Milford chronicle., 1916-02-18


" great and beloved land is discussing tn
u question of preparedness, / desire t
% bring to the attention of the variou
T. poultry raisers a subject which, to com
& bat successfully, must be prepared for
p This condition Is just as true with re
,f gard to the raising of poultry as it i
Il with the defense of the nation.
In poultry parlance, might say that
this is the time to prepare for the rap
d idly approaching Matching season, il
y order to be PREPARED when it comes
o Planning or plotting is bad when done
@ for immoral or criminal purposes, but to
b the one who plans and plots in the
poultry business, comes to the greatest
success, at least. insofar as it relates
to the perfection of his stock.
r This is especially true with the busi-
ness OF raising young chick, as much of
% the success is due to how we'll one is
pre- pared to care for them when they
arrive. The chicks that are brought
into the world by Old Bidy herself Tor
the mother hem are not exceptions to
the rule of preparedness. 1t does not
Z pay to await their arrival before get
Ting ready to care for their wants. The
wants of the hen, too, during her broody
period must be considered and arranged
for in advance of the time when she is
ready to take to the nest for purpose of
incubation.
From now on, if indeed they have not
already begun, the hens will be getting
the inclination to set, and if you are
wise you will wait until this time ar
rlves before getting ready for them.
I Many precious moments are lost, and
the Youngsters delayed in getting out,
{ 0y the fault of unpreparedness. Re
member that the early hatched pullets /
are to become your fulure fall and win |
| ter layers. and if you are ready to care |
1 for the hens when they become brOody. |
! it will mean much to the profit of your /
| ledger after awhile.
Many persons either do not take the
trouble of mating their birds for future
ayers, or else feel that they desire
something little better than what they
now have. and thus determine to pur-
chase setting eggs from some other
breeder. BY close study of your pres
ent matured birds, you should be able
to tel! just one to place your order for
eggs, in order that little or no time will
be lost in their incubation.
One of the best ways to determine
when a hen is approaching the brOody
state is to watch her when she is per-
course, hens never 90 to the nest, i'm
mediately lay the egg and then jump off
and announce it by that old familiar
sound or cackle. They will remain on
the nest for a little while after the egg
has been deposited. But where the
mems have the inclination of broOdiness,
they will remain longer on the nest {
after having laid their nugget, than at &
other times, and by watching them I
closely you are able to tell possibly ten c
days or two weeks in advance that they {
are getting brOody and can then place {
your order for eggs. In this way much g
time is saved, because when the eggs
are not Ordl re until the hen Is actually S
OrUody, you might be compelled to wait G
a week or two before being able tU get u
the particular kind of eggs you desire. c
When you first notice the hen sitting
on the nest longer than usual yon will, e
upon examination of the nest, find it to il
contain some of the soft downy feathers il
which she loses and which may be ac- C.
cepted as a sure sign that she is rapidly Il
approaching that period. c.
Another and undisputable sign of ap- Il
preaching broodiness is the actions of
the hen when approached while on the y
nest. If she is undergoing a change of
A~eAA - a0 ~ aRE4hr AAlE uGll Will UOL llN
DIT the nest In an excited condition as i,
lnder ordinary circumstances. but in +
stead, will crouch low to the nest and
)ften fuss at being disturbed. y
This action, however, is not only the y
inal test, but is a sure sign that she is y
'eady for business and no time should n
hen be lost in arranging the details in n
rider that she might begin operations. "
I you will take the trouble to observe a.
he hens by the former signs, one can /,
lrepare ahead of time for her accom- "
and be ready when she is. sN
When the hen has shown by the final "
igns that she means business, a few 81 81
ggs should be placed under her at once II II
S sort of encouragement and also to ~
old her to the idea of setting, or until III
uch time that you are assured she is III
ot tritiing. Never give any hen a set A.
ing Of valuable eggs, whether they be "
our own or purchased ones, until after Is
test of three or four days then you ne
an be reasonably sure that she means u u,
uslness. These test eggs may be given ~ ~
ne hen in her regular laying quarters. ~
Right here is where preparedness fits
Ito the whole scheme. The incubation as
uarters should be constructed in a sep nt
rate place, from the regular house if lO'
reoAoANs anu alOAlu Ut HLlGQ un and -
)mpleted prior to the time of incuba- "
on. If this has been done, you are in ge
better position to take care of the
-oody hens than if you are compelled
fit up place when the time has ar s
we'd for setting the birds. After the iml
iecial nest is thoroughly disinfected. 9th
w nesting material has been placed her
to it, and the time arrived where the and
N has shown by the test that she is
ady for business, she can then be Q
ansferred to the new nest and quarters age
d given her prescribed setting Of eggs. the
Before doing this, however, there are the
me things that should be done for Old dev
ddy, in order to insure her comfort resl
ring the prolonged stay upon the nest. pro
sr treatment should consist of a good
sting with lice powder. prior to her D
ing allowed to take the nest, and this will
1uld be repeated several times during che,
Z period Of incubation. This helps focl
ep down lice and thus saves her will