Evening star., 1915-01-10
Poultry Yard Notes.

II brotlers for the April market are
desired, the eggs should be in the In
cubator right now. and the chicks,
naturally. must be Matched before the
end of January. Hatched later. the
broilers will not have attained the
proper weight-about a pound and a
half-in time to catch the high prices
OF the early April birds. Broilers
weighing about a pound and a half
| usually bring about 40 cents pound
| in this market during April. Later. the
price drops. Squad broilers. weighing
about three-quarters Of pound, may
be Matched as late as midFebruary.
This type Of broiler. however. has
never been very popular with Wash
ington buyers.
| Chicks intended for April broilers
must be pushed right along after they
are Matched, and must never be per-
mitted to stop growing, as a setback
of a single day-caused by partial
chilling, missing a feed or two, etc
requires a couple of weeks for recov-
cry.
Don't keep the chicks in the brooder
too warm and don't allow them to be
too cold. The maintenance OF the
proper temperature-100 degrees dur
ing the first week, ninety-eight degrees
the second week, ninety-f1ve degrees
the third week and then about ninety
degrees-keeps the chicks comfortably
warm without overheating.
Ventilation and light are as impor-
tant in forcing early chicks as warmth
and feeding. Dark brooders are stunned
by the CHICKS. ~nicn croMu 70 the .-sn.
and refuse to enter the dark brooder
compartment unless compelled to. Foul
air, the result of poor ventilation,
stupefies the chicks, robs them of vigor
and appetite, and results in disease
and death.
Baby chicks. either for forcing or for
other purposes. should not be fed for
After that, feed four or five times a
day. Eggs that have been tested out
as infertile during incubation. hard
boiled and crushed, shells and all, may
head oatmeal, stale bread soaked in
milk and squeezed dry, and, later, a
good commercial chick feed, should be
used. Dry wheat bran. fed in small
hoppers, also is admirable.
There is little danger OF overfeeding
chicks: the chief danger is not feeding
enough. The chicks should have feed
enough to keep them comfortable all the
time.
After the chicks are three or four weeks
old, give them small feed daily of a
short, or shredded cabbage, minced car
rots or turnips, OF some form OF green
food also should be fed daily.
There is nothing better for chickens
than plenty of milk. Buttermilk, clab-
Der, sour milk or sweet milk are almost
equally good. If it is available, give
them all they will consume of it. 1t is
good for chicks that are being forced.
and it is equally good for those to be
matured.
An inch or two of litter on the floor Of
the brooder keeps the chicks warm, COM
Portable and clean. The litter should be
chaff from the hayloft, shortcut straw.
or hay, or something similar.
Chicks require fine grit, oyster shell,
charcoal and the other mineral elements
the same as do mature fowls. Plenty of
clean, sharp, fine grit should be at hand
all the time. as well as fine oyster shell
and granulated charcoal.
Water containing permanganate of pot
ash, in the proportion o as much as can
be scooped up on a dime to a gallon of
water, should be supplied to the chicks
fresh twice a day. This will ward off
many an epidemic of colds that might
give the chicks a setback frcm which
they would not recover for weeks
On many poultry plants. large and
small, the problem of a green feed
supply is a serious one. Sprouted oats
are excellent; cabbages are fine: man.
gels, beets, carrots, turnips and the
like also are good. To sprout oats.
however, requires a good deal of work
and trouble: while the raising of
enough cabbage. etc. to do any good
requires considerable ground. In
planning for the coming seasons op-
erations. reserve a plot OF ground. as
large as may be available. to be sowed. |
early in the spring. to rye. The grow |
ing rye will furnish a highly desirable |
green ration, relished by poultry old or |
Young. Then later in the season, when |
the rye has been eaten off, turn the
stubbie under, prepare a seed bed and |
sow the space to crimson clover. Seed
of the crimson clover VIII cost aoout
40 cents q pound, and 1t should be |
sown at the rate of about fifteen pounds