The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1904-08-10

A model chicken farm which has
been conducted only six months, but
which is already among the most pros
porous of the many and varied new in
dustries in and about Savannah, is
that conducted by Mr.. Robert Saussy
at the Bona Bella farm between Thun-
derbolt and Sandfy, on the Savannah
Electric Co.'S. road, says the Savannah
News.
The place is an ideal one for the bus
mess, as is shown by the success that
has already been achieved In fact,
poultry raising on rather large scale
has been conducted on the farm for
about eighteen years, though only
since Mr.. Saussy took hold of the bus
mess has it been put on plane to
make it commercially important. The
farm aouts on stretch of marsh and
the first effort in raising poultry was
devoted to ducks, of which large guam
titles were sold to New York markets,
but high transportation rates and 9TH
err considerations finally caused this
branch of the business to he aabndon-
ed, and then the attention of the own
ers was devoted to chickens.
When the property came into the
hands of the present owners, one of
whom is Mr.. SaussY, the stock of
chickens consisted of about 300 head
of grown barred Plymouth Rock fowls.
This breed appears to be among the
best, both as layers and for the table.
and so no change was made. but the
flock was added to by breeding at the
farm until it now numbers about 1000.
The property contains some thirty
three acres, and as each acre of ground
will support 100 hens the stock will be
increased to something more than
5000.
\ large part of the revenue of the
farm is derived from the sale of eggs,
of which from twenty-five to thirty
dozen are secured day during the
laying season, but large part of these
are also Matched to keep up and in
crease the stock of brood fowls. The
remainder are for the market.
The Matching is done by means of
three incubators, two of them with
capacity of 300 eggs each, and the
third capable of accommodating $50
eggs. 1t is usual to secure chickens
from about Is per cent of the eggs.
The temperature of the machine is
kept at lob degrees, and the heat is
secured and regulated by system of
hot water pipes with which the ma
chine is fitted.
The water is heated by several self.
adjusting lamps that need little atten-
ton, the exact amount of heat being
maintained by means of an arrange
ment that adjusts the temperature au-
tomatically. After the chickens are
Matched they are kept in the machine
for thirty-six hours, then taken out
and later carried to the pens. The
Matching season begins in September
and euds the last of April.
Because OF the care required by the
biddies when they are very young the
hatchings are so arranged that only
one of the machines shall turn out a
brood at time, so that by the time a
new brood has arrived the youngsters
of the previous one are fairly able to
take care of themselves. They are well
taken care of, too, and from chick
ems standpoint can have nothing to
complain of, unless it be their ultimate
fate to furnish the piece de resistance
at dinner later on.
While still young the chicks are fed
five times day, their food consisting
of cracked wheat chiefly. AS they
grow older the number of feeding
times is cut down until they amount to
but two, one in the morning, the Sec
ond in the late afternoon. The grown
chickens are fed on bran, corn meal
and meat scraps in the morning and
cracked corn and oats in the afternoon.
A variety is given the menu by fur
nishing them from time TO time with
shrimp and with crushed crabs. In
addition they have the run of certain
amount of grassy land, and are fur
nished with an abundant supply of