The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-01-30
PROFITABLE POULTRY
Should Be in Good Condition
When Marketed.
HOW TO CARE FOR CHICKENS

HOW TO CARE FOR CHICKENS
Pains Must Be Taken In shippins-How
to Get Early Broilers-Agricul-
tural Suggestions.
With the advent of cold weather
enormous masses Of poultry in all
stages Of unfitness have been rushed to
market. This is no new thing. Il
occurs regularly every year, and the
farmers complain that there is no
money in poultry. No doubt they are
right There is none, any more than
there is in poor. wormy fruit or bad
butter, says writer in the New York
World.
While this state of the market Affect
ed the prices obtained for all grades of
poultry, Of course it was the inferior
stock that suffered chiefly. The loss
might have been avoided by proper
care in fattening and the culling out
and marketing of the stock only as it
became fit. This would have extended
the shipments over a much greater
period and prevented the glut and con.
sequent drop which actually occurred.
! Many farmers say it does not pay
to keep fowls after cold weather sets in
and that they have not sufficient &C.
commodation for them. Both of these
are very poor reasons. If it pays to
raise poultry at all, it pays to keep it
until in fit condition to bring money
and credit when marketed. The
amount necessary to fatten is but
trif1e compared to that consumed dur.
ing the whole of the fowls previous
existence, and it is upon that trifle that
the question of profit or loss depends.
All previous care will count for
nothing if the birds are denied the
requisite finishing.
If your poultry accommodations are
too limited, enlarge them; but keep the
fowls until they are fit. Don't market
them a day before. Happy go-lucky
methods may have answered in days
when prices were high and competition
light, but they won't do now. The
struggle is too keen. City people know
good article when they see it. They
are quite as quick as any farmer at dis
eliminating, and they pay accordingly.
Those poultry raisers who recognize
this are the ones who make money.
Shipping Poultry.
Considerable stock is lost by ship.
ping in WORKOUT coops, which come
apart in transit if roughly handled, as
sometimes happens. Every coop
should be carefully examined, and all
bottoms and cleats securely nailed.
The coops should be strong but light;
heavy wood is unnecessary if long nails
are used. They should not be 30 large
as to render handling difficult.
The coops should be high enough to
allow the poultry to stand easily up
right, and should not be overcrowded.
The close packing and too low coops
are cruel and cause loss by suffocation.
Hens and roosters should be shipped
separately whenever possible.
How to Get Early Broilers.
If you want your hens to lay in the
fall and early winter when eggs are
worth % cents, never keep a hen after
she is three years old, and turn out
your pullets early in the spring, says
the North Yakima Farmer. The way
to get early pullets is to hatch the eggs
in an incubator and have several little
brooder houses, the kind that 81. A.
March has on Fidalgo island. Erect
% rle
wide and seven feet high, and tack
black asphaltum paper all over the in
side. The size should be ten feet
square. Lay a floor Of rough boards.
In the center Of it have the "mother."
Under this mother the chickens will
huddle. Have a thermometer hang
ing under the raised platform and keep
the temperature at ninety by turning
the screw of the lamp up or down. At
the back Of the brooder house make
little slot drop gate, and when the
spring days are bright and warm
enough, raise this and let the chicks
run out on a little grass plat fenced
with laths. This yard should be wide
as the house, ten feet, and about TWEEN.
ty feet long. With such an arrange
ment brother March has thousands Of
chicks growing before any one else
sets hen. He gets his broilers COCK
erels) on the Seattle market in April
when they are worth rs cents apiece.
And in November and December he has
thousands of dozens Of eggs in barrels
kept fresh by preparation Of lime.
Our Agricultural Suggestions.
Good land will not produce a good
crop without good cultivation.
Paper cans are now being introduced
in place of tin cans, for preserving
fruit.
If there is a stagnant pool Of water
near the house or on the farm where
the stock can get at it, drain it some
how.
We are asked if ground cob is valu.
able! Corn ground on the cob. with
say half it's bulk of oats, mixed with
cut hay makes good ration for COWS
or horses.
Take extra care of improved stock,
Is advice often given. Take extra care
of any kind of stock. In fact tho
poorer the stock the better the care it
needs to insure any return whatever.
Some people gather the potato vines
with a revolving rake before digging.
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