Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-05-10
I9ro8reC Of WerternI sllspmentg

( average price of 81 cents. with flock
laying between $50 and $50 eggs a year per
bird. profits can be figured accordingly 1t
is great advantage 20 start within ship
ping distance OF a city. where good prices
\ for a really up-top article can be obtained
with little trouble
There are few districts where egg farm
| ing is so profitable as in the Pacific slope
country. The climate is excellent. neither
| too wet nor too hot Chicks Matched in May
and June mature splendidly for winter
work. An abundance of good feed is also
grown, while the market in Spokane and
other large cities around us is as good as
can be desired An average price Of from
% to 40 cents can be obtained for high
grade eggs. Brollers broughts US p cents
a pound. live weight. last July and Aug st
Forty-four cents for a two-pound broiler
is a profitable figure during these months
The earlier the broiler the better the
price
I'VE think II advisable, however. for the
| beginner to make merely a side issue of
the broiler business. II Il the fine art Of
the poultry field and requires much ex-
perience- The raising of young chicks Is
difficult, especially in the early spring
Losses occur sometimes and It is this ex-
ira risk that makes that department Of the
work too uncertain for the beginner. There
is more money In making speciality of
eggs"
Big Profit Per Hen.
Conservative growers say they average
from $3.50 to N.75 net per hen per year
though they report there are Instances
where better returns have been received
| The experience of Mrs J. f. Balmer, r.
F. d. No. 4, Spokane. is interesting in this
connection. Mrs. Balmer started in 1905. Her
statement follows:
Beginning the year with 10 White Leg
horn hens 1 sold 22O79 eggs at an average
of SO nts a dozen, or S66227; Matched and
reared l. 800 chicks. selling $40 broilers at 30
cents each or $500 and r ad at the end of
the year $40 pullets and 20 oockerels, which
could sell on the local market for $3.50
making a total of S1,562.S7. It cost s44O &c
Tor feed and S61.s5 for 1724 dozens OF eggs
for ha hing. making a total expense, be-
sides time a nd labor, OF S5O2.71 al d leaving
me a net profit of Sl,Os9G &C for the years
work"
Twenty-four s-months old Plymouth Rock
pullets, owned BY George e Peters of Sand
Point. idaho Iroduce1 246 eggs IN De
cember. 1910. and January, February and
March, 1911. The pullets averaged more
Eugene w. Sims of Sand Point also claims
a record for his flock Of twenty-one hens,
which laid 42S eggs last March.
Discussing some Of the phases Of the poul-
try industry, in which he has been engaged
for more than forty years, Prof. Cyrus L.
Smith of Spokane said
Start On Small Scale.
THE cost is small, provided that the
prospective owner goes into the business as
he should. little by little, and expanding
as his knowledge is increased by actual ex-
perience. A tract OF from one to five acres
within reasonable distance of the market
twould be sufficient IL the poultryman sim
ply desires to have plenty Of room for his
hens. Either irrigated, shb-irrigated dry
farm or logged off land is suitable. II the
homeseeker desires to combine orcharding
and berry growing with poultry raising. he
should go into fruit district near a town
or city. If worked in connection with
dairying or hog raising. he could start on
cheaper land near a railroad.
'The capital requirements range from 5000
to $3.50 to get well started. This would
provide from 150 to 200 chickens, houses for
hens feed. first payment on tract of
land, horse and wagon. house and shed.
mich COW and well and fences Chicken
farms have been started with less, while
others have invested more money.
Bee keeping is a profitable adjunct TO
poultry raising, as well as to orcharding
and truck gardening. The alfalfa fields
furnish the bees with a souce of material
that results in rich. pure white honey.
which always brings top prices. The out
lay for bees and supplies is small and the
returns good. Material Tor the bees to
work on is easily found nine months in
the year, and It is abundant enough to
provide sufficient food during the winter
months. The work is light, pleasant and
profitable"