Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-02
MONEY TO Be MADE
IN RAISING TURKEYS
Demand Always Greater Than Sup
ply in Big City Markets
for Fine Birds.
Grain and Stock Farms Adapted to
Turkey Raising-Cost Is
Small, Profits Large.

For those who are favorably located
for raising turkeys a more profitable
side line can hardly be found. Given
find grasshoppers and other insects,
green vegetation, seeds of weeds and
grasses, waste grain, acorns and. nuts
of various kinds. the cost of raising
them is very small and the profits
large. The demand for we'll finished,
medium sized turkeys in the large city
markets is always far in excess of the
supply. and this is particularly true
during the winter season.
Grain and stock farms are especially
adapted to turkey raising, and it is on
such farms that most of the turkeys
are found. Little has ever been done
in the way of raising turkeys in con-
fnement, and in those cases where it
has been tried the results have been
discouraging. Plenty of range is es-
sential to success in turkey raising.
Selecting Breeders.
In selecting turkeys for breeding, the
most important factors to be considered
io vigil, DIG, poHe, cal ~
turity. and color of plumage. The
body should be deep and wide, the back
broad and the breast round and full
The head should be of good size and
of "a clean. healthy appearance. A
strong, well made skeleton is shown
by thick. sturdy shanks and straight.
strong toes. 1t should be the aim Of
every turkey raiser to have a flock of
pure-bred turkeys. even though they
are sold at market prices. The male
at the head of the flock should by all
means be a pure-bred of the best type
obtainable. The male is one-half the
entire flock. and by continually select
ing the best females of a similar type
and mating these with a pure-bred
male. one can soon have a flock of uni
formly large, early-maturing, strong
boned. long and deep bodied turkeys of
the same color.
Fifteen turkey hens can safely be
mated to vigorous tom. If twenty
nve or thirty hens are kept, two toms
should not be allowed to run with them
at the same time, but one should be
confined one day and the sother the
next. When two toms are allowed to
run together during the mating sea-
son they fight badly and the stronger
does practically all of the mating.
Laying Habits of Turkeys.
turkey mems are wont to steal their
nests in hidden places, such as a patch
of weeds. tall grass or thick brush,
and often wander a half mile or more
from home before they find locations
that suit them. To find these stolen
nests often, proves to be a long and
tedious TASK, the usual method being
to follow each turkey hen as she
separates from the flock and starts
nv ND h. oct hat
she does not know she is being fol-
lowed a much easier and quicker
method than this Is to confine the hens
early some morning soon after they
have come down from the roosts. and
let them out late in the afternoon.
Those that are laying will then head
for their nests. in order to lay the eggs
they have been holding.
If turkeys are kept, the use of a
breeding pen will be found great
convenience. This pen should cover a
sufficient area to allow the turkeys
some exercise, an acre for fifteen birds
being none too much. A hog tight wire
fence three feet high will hold most
turkeys. and if any persist in flying
out. the flight feathers in one wing
should be clipped. Nests should be
scattered about the pen, those which
turkey hens take to most readily being
barrels turned on their sides and nests
shaped in them with straw.
Incubating the Eggs.
Turkey hens, chicken hens and incu-
bators are commonly used to incubate
turkey eggs. During the early part of
the laying season it often happens that
one has a number of eggs that should
be incubated before any of the turkey
hens are through laying their first lit
ter and become "broody." In such case,
and also when it is desired that the
turkey hens lay more than one litter,
some of the eggs have to be incubated
under chicken hens or in an incubator
About a week before the poults are due
to hatch turkey hens enough should be
allowed to sit to take all the poults
Matched. They can be given few.eggs
from the incubator or from under the
chicken hens and allowed to hatch the
poults themselves, or at night newly
Matched poult car be slipped under each
turkey hen that is to be given a brood
of poults and by morning she will be
glad to take them.
Insect Pests.
Lice are a great annoyance to sitting
hens and are one of the worst enemies
of young poults. To prevent their get
ting a foothold, dust the hen thor
oughly with some good lice powder be-
fore she is placed on the nest and once
week thereafter while she is sitting.
The nesting material should be kept
clean and if the eggs become dirty they
should be washed with lukewarm
water.
Brooding the Poults.
If the weather is warm and dry no
shelter is required, as the poults do
better in the open. Should it be rainy,
however. they need to be protected, for
nothing is more injurious than for them
to become wet and chilled. The most
satisfactory plan is to confine the
mother turkey hen to a coop and allow
the poults to run In and out whenever
rain does not prevent. This coop
should be placed In a field where they
can run out and find grasshoppers
green vegetation and other feed. The
coop should be moved to fresh ground