
the few, he may increase the number by
raising chickens from his own flock. and
thus avoid the cash outlay necessary if
hens are purchased. This may seem
like a slow way, but it is safe one.
and the poultryman will thus be more
likely to make the fortune he is after,
than he would be in any other way.
If he has the broiler business in
mind, the same remarks will apply
about beginning in a small way. Arti-
fetal incubator. breeders, etc, are a
and the outlay must of neces-
sity be considerable. Incessant atten-
ton is necessary, and while physical
is not so indispensable as it is
in some other occupations, those who |
are averse to hard work had better |
shun the business. Yes, there is |
money in poultry, just as there is
money in dairying, in fruit-growing,
stock-raising, ETC., but as there are |
many who fail to get the money there |
is in these and other occupations. so |
there are those who will fail to get the |
money there is in poultry.-COr. Rural
New Yorker.