The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1905-05-05
New Milford,
A SUCCESSFUL POULTRY FARM.

1t was the pleasure of the editor of
The BEE on Saturday to visit Pine
Hill farm in CHARLOTTESVILLE, the home
of E. H. Austin, and look over his fine
poultry. He is raising White Wyan-
dottes, White Leghorns, White Brah-
mas, besides experimenting with diff
ferent kinds of wild duck. He re-
CARDS the White Leghorns as the most
profitable fowl for eggs. These fowls
lay white, large egg, which takes
better in the New York market. Mr.
Austin has been making speciality in
raising the Mallard duck. and met
with quite good success. The Mallard
duck (AnaS Boschas) is next to the
wood duck the handsomest of the wild
ducks of North America and with the
possible exception of the Canvas
Back" the largest of what may be
called the edible ducks. 1t is also the
variety of all wild ducks that lends it,
self best to life Of captivity or par
tial confinement, and when to that is
added its hardness and prolificacy it
stands at the head of all others. These
birds were originally from wild stock
and are now three generations from
the original wild ducks. The young
thus effecting great change in their
nature and disposition. If the young
are raised under ducks, the old bird is
always on the lookout and ready to
give an alarm, and keeps the young
duckling constantly on the alert maxi
ing them very suspicious, whereas
when mothered by hens they are very
tame, eating freely from the hand and
running to meet their keeper and feed
er. This flock has always had the free
dom of the farm for most of the year,
rr0irr 4 or1 60uUvo tho hrNnl/ hol
q mile. in either directions; but from
the 1st of November till March, they
are kept confined in an enclosed piece
'of swampy land, where there is no op-
portunity for careless or lawleSs sports
men to trouble them. The enclosure
comprises nearly an acre of land with
gOOd-SiZed brook running through it,
which gives them plenty of exercise
and variety of food, rendering their
eggs very fertile and the young birds
when Matched very vigorous. They
are also yarded every night to protect
them from foxes, minks and other
night prowling vermin. They come to
the yard every night Of their own &C
cord, when they are fed and shut up,
but let out early in the:morning or aft
er March 10 as soon as they have laid.
When they first begin laying, they
drop their eggs anywhere in the yard;
but after little while, begin to lay in
nests; By removing the eggs every
day, they do not sit, and will lay from
80 to 100 eggs each, or until they be-
gin to mou1t IN July. The young are
very hardy, free from cholera, gapes
and lice; you can see them grow from
day to day. 1t is very seldom that one
is lost except by accident. AS an Or
namental water fowl for lake or stream
they are the handsomest, and for the
table, when properly cooked, are a
game bird OF rare excellence. Selec-
tion in breeding has added somewhat
to their size, without imparing their
quality. Birds for sale. Eggs in the
season. Mr. Austin is also expert
menting in breeding the wild wood
duck, the wild black duck and the ma
tive wild geese. For the wild duck
and black duck he has a wire netting
enclosure over Swampy piece of land.
Mr. Austin uses three Cyphers' incu-
bators and the Cyphers' brooders. The
day The. BEE representative called Mr.
Austin had about 400 chickens
in the breeders.