Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-18
TO AVOID
IN POULTRY BUSINESS
Bad Locations, Poor Stock, Improper
Equipment and Lack of Care
I. Often Causes Of Failure.
Better to Start in a Small Way and
Learn From Experience-Right
Beginning Important.
BY REESE v. HICKS.
Copyright. 1879

Copyright, 1851
In any line Of business there are fail
ures These failures occur often
through the want of experience or
natural adaptability Of the man at the
head of the business. In no line is
failure more often attributed to the
man himself than in oultry-keeping.
Lack of experience Is the foundation
Of many of the causes that contribute
to losses. Through experience any one
not naturally adapted to poultry rails
ing can become successful and thus
overcome handicaps.
The person with experience, even II
limited, avoids the stumbling blocks
They never trouble him to any appreci-
able extent because he knows in ad-
vance how to reduce these troubles to
a minimum. The right beginning is
more than half of success in poultry
raising. But the man without expert
ence gets such hard bumps that he is
unable to survive financially or else
becomes discouraged and gives up
poultry raising before he has given it
a thorough trial.
Study to Overcome Inexperience.
The inexperienced man does not know
of the pitfalls that are to be avoided,
but he can readily see the opportunities
for profit and pleasure, because
these appear on the surface. mex
perience can be overcome largely by
reading books and papers on the sub
ject of poultry, by studying the poultry
business as taught by schools and col
leges. and, finally. by actual experience
or practice on limited scale at first
1t is not necessary that the practice
or experience be on a large scale at
first. In fact, it is best that the be-
ginner start on a small scale and grad
ually enlarge his poultry raising estab-
lishment as he learns the business. He
may get experience on large scale at
a practical poultry farm where he can
learn the methods employed for doing
Improper Location Often Fatal.
Improper location of the poultry
Locations that are damp, exposed to
cold, chilly northern winds, and those
that are inaccessible to good market
are among those that are not suitable
for raising poultry and should be
avoided.
Often a beginner wants to start on
d
proportion to his experience: or he
puts too much of his investment ip
buildings. Too often he has some pecu-
liar ideas about the style and design of
the new establishment. All these pecu-
liarities and extras cost money, and
the interest on the investment cannot
be made over the running expenses. 1t
is well established among poultrymen
that the housing of hens should run
from IS cents to $1.25 per hen, with
a Awning
this is waste of money.
Improper equipment and too expen-
sive equipment result in some failures
All equipment, such as hovers. brooders
and incubators, should be simple but
substantial. While 1t does not pay to
buy the cheapest, yet the other ex-
IRENE is equally detrimental.
Select the Right Breed.
The selection Of poo foundation
stock. or a breed that is not practical
to raise, will seriously injure the
chances for success. If eggs are the
object. the poultryman should select
a breed that has known reputation
for high production at an economical
cost. and this means a breed that is
popular among those successful in the
business of producing eggs for market
If the poultryman desires to raise a
few fowls for his own use, he could
not do better than to take one Of
the breeds known as the "all purpose"
breeds.
No matter what his object in making
his selection. the breeder should be
sure that his foundation stock is
adapted to the purpose for which he
wishes it. He should buy of a reliable,
established breeder. AS the buyer must
rely largely on the representations of
the seller. he should buy only from
those who have e. reputation to sus
tain.
After the start in poultry raising has
been made by securing proper build
ings and proper flock. there comes the
care of the poultry. Here is where ex-
perience counts most. The greatest
common cause Of failure in the care of
the plant may be cited under the gen
eral heading Of neglect of details; This
embraces everything from cleanliness
in the incubator cellar to the proper
maturing of chicks. and the culling of
the matured fowls.
Regular Attention Essential.
Want Of regularity in carrying out
the system of poultry raising is often
the cause of failure. Regular hours
should be had for giving the fowls
or young chicks attention. Definite
hours for feeding, watering, gathering
the eggs, closing the houses for the
night, cleaning, disinfecting and for
all other work are absolutely neces-
sary.
Failure with poultry Is due often to
inability to raise a sufficient percentage
of chicks. This often Is combination
of other causes. 1t may be due to poor
foundation stock. 1t may be caused by
careless methods of incubation, want
of proper attention. or the stock may
be rugged and the eggs properly in
cubated, but lack of care in the de-
tails of feeding, etc, may result In big
losses among the chicks. In raising
chicks, regularity and great attention
to every detail are most important.
Want of a suitable market or easy
access to one has caused some good
poultry prospects to fail. Before one
starts to raise poultry extensively the
question of marketing the products
should be investigated thoroughly.
There always will be a market for
poultry products of high quality, but,
as in many other lines. there is often
an overproduction of inferior grades
in certain localities. As the range of
prices throughout the seasons are
strong factors in marketing poultry In
any given locality. these should be
studied for a series of years. in order
that a general average may be OBJ
tanned.