El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-10-01

original 90 Ostriches VIII soon be null
tiplied TO many times that number u
the plans and specifications Of the
Southwestern company materialize-
The birds are distributed in alfalfa runs
OF three birds TO the acre this making
ideal conditions for healthful bird rails
ing.
Once Paired No Separation.
The birds are sold I'm pairs once they
do pair, for to separate them is 10 lose
both birds, for they soon pine away
and shuttle off. The male bird is the
king OF the cannibal isles in his own
right No suffrage for women with
him. He bosses his frau, or his flock OF
fraus with a rod Of iron and foot that
can kick g bale OF hay out Of a concrete
hitching post.
Father is no loafer. He does his bit
and more. He arranges the nest when
his partner decides to lay up few
eggs for future reference. He not only
performs this domestic task, but he
works the graveyard shift from o'clock
in the afternoon until IN the morning
in keeping the eggs warm during the
Matching period.
A strange providence Of nature. for
color protection, IS illustrated by tnis
trait. The male bird is black while the
hen is gray. Tie reason for this is that
when the male occupies the nest al
night he cannot be seen by his enemies,
and the color of the female cannot be
distinguished easily when she is sit
ting on the eggs during the day. The
color Of the feathers blends with that
OF her native desert landscape and she
is lost in the vista
EEEH weigh -Four Pounds.
The hen lays from - to Is eggs at
a setting. AS one egg weighs from four
70 five pounds, an egg VIII furnish eggs
any style for an entire family. But the
value Of the chick is so great that Os-
trich omelets are not served regularly
at the Marks farm The period OF incu-
baton is As days and the little ostrich
makes his bow when he Is from eight
to II inches in height
They try the fast cure for the first
few days, then eat like harvest hands
until they are six months old. growing
q foot a month until they are Of pluck
Ing age, which is six months The older
the bird grows the better producer OF
plumage he is. They are plucked at
periods Of eight months apart after the
first six months of the birds lie.
PluckinE the Feathers.
The feathers which are cut from q
mature bird weigh about one pound to
g picking. They are sorted In from 80
TO 80 grades and the best grades sell
for from 500 to $500 per pound Che
large wing feathers are cut and the
smaller ones plucked. The quilts Of
the cut feathers are plucked out TO al
low the new growth to mature more
rapidly. a row Of black feathers and
an inside row of white feathers are
taken from the bird at each pluck1ng.
Pens are arranged into which the os-
triches are driven and where the pluck
ing process is conducted with much
kicking and flOpping Of wings.
When the feathers are plucl1ed they
are far from being ready for sale. They
must be cleaned, dressed, curled, tied
and made into bOas and spliced plumes
before they reach the milliners shop
and ''mladys" bonnet The Southwest
ern company's plan is to later establish
a feather working factory here TO pre-
pare the output Of the ostrich farm
for the market For the present the
raw feathers viii be shipped 10 the east
for finishing.
Ostrich culture is a profitable bust
ness when conducted properly. The
flock of El PasO valley birds are VAL
ued at $4,000 and it is expected that
they viii double their number by In
crease within a short time 1t costs
comparatively little 10 feed the Os-
triches, as one acre viii support three
birds one year with the additional feed
lf grain during the winter season. one I
bird Will produce from $40 to $50 worth I
Of feathers at each S-months pluck
ing and the ostricbes are valued at from |
800 for the six months bird, to $3.50 Tor I
he older birds