Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1910-09-23
The Novice in Poultry Culture

In maintaining a flock under nat
ural conditions This does not mean
free range and a restricted diet, but
the birds should have open air condi-
tons at all times, with plenty of sun
light-the greatest of all tonic rem
edies, says L. e. Keyser, in the N.
e. Poultry Journal"
Houses should be set so that in
light. They should be dry and so ar
ranged that no direct currents of
air will pass through them. A dry,
open house Is better than a closed
| damp one, though the temperature
be several degrees warmer in the
closed house.
Food should consist of a variety Of
whole and sound grains, meat, grit,
shells, charcoal and water.
The houses should be kept clean
and free from vermin, as should also
the fowls. When fowls become lousy
they are unprofitable they lose vi
tality and the chicks Matched from
their eggs are weak.
To maintain vigor of the flock no
bird that has been sick or ailng
should be used for breeding. Doctor
ed fowls have no place in the breed
ing pen.
The production of market eggs
with broilers and market poultry in
cident to raising stock to renew the
flock is the best branch of work to
be taken up by the beginner. 1t is
safe proposition, the only element of
losing coming when raising the
chicks. If one succeeds with this
branch he is master of the whole
poultry situation, as this is the foun-
dation on which the whole industry
rests. The production of market eggs
requires the raising of less chicks
for the size of the plant than any
other branch of the industry, there
fore it is the safest
Buying chicks lessons the first cost
of making the start, and where one
is operating on a small scale, reuuir-
ing but one or two hundred chicks
it will be found much more cOnven-
lent than keeping up the breeding
establishment.
AS soon as one becomes successful
in the raising of chickens there is not
much difficulty in building up a large
flock of layers at a very small ex-
pense. A beginner was telling me his
experience of last season and how
he secured a nice flock of layers at
practically no expense. He built two
colony coops and six fireless brooders,
all costing him about $12. When he
had these in readiness he ordered 200
baby chicks, placing 100 in each coop
and allowing three breeders to each
lot. The chicks arrived early in APP
ril. When the chicks were about eight
weeks old he placed all the cockrels
IN one coop and the pullets in the 9TH
er. The cockrels were then fed
fattening ration and marketed the
last week in June. He received money
enough from these cockrels to pay
for the chicks and the feed the cock
rels had eaten, and to buy nearly
enough feed to carry the pullets to
maturity. When winter set in he had
nice flock of eighty pullets, all lay
ing and they had cost him but little
aside from the labor.
Tight houses are an abomination,
yet they should be tight on three
sides, with a large opening in front
for fresh air and sunshine.
Of all types of poultry houses none
present as many advantages as the
shed roof of single sloop. 1t is the
cheapest to construct, presents the
greatest exposure to the suns rays,
and has numerous other advantages
over houses of other construction. Do
not build an open house less than 10
feet deep. The front and back walls
are the same for house twelve feet
deep as they are for one eight feet
deep. There is little extra cost for
roof and ends, but the capacity of
the 12-foot house is SO per cent great
err than the 8-foot house, while the
expense is not more than 10 per cent
greater.
AS to yards, give the hens all the
room you can. There is no fixed rule
1t used to be that we must give each
hen 100 square feet of yard room,
but it has been demonstrated that
hens do just as well in closer quar-
tiers. Above all do not crowd the hens
in the houses. In small flocks, say
20, each hen should have five or six
square feet floor space. This size flock
is best for the beginner. Later he
may be able to handle more in a flock
and secure good results, but at first