The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1915-03-20
POULTRY TALKS
by
o. L. TINDALL
TIME TO GET BUSY.

This is the opportune time for the
poultry man.
'"The early bird catches the worm" is
an old saying. This is especially true in
the poultry business. If you expect to
make success with your chickens this
year, now is the time to begin in good
earnest.
There is tide in the affairs of men,
which if taken at it's flow leads on to
success, and if not, or taken at it's ebb
means failure.
What l mean for the poultry raiser is
that it is very important to do things at
the right time, as well as to do them
we'll. We have tried to point out some
facts in this business that were import
ant to success, especially for new begin
ners.
However, if all the directions and sug
gestions made in regard to the subject
be followed ever so carefully and faith
fully and yet not done at the right time,
your labor will be largely in vain.
Chickens Matched out in July or Au-
gust would not be worth half as much,
as those Matched in April and May. 1t
will take just as much time and labor
to hatch in the wrong months as in the
right ones. Yes, and even more, for it
is harder to manage them in the extreme
hot weather.
April and May are the ideal months
for chicks. These matches are the ones
that give you the winter layers from the
pullets, and the broilers for the early
market when the price is highest. Even
earlier than April is good for broilers.
This branch of the business could be
made very remunerative, if rightly man.
aged. A man can get quick returns
from his investments. He can put 21ac
or &c in an egg, hatch it in three weeks,
feed it two months or ten weeks and get
from fifty to sixty cents for it. The ex-
pense of Matching is small and feed for
small chicks is not very much for so
short time In three months or lit
tie more, one man can do large business
and reap his harvest. He can do this
without keeping any hens, simply buy
his eggs, hatch them and sell them off
at once He does away with the long
feed of year and misses the large feed
bills, that are so annoying and so fatal
to profits, that come during the long
months when the hens will do nothing
but clay off," This is one branch of the
poultry business that is not followed so
much and yet could be made profitable,
and much easier than the regular bust
ness with all it's different angles.
The broiler branch of poultry would
take only the chances of Matching, brood
ing and fattening up to about two
pounds weight, or even less.
The investor would require incuba-
tors, but the first cost would be about all,
as incubators will last many years if
rightly cared for and if they are well
built.
One man can look after a mammoth
incubator that will hatch thousands of
eggs.
The brooder houses for this kind and
sized chicks can be built very cheaply,
as they do not require much room up to
this age, and the feed is not very much.
Broilers early in the season bring from
25c to 35c pound. In this way, man
makes Sc egg, in three months, into
SOC or zoe chick.
Now that figures out fine on paper.
The question is, will it do so in your in
cubator cellar, and brooding and fatten-
ing pens?
1t is doing so in hundreds of places.
Of course, this is true if the eggs that
run the gauntlets, do not miscarry in
the Matching and do not die.
This is condition that must be reck-
oned with, and is sure to happen. No
one expects to get a 1000 hatch, nor
1000 in raising the chicks, but we can
give $3.50, or even 1870 loss and then
be able to declare a good dividend.