The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-01-25
How a Thousand Hens Pay.
lust How F. w. Mossman Breeds, Feeds
and Shelters Them.

gone into the ''hen business" expecting
big financial returns, only to find them
selves greatly disappointed, the question
is often asked: els it possible to raise
poultry on large scale protitably?"
Many people who have kept a few hens
in their back door yards, and fed them
on scraps from the table. have found
that the venture yielded good returns.
Then they have proceeded to get out
pencil and paper and figured it out
automatically that if 10 hens yield a
net profit of $40 year 1000 hens ought
to furnish an income of $4,000 year.
Most of these fortune seekers via the
poultry route have overlooked the fact
that grain and other food for 1000 hens
costs money, while the food for the 10
hens in the back door yard was not fig
ured as an expense at all. Furthermore,
it is impossible to give 1000 hens the
same care as is given to 10 hens, unless
one makes a business of it. And yet,
the high price Of eggs in the fall would
indicate that there is demand which is
not at present met by the local supply.
Where is the trouble?
Frederick W. Mossman of .Westmin-
lister is one of the men in Massachusetts
who has proved that hens, properly cared
for, will give a man good living. Start
ing in IL years ago with ~ fowls, Mr..
Mossman has gradually felt his way
along until now ne has a flock of 1000,
and finds them not only profitable but
also instructive. MIR. Mossman says his
work presents new problems at the time
which add zest to his iabors. He makes
a study of the feeds, physical condition
and breeding of poultry, and aims to
bring his work down to an exact science.
After graduating from Amherst Agri-
cultural College in 1890, Mr.. Mossman
busted himself at various things until IL
years ago, when the death of his father
decided him to go back to the home
place in Westminster and make the soil
weld his livelihood. Like many similar
ones in New England, this farm abound
ed in rocks.
Mr.. Mossman therefore decided to
make fruit trees speciality, and to set
out the beginnings of what he intended
to have become a large orchard. At the
same time he purchased few hens to
get a supply of eggs for home use. 1t
was not long before Mr.. Mossman saw
the possibilities of poultry and eggs as
revenue producer. Fruit raising was
given up, and all his energies were de-
voted to poultry raising. Through all
these years Mr.. Mossman has been ex-
perimenting and studying, with the re-
suit that he now has poultry plant and
a system for caring for his hens that is
getting results.
HENHoUsE 24O FEET LONG.
To house his 1000 hens Mr.. Mossman
, CtN foot lopo Divided TO
10 pens 24x12 feet each. The house is
feet high at the front and feet high at
the rear. Attached to the entire front |
of the henhouse is a scratching shed 8
feet wide. Wire netting incloses the
front of the scratching shed and the two
doors lead from the shed into each pen.
Mr. Mossman is thorough believer in
the open-air system of housing poultry.
He saws that hens do much better in cold,
dry air than in hen-houses that are tight |
ly shut up. Only on the coolest nights |
are the doors of the pens shut.
Mr. Mossman does not believe in the |
use of dropping boards. In each pen is
placed litter composed Of straw, corn
stalks, grass, etc. The hens work over
this litter, and the fresh air which circu-
lates through the henhouse removes the
odors which are usually SO noticeable in
the average henhouse. In each COM
partment in the scratching shed Mr..
Mossman places load of loan or sod in
the fall. This makes an excellent place
for the hens to dust themselves, with
the result that they are unusually free
from llce
Mr.. Mossman gives his hens moist
mash in the morning. This is made up
of % per cent. of vegetables, such as
squash, cabbage, beets, etc, boiled the
previous day; 10 per cent. beef scraps
and 60 per cent grains, comprising two
thirds bran middlings and one-thlrd corn
meal A small portion of finely cut
clover hay is also added, and the mixture
is slightly sailed. In winter a moderate
amount of pepper or mustard or ginger
is also added to give flavor to the mash
and to stimulate the hens into greater
activity, At noon whole raw heets are
placed in each pen. and at night the hens
are fed with whole corn.
Mr.. Mossman does not believe in keep
ing roosters with laying hens, as it only
serves to keep the latter stirred up, with
no appreciate increase in the amount of
eggs laid.
METHODS OF BREEDING.
When the breeding season arrives Mr.
MOSSfndn goes through his IlOck OIL ldye
and picks out those that have the sturdi-
est, healthiest appearance, and uses
these for producing eggs for Matching.
Usually IL hens and a rooster are placed
in each breeding pen, although MIR.
Mossman is inclined to the opinion that
20 hens with two ROSTERS will secure
better results. This method prevents
the picking out of favorites.
By more careful selection of breed
ing stock and by handling the hens in
smaller lots on fresh ground, Mr.. Moss
man believes it possible to get fair egg
yield in November, when eggs are usually
scarce. He believes that hen is at her
best for laying in her second year, and
when she is three years old she is killed
and dressed for market. Mr.. Mossman
breeds entirely from 1-year-old hens,
and he raises but one variety, the Rhode
Island Red.
That Mr.. Mossman's system is prac-
teal and satisfactory one is evidenced
by the number of people who have begun
to follow his example. Boston Globe.
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