Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1911-07-27

from the brooder house they go into
the chicken pasture and are fed on
the finest of chicken dainties for the
early spring chicken market.
The Hen Houses
The hen houses which contain the
old stock, are kept scrupulously
clean and each hen house is a dupli-
cate Of the other. The floors are of
cement, there is running water in
each house and box containing oy-
ster shells, charcoal and gravel for
the use of the chickens digestive ap-
paratus. In each hen house the
eggs are laid in nests build against
the wall and covered from observa-
tion. The nests are made of straw
which is changed frequently and
kept clean. The hens enter the
nesting places through little open
ing at the end of the row of nests,
and each one finds her accustomed
place. Some of the hens on the
Johnston farm are splendid layers,
the little White Leghorns beginning
to lay at the age of six months.
Some few of the best layers reach
$50 eggs year, but $50 is a high
average and about 120 are consider
ed good record.
In the hen houses are cages, in
which a setting hen is broken of that
anxiety, by confinement of three
or four days. The roosting rack is
movable, and can be raised and low
cred, and when raised and fastened
to the ceiling the shelf beneath the
rack can be easily cleaned, and the
floor litter swept out into the yard.
The chicken houses all open to the
south. The hens retire from out
door activities in November and are
kept mostly in the chicken houses
until March. They lay more or less
eggs all winter, and the busy season
is now mostly over. There is no ar
tificial heat in the houses during
the winter and the roofs are lined
with a layer of straw to prevent the
moisture enter the house rather
than for warmth. A muslin curtain
covering large opening in the south
side of the hen house lets in suffi-
cient light and in the summer time
this is raised and wire screen takes
its place. Dust boxes are also in
each hen house.
In front of each hen house is a
runway 20x440 feet in length, each
house is 2Ox20 feet. On the john
ston farm at present there are about
5000 hens and last week there were
10000 young chickens, about 100
hens are allowed to yard. At one
feeding last week, four tons Of
chicken feed were distributed to the
poultry. This chicken feed consists
of different articles of a chickens
bill of fare, and the ration eaten by
the Johnston chickens is composed of
brand, millet, beef scraps chopped
fine, ground oats, cornmeal and al
falfa, and they are fed twice day.
The four tons of feeding referred to
was not required for one meal but
would last for several. The young
chickens are ready to slaughter for
broilers II weeks after leaving the
brooder.
The eggs of the White Leghorn
chicken are beautiful to behold, be-
ing large, white in color, and of
uniform size. The White Leghorns
are preferred by supt. Walters, to
any other breed. There are Ply
mouth Rock chickens also on the
ranch, kept by themselves, but the
White Leghorn, although a smaller
bird is a better layer and brings a.
bout as much for broilers in the
market as the Rocks. They are cas-
Ter to keep, cost less to feed, lay at
an earlier age and more frequently.
Some of the Leghorn hens begin to
lay as early as four months old. The
broilers when sold, will run from II /.
to 21s pounds. Most of the young
chickens are sold to the twin city
dealers. and it is hard to keep the
market supplied for the Johnston
milk fed spring chickes- -fhe N.
P. dining cars take about 5000 dress
ed chickens month. All chickens
are dry picked. One of the experts
on the farm is a professional chicken
picker, called by the boys Murphy
He picks 200 young chickens in a
day. and will pick q chicken every
aree minutes, doing more work than
six men. Mr.. Walters said that he
himself something Of a
chicken picker, but SO chickens a
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