Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-03-05
POINTERS FOR POULTRY BUYERS

"Have you ever purchased sick
fowl in market and served it to the
family for a Sunday dinner"
Certainly not"
Have you ever selected sick chick
en- from your own flock and served 1t
to the minister of your church, the
guest of the familyr
what a shocking idea! How dare
you insinuate such horrible thing?"
"Wel, dear madam, we are not here
to insinuate, but to tell you kindly that
there are many housewives who pur-
chase fowls under the impression that
all are healthy. With them 1t is sim
ply question of age and weight and
juicy tenderpess. There are others,
however, who have placed a ban
against dressed poultry and who put
every live fowl through strict exam
ination before dressing 1t for the ta-
BILE"
We come to the reader of this arti-
Gle with a few pertinent points for
purchasers of poultry. They may save
a doctors bill. We watched farm
er's wife dress a Plymouth Rock for
dinner.
"How can you tell when chicken is
healthy" we asked.
81 always kill the hen that's laying
l take her off the nest. a laying hen
is always healthy"
"She was, right" you say.
But listen. They don't keep hens on
nests in meat markets, and roosters do
oINt In Dap1A1n o0t thirds =
rooster. According to her rule, the
nonprofit payer would always drone,
and the lousy, skinny old cluck would
always get the hatchet
"The hen that lays is the hen that
pays"
Does it pay to kill the layer when
eggs are 80 cents a dozen? Egg farms
aren't meat markets. The laying hen
Is not always well.
A good neighbor persisted in killing
hen that had chronic diarrhea.
We said, BURY her"
mot a big fat hen like that. She
lays. We will have her for dinner"
No; you wouldn't be guilty of such
a thing. We believe you, but you
might sin against the family health
through ignorance. Let us give you
some pointers for purchasing and Sc
lecting poultry.
COMBS, SHAPE.
Do not select a male bird with a flop
comb Hens combs often turn over
naturally, but n ROSTERS flop comb is
an indication of weakness or disease.
A males comb may be misshapen
and turn, but can quickly detect
this, as it will have a thin base or
fold in front
A lousy ROSTERS comb often turns
down, and he gets lanky. Flop combs
in little roosters often come from head
lice
When a chickens comb pulls back
from the beak you will generally find
yellow liquid underneath.
Just be nervy enough to lift the fowl
and smell its beak. 1t will not be
''sweet violets" 1t will be catarrh or
roup, and you will never forget that
smell. You will likely notice n yel-
low liquid running from the nostrils,
and this proves that the fowls head
is clogged with yellow bloody matter
These troubles come from colds, and
you will find their victims in nearly
every shipping crate that is exposed to
wintry weather.
Don't buy chickens with scabby
snotty noses.
COMBS, COLOR.
Don't eat chickens with dark combs
They are generally daubed up behind
and have cholera, diarrhea or sour
crop. If the comb is white, it is scurvy
If yellow it is jaundice. If the comb
is scaly and the feathers are off the
neck, ii is favus. If the head and eyes
are swollen, it Is cold or roup. If the
head has yellow topped sores, it is
chicken poX. If the throat has white
patches. it is diphtheria.
MISCELLANEOUS
Chickens with scaly legs are objec-
donable. Large swellings that bulge
up between the toes is bumblefoot
Look out for gangrene or blood poison
The hen that drags big sack behind
does not carry a dozen eggs, as you
suppose. 1t is likely a cheesy tumor
Avoid turkeys with white, black or
swollen heads Geese and ducks with
Timber necks are unfit for use. Do not
select table birds haphazard. The
clear combed. bright eyed, sprightly,
good feeder, with few exceptions, is
the bird fit for an epicure