Arizona republican., 1891-05-20
POULTRY FARMING.
Another Export Has "yiews" on How tS
 Start Right.

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 In poultry farming as in other farm ing signal success comes through the combination of a "business head" in- vested capital, and fair run of some- thing which, if we do not call it luck, means nearly the same thing, It is bet ter to expect only a moderate income and fair returns on ones capital than to dream of keeping five thousand hens and gathering in five thousand eggs every day.
 How much money is absolutely neces- sary in making start is difficult ques- tion to answer, for fifty dollars in some hands and in some neighborhoods is worth two hundred in other cases, and pluck which bears the hardships of be- ginning, patience which does not give up the struggle when Encouragement comes, as it inevitably will come some day, and cheery hope which sees reward ahead are all to be counted in as capital. Beginning without capital" is an ex- pression often heard, but there really is no such thing, for if one depends at first on other work, and spends only pin money on poultry, his living expenses all the time should justly be reckoned as invested capital.
 We know one girl whose friends said that she had begun poultry farming on an investment of $35, but the truth was that although she spent only that modest sum on trio of fine chickens, some common hens and a rough little house, her maintenance ill the family house un- til her flock had increased to large pro- portions, and the rent of the farm over which her chickens had free range, cor responded to capital of $500. And that is one of the best points about raising chickens; one can be breaking ground for profitable crop of them while earning a living in some other way, cultivating strawberries or choice vegetables. The farmers thrifty daugh- ter, or the schoolmistress who wants out door work, may buy few eggs and a "broody" hen to cover them, and three years afterward sell hundreds of dollars worth of thoroughbred stock, but she should remember that her opportunity was capital to her.
 When one must, in the beginning, hire or buy land and build all kinds of | houses, he should look at the matter in a businesslike way, and count on getting simply a reasonable per cent on his in- vestment. "How many hens must keep in order to support family of six persons?" was question asked recently by reader, as if it were settled fact that a hen could support a given number of persons or fractions thereof. Seven thousand hens might-probably would bankrupt farmer, while with two hun dred he could earn his living. One dol lar year is supposed to be the average profit from an average hen. If the hen is young, smart and pure bred she should bring her owner more money than that.
 As a general average there are one. third as many eggs each day as there are hens if in f1ocks of over twenty. Of course there are fewer eggs in early win ter and more in early spring. Hens kept in groups of six or seven lay far better, on many days every hen furnishing her l ItdSOu lOI ptlHS. OO iudl II oIiC udu 300 hens in focks of fifty one probably would have 100 eggs a day. If kept in | focks of fifteen there would often be 200. As a rule that increase repays one for the cost of extra buildings. Twenty five "biddies" make good, manageable family.
 Before one can see clearly how much money he will need he must decide upon the path he is going to follow; whether he will raise pure stock or market poul- try, or turn his attention to ''new laid eggs" Probably he will branch off in some way he did not expect, but well considered plan will keep him from wan dering about bewildered whether to sell his eggs at fifty cents dozen or keep them to hatch into chickens worth fifty cents pound.-American Agriculturist.