The independent., 1907-04-04
PRACTICAL UTILITY POULTRY NOTES
BY A. ID. BURHANS.

raised by "hen power the past year
and four or five hundred more were
grown by the artificial method of in
cuhatiOn and breeding. During the win
ter about four hundred head of early
Matched pullets were kept in the colony
houses and fed for winter eggs. They
were of we'll bred stock and shelled out
the eggs when they were high in price.
The eggs were sold on the average
market but because they were strictly
fresh a premium of two or three cents
per dozen was asked and easily re-
ceived for each dozen sold. One hotel
at ST. Joseph, took all of the eggs that
could be spared by the farm.
The fruit on this farm consisted of
plums, pears, cherries, apples and
peaches. Some Strawberries were also
grown. The fowls run among all of the
fruit except the strawberries and these
were So far away from the center of
the farm that the chicks did not bother
them. The soil which made up the ma
jority of farm was of light clay loan
and none too well adapted to general
farming, indeed it was too hilly and
washed too much. A heavy cover crop
was kept in the orchard the whole year
round. This made excellent picking for
the fowls in the way of green feed
and they also secured d great many
bugs and worms.
The fowls ranging in the orchard de-
vour many insects that are injurious
to the trees and the man who had
charge of the fruit told the writer that
the trees close to the center Of the
poultry houses and cOops grew much
better fruit, there being less blemishes
than were on the fruit of the trees that
fo bay kni toI or
the general run of forage that the fowls
made.
"GOod Luck" With Chickens.
Did you ever notice that the poultry
grower who had good luck" from one
years end to another in the growing
Of chickens, selling Of eggs when they
were high in price, and his general
poultry work was more or less of
mandy man in caring for the stock and
performing the countless details that
might make up a big success of the
business? Tho element Of luck that en-
ters poultry growing is nothing more
than constant attention to the small
details. The little things go to make up
the whole and very often if one of them
is neglected 1t affects the whole sea-
sons work. For instance, If a poultry
grower crowds his chicks too much or
allows them to be jammed up in their
coops for couple of weeks or SO he
will have such a lot Of trouble from
sweating and considerable more in
short time from roup and colds that he
will not give the chicks another chance
to perform a like trick as long as he is
raising poultry
Not long ago utility poultry grower
who acquired more from winter eggs
than from any other revenue from the
flock, built a good poultry house in a
dry location and put good floor in IL
to keep his fowls up off the damp
ground. He double walled the north
side With plenty of windows to admit
light and fresh air. When he carried in
numerous basketsful of eggs from his
two hundred head OF pulIets confined in
thls house. his neighbors, also keeping
chickens called him lucky and said his
luck was always good ct raising and
caring Tor chickens. The essential of
the whole tling is that he understood
"hat lt TOOK to make the necessary
conditions under which the fowls will
lay well all winter. In the first place
MS pullets were early Matched and of a
good strain of laying stock. They wer,.
well cared for from the start. His
prooders were not allowed to be over
heated and were always kept clean. He
FED MS chicks heavily and literally
from the start and they grew like
weeds Ills neighbors who visited him
said that he was lucky with chickens.
He mixed little hen sense" along
with mis- elbow grease and was a good
chicken raiser. This was the size OF Ii
instead of giving his baby chicks slop-
py messes of cornmeal and water he
fed a good chick food for the first
three or four weeks until thev were
past the danger line and were ready for
cracked corn and wheat. You would
ind his brood coops clean and not too
many chicks in each one If you looked
into taem every night.
Ills pullets began laying the latter
part Of October or tho first part OF
November and he saw TO IL that they
were provided with plenty OF green cut
bone, and when early spring came ON
ana ne wanted fertile eggs 10 set In his
InNnl ufnrn ~ ~.