The Florida agriculturist., 1906-03-28
Poultry Notes.

a correspondent, OIL Cne southern
Planter, talks very plainly about the
exaggerated stories told of the great
profits in the poultry business.
From the correspondence that 1 re-
ceived relative to incubatOrs and
brOOders. it would seem that every
one i'm the universe and their cousins,
uncleS, and auntS read The Southern
Planter 1t is gratifying to note the
interest manifested in the poultry de-
partment. March is the month when
every one who intends to hatch chicks
that will do them good at the right
time must get busy, very busy. Chicks
Matched during this month will be-
gin to lay in September, if fed right
Do not Over-feed, but keep them grow
ing. We expect two large brOOds be-
fore these notes will reach the readers
Of The Planter. and we will not allow
our incubatOrS to get cool before
July 1st. We want to hatch and raise
at least $500 chicks. If one would
read the various incubator catalogues
and brOOder testimonials, this would
seem TO he very easy matter. 1t
would simply amount to matter OF
getting $500 fertile eggs, put them into
their particular machines, at the eX-
piratiOn of p days take out $500
chicks, put them into their ''raisemalP'
broOders. and you've got um. Alas,
Bruno. It's not so. There are blood
rings" dead chicks in the shell, Grip
pies, chilled chicks, roasted chicks.
bowel trouble" pip, colds, Over-fed
chicks, smOthered chicks, lice, mites.
rats. eats, owls. hawks, jackdaws,
minks. dogs, black grip, white zen
chanterS. etc. etc. between this and
the final roundup. If we get our
= 300 chicks out of 5000 eggs we will
say. well done" Our eggs were never
better. We hope to hatch good per
cent. and will try to raise every one"
That sounds encouraging. | cannot
why people cannot be
honest in the hen business as well as
in any other occupation. No man can
sell eggs that are all good. No man
can make an incubator that will hatch
every fertile egg. and no brOOder will
raise every chick. Every one knows
this to be true. Why do people write
and print such stuff? There is too
much misrepresentation in all poultry
The profits are figured too
big
| believe that poultry, properly
is the most profitable stock
that can be kept on the farm. A
friend of mine. writing from a North
ern city in December last. said eggs
were precious as pearls / think,
much more so. | would rather have
two nice fresh eggs in my waffles for
breakfast than a quart of pearls. Let
is he honest and give the hen credit
for what they do and give them
.hance to do their best. They are
better than Il gold mine. because there
S no chance about the hen business.
Dut do not believe the big stories
old about the wonderful profits in
poultry. Even the old, reliable Plant
er gets caught mapping occasionally
md prints one of these "whOppers."
IN the February issue it prints Il clip
ping from Country Gentleman. page
Id: "A big poultry farm This
nan ships 10000 dozen eggs a year
lie keeps his hens on the colony plan.
10 i'm house. He has 100 of these
houses This means 1000 hens. They
must lay 81 dozen eggs each to make
40. 900 dozen in IL year. 1t takes
welve eggs to make a dozen in Vir-
,inia. and that means that every one
II those hens laid 400 eggs in 365