The farmer and mechanic., 1915-07-27
WHERE MOST OF THE PROFIT
IN POULTRY LIES.
By MRS. A. j. WILDER.


the production as we'll as good judg-
ment in the marketing Of eggs and
poultry.
The farmer has a great advantage
here over the pOultryman who has all
the feed to buy and we must not for
get to make the best use possible OF
this advantage.
At sowing and planting time is
when We should make our plans for
a variety Of feed for the poultry
through the year and especially for
the winter.
You will want enough wheat, oats,
rye and barley SOWn to supply these
grains in the bundle for the hens to
work on Sow some millet also to
add to the variety an dto furnish seed
for next years little chicks. Mangle
or stock beets make a very good green
food for the hens in the winter, SO
you will need to plant plenty Of them.
Cabbage heads are a great treat for
the fowls, so raise a few extra for
theEl.
Plant mammoth Russian sunf1Ow-
ers in the corners and waste places
and if there are not enough corners to
raise a good many, plant patch of
them. SunflOWer seeds are great egg
producers and also make the plumage
of the fowls bright and beautiful.
They are fine to feed through the
| moulting season as they nourish the
feathers and cause them to grow
rapidly.
Variety in the food is more than
half the secret of egg production and
it is much cheaper to raise these diff
ferent foods than it is to buy them, so
do not forget the poultry at the plant
ing time.
Grit and charcoal can be found and
| made on the farm and the expense of
buying these necessary things can be
| saved. If there is creek bed near,
haul gravel frrOm that and place near
| the hen houses where the poultry can
| find it. Charcoal can be made by
| taking the live Goals from the stove
| and pouring water over them. They
| will Immediately turn to charcoal and
| can be ground or broken up into the
right size for the chickens to swallow
| Better do this work out of doors as
steam ard ashes will fly from the
| Goals when the water is poured on
them.
| In these ways we can greatly re-
duce the cost Of keeping our poultry
and it will pay us to give time and
| thought to cur work as the profit ir
the poultry business, as in any other
lies between the cost of production
| and the amount received for the
| marketed products.
Besides comfortable quarters, tn,
chick, to thrive, must have exercise
water, grit, a variety of grain food
green or succulent food, and CASH
or meat foods.
Exercise is as essential as food an,
lack of it indicates wrong method
} of rearing. The natural way for
, chick to take it's food is to scratc1
for it. taking a little at time.
small chickens are put into box wit
a bare floor and fed from a trough
they will become weak Many vii
become clogged behind with the ex
crements accommodating on the dowr
and it is generally concluded tha
something has been fed to cause boWe
trouble. AS matter Of fact they ar
. weak from lack of exercise, and tn
!. appearance of diarrhoea is only tn
? inability Of the chick to properly eS
: pei it's eXcrement.
If chicks cannot be out of door
their feeding-flOor should be covere
with sand, and over this should b
t thrown some litter, such as chaff fror
the straw stack or leaves from a
G alfalfa-loft Place the feed in th
A litter. If small quantities are thu
= given, and given often, the question
y exercise is solved. Brooder chick
v need more care in this way than d
a chicks with hens, but even in the la
a | crease it is worth while to max
D them scratch for their food when the
= are raised indoors.
IS The notion is prevalent that chic
g should begin his diet on boiled egg
It bread and milk, or some other so
r food. This notion has probably arise
from the knowledge that most your
n animals cannot digest hard foods. b
y when we consider the fact that IL
II natural food of the young mammal
II milk. we see why this principle do
not apply to chickens.
Little chicks should be first #
when seventytwO to ninety-six hou
9 old. Feed small quantities and
le often as is convenient If the fe,
:. ~ is buried in deep litter they mu
=, work longer getting it out The id
is to have them always hungry enous
u, to hunt for food, and always a lit
= food for thoa,a to oh