Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-03-22
Some Excellent Things
Ahout Poultry,


why so many farmers cannot make their
fowls pay. They allow them to rough
it and then complain if they do not get
good returns. Good houses, good feed
ing and good care speak for themselves.
The old maxim "He who by the pillow
would thrive himself must either hold or
drive fits the poultry business, just as
It does the farm. When farmers are
inclined to find fault with the resuts
of the poultry part of the farm If they
would first examine the treatment they
are giving their fowls probably they
would not have so much to say. There
are so many little things that should be
attended to for the comic. and profit
ableness of the hens. that we can
scarcely do justice to the subject IN ~
or Is minutes, the time allotted us in
these farm Institutes. However il YOU
will bear with me for little time | will
try to give you few plain poultry
points. CHECKER 10 be profitable must
be Matched early. That is February
and March for the heavy breeds and
April and May for the smaller and
earlier maturing breeds. Pallets that
are Matched at this season of the year
are fully developed before the cold
weather sets in. and will begin laying
in October and November and with
proper care can be kept at it most OF
the winter while chicks that are Matched
as late as june and July will grow and
do nicely, they will be undeveloped at
the b. ginning of winter, and no system
of feeding will apparently induce them
to contribute their share towards filing
the egg-basket. Three or four dozen
eggs during the winter means that the
pulst has paid for herself and begins
the summer season with balance in
her favor Some of your hens or pull
let's that have been laying all winter
will become broody early thus enabling
You to set them and hatch again for an
other year. Feed is one of tae main
things to be careful about. A hungry
hen is always healthy hen. Better
fe, too little than too much Aim tor
the correct middle and keep it. Per-
haps the best feed for little chicks Is
hard boiled eggs chopped flee, she'll and
all. AS they get older, small seeds.
shrunk wheat, ETC.. is what they will do
the best on. Avoid raw corn meal
dough and all SLOPPY feed as much as
possible. II you must and will feed
coru-meal dough, use boiling water to
nix it with. aud don't forget TO add q
liltls salt aud pepper Yon will find
that piece OF well baked, dry corn.
bread is very much better. Their little
gizzards were made to grind their feed.
and if you fill their crops continually
with soft food you to certain extent
derange the system and invite disease.
The main thing TO feed for Is health and
u
ever raised never ate a spoonful OF soft
food in their livea. IL is quite natural
for fowls TO pr, fer var eiy and to be all
day collecting n cropfull You may
feed LID, lily Of anything you likein the
morning. repeat II at no n and again at
night, and they win not do nearly as
well as when fed little and often. Ex-
ercse and water are two things over
looked by great many who would o.h-
erwise make a succ, $ of poultry. Ii is
our failures that prompt us TO do better.
once thought the hens We're neglected
il they did not have good. rich, hot
mash for the morning meal, another
good, big dinner and sum p'uous sup
per. ny observing closely | found that
they filed their crops iuil in the morn.
ing, then climbed back on the perches
aud waited for II to digest and Ter me
to come again al noon with something
for them 10 eat. They took no exercise.
Why should hey, when all they had to
do was 10 wait for mep l sometimes
think person ought 10 % stngy who
feeds chickens.
Make the hens get a move on them;
see that they hustle A la1} hen is an
abomination. They do not lay eggs,
but instead they p,oduce fat when u IS
not wanted. aud are vely apt 10 breed
di,esse Make scratching and
make them work for every gram theA
get. TIE wide-awake heu, ths one hM
IS always hungry and has a merry egg
song to sing, is the one that paws 10
keep. Don't forget the water, nne Of
the most important srlcl'S u the pout
try hilt Of fare aud one which is so often
neglected A fe supply should be
kept constantly before the fowls N,rf
few people apparently know tha' wafer
enters largely into the composition Of
an egg, and hens cannot produce eggs
unless they have plenty of it. When
the weather is very cold water should
be furnished two or three tunes day.
and il should have the emil taken off Of
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