Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-05-04
S. B. Of Patch Grove asks:

! what disease is there that is located in
/ the feet 81 turkies or Chickens nave sew
/ en- late Matched turkeys that are walking
around as though they were afraid Of step
/ ping on live Goals. There are small prOtub-
| bic seems To be in the thick part Of the foot
They appear all right otherwise. How
should they be treateds
Your fowls have what is termed
bumble-foot. This disease is in many
cases caused by the fowls flying down
from high roosts and alighting on
some hard substance resulting in
bruises that are precisely like what
we usually call gals. The
flesh Of the feet being so tough the
pus cannot escape. Therefore, if not
attended to it must CONCEAL and an
ungainly, troublesome foot be the re-
suit. When discovered before the
pus congeals lance the swelling at the
rear OF the foot and the pressure up
on it in walking will press the pus
out and there will be a much smaller
callous than ii allowed to settle down
of its own accord. This disease oc-
ours very frequently among the heavy
breeds OF chickens where they are al
lowed to rooste high and when they
fly down on hard substances, such as
gravel iloors board floors, etc, they
are nearly sure to have the disease.
Bum ble-foot may be prevented in a
great degree by providing low roosts
and keeping the floor Of the fowl house
covered with loose sand or better still
good dry straw, say three inches deep,
which costs less than to doctor fowls
for want OF it.
&. W T. OF Platteville asks:
How many breeds would you advise nov
ice 10 start with Please give your opinion
Of the business as to making living out OF
il for small family
Reply to first question is easy.
Never attempt TO keep more than one
breed at time until you have mas
tered some Of the perpleXities. In
the first place it is easier to learn the
points Of one breed than two. Again,
a flock OF chickens all of a size and
color catches the eye Of the passer-by
much quicker than several colors to-
gether There will be no trouble in
regard to mixing the breeds if you
have only one breed. You will be-
come an expert on that breed and
when you have learned all there is in
that one breed and you still have the
hen fever, add more breeds.
Second, my opinion is worth but
little in this matter but I'll say this.
If you have liking for the poultry
business and are willing to devote
your time TO it you can make a good
living. Ii you have some cheap
rough land you can make money Dy
keeping hens just for their eggs, 1t
will cost bushel OF corn or its equiv
client in other feed to keep each hen
year or say fifty cents Any old dung
min Of hen ought to lay ten dozen
eggs in year. At twenty cents in
winter and ten cents in summer this
would equal one dollar and fifty
cents or in other words make a profit
Of one dollar on each hen Who
could not take care OF three or four
hundred hens? There are various
other ways to make money in the
poultry business. You might raise
hroilers for the market or YOU might
drift into the fancy poultry. Keep
nothing but strictly first class stock.
Turkies, ducks and geese are quite
profitable when properly cared for.
A lock of Pekin ducks will grow into
money rs fast rs any other animal on
the farm. They will eat anything eN-
cept tobacco and potato bugs and at
six weeks old can Zoe sold for thirty
rAia