Milford chronicle., 1910-04-15

e uufEu 10 d SNSAElldlAt UdeAs anu " "
2. require but very little time per fow
4 On some Of the well known egg farm
r one man feeds and cares for from
= 1900 to 5000 hens.
n The village poultry plant where bu
e q few dozen fowls are kept must neces
b sarily have a larger feed bin than th,
; farmer and a higher labor expensl
per fowl than either farm or com
e mercial poultry plant For these rea
sons the villager who hires man tC
take care Of his poultry or expects #
? 10 earn wages for his own time is. il
the product is sold at ordinary market
rates. very likely 10 be disappointed
Now. if the vinager takes up fancy
poultry breeding and devoteS his time
TO the art he has excellent chances Of
becoming we'll known as a breeder and
making "A good profit in the business
Meanwhile be should have enough love
for his work so that be will he content
10 get back little more than bis
actual money outlay and give his time
for the pleasure Of the work and the
hopes Of profits later on.
Poultry Farming as a Business.
! presume there will be some who
read this course in poultry keeping
who will be deSirOus OF engaging in
poultry production as business To
those / would say that after many
years of precarious existence poultry
| farming is now established as a sound
| branch of agriculture Although there
| is no greater money TO be made from
| poultry than from many other branch
es OF modern scientific agriculture.
| there is something about the business
I that has induced large numbers of ig-
norant people to invest their savings
in poultry ventures. hOpeeSsly bury
ing their money in extensively equip
ped plants designed by themselves or
others equally ignorant Of the business !
As IS generally recognized. the only
sensible plan for one who proposes to
go into poultry keeping as a business
is to begin in a small way, either in a
village or on a farm. and keep poultry |
for a few years in conjunction with |
some other occupation. II he is sue |
cessful In this. il will then be time TO
consider the keeping OF poultry on a
more ella bOrate scale A few general re
marks ON commercial poultry farming
1 win append, however as a matter Of
general interest.
The branch Of poultry keeping that
has proved most universally success
ful in a large way is egg farming. The
brOiler farms have almost invariably
been failures. and the principle is now
pretty thoroughly recognized that the
brOiler should be considered as a by
product Of the egg business, just as
skimmilk is a byproduct Of the produc-
ton OF butter Half or more OF all
chicks hatched will be cockerels and
must be disposed Of as brOilers. for
with Leghorns and other egg types Of
fowls male birds are worthless if al
lowed to mature. This large surplus
Of broilers from egg farms and from
the general farm Of the country is sur
ticient to meet the demand and to re-
duce the price to a point which will
permit Of little profit 10 the man who
produces broilers exclusively
The idea of the broiler business as
attempted fifteen or twenty years ago
was to produce chickens during the
winter and early spring season by the
use OF iucubators and brooders and
secure fancy prices at the season OF
he year when no young stock was
'oming from the general farm This
business, which did not prove success
nj then. would be even more imprac-
icalCn0w. as our modern methods Of /
old storage have become so efficient r.
entirely practical TO freeze up
supply OF inexpensive summer broil- a
RS @and9 to~meet the demand the fol- +
owing winter and early spring with +
his eheaply produced stock. n
AnbtheT phdse Of poultry production h
yhich is SUCCESSFULLY prosecuted in
United localities is the growing of
casters
In this style Of poultry flesh pro Il
uction heavier breeds Of slowly ma I
uring fowls are used. and both sexes >
re allowed TO reach maturity and are :
hen marketed as fancy stock. The y
ossible profits Of the production OF u
xtra fancy market fowls in this man
er have been limited however, by u
he custom Of fatting or crate feeding u
arm grown cockerels as now engaged
] BY poultry packers andSby many g
irlners as well. Crate or milk fed II
lickens offer a prime quality OF young u
lultry flesh. and hence. except for 1"
w markets where roasters from GER q
in communities already have a repu- u y
tion. 1t would hardly be advisable to u
Ike up this line OF poultry production. s'
recent development in specialized ~
,ultry work is the public hatchery u
his business is usually conducted in u
injunction with large poultry plants ~
be shipping Of day old chicks long ~ -
stances by rail is NOW quiteaa fad ~ ~
ID has probably been oyerdope, An "
her abuse Of the public hatchery is
p selling Of chicks from eggs Of un-
rtain origin. Beginners should not an
dertake public Matching. Oc