The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-06-25
Where Poultry Raising Pays.

One OF the most lucrative occupa-
tions in southern California, when
it succeeds, is poultry raising. But,
perhaps, more people fail at 1t than
in any other business, because so lit
tie capital is required to begin on a
small scale. Although the climate
is balmy all the year chickens do
not thrive unless cared for in q
skilful and hygenic manner. Roup,
which is kind of diptheria for fowls
is the most fatal and prevalent dis
ease, and once it breaks out the de-
struction of all chickens in the cor
raj is almost certain. Then, too,
the cool nights are said to effect
them, and for this reason the coops
are made warm. 1t is the dream OF
many who go to southern California
to own a few acres and raise chick
ems and sell eggs. A small percent
age only of those who give it prac
tical trial succeed. Thousands of
dollars are wasted annually in vain
attempts, and in some sections alb
andoned coops and incubators can
be seen frequently.
But those who presevere and sue
ceed are richly rewarded The most
successful egg farm that l know Of
is not far from Long Beach, off the
coast. The owner now produces daily
an output of nve hundred eggs from
one thousand five hundred chickens,
besides getting a fair price for the
Snnnlt1nnlG rnnEt.IrC A ii Of his
chickens are white leghorns, and he
asserts they are the best layers. His
income is about scventy-flve dollars
per week. less a total expense of
three dollars a day for chicken food,
oil for heating the incubators, and
incidentals. He and his wife attend
to the chickens, ard the outdoor life
has cured her of lhcipent pulmonary
troubles. He made a total failure
in the beginning lost one thousand
dollars the first year, but he saw his
mistakes and courageously started
again. At first he took the advice of
| neighbors, left his coops open at the
| bottom, and the cold nights killed
the fowls by the score. Roup came
plowed up his three-acre farm, SOW
ed it in barley, and did noting with
chickens for six months. His second
! trial was successful, because, as he
asserts, he relied upon his own judg-
ment. His coops are closed, and a
small aperture, left for the chickens
to enter, is the only ventilation fol
the night. Each coop, each runway
is kept absolutely clean, and if 3
chicken shows the slightest symptoms
| of illness it is, as a rule, killed, un
less he knows how to cure it. Ere
| quently he cuts open the craw, takes
out the offending matter, and sews i
| up again. Mites are great enemie
to chickens, but his system of clean
| illness keeps these pests away. Al
of his chickens are wild and tnt
sound of human voice startle'
them as it would an animal in thu
forest. Neither he nor his wifi,
makes pets of the fowls, and at feed
ing time they are called by hitting ;
stick on a tin bucket. The theor,
is that a petted chicken, too tame
lies around, waiting to be fed, ant
does not work and scratch for liv
ing. His neighbors, who Nstarte}
when he did on large scale, ar
now following other occupations. H
says lawyers and doctors have Il
study for years to acquire their pro
fession, and 1t stands to reason tha
man cannot, at once, raise chick
ems successfully. He has to lear
by experience and good judgment.
Chickens are so expensive to hu
In the market that every household
Z er, If possible, has few in tn
backyard In wire corral, and Ofte
leading an al fresco existence, 1. e
with no coop whatever to keep theI
warm at night. And, strange to sa!
these few fowls are often hardy. Try
ing to raise them on a large seal
seems to be mora difficult SoTle {
the swell residential houses In Lc
; Angles, in West Adams Street, tn
Fifth Avenue of the city, have chicI
en- corrals In the backyard, anti tn
chorus of the chandeliers maker m,
sic in the early morning. Chcke
raising pays handsomely in a,utl
ern California, If understood II
+, IN Leslie's Weekly.