Huntsville gazette., 1891-10-10
POULTRY FOR PROFIT.
A Good Hen Should Lay Two Hundrsd
Eggs Per Annum.

Eggs Per Annum.
Few, very few farmers are aware OF
the magnitude of the value of poultry
and their product, eggs. They will
shake their heads and manifest unbe-
lief when they are told that statistics
show the value of poultry and eggs to
be over $500, 900, 900 per annum in the
United States. Reflect a moment:
How many thousands of dozens of eggs
are consumed in the city of New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, st.
Louis and others in single day?
Where do they all come from? Go visit
on morning the various express Of
fees and see the hundreds of patent
egg cases filed to the last square with
fresh eggs. Notice the many coops,
yea, whole cars as coops, bringing live
poultry and consequently. in the sea-
son, the boxes upon boxes full OF
dressed poultry received and distrib-
uted every day. Somebody Tor, more
likely, his wife) raises them, feeds and
markets them and finds it both pleas
ant and profitable.
BY our mode of feeding and forcing,
a hen should lay about 200 eggs il the
year. On farm the feed which they
consume is of little account, because
they pick up that which would other
wise be lost or which could not be
utilized because it cannot be gathered.
Hens. and in fact all poultry. are great
scavengers-
If we have regard to size, much
attention should be given to the intro
duction of new blood by way of breed
ing or changing males. 1t these
have to be bought they should be Sc
lected from lot raised at some dis
tance. All the cocks on the place
should be disposed of and the new ones
introduced, SO as to avoid fighting. Or,
eggs for Matching should be obtained
from other yards, and all the males
needed be saved out of clutch.
A neigh Dor, years ago, had neglected
this matter, and his hens when dressed
weighed only ~ pounds, or less, when
on our farm close by, and without ex-
ira care, our young cocks when dressed
(ShanghaD were mistaken for turkeys,
weighing pounds or over each. This
season, on farm not far away, a tur-
key hen stole her nest and laid Is eggs
for third brood. most of which
hatched On the same place last year
turkey hen laid over 100 eggs in the
season. She was broody once, but
soon after left her nest and went on
laying-an abnormal case, surely.
Young turkeys when quite small may
be confined in a board pen foot high
for week or two, if the old hen be
tied by the leg. After this period OF
tenderness there is another, viz: When
they are shooting the red," as it is
called. There seems at this particular
time to be much blood in the quill
feathers of the wings.
New grain of wheat or oats is not
good for young turkeys; if, however,
they have the run in the fields, they
will. with the gleanings, catch many
insects or insect larvae, which they pre-
fer even to the grains and these have
no bad effects on their health. If they
were not so mischievous and destruc-
tive on small fruits and grapes they
would be very profitable. This, of
course, is of no effect on regular
poultry farm.
In the estimate of the value of poul-
try and the products of a hen dairy,
fancy stock and fancy prices are not
taken into accounts-C. W. Murtfeldt,
in st. Louis Republic.