The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-19
The Southern Poultry Yard.

No. 3.
7, depends upon how one is situated
ubetber it will pay better to keep poultry
simply for the eggs or raise chickens or
,or1bne the two. To make poultry raising
cary great success it is necessary to have
-srge for the fowls. tits quite possible to
ksen few hens in very limited space for
The sake Of the fresh eggs that they will
tnrnisb. but where it is attempted to keep
tbam uninterruptedly in houses it will not
he long usually before disease makes it ap-
nesrapce and puts veto upon the business
It is nos possible to keep poultry healthy
rben confined in small houses through all
binds of weather-through the entire year
unless they can have an outdoor range on
which they can spend part of their time.
II the poultry house is sufficiently large and
due attention is given to keeping it perfectly
clean BY frequent cleansing, and the feeding
and watering is what it ought to be, linn
tied number of fowls may be kept on very
small premises, but whether to any profit
Is another thing.
| Poultry must have exercise to do well, and
this they do not get when kept constantly
hut up in house. Hens unless they get a
due amount of exercise will soon get too fat
10 do much In tire way Of producing eggs.
1 Our southern farmers have all the room
hat is needed for carrying on poultry rails
ng Just as it should be. II they choose
they can move their poultry house every
rear, and there is no excuse for poultry in
curing disease on our southern farms if the
larmers are willing to utilize their adyau-
lsges TO the extent that they may. OF
course outside of disease there are several
things that initiate against the poultry
business whenever it may be carried on.
Tnere are hawks and several rodents that do
much damage in the country, and these
must be guarded against as we'll as disease.
For the greater part OF the year southern
poultrymen find very little use for houses
for their fowls, and 1t is possible to make e
very good success at the business in the
lower ATTITUDES of the south without any
house at all, even the winter time allowing
the fowls to find their roosting places in the
evergreen tress that can be provided for tho
purpose with very little expense. If proper
yfed and watered hens can be made TO lay
all the winter with no better provision for
tier protection than is afforded by the
foliage Of the cedar and wild olive trees.
Fowls that spend the night in such trees are
erfrom the nocturnal visits Of the chicken
tnef than when kept in house. In many
sections Of the south this is one of the
greatest dangers to be guarded against, for
many are the depredations made upon the
well stocked poultry house in the south in
in the winter time. .-....
The writer knows what his loss has been
in the past twenty years from this cause
alone. In the country the poultry yard
should be well fenced i'll and good watch
dog Kept specially for the purpose of pro-
Il 4
datiOns
Some will find more satisfaction in keep
ing poultry simply for eggs. Where eggs
are the exclusive object there is no better
breed than the Leghorns. At this time this
breed is more generally distributed in the
south perhaps than any other, and conse-
Quanty eau be more readily obtained at
Reasonable prices. In some localities the
Plymouth Rock is probably AS abundant.
Where one is not able to buy as many as
he would like for full stock the first season,
buy what he can afford and raise full
stock by the second ear. Where it is prac-
llcable TO have all pure-blooded stock it is
much tie best, but when this is not possible
select some of the best native hens and
breed them to Leghorn cocks. As the Leg
horns are nOn-setlers it will be necessary to
Keep some hens of other kinds that are
gool settlers from which to raise the addi-
focal stock of Leghorns. Starting with
HzoT seven TOR less numher) of Leghorn
heosand one cock it will he possible to raise
anywhere from 30 10 100 additional pure
o!ea Leghtrns for the next years stock by
setting the Leghorn eggs from the six or
seven hens under any common hens that are
good settlers.
Even where eggs are the prime object it
win be necessary to raise a few chickens
every year for the purpose Of keeping up
III an exclusive egg farm 1t is not neces-
oal! 70 Keep so many cocks as where chick
. eng are the object. In fact. many advise
t snaG no cocks at all be kept, but this is
; ;s good advice. A few should be kept,
- hot more than one to fifteen or twenty
neaS 10 insure the fertility of eggs that it
a - ueSlred to set there should be one cock to
every SIX or seven hens.