The Florida agriculturist., 1905-11-08

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the May and June chicks, well l have
some of them yet, but the rest, ''they
just died, that's all"
In the Farm-POultry, August 1st
number l read of a brother herman
in Oregon whose experience is identi-
cal with mine and | notice the editor
remarks that such cases are common
throughout the United States so there
must be something wrong with all
creation, you see. 1t surely can't be
''us fellows" after all these years of
experience in hen culture. Then again
we hear that sweet refrain maybe
perhaps" it's dry feed, it's wet feed, no
feed at all is best. Then you go down
to your neighbOrs who hasn't lost a
chick by the ''just died. style and you
find him going contrary to all accepted
rules and regulations, feeding corn
meal and sour milk with lusty strong
chicks coming from all directions
"Will some one that has raised more
than ten chicks please explain? But
maybe about the business its all right
even with the losses.
-Four thousand fresh eggs would
sell for at least $50 at Matching time
Well, suppOSing you incubate them
instead and you hatch 80 per cent. and
You raise 30 per cent. of those you
hatch, which would be 1000 chicks
worth at least $500; that beats fresh
eggs at cents each, now don't it?
So afflicted brethren don't get discour-
aged, try again as Bro. Ward says,
but remember to not count your chicks
till the marketman comes, but, my
how it hurts our cOnceit, we old vets
that feel as though relegated into the
novice class, with chances of getting
to the end of the class at that
One reads of some vast business
mastered, but you read further and
you find it isn't the hen business. and
that there are hen crlturiSts who be-
came milliOneires through that void
ton. but with all our disappOintments
and the ever present peculiarity of the
business to prevent the increase of
millionaires, we keep at it, because
well, in my own case. the fascination
uneXplainable and surely undefinable
imperfectly understood at the best
and the more one studies the stronger
becomes the problem. My latest ex-
perience and Investigation of cases
might be of benefit an experience
which leads me to thoroughly investi
gate the, supposed to be, most harm
less necessary i'm the growing of young
chicks and ducklings, namely, fresh
water
In growing my Muscovey ducklings
L pen them up nights for the first four
or five weeks secure from rats, etc, till
g a. m. In order to facilitate work
L thought l would let them out about
half an hour before 1 fed, watering
them when l let them out About the
second morning along after a. m
L CHANGED in the duck yard and found
twelve Or fifteen of the youngest duck
lingS lying here and there i'm stupor
or cramps with eXcrements all about
OF sloppy wet sand consistency, and
at once it flashed through my mind
that the almost ice cold water from
my well had chilled them. (My duck
fountains are constructed to prevent
ducklingS getting into them to swim
l gave them remedies at once such
as pepper-cOrnS Or whole pepper and
lost but two that day and one the
next day, at present writing three OF
four are still on the anxious seat
but their drinking water is slightly
warmel every time l have occasion
to replenish the fountains and things
have wonderfully improved thereby
The above experience brings to mind
the idea or notion perhaps. yes per