Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1914-04-29

AS the Banner has asked me why
keep Barred Rocks and why others
should, | will attempt to tell you why
/ keep them but not why others
should, if they prefer some other
breed. We cannot all see alike. If
we did every one would be farmers
wife
After twenty years experience with
one exception / am perfectly satisfied
with Barred Rocks and have no de-
sire TO change. The one exception
was when l was young and foolish
thought | would change and get
breed of chickens that did not want
TO set as much as the Rocks. / got
some Brown Leghorns. Then is when
my troubles began in the poultry bus
mess. They were almost as Wild as
a partridge, they tried to ay~in the
cave troughs, ate cherries from the
trees and roasted on top of the wind
mill. When you wanted to set one it
would set standing, perch itself on the
edge of the nest box or leave the nest
entirely in 10 days or two weeks.
If you wanted chicken dinner
you had TO Kill about four for an or
binary sized family. They were so
active they dug up the garden picked
off the farm crops and destroyed more
than they were worth. Perhaps | did
not know how To handle them and
neither did ! try. Just as soon as /
could | went back to my beloved Ply
mouth Rocks | procured the best
eggs | could and every year since have
improved my flock by introducing
new blood, by so doing today ] have
a flock of 10 hens and 3 roosters that
/ would not be afraid TO show along
side OF any flock OF same size in the
country.
| do not profess to breed show birds
but Il breed for profit. can see no
profit for a farmers wife to follow
up these poultry shows from town to
town year after year. She ought to
have something To do more important
Then she does not have any chance
of getting premiums as there are al
ways fanciers from towns, who keep
a dozen or Is fowls, who make il
business to breed show birds, and are
judges of poultry themselves.
What ! desire in a hen is one of
medium size, well built, yellow meat,
bright eyes, red combs, gentle and
tame; one that will lay in the hen
house, eat from the ground, sleep
where you intend she should, sets
where you want her to 81 days. and
mother her chicks in the good old
fashioned way; one that can be easily /
broken up by combining her few days
when you don't want her to set. and
begin laying again, one that Will lay
just as many eggs summer or winter
with proper food and care as any
breed.
I prefer a foul that can be killed |
with an ordinary AK l prefer the (
tender meat Of the Barred Rocks /
You only have to Kill one unless you
are going to have quite large com
pany as they dress from 6 12 to Z |
pounds at maturity. | prefer fowls I
that are tender and juicy, fit for a
king.
In going through the country you /
will notice . out Of every 10 flocks on .
the farms will be Barred Plymouth 4
Rocks. This shows the farmers wives I
know a good thing and do not care (
to change. The reason that their .
fancy breeds predominant at the I
shows is that the farmers wife hasn't 4
the time or desire to show her birds,
1t is not a sign that there are not .
more Barred Rocks in the country .
than any other one kind. All this is
why / keep Barred Rocks and shall
continue to do SO as long as | live on
a farm Mrs. A. w Slayton.