Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-04-12
|EGG PRODUCING CHICKENS DR.. PURNELL KILLS TIGER
E. p. Potter Tells How He flakes
Success of the Business.

q success OF the Business.
AT present the matter of egg produc
ing chickens is the all absorbing topic
with many farmers and other people.
E p. Potter. of Wilmington, is one of
the most successful egg producing chick
EN- raisers. He sends the following to
the ErSry Ercning:
II send you the record of my IS hens
for the past two months. In February
they laid 263 eggs, nearly 9ls per dav.
or 80 per cent. In March they laid 3S5.
about l2l. per day. or go per cent In
Erery Erening of February 18th was
published my December and January
record, which averaged 81 per cent
We gathered 635 eggs from 10 hens. and
in February and March Gas, making an
average for the four winter months o.
81 per cent. The record of Mr. Brosius
Smedley. as published in Eccry Ercn ug
of March Goth, for three months. up TO
March 24th. was "a per cent, and that
Of Mrs. Bently 10 per cent, therefore so
far as heard from we claim the banner
for egg producers. My success one year
ago was nearly as good.
Now if you will allow me space, |
will give my methods for the benefit Of
others, having had many inquiries for
it. In the first place | find there is
not so much in the breed as there is in
the feed and in the way the hens are
fed and sheltered OF pure breeds /
have two black Langshangs, four black
Minorcas, five brown Leghorns. two
barred Rocks and the other five are
Mongrels. but they all seem to get down
to an equality when it comes TO laying.
In fact, they have all been so engaged
has had time 10 think of propagating
her species. | feed only at morning
and noon and always whole grain. most.
ly wheat, with little buckwheat added
This is thrown in the straw in their
scratching pen. y here they will work
perfectly contented for nOurs. l also
give little millet seed and an ear or
two of corn everyday is thrown in their
yard.
"My henhouse is about 4x2S feet, half
for scratching pen, the other half for
roosts and nets. A door is closed be
tween them at night. This house is
well protected on two sides but the
north and west sides are of rough boards
with stripped joints: The room is of
matched boards covered with tar paper
no lining of any kind being used.
My flock always has access to a dust
box, grodnd oyster shells and pure water
warmed in cold weather in the morning.
They are fed all the table scraps. some
times warmed up and peppered. Bones
are cut fine, with a hatchet; also they
get an occasional head of cabbage They
are given no ground feed. clover, meal
or any of the so.called egg producing
whatever. They have access To a yard
75 feet square in fine weather We
have spent about 10 minutes each day
in their care, have paid out 81 for their
feed and have gathered about l07 dozen
Eggs the past four months.
Any flock of hens with Indifferent
care will produce eggs as soon as spring
appears and eggs go down in price.
but winter prices are the paying ones.
Many farmers have fed as much grain
per hen this winter as have and they
got but few, if any. eggs. What have
done the past two winters others can do
making q success instead of failure of
winter poultry. The idea prevails that
a small flock will do better than large
one. If that is true then divide up into
small fiocks and treat each one as such.
There is no reason why each separate
pen will not do as well as mine has
done. There are many good breeds
from which To choose. My favorite at
present is the black Langshang The
cockerels when nine months old weigh
l2 pounds and the pullets eight, live
weight. When one of these Is dressed
for the table we can easily imagine we
are having a turkey dinner