The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-27
KEEPING POULTRY IN SUBURBS.
Some Useful Hints Suggested by Gov
eminent Experts.

Washington, April 27.-Of the various
kinds OF live stock, poultry is most wide
| ly adapted to suburban conditions for
several reasons. 1t can be handled sue
cessfully on very small amount Of
land. The waste products from the
kitchen and the table may be used to adj
vantage as feed. The care of the chick
ems is pleasant work, is comparatively
simple, and may be done by any mem
Der of the family. Eggs and dressed
poultry are always in demand and may
be sold to advantage in any quantity
or used at home, thus furnishing a
strictly fresh product which is hard to
secure under general market conditions;
and in addition, the care of poultry may
provide recreation for adults, employ
ment and good discipline for the chill
dren, and be a source of income to the
housewife, or saving in the food account
for the family, say poultry specialists
of the department of agriculture.
The following breeds are among the
most popular in this country: Plymouth
Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds,
0rpingtons and Single comb White Leg
horns. The Leghorns belong to the egg
laying class of fowls, lay a white egg
and are especially adapted to large, com
mercial egg farms, or to sections where
a white egg brings premium over
brown eggs The other breeds belong
to the general-purpose class and lay
brown eggs. They are better adapted
to the average person, or the farmer
who keeps only small number of fowls.
as they are good layers and also make
good table poultry. Another advantage
of the general purpose breeds is that
they will hatch eggs and brood their
chickens, while the Leghorns, and other
breeds ofthe egg daying class are non
sitters.
A great variety of methods of feeding
and caring for poultry are used success
fully Matching and brooding, or rearing
chickens under hens, is the best method
to use where a small number of chickens
are raised, and especially if the care is
apt to be irregular. Incubators and
breeders may be used also, but they in
crease the cost of equipment consider
ably. Chickens can be reared under
hens successfully by keeping the hens
confined in the brood coop, while allow
ing the chickens to roam at will
When many fowls are kept in a small
space, the ground becomes so foul that
in time it becomes difficult to rear chick
ems with good success. In order to avoid
this condition, it is advisable to divide
the lot and SOW part of it with some of
the quick-growing grains such as oats,
wheat. or rye. BY this method the
yards may be rotated every three or
four weeks during the growing sea
son, turning the hens onto the growing
grain when it is few inches high. A
good combination of grains is oats and
wheat in equal parts, sowing or Z
bushels to the acre f43560 SO. ft.), and
using wheat alone for the last seeding in
the fall
The prime essentials in poultry houses
are fresh air, dryness, sunlight, and
space enough to keep the birds comfort
able. Allow about four square feet of
door space per bird for the general-pur- |
pose breeds, and three square feet for
the smaller breeds. A good egg-laying |
ration may be made of a dry mash of |
equal parts of corn meal bran middlings |
and beef scrap, which is kept before the
birds in hopper all of the time; and
a scratch ration of equal parts OF corn, |
wheat and oats fed in litter to |
inches deep twice daily. Regulate this
feed so that the birds eat about one
half mash and one-half scratch grain, |
which will mean feeding about one part |
Of mixed grains daily to twelve Ply |
mouth Rock hens, or to Ia Leghorns. In
order to utilize the waste table products
to the best advantage, a moist mash |
may be used in place of the dry mash, !
feeding once daily. If IL contains much |
meat, table scrap may be substituted |
for the beef scrap; if not, merely add it
TO the mash given above.