Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-03-22
FARM AND ORCHARD.
DESCRIPTION OF A POULTRY YARD
IN SACRAMENTO.
The Money to be Made in Raising Fine
Breeds = Cork Oak Groves
Farm Notes.

Sacramento poultry yard:
as there anything chicken fancier
takes more real delight in than to be in
his poultry yard among his flock of fowls,
counting them for probably the one
thousandth time, watching them scratch
ing and feeding and noticing the droopy
ones to-day that appeared bright and
healthy yesterday? What happy home
flock of clean, healthy, cackling chickens
will make, and on the other hand, how
dull and inattractive the farm seems with
a lot OF diseased and ill-mated fowls, roost-
ing on the big wagon or the wood-pile.
looking serawny and dirty and appearing as
if half-staryed or fed to excess. In the
well-kept poultry yard, how eagerly will
the flock rush from all sides when they see
the gate open and the friend who cares for
them, come in Just to take another look at
the flock he prides and values. A promi-
nent poultry book goes as far as to say that
a young man who does not love choice
fowls Is an unsafe person for girl to wed.
Whether this be true or not, it is safe to
say that the home with a chicken yard
neat and clean, with either few or a large
number of chickens, is pleasant one and
contains happy family.
Poultry can be raised for profit, and
there are many who make a business of it
for that object, but then there are others
who take more delight in keeping lot of
choice and rare breeds and showing them
to their friends than if they were taking
in the shekels every day and making a
living out of the business.
Probably one of the best kept poultry
wards N n i bot 81 I
Cox, whose home is on Mob Hill in the
southeastern portion of the city. Mr.. Cox
HIS not entered into the business extern
slvely, but has an assortment of chickens
comprising some of the best breeds in
America. A RECORD UNION reporter paid
a visit to the place and became so inter
ested IN the matter of poultry raising that
he resolved to give the public what in
formation he had gained while passing
away couple of hours in being shown
about the premises
The first objects of interest were the
lncubators, in which several hundreds of
eggs were spread. Some were almost
ready to hatch, while others had been in
the incubator but few days. In the Pet
aluma incubator there were ln4 eggs with
the temperature in the hatcher at 1902.
This heat is maintained during the whole
of the twenty-one days required to hatch
the eggs. In this incubator the eggs rest
on bed of sand which has to be dam
pened every twenty-four hours. In the
Pacific incubator there were los eggs.
For the first three days the temperature
in the hatcher is 1902. 1t is then re-
duced l every three days until the tenn
perature gets to 1929, in which condition
the birds are Matched. The eggs in both
incubators are turned twice a day, to
avoid the settling of the yolk of the
egg TO one side or the other. If the
egg was not turned at all during the three
weeks it was IN the incubator the chick
(if any were hatched( would he deformed
or dead.
after a batch of little ones are Matched.
Mr.. Cox places them in a brooder of his
own invention, where they are kept until
able to stand the temperature of the out
side air. The floor of the brooder is COW
cred with dry bran and the proper degree
of heat is maintained by regulating a large
lamp under the floor. Mr. Cox had had
excellent luck with the chicks placed in
his brooder and hardly any of them have
died. In his main yard he has seventy
one laying hens and seven or eight roost-
ers. The hens are of different common
varieties, but are all good layers, and the
daily yield of eggs averages between thir-
ty-hve and forty.
"The fancy varieties owned by Mr.. Cox
are kept in separate yards, the dimensions
OF each being 20x12 feet. The fences are
neatly whitewashed and the yards are
kept almost as clean as wellswept floor.
In yard No. l a trio of the Minorca breed
are kept. The cock and both hens are
fine looking birds. They are small white
chicken with large combs, which stand
erect on the cock, but fall to one side on
the hens. They are noted layers and the
egg is white and quite large in proportion
to the size of the fowl. Mr.. Cox pur-
chased this trio in Toledo, Ohio.
Yard No. contains trio of White
Dorkings. A peculiarly about these chick
ems is tuat they have FIVE toes on each
foot. Both ROSTERS and hens have rose
combs. They are the favorite fowl in
England. They are the best layers in the
Dorking family, and the egg is of medium
size. 1t is thought that this trio is the
only one on the coast, and they also were
obtained in Toledo.
Yard No. 8 contains the White Ply
mouth Rocks. They are large fowls, good
layers and the egg is of good size The
feathers are almost pure white The breed
promises to be one of the leading fowls of
America.
"The next yard contains the Buff
Cochins-handsome, large fowls. OF these,
Mr. Cox has now but one pair, the other
hen having died few days ago of dis
ease known among poultry-raisers as a
sour crop. The feathers of this variety of
chickens are of the buff color and strik-
ingly attractive. This breed is noted as
excellent winter layers, of large, highly
favored eggs, and are unexceptionable as
settlers and mothers. They are worth from
SIS TO $50 per trio, and the eggs, which
are small and of a brownish-yellow color,
sell for So dozen.
The White Coehins occupy the fifth
yard. They are of about the same size as
the Buff Cochins, and lay large, we'll
rounded, light-brown egg. They are rated
as high as S35 per trio, and the eggs are
valued at IS per dozen. Mr.. Cox OBJ
tanned these chickens from Mitchell &
Russell, of Bristol, Conn.
SIN yard No. 6 is the White Wyandotte
trio. This breed not only stand high in
point of beauty, but they are most excel
lent layers of large-sized brown eggs. This
variety, with the White Plymouth Rock,
now claim the attention of the whole
poultry raising fraternity, and under the
title Of coming fowl are described by H.
II. Stoddard as white-plumaged bird
with yellow skin, legs and BILL and Of gen.
erous size, with small comb and wattles
They are rated as being worth $50 per
trio.
"The last yard has bat one lonely occu-
pant-a Berkshire-who takes but little
interest in the fowls about him. They
appear to bother him considerably, and
while he Is doing in corner of his pen
some of the more daring of the chickens
will pick at him. In short, he is pig.
..Mr Cnx,s nonlirv-vard has not been