The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1899-12-21
POULTRY RAISING
More Out of Poultry According 10
Investment Than Anything ELSE.


More Out of Poultry According toI
Investment Than Anything ELSE.
The following extract Is taken from
n paper read by Ira Coitinchnm before
an Illinois Farmers Institute. | am
iuaking more out OF my poultry for the
amount invested in them than any
filing ] am handling on the farm. II
would further say that the poultry in.
dustry in the United States when fig
ured in dollars and cents is second to-
no grain crop. During the famine of
~ few years ago in the West many
families were kept from starving by
HE flocks of hens that they kept, and
! was told by men travelling through
Nebraska at that time that the only
thing the farmers shipped out was
eggs But perhaps some of you are
thinking that the poultry business Isl
+. being overdone. and that it will be
more so in the future. Do you know
when the idea started? Away back
several thousand years ago a lady by
tho name of Mrs. Noah had Il hen and
rooster. and after the hen had laid fif-
teen eggs she set her and Matched fif-
teen chickens. Then some one began
To shout that the poultry business was
going to be ovcrdone and that cry is
still being shouted Well is It being
Cverdone? Not as long as we are i'm
porting thousands of eggs every year
into the United States. Why is 1t that
we can allow our Canadian brothers to
send their eggs over here and pay two
cents a dozen duty on them? | believe
we can produce chickens and eggs here
as cheap as anywhere on earth. We
have cheap feed and can use much
hot .ntl 70 hrf
Why, one of my neighbors got feeding
some sawdust with his feed and the
hens liked it so well that he fed moth
ing else. After while one hen laid
thirteen eggs: three of the chickens
had wooden legs and the other ten
were wood peckers.
will tell you my plan of ca, ing for
flock on the farm for profit. In the
fist place provide shelter fof your
chickens or else quit the business.
You cannot make n profit out of the
business and expect your flock to roost
in trees and on fences. / do not want
you to think for n moment that | am
going TO recommend you to build
Queen Anne houses. because | do not
believe in that; neither have ever seen
anyonc using such houses that was
making any money. If you want
something good enough for any farmer
and also good enough for anybody's
hens make your house warm and COM
Portable, and if you can add beauty to
it do so. Build you houses with barn
boards or shiplap and shingle roof
Yen will find the shingle roof the
cheapest in the long run. Build your
house ten or twelve feet wide, with
roof sloping one way, and that to the
nCrth. Before putting on the shingles
cover the sheathing with tarred paper
and on top of this place your shingles;
then you have roof that is n roof.
Then line the house with the paper.
You will find 1t cheap and it will make
It warm. If you have an old house
try lining with the tarred paper and
see how warm you can make it. Have
sCme windows in the south side. but
do not Overdo the thing. Divide your
house into two parts, using one for a
feeding room and the other for roost-
ing. I have seen several houses where
the south side of the feeding room was
covered with heavy muslin instead Of
windows and it made good room. In
your feeding house keep six to eight
inches of fine straw or chaff and feed
all grain in the straw, making the
chickens scratch for it.
Do not build your houses too high, as
1t takes more lumber and it will be
colder: five feet on the north side is
high enough. Put your roosts on a.
level about two and half or three
feet from the ground and make them
so you can easily take them out when
cleaning. Have plenty of room, for
you cannot get satisfactory results
when your birds are crowded. Better
sell off Il few fowls and build good
shelter with the money for the balance.
In feeding | use a large amount of
corn Many think we should not feed
much corn. yet | use it with good re-
suits. ] use oats, white screenings
and anything that is cheap and handy.
believe many people make a mistake
IN selling off the grain on the farm
and buying bigh-prced feed. This is
taking too many into the business to
make It pay. Mr.. Armour is making
thousands of dollars by saving the lit
tie things that you and l throw away
| mean that he is killing and selling
hogs. sheep and cattle at an actual
loss. hut his profits are made from the
by-nrOlyctS