Smyrna times., 1889-01-30
A Successful Chicken HATCHERY.

! A visit to Henry S. AnthoDy,s cbjcl,-
en- hatchery two and a.half miles vet
OF this town is one that cannot be but
an oDject OF interest. A day or two AGO
with several other gentlemen we Wis
tied Mr.. Anthony's chicken establish
ment and spent an hour most pleas-
| ant5y in following up the different
problems in the study of, "a home
without a mother" Here was an asv-
lum where were some 2OOO little or.
phans who never knew what it was tn
have mother to bring them into life
other than box and an oil lamD Vet
they were the most conteDted and
happy family of chicks that we ever
saw, even if they hadn't mother to
cluck and scratch for them.
Ihey ranged in size from those taken
from the incubator yesterday to those
thirteen weeks old. They are divided
OIL according to age and size into apart-
ments separated by wire. Through
these the whole extent of the Iong
building run four steam pipes that fnT,
nlsh the warmth. A box three feet
wlde covers these, from the sides of
winch drops canvas, like a curtain To
the floor. This the little chicks by in
stlnct recognize as their mother. for
under It's folds they collect at night.
the warm pipes furnishing as satisfac
tory warmth as that which would be
Afforded by the mother hen. They
seem to recognize it by instinct. and the
hrst day they are carried to their apart-
ment from the incubator they seek this
place for warmth or rest, the same as
if trained for it.
Ihey have as much to eat as tbev
want, and variety Of iood, and in this
respect fare better than thev would
with the best old scratcher. Mr.. An.
thony raised 5000 head of cabbage. and
they have one to pick at anv time
through the day they want to. There
are five round boxes containing resDec.
lively cracked bone, oyster shells
charcoal, corn and wheat. Thew eat n
considerable amount Ofcharcoal. moro
than the ground bone and sbells
But indulgIng in these is only pastime
IN comparison to the pan of dough.
Ihey know the regular hours for feed |
ing, and If the feeder should be little |
belated, with their united voices they |
raise howl. They are also furnished |
with meat preparation of food. that |
serves for them the same purpose ~ |
the earth worm, insects &c. Their
food Is more varied and nourishing
than is usually obtained by those haV9
ing the range of the barn yard.
Mr.. AnthOny's three months chick
ems are of fine size, running from three
to four pounds and will be shipped To
market in a few days. It is a LITTLE
but they will not sell for half
as much now as in the spring, say % to
70 cents pound, whereas. Mr.. An
thony finished up his stock in Nav last
year at 90 cents a pound. Those that
are IN the process Of Matching now will
be much more profitable than those
started the first of the winter.
The business has many details and
much that can be learned only by ex-
and it is only by close per-
3onal attention and study that Mr..
Anthony has learned to master it as he
has. The great loss is in the first week
lf the young chicks. In getting over
ms Mr.. A. has been much more suc-
;essful this than the first two or three
years OF his experiment. Much of this
$ attributed to the substitution of
.team for stoves, thus avoiding the
leadly gas. ''''
VI incubators he has eight in a room
o themselves. Their working is verv
'xact, bringing forth the young broods
n one day less than three weeks. Tho
ast lot taken Off was 144. from an in
in which had been placed 1870
ggs. This is perhaps as good a ner
.ent. as would come from anv old set. !
ing hen. The heat is generated sim.
'ly by placing a kerosene lamp under |
ach Incubator, burning no larger
lame than a common kitchen lamp
ut 1t Is kept going day and nipht until
Is work its done. The heat radiates
through the frame passing n nan ~ =
1ater ~ It's process that evolves snffi. u
tent moisture to rot or soften The she'll !
o that the chich, at the completion oe /
leubation, can pick its wav ont J.
Whether this work is going on proneriv
r not is revealed BY a little bot,h a
lhich indicates the proper evanoration n
eeded for each day. This is aided bv
n automatic lever on top that opens g,
'hen there is an excess Of heat ana =
loses when there is 8 deficiency =
In an adjoining row Of ebiclran
0nses and apartments, Mr.. Antbony u
as a number of fowls Of diaeront rs
reeds for laying eggs to raise from,
lt hs iayorite variety is the Plvm.
nth Rock.