Imperial Valley press., 1912-09-19
TIMELY POULTRY SUGGESTIONS

Pacific Rural Press: All over this
state there is fruit grown, and this
is the season Of the year when the
harvest is on. Having waste fruit is
q great temptation to feed II to some
thing. and those who have no hogs
nearly always give 1t to the chickens.
But we ought to be careful in feed.
ing II to laying hens or pullets just
about to commence laying. for it will
surely knock the egg yield in either
case. In the case of growing stock
there is no harm unless the bill gets
stuffed up with the fruit juices, in
which case l have seen whole fiocks
develop a nice case of roup. All that
is needed is to keep an eye on them,
and If one is noticed with a dirty
beak, just catch it and wipe the caked
stuff off and put little grease on.
A Catching Hook.-Sometimes 1t is
easier to say catch a chicken than 1t
is to do it. but everybody who has
more than a dozen hens ought to have
a hook to catch them with. A very
good one can be made with a few feet
of lead wire; turn one end up about
four inches, then flare the end away
in an outward direction so that when
you try to catch a hen the end Of the
wire will not jab her leg. Now, the
end you have to hold on to may either
be made into a loop with the wire. or
1t can be supplied with a wooden han
die, which makes 1t better for the one
using it. At first you may not catch
the hens very well. owing to the fact
that they seem to have a knack of
slipping out of your hook. but when
it is adjusted to the size of legs you
have to catch, it will be all right Fix
it until you get it just right, so that
1t lets the hens leg into the hook, but
not so loose that she can yank it out
again; then you have it. Hang 1t up
when not in use. and then no case of
sickness or accident in the poultry yard
need be neglected for the need of some
one to help catch the chicken.
Feeding Clean Green Stuff-And I
have another good idea to feed green
dirt to be tramped on. A good many
women like to tinker with a hammer
and nails themselves, SO If the good
man is busy, just work this out your
self. and I am sure you will feel well
repaid for time and labor spent. It is
so simple you may be tempted to pass
it by, but when the rainy days come
you will be glad If you use it.
Take a niece of two-inch mesh wire,
two feet wide, and any length you
wish, according to how many chickens
you have in a yard Fasten the lower
edge about eight inches from the
ground, on the house, of course; now
fasten up the ends; do not stretch the
wire, but leave little slack, as you
will want to put your green feed in
at the top. If you want to make a
neat job, nail lath or thin strips over
the ragged ends Of wire and you have
a nice feed rack out of which the
chickens can eat their green feed like
cattle and horses without having to
stamp on II and hold 1t down with
their feet. plasterins 1t with all the
dirt In the coop. Just a few minutes
work and a very small expense give
you clean feed rack.
Feeding for Feathers.-Don't forget
that the moltins hens need liberal
feeding and some grease OF oily food
to help the new feathers to come. Feed
plenty of green feed, for there are
more mineral salts in green feed than
in some of the more costly feeds, and
We can grow it ourselves. Keep a
strict watch on all fowls that do not
come up to the feed; very often q
simple thing like a spoonful of olive
oil may set the trouble right. Thou
sands of hens die during the molting
season. and ii is not necessary to
have these losses. little care will
generally prevent, and that is better
than curing. The hens work faith
fully for us all the season, and if
We carry them over 1t is to our in
terest to take care of them through
the most depressing time of their lives.
Any sensible person will realize that
moulting is strain and tax on the
fowl. one that needs to be assiste ed
with good nourishing food in order
that the hen may pull through safely.
Anyway. if we have no feelings for
the fowl. it is pocket policy to see
that they have all they need so that
they can get back to work.
the gush we sometimes read about,
that in order to succeed in the poul-
try business you must love them. We
can treat animals and poultry right
without gushing over them; whenver
see a foolish woman kiss a dog, !
want to slap her and pull her hair
for wasting the holiest emotion in the
human heart on a dog when there arc
50 many helpless children pining for
mother love.
To make a real success of the poul-
try business. as any other, we must get
interested and, in a way, idealize the
work and the process as we go along
but there is a wide range between low
ing and hating. The man or woman
who say they hate chickens had bet
ter stay out of the business. because
they are sure to make a fizzle of it and
come out loser. But the chicken bus
mess is no exception to any other, be-
cause If we hate any kind of work
we never reach any further than the
bottom rung in the ladder of success
Now, I am one of those cranks who
like to work, and no matter what ]
am doing I like it, for that time
though i might not like to be tied
to that one job all the time; and
that is one good thing about the poul-
try business-the work is Of diversi-
fed nature. so you don't have time
to get tired of one task, as every one
is something different. When 1 am
writing, it is the same thing. get
all the pleasure that I would from a
personal conversation with every read
er and then some, because in this
case 1 can do all the talking. See?
Feeding Green Bone.-In looking c
over the advertisements Of the daily
paper 1 notice that some butchers Of
fer green cut bone at three pounds
for 10 cents. A little of this fresh
green bone is good for the hens, es
pecially at moulting time, and those
that are near city where they car
buy it should do so. But keep an eye
on the fowls when feeding it, as some
times, when it is coarse ground. the
large pieces will stick in the jaw OF
throat. If noticed in time ii can al