Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-04-21
Sarn Copies.
A TALK ABOUT TURKEYS.


tlons of us have continuously lived, we
have for many years made money by
keeping turkeys. This is our way with
them, writes II. L. Reade of Jewett City,
Conn, in the independents: Ten is our
number-nine hens and cock. Half |
of the hens we intend shall be in their
second laying season; the other half IN
their first. From our young ones in the
fall we always select the best for moth
ers. We never keep the same cock two !
years, but change our best for the best
of some one else. This keeps our flock
constantly improving.
In April the trouble begins. The
rirest tidbit for skunk is turkeys |
egg, and for a fox turkeys body and
50 nesting near the house is the only
possible protection from these destruc-
tive marauders. Two ways we have
tried to keep the hens from seeking nest.
ing places at distance; putting theW
for part of the day in an ample pen
and watching. On the whole the last is
the best, for when once the turkey has
laid her first egg the trouble is over.
We put our gathered eggs in tin pans
with an inch of oats in the bottom.
These can be moved into warm room
when there is danger of freezing, and,
what is better, in this way we keep each
weeks eggs separate. When hen has
finished laying, we put under her eggs
laid at nearly the same time. That
brings the chicks all out the same day,
whereas if some of the eggs are two
weeks old or more, and some fresh,
there will be from one to two days diff
ference between the first Matched and
the last
When the turkey is ready to "come
off," we have triangular pen made of
,L.,n =, Yards, one foot wide and twelve
et, t. i brood. In these the
young ones are kept to, " N' .'v
week and fed with course grojlnd lna,.--
meal mixed with scalded soln' milk cuf0s
to which finely chopped hard-bOiled eggs
have been added. After week in the
pen the turkey, with her brood, is per-
mitted short range in the middle of
the day, but brought back to her in
closure without fail for the night. Soon
several broods of about the same age
can be let out together, and in most
cases they will keep near each other,
so that the watching and the gathering
of one will include all. When two
weeks old we dispense with the board
inclOsure and put them all together into
a turkey house for the nights. This
may be barn floor or an incosed shed,
but must be place where they can be
fed, and where they can be kept in if
the weather be stormy and cold. Moth
ing kills Il young turkey quicker than a
cold, ret rain.
This housing for the night we continue
until the young turkeys are well feather
ed, and able to do considerable flying.
We then encourage the mothers to take
their broOds into tree near the house,
or better into roost prepared; and this
ends almost wholly the care and work
IVA INV oNhSoh' Oui lul hCNS COlllt W TIE
house every noon with great regularity
TO get their lunch of cracked corn, and
at night to get their supper of the san e.
Their breakfast is bugs, which they find
in their early and happy rambes.
1t is generally best for us to sell our
turkeys for Thanksgiving if the broods
come off early and have done well for the
summer and so we feed them from about
the first of October all that they will eat :;
corn for one meal, and dough-of the
same material-for the other. They
seem to like this change and will take
about twice the food they otherwise
would.
Until two years ago we have kept the
brown or the bronze varieties; now we
have the white, and we like them best.
They are beautiful as denizens of the old
farm. They are the swans of the land,
only handsOmer, and one never tires of
having them around and seeing their
graceful movements and perfect forms.
Besides this they bring better price.
mas and then sold them for twenty-four
cents "a pound tor the Providence. r. l.,
market, and some of them with their
, white feathers on at that.
do not believe they cost our farmer
, ten cents a pound. think we can pay
reasonably for all the trouble and in full
for all the grain they eat, and then put
them on the market at ten cents and
make fair profit. All the rest would
be extra.
The New England market for New
England turkeys would not be supplied
. If ten times as many were raised AS there
have been for the last twenty years.
Why will not more go into the business?
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