The Globe-republican., 1903-09-17
POULTRY
Raising Turkeys.

4, Raising Turkeys.
From Farmers Review: It seems
to me that our western farmers do
not give enough attention to this
grand variety Of fowls. So many
think, | suppose, that they are hard to
raise, and that the price which they
bring In the market Is not commen.
surate with the bother and work ne
cessary to raise them, but too many
Of them 70 at It the wrong way. My
way Of raising turkeys is as follows,
! and | have always met with good sue
cess:
4 After a few warm days as spring
approaches, the turkey hen will begin
to think Of nesting, and where early
turks are desired make nests near
some Of the outbuildings, In desir.
able place, with barrels having both
ends out. With both ends out Of the
barrel the hen can go on and leave
her nest without disturbing her eggs
In the least, for IL she should by any
mistake or accident break an egg she
would be very apt to acquire the habit
of egg-eating, which is very bad In a
chicken, but doubly so in turkey hen,
After she has laid some twelve or
fifteen eggs, she will be wanting to sit
and II you want large turks and
heavy weights In the fall. regardless
Of the numbers, set her. But II you
wish more eggs and a larger number
Of turks, let her choose her own nest;
thrown upon her own resources she
will sometimes wander quite q dis
tance hunting a suitable place to de.
post her eggs,
You should keep watch Of her and
daily remove the eggs lest they be.
come chilled. Substitute a nest egg
Of some kind, and nearly every time
you get o turkey egg place a hens
egg In the nest. After she has laid
o number Of eggs and thinks Of set
ting, remove all the nest eggs and
break up her nest. Taken by surprise
she will soon make herself another
nest, not far from the former, and
begin laying again. A turkey hen can
be made to lay thirty or forty eggs In
a season by following up this plan. !
allow fifteen eggs, as q general rule,
to a turkey hen, although an old one
could probably cover more than that
number.
After they have hatched allow
them free range, but keep them in
field where the grass is short, as the
tall grass on dewy mornings Is hard
on the young turks. After they are
two weeks old allow them to go
wherever they please. When they are
able to fly well, drive them home to
roost, keeping this up until they come
without 1t.
As turkeys are Of a romadic dis
position, the only true way to raise
them Is with the turkey hen. She
will take them out into the meadows,
teach them to eat grass and clover,
and that natural food Of all fowls,
grasshoppers, bugs and other insects,
and the sooner they are compelled to
subsist principally on them the health
Ter they Will become, and the better
II will be for the farmer, as they de-
stroy the insects which some years
play such sad havoc with his crops.
OF this great American breed Of
fowls there are many varieties, the
Narraganset, slate, white and NAM
moth bronze being the most popular.
Each Of these varieties has Its friends,
but | believe the mammoth bronze to
be the most desirable, as 1t combines
vigor, size II having had one once
that reached the remarkable weight OF
fftytwo pounds), and beauty above
all varieties. 1t Is not an uncommon
things for a bronze male to tip the
scales at forty pounds. Young birds
will weigh, with proper care and feed.
Ing, males twenty to twenty-five
pounds and females from ten to If
teen pounds by Thanksgiving, and,
taking into consideration care, feed,
etc., | believe there is nothing the
farmer raises that will net him as
much clear money as q flock Of tur.
keys.
No domestic fowl is more easily dc.
generated by inbreeding than the tur-
key. This Is a great mistake, too
often made by our farmers and be-
cause Of this many meet with failure
and daclare that the turkey Ia a hard