The Cairo bulletin., 1909-09-01
MORE ECONOMICAL.
Advantage Which the Man Who
Grows His Own STUFF Has Over
Others.


Others.
None will dispute the fact that to
make poultry raising pay, good judg-
ment and economy must be exercised
in every phase of the business. To the
man with the big income from the
city. who has bought farm for pas
hock OF poultry pay profit or not,
He may Indulge in the luxury of build
ing an elaborate poultry house with
all the modern conveniences, and he
may feed all the heightened and high
priced feed mixtures which the poul-
try journals are full of, says writer
in the New York Tribune Farmer
His poultry may do we'll or not, and
it matters little whether he is pro-
dueing eggs and market meat at a
proflt or losing all the time.
The remainder of us, however. go
into the business to make money, and
If the balance account is the wrong
way we soon quit. That competition is
strong as in everything else, and that
profits are not easy, are proved by the
fact that many go in the business on
ly to give 1t up in year or so. 1t is
apparent that every branch of the
work must be managed with economy,
and especially is this true in the mat
ter of supplying feed. The feed bill
is the bugbear to those who have to
buy their feed, and some are tempted
to put their fowls on half rations One
might just as well quit at once as to
do this, for poultry are profitable on
ly when they do their best. and they
will not do their best unless they
have the best of treatment, Ii makes
great deal of difference whether you
can get feed for IL cents a pound or
If you are paying 21s cents.
Many small poultrymen, especially
on village lots, who rely largely on the
poultry journals for information, are
tempted to buy some of the many
specially prepared or mixed forms of
feed which are so highly recommended
in advertisements. Many of these
feeds are excellent, but the price is
usually about double what the staple
feeds can be bought for from the farm.
The bulk of these prepared feeds con-
sist OF cracked corn, with a small
proportion of wheat, kaffir corn. mil
1f,
There is nothing better for poultry
than the staple products of the farm
corn, wheat, oats, buckwheat, clover
hay and cabbage-and while it is adj
visable to use these in variety, one
can oftentimes save considerable by
feeding more largely TO some one par
ticular kind which may, for the time
being, be low in price.
There is no doubt that farmers who
make speciality Of poultry nave de-
cided advantage in the fact that they
can produce more cheaply than it can
be bought. II one has small piece
of land it can be probably used for
growing feed for the chickens, at the
same time that 1t can be made fertile
and kept so by utilizing the poultry
manure, Most all feeds are high at
the present time, excepting clover hay.
This is feed not to be despised by
the poultryman, not only because it
is low priced-less than one-half a
cent ii p0u2d-but is valuable source
Of protein feed and may be used to
balance up corn which is fattening
and which is about the next cheapest
feed. 1t can be bought from farmers
for a little over one cent pound.
Cornmeal and a little wheat bran
mixed with steamed cut clover hay
make a very cheap feed and for re-
suits in eggs has no superior Wheat
is an ideal food for poultry, adapting
itself so we'll as scratch food.
II can be bought for ~ cents a
pound, and oftentimes one can get
screenings or defective wheat at the
mills for much less. Oats are good for
poultry and can be kept before the
hens, and are better used in that way
than given on the litter, as the fowls
do not like them so we'll ard there
will be waste when used that way
Grit and charcoal are sometimes
mixed with the prepared feeds re-
ferred to, but the most rational way
to use these is to have them in self
feeding hoppers, from which the hens
can help themselves, | make an ex-
ception in the case of chick food for
young chicks. In its form and compo-
sition it cannot be surpassed for young
chicks. and while 1t costs more than
the staple feeds, 1t does not require
much for the chicks while they are
young, and 1t is far superior to any
kind of mashes.