Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1909-05-27

HOW TO MAKE POULTRY PAY.
BY. w. M. Kelly.

11O w M 41lA1AA
BY. w. M. Kelly.
To start right we must have some
good hens and let us make q close
| study of the various breeds and see
| which one would be the best adapted
to the purposes that we desire to use
them for.
In the first place there are some
! breeds that are adapted to but one
purpose, and that is laying eggs;
! among these breeds we find that the
| poultry-men call the Mediterranean
breeds, such as the Leghorns. Minor
! cas-, Hamburgs and others.
Now, these are very good breeds,
| but what we are after is a hen that
will sit and hatch us some nice
young chickens and take care of them
in the best shape. a0
We also want to select a breed that
will be ideal for market, one that will
mature early, have a nice clean color;
they must be good layers; lay good
sized eggs; active enough to be good
rustlers after grasshoppers and
worms; be good sitters and mothers;
easily tanned and handled, and a
breed that will bear confinement we'll.
| There are many excellent breeds
for this class found among what the
poultrymen call the American breeds.
These breeds are what we call a
general-purpose fowl. that is, they
are adapted to the farm or to the
poultryman who does not make a
specially of any one branch Of the
business.
The Plymouth Rocks, Rhode ISL
and Reds, the Wyandottes, and other
+, breeds belong to this class.
The Brahmas, Cochins, Langshans
and others of the large breeds Of the
Asiatic class are not as good layers
as the smaller breeds; they are more
inclined to be broody, and, as a rule,
are not as good rustlers as the Amer
lean breeds. and for that reason I
! would not advise you to select your
foundation stock from that kind of
breeding.
When we look the field all over,
there Is no breed that stands pre-
eminently at the head Of the utility
class like the Plymouth Rocks. and
| do not believe hat we would go
wrong ii we selected our stock from
some good flock of that breed.
Some will say, why not try Wyan-
dottes? They. are good fowls, but
they are somewhat lighter than the
Plymouth Rocks, and that is against
them competing with the Rocks; they
lay smaller eggs, which is also against
them.
Some will say eggs sell by the
dozen, so what's the difference? But
let me tell you when you sell your
eggs to your customers they like
good, big, fresh eggs, and you will
get more money for that kind than
you can for little, understood eggs.
have learned that large eggs are
the best to suit the private customer
every time. and they are the ones for
you to sell your eggs to.
The Plymouth Rocks lay good-sized
eggs that are of a nice shape and
color. OF the various breeds of
Rocks, l would choose the White
Rocks. as 1t is easier to breed them
true to color; they dress very clean
and white when killed for market.
A flock of this breed when care
fully bred and handled are q credit
to any 5pOultry-man, no matter how
young or how old he may be.
h Buff Rocks and the Barred
Rocks are excellent fowls and are
fully as good In many respects as the
White Rocks. but you will ind II
much easier to breed birds of a solid
color and keep them true to type and
markings than to breed the colored
breeds.
We must have a chicken that viii
grow fast and mature early and To-
this purpose l know of no breed gu
perfor to the White Rocks. The,
have a plump body and are attrac
tive in the market and when full
grown 1t has the weight that makes /
bring home the money that it cost t.
/ grow 1t.
b cockerels that are to be sol
t In the fall make quite an importan
d item for us to consider, and the Whit
e Rocks cannot be excelled in thi
y point.
When the hens are too old to kee
for reproducing purposes, it is quit
an important item to have the,
weigh SIX to eight pounds and sell f
"a ten cents a pound.
There is an increasing demand Il
dressed fowls, and If you have eg,
customers, o should be able
make arrangements to supply the,
q with dressed poultry whenever o
- dered, and get the top price for 70,
- surplus stock.
~ The Rocks are good ~sitters, XIII
mothers and will raise more chicke,
- than any other breed that we ha,
ever experimental with.
=, We should select our hens fro
- some good flock that is well bre
- and where the hens have a unifor
e Poultry Notes.
Do not feed the pullets until tn