Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-02-19
Selecting the Breeders
is no question but that
greatest secret in successful t

'T\HERE is no question but that the
greatest secret in successful tur-
key raising is in having strong,
vigorous, healthy parent stock. If
you hatch eggs from this kind of stock
the battle is certainly half won. In
selecting the breeding stock the best
birds are none too good and are the
cheapest in the end, as your future
stock depends almost entirely on the
parent birds. Select q male with lots
of vigor and of good size, but do not
use a bird of extreme heavy weight.
Select females having long deep bod
les, good bone and lots of vigor.- II
yearling or two-year-old hens are
used as breeders, mate them with a
young tom; if pullets are used, select
an older tom to head the flock.
good. vigorous tom can be mated
with fifteen to twenty hens, but as a
rule it is not advisable to mate one
tom with over ten or twelve hens.
The care of the breeding stock is
the next important step. Much of the
so-called bad luck in turkey rails
ing, namely, infertile and soft-shelled
eggs and impaired vigor, is due to
overfeeding. If the birds that have
been selected as breeders have been
allowed to fatten with the stock in
tended for market, they should be re-
duced to medium flesh during the
winter, as good results cannot be OBJ
tanned from overfat breeders. The
writer has found oats to be the best
food for the turkey hens during the
breeding season, and feeds this almost
entirely with an occasional feed OF
wheat or corn. Charcoal, shells and
grit are kept within easy reach at all
times. Ground bone is also fed, as II
has a tendency to make the eggs more
fertile. Just before the hens begin to
1T oh, tn nh hn la- .f -,
or the first of April, make nests OF
straw along the fences, in overturned
barrels and in secluded places, and
use china nest eggs, and usually little
trouble will be experienced in induc-
ing the hens to lay in the nests pro-
vided for them.
Hatching the Eggs
The eggs should be gathered every
day, kept in a cool place and turned
once a day until they are set. It is a
good plan to mark on each egg the
! date when it was laid, as by doing this
one knows exactly which eggs to sci
first. A turkey hen will lay from fif-
teen to eighteen eggs and then become
| broody. 1t is a very easy matter tC
break one from setting IL taken ir
time, and in this way secure an extra
| clutch of eggs, for she will lay agair
| in q few days. / always allow the
turkeys to hatch their own eggs, al
though they may be Matched will
common hens. The turkey hen seems
| to understand the weakness of thu
poults better. She moves about slowly
+brooding often, while the chicken her
hustles about so that she soon tiret
out the tender poults. If CHECKER
| hens are used for Matching they shoulC
| be set at the same time with the tur
key hens to whom all the poults may
| be given
l set turkeys in coops and make the
nest by scooping out the earth a deptI
of two or three inches. This prevent.
the eggs from rolling out and give:
| the required moisture. I then put ir
| a layer of chaff. AS rule, / sci
eighteen eggs under each hen. It Is q
good plan to sprinkle the nest with Q