Gunnison news-champion., 1916-03-10
M TO MI4 uufE
\ u uTTIu(s
Mrs. James Cairns

Mrs. James Cairns
Fkld & Farm
Strangers coming into the Rocky
uOuntaIn region Of Colorado often ex-
UGsss surprise at the scarcity of chick-
- and eggs and are greatly sstonished
= The small amount cf poultry that is
Ssund on the average ranch. This con
Geion is found in oil the mountainous
sestes and few people realize the diff
Ou1tles encountered in . high altitude,
vAere the air is exceedingly dry sne the
winters are long and cold, with snow on
- ground from eighteen inches to
three feet deep from December until
Hay. These conditions psevail On the
western slope of the Continental Divide
61t after eight years of sctual exper-
isace with chickens ct en- altitude Of
sver 5000 feet, in which I have come
sot victorious, believe in the knowl-
o1ge have gained will be Of value
- other mouRtaineers.
have tried three breeds Of chickens,
- Brown Lsghes~s, the Barred Ply
0puth Rocks sad RhsAs Islsai Red.
~ one tiae ! was even psssuaAsd 10
~ mixsd eAieksas, bst sae ysss of
- sbsUs1 - - lsaay - Il. Of ths
thss Asss1s osssisasd ! hsvs sAasen
the nhn1e Islsaa Reds - the enc kind
to stisk -. They withstand the long,
cold UiwAsss better than say Of the
othsss ! have tried, end will ley steadily
thra1gA the coldest month when the
tempssstsre is anywhere from thirty
to fsety degrees below zero night sfter
nighk. From carefully kept records
ind tAat . flock of twelve hens will
svessoe eight eggs day through Jsnu-
ary - February.
Ne best house is one of big, round
logs eighty chinked and with q good
tigbt hoor. Ny house faces the south
With large window in the south only
which will admit plenty of Sunshine.
This is one of the most essential things
in my plan, for never allow the chick
ems outside of their house after the
tirst heavy snow comes until the
groubd is bare again in the spring and
il is for this reason that an abundance
Of sunshine must he admitted through
the windows.
TIE house is divided into two parts,
one Of which is used rs scratching pen
The Aoer of this is covered with litter
Of hey three or four inches deep into
which the grain is thrown. Once q day
they ere fed cooked rations of turnips,
csbbeee. potato parings, stale bread,
neat scraps etc, with little red pep
per added when the days are unusually
cold. Sand. weed ashes and lime are
kept IN separate boxes on the floor.
II 10 very essential to furnish lime as it
is seldom found in the soil of a noun
taiDoss region.
A few years ego began to pound up
pieces Of broken dishes and crockery of
sIl kind. II takes but few minutes to
prepare this and the aid it gives the
chickens in the matter of digestion
imply repays the poultrykeeper for the
trouble,
In this dry climate people exper-
ieDce difficulty in hstching more than
IN sny other one phase of the chicken
industry. have special boxes for the
setting hens; these have four sides but
ne ksttom. A separate frame covered
with screen is placed over the box. to
prevent other hens from disturbing the
setting hen and is only removed once q
day n order that that the hen may
cave the nest. A nest of excelsior is
aid n the bottom of the box, the eggs
are paeced On this, and thus the hen
its very close to the ground 30 that
from the earth may be drawn
70 The eEgs-a point that should not be
in = dry climate
After sprinkling several settings of
sEgs beesn TO realize that was cool
NJ The eggs to . greater degree than
hey cosld Withstand; quit sprinkling
beA aDd have had excellent matches I
ritA . few exceptions ever since.
TskinG il oil around believe that
high altitude with its climatic conci-
iss = oore Of IN advantage than .