Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-07-27
OUR MAINE FARMERS.
Poultry Pot. POurvj,

Poultry Pot. Pourri.
business, even now, but when ! began1
five years ago ! actually thought knew
more about Ii than l am convinced that1
| do now. ! had ideas then-now | havel
experience but as ii is said one swallow
doesn't make summer, SO one result
may not prove general truth-an axiom
which will be safe guide. ! think be-
gan right. thanks to advice of poultry
papers of the right sort. big bump OF
caution and a limited capital from
which the reader may rightly infer that
! began small | am small yet in mum.
bers kept. and have been all along.
have kept what | thought my best birds
mated according to the correct methods
nsar " a S, could get At i ana
ing, and rejecting and think ! have
mock twenty five per cent better than
mat | had at first, as an expert JHage
been my only breed until two years ago
| and their popularity with the farmer and
the fancier indicates that as hrst.
fowl which one should gve-yes, make
exercise, if not they will get too rat ana
| liver trouble, breaking down and kindred
evils Will follow. | was very careful nor
| to overfeed my first thoroushbreds, but
later on | thought what corn the birds
| would eat up quickly would not De too
| much and dealt it out rather literally. l.
! had received an application Tor some ~
| 10. hens and my six months old pull
| let's which looked as large as my hens.
| were not more than standard weight, |
| wrote that | had nothing that would fill
| the bill, One day in February | picked
up a June Matched pullet which had been
| given the generous feed of corn spoken
| of above and was surprised to note her
weight. She was like lead aud on being
| weighed tipped TBS. ) OF. all right. 4
| thought that rather fine AS she died the
| last of March or the first of April and A.
| number of other good pullets with her /
| concluded less corn would be better.
! Many will feed a constant corn diet all
| the hens will eat. ana then curse their
stars because their hens wont lay.
| NV idea is that If YOU wish early lay
ers you must have chicks Matched early.
Out of one clutch of eggs set in March.
eleven eggs as | remember. / got four
chicks. Two lived, Matched March 23d;
The pulet began laying August 10 AMI
| kept il up right along which was pretty
good for a four and one-half months old
that grew up in a small yard: I have a
pretty good bakers dozen of White Wy
| andottes Matched early in April or the
| present year which have had free range
| and am anxious to know II they VIII
| lay at early an age. but don't really
| expect it, though they look well and ar"
large for their age. They We're from the
same matings which produced the hrst
| prize pen at Boston. 1899, and | will say
that for large yellow legs and white
plumage ! have not seen any to go ahead
of them. Mr.. Gainiey should land right
ues to mate his pens as inteliigently as
he seems 10 have done.
Never sell your best birds unless you
are intending to sell all. BY knowing
the best and carefully selecting such
| each year as breeders. you will soon he
able to materially raise the standard of
your flock.
| Don't imagine you can earn money with
a flock of hens more easily than with
which farmers depend upon for thelf
ready money. Work of the right KIND
counts and without good care and con-
slant attention your profits Will De ma
terally lessened.
If you are beginning without experience
get all you can of the experience of those
somebody dear probably. At the same
time don't place implicit confidence in all
YOU read in poultry papers. or at any
rate see that your case and that or the
writer are alike. since what produces
success in one case might in the other
bring utter failure from the fact the cir
cumstances were different.
The natural incubator-the sitting hen
words H ' The - hen which sits Quietly,
chickens in the nest. nor treads on them
in the early days of their life. may just
ly be computed jewel. but there are
few of her. Broken eggs. squawklngs
and flutterings and two or three chicks
crushed or trodden to death are the usual
thing Poultry breeders should see that
all their hens are tame so that they may
be handled at will 1t is just about as
easy to have them SO and the results are
much more satisfactory. The natural in
cubator is all right if she has been prop
erly managed
Scaly leg is said to be caused by an
insect by the books, which are probably
correct yet ] believe the soil in the he'll
yard has much to do with the disease.
| NV fowls on a clay loan yard were al
| ways troubled in this way in spite of
remedies. on a graVeliy soil their legs
| began to smooth up without any medl-
| cines. Has any reader of the Journal
had a similar experience? | have no
| doubt on a sandy soil the results would
be equally pleasing.
Sell the males is the cry now both
the breeding cocks and cockercs." This
| is the advice of the utility papers. but II
| should not be needed by the breeder in
| trying for something better than he had
| before. The results from Il certain
may prove good that he will wish he
had the parent birds to try the same
| matinSs again. ! venture to say that out
| of the many advertisements which offer
all breeding stock for sale to make room
| for the chicks not one in ten but keep.
| some favorite pen and it is too carly now
| to be sure just what our stock will be.
OF course many intend each year to Sc
cure new blood in the male line. but
among good breeders this Is not consd.
cred the better way to build up a strain
| of valuable fowls. As | have many
| feathers and egg production as valu-
| able market fowl, need not be widely
separated, are not in fact much
many people think or would try to make
out. One kind Of utility fowl are the
| sort that can't win prizes at the poultry
shows. so go in for the utility class ami
If someone else has well appearing pen
Of fowls they are too pretty to be good.