The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-01-24
.s'nPoultry Points.
lChicago Breeders Gazette.

lineage NdLCteC
Twenty-Five hens properly housed
and cared for will produce more eggs
in the winter and early spring than a
hundred fowls allowed to SHIFT for
themselves and find resting place
where they can.
Fowls. in fact all birds, require more
free air than any other of the donestl-
Gated animals. The horse comes next,
then sheep, then cattle and hogs. Cat
tie and swine seem less affected by
unventilatcd stables. But again. the
last three named are peculiarly suscep-
tible to tuberculous and other diseases
leading to disqualification OF the breath
ing apparatus.
Do not forget the bath for daily use
in the poultry house. 1t is not COM
posed of water. Fowls do not like
water except to drink. y poultry bath
is best composed Of six inches OF equal
parts of dry pulverizcd loan (road dusp
and clean ashes. that from wood pre-
ferable. in roomy box. If lice are
feared add a handful of fresh pyrethrum
powder to each bushel of dust and
ashes.
Have you good clean poultry house
where your fowls may be kept COM
Portable: If not you need not expect
eggs in the winter when they are worth
twenty-five cents a dozen. Neither
will your hens give you large profit
later on. You will look in vain for
eggs to start the incubator in February,
so that with the brooder you may have
broilers in May and June at big prices.
The house need not be an expensive
one. but it must be comfortable and
easily kept clean. If you want to build
one set about it Immediately.
\ feed of scalded meal stirred so il
| will crumble somewhat and fed early
on cold mornings will assist materially
in limbering up the shlvering fowls
| and cause the feathers to lie down
smooth but it is not cure for frozen
combs and wattles. The greater the
cold the more food must be eaten to
keep up the animal warmth. Hence il
is not nnwiSe economy to put small
stove in the hen house. properly pro.
! tected by Il wire screen. on the prlncl
pie that little fire is cheaper than q
good deal of extra food. Whatever the
temperature the heat of all warm
bIooded animals is 90 deg. Fab. Whes
much below that it means loss o
vitality. torpor. and if continued death
OF the Asiastic breeds the Cochins
the Brahmas and the Langshans are
the best. All are hardy. The latter
is a native of Northern China, a coun
Try as cold as Winconsin. but the
! Chinese do not allow fowls to roost il
The trees. They are too practical fol-
that. OF the French breeds the Houdal
and the Crevecuurs are best liked il
the United States. They are farl,
hardy and exceedingly fine in thei
flesh. The most valuable native breed
are Plymouth Rocks. Wyandottes, ant
DominiQues. and among the mos
profitable Of fowls. Of the non-settin:
breeds the LeShorns. the HamburSs
the Audalusiau and the Polands ar,
the best. and in our opinion in tn
order named. They lay large eggs an,
plenty of them. but must not be eX
posed 10 freezing weather in winter
Game fowls are credited with the mos
delicately favored eggs of any of tn
breeds
Most authorities seem to agree tina
a ration containing about twice a
much Of the fat formers as of muscl
makers gives best results in teedin
laying hens. The difficulty is that som
hens III the flock lay more than othe I
and their individual characteristics in
tertere with the application of tiNe
rules. For fattening hens the ration
should be about six times as much n
formers as muscle makers. The fac
that the food Of laying hens consists c
50 large a variety renders it imposSibl
to formulate a table of foods. As lon
as the hens are fed together instead 0
separately the non-laying ones will re
ceive the same food as the producin
ones. and will consequently tatten il
stead Of appropriating the food to eggs
Hence, owing TO these individual pecu
liarit!eS. the balanced ration is fixed a
one or two. which approaches Yer
nearly the composition of the egg.