Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1914-01-21
CBy IRA P. WATSON.)

(By IRA p. WATSON.)
! The reason SO many fail in starting
In the poultry business Is that tney
do not start right. No man would
begin to breed trotting stock with
draft horses, but would get the very
best trotting stock to start with; and
mo man who wanted to start a dairy
hor butter would get Hereford or Dur
ham cattle; he would choose Guern-
seys or Jerseys. Yet nine men out
ef ten in starting poultry to get eggs,
will begin with fancy birds that have
been bred for the show room regard
less of utility. Some men say that
success depends upon the feeding, but
that is not so. No amount of feed
will make q draft horse a good run
ner. Similarly one may feed the hen
anything and everything, but unless
she is bred to lay, she will never give
Zoo eggs in a year. Sunshine and
plenty of fresh air, with proper feed
ing and years Of practice Of the right
imethod of breeding for eggs, will in
crease egg production very greatly.
THE birds must have plenty Of exer-
tcise, no matter what method one uses.
have found it best in the winter to
keep my birds out Of the snow and
of the cold ground and to have them
busy in their houses. Wheat and oats
fed in the sheaf are daily before them.
$50 that they may he kept busy. Cab
bage and beats are among the best
green wint-- feeds and these are al
ways at hand. The most important
htem, however, in securing eggs is in
the ability of the hen to lay. ! have
done good deal to develop a strain
tof heavy layers.
! Being breeder and developer Of
some of the very best Jersey cattle,
determined to see what could do In
developing a strain of laying hens.
wishing to start with the best that
i could get, I wrote to some Of the
best breeders Of fancy poultry for
prices on their highest egg produc-
ling hens. The universal reply was
that the breeder did not aim for eggs,
but for the show room. and the state
Ement was sometimes made that heavy
laying lowers the vitality of the hen.
knowing that this Is not so with Jer-
Isey cattle, was determined to prove
its faisity with hens. / bought the
hest stock that I could find and kept
Ia record Of what the fowls lay in
year. The first year they laid 12O
Ieggs on an average.
BY carefully studying out system
,of breeding and feeding l have de-
veloped strain Of Rhode Island Reds
that has averaged 240 eggs in flock
tof so hens, and one in this flock laid
l291 eggs, or 24Adozen in year.
These eggs were very large, weighing
1.-TWO pounds to the dozen. This Is
half pound more dozen than the
average weight The total weight OF
ieggs was 4Sh pounds in year. This
lis nearly seven times the hens own
weight OF ordinary sized eggs 32k
dozen would be needed to weigh this
ASH pounds. At the 81 cents doz-
ZEN average, the returns from this hen
would be S6.55 Allowing s1.50 for
feed would leave S5.05 gain. Such
eggs from this hen as were used for
matching brought out large, strong,
tyigourous chicks, with the shape and
f'vigor of their mother, showing great
.prepotency. The hen is an exception
ally strong and vigorous one. always
1.-THE first off the roost in the morning
and always on the go; l have a fine
pen of her pullets, which think will
make some great records, and l also
have some exceptionally fine cockrels
from her, enough to mate all my hens
this season. They also resemble their
mother.
The S1.5O for feed, mentioned above,
lis more than the feed actually cost
me, as the system for feeding which
i have practiced has reduced the cost
and yet doubled the production Of
ieggs. At 27 cents dozen for eggs,
the flock averaged S5.40 returns, or
1880 profit fer each hen, thus making
the total s1s5. for the flock Of so. I
made much more than this, however.
because sold large number OF set
tings at prices varying from 81 to
IS setting. All these figures have
been with my strain OF Rhode 10