The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1911-12-15
A TALK WITH POULTRY RAlsERs.
Poultry in California.


the home and family of William
Jacobs, at Haywards, Cal. In letter I
to Farm Journal, MI. Jacob says:
THE conditions of the poultry in I
dustry in California differ much from
that of the East, as the land is much
dearer here, and consequently poultry
farms are small-three, five or ten
acres each. Nearly all the feed must
be purchased, and prices are very
high. During November and Decem-
bfr eggs sometimes retail at sixty and
seventy cents a dozen. Some years
ago we had to pay as high as $2.25
per 100 pounds for wheat, which re-
suited in many poultry people going
out of business. My neighbor and
myself organized an association for
the purpose of lettering the poultry
situation | was chosen president,
and my neighbor became secretary.
Today we have in membership nearly
every owner Of a poultry ranch in
this section. We have our own ware
house, buy the feed in carloads, and
market our eggs and poultry direct
to the retail trade, for which we Sc
cure the best prices. In this way we
cannot only get better prices, and our
selves pocket the commission of mid
dlemen, but we also make discount
Of about fifteen per cent on the cost
of our feed. ] keep about 1000
White Leghorns. The price of land
here is from $500 to $4,000 per acre.
Calendar for December.
Do not neglect the laying hens ex-
ercise.
Have the floors of the houses well
bedded with some light litter, so that
the biddies will be induced to scratch,
and thus warm up their bodies these
cold, frosty mornings.
An extra allowance of grain scat
tered in this litter at night will start
the folws exercising early the next
morning before breakfast, as more or
less grain will remain over
AS the weather grows colder, the
amount Of corn-meal, animal food ard
other heat-producing foods should be
increased.
Noon is a good time to supply the
stock with some green stuff, such as
cabbages or roots of any kind. The
latter can be cut in half, and the
hens will then pick them to pieces.
Up until about the sixteenth of this
month there will be considerable de-
mand for killing stock; bat after that
, no poultry should be sent to market
, until about the eighth of January.
The reason for this is that shipments
are so heavy the week before Christ
, mas, continuing until New Years,
that there is very likely to be a glut
, in the market. Of course this does
not refer to private custom trade.
The wise poultryman always aims to
market his products in such a manner
that he may not be caught In the glut,
which would mean big discount in
l price
J A good price can now be obtained
: for roasters weighing five or six
t pounds each.
: Capons had best be held until after
5 the holidays.
At the end of the month close UP
: the account for the year, and see
. whether it totals to your credit.
r Fannie Woods Poultry Talk.
: To know the chicken louise is to
' love it, and the more we know it the
more we wish to help the hens to get
rid of it by keeping the dust box well
filed.
The dust bath helps them, also, in
: securing off the scurf and scales from
f the skin. A good place for the dust
!, box is in the scratching shed.
1t is not good for hens to dust in
? coal or wood ashes only, some folks
e claim, but we find that few ashes
4 tighten up the dirt.
S Drafts in the chickens home are
}. more dangerous when the fowls are
|, quiet on the roost than when they
S are stirring around during the day
f but a cold air current sweeping
2 through the house is a bad thing al
J. any time.
l. Fresh air will dc no harm when i
l. comes in at openings on the soutf
e front, with sides, back and roof tight
e And make the floor as tight as yol
e can.
The openings on the south side o
our chicken house are covered will
coarse unbleached muslin. This
keeps out snow and rain. And plenty
s of air and sunshine come through the
h muslin
! How we do love the big quiet ca
t pons. After they have gone to roos
+ like to pat their broad backs ant
talk to them. They can no longer
= hunt a good part of their living as
f they did a few weeks ago, but We
!, never let them go to roost hungry
! Sparing the feed is good way tt
! spoil capons. The more feed they
: eat now, the bigger they will be wlaer
!, selling time comes. And the larger
u they are the more money they will
= bring.
e II seems to us that Brahmas are