Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-02
POULTRY YARD NOTES.

dangers is to allow mash to STAND
| around to sour. Sour food Kills nun
| dreds of chicks annually. and too hiuch
| care cannot be given to prevent TINS
loss.
Fresh water must be constantly pc
fore them. 1t is wonderful now ire
| quently these little youngsters run 10
the drinking vessels. They have haoi.
ual thirsts and to deprive them OF
water if even for only ar hour. gives
them great distress. Where chicks are
on range they will secure plenty OF
green food, but where they are kept on
more limited space it is important Una.
they receive some green stun dally'
like lawn clippings. sprouted oats or
lettuce. If these instructions are care
fully followed out there viii be very
little trouble raising summer chicks,
and pulletS from that flock VIII De
ready to lay during the latter part of
January or during February. Much de-
ponds upon the care given. bearing IN
mind that they should have all the
freedom possible.
no use.
To keep up the stamina of your breed
ing stock the males should be changed
every year.
FOr pest results IN breeding 90 not
have the male too closely related to the
females.
Continually cleaning up to keep clean
is what pays in poultry keeping.
: Poor matches sometimes are as blam-
able upon those who manage them as
they are upon the hatcher.
When the parent birds lack vitality
lly
raising, and it is time, patience and
money thrown away.
Undoubtedly the simplest and safest
way of raising young stock on range is
by the hopper system-keeping supply
of food before the birds at all times,
writes correspondent of Orange Judd
Farmer. In this way they do not run off
foraging between meals. They will do
certain amount of foraging between any
way, but with grain at hand they will
never overexercise. l Keep supply of
hard grains. mash. beef scrap and oyster
shells constantly before them, with. of
course. an abundant supply of fresh
water. On free range practically no
green food need be feG. but on limited
ground ii will be necessary to supply
sprouted oats or green's from the gar
den. l believe chicks fed in this mafi-
ner will make better growth in a
shorter time, growing more evenly. never
have had Wyandottes mature and lay in
five months. l do not desire such early
maturity, but it shows the system is not
far from right Any type hopper that
does not waste the grain and that pro-
tects 1t from the weather may be used.
Don't have too many fowls in your
breeding pens. Fowls can stand some
croWding in very cold weather, but
when springtime and warm weather
come they must have plenty of room
to do well. Do not have over ten hens
In pen-anc still less is better-if you
have plenty of small houses and runs
TO put them in. You will have a larger
percentage of eggs from the small
sized pens than you will from large
siZej ones.
SO many poultry raisers lose sight of
the fact that oats are more reasonable
In price than other grains. and at the
same time one of the very best pouI-
try foods. When buying oats get the
very best quality obtainable 1t is
much better feed during hot weather
than com. being less heating and con-
tanning less fattening matter. If the
oats are boiled they will be more rel
ished by the hens. One quart of oats
viii swell into two quarts when boiled
SteeI-cut oats also makes an excellent
reed for young chicks. Sprouted oats
are extensively used as winter green
1000; and produce good results among
the laying hens.
III you have your poultry confined in
runs, pillow up some of the ground so
that the fowls will have fresh earth TO
scratch in. They enjoy it very much.
and 1t gives them a chance to find
worms and other things which are ben
ehclal to them. Fowls having access
to the fields Will find plenty of freshly
plowed soil. but 1t is better to supply
1t close at hand, SO that they will not
wander all over the farm. The little
chicks also like to scratch into freshly
turned soil. and should be given every
opportunity to do so.
The marketing of eggs is feature
which needs more attention. Many do
not properly sort thet-1Gos Each lot
should be as uniform in - s-Solor
as possible, and the culls should -.
used for home consumption Privat\
consumers should be served with egesN
put up in neat packages holding one or
two dozen each. Have these boxes
clean and properly labeled. A neat
package IS a good advertisement Have
the eggs clean. No one cares to receive
flthy-looking eggs. These little de-
tails are very essential in marketing
eggs, and should never be overlooked