Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-02
POULTRY YARD NOTES.

! only with Jugs and cans Of hot water,
THESE breeders consist OF q stout
framework six inches high. which 10
placed over plenty of char on the moor
of the brooder house. over this 10
placed loosely an ample cover OF bur-
lap so that II touches the floor about
so as to rest on the floor. Under this
burlap the chickens love to crawl
During the day one jug or can of hot
water is kept under each brooder to
, encourage the chicks to enter when
| tired. At night enough are used in
case the weather is cool SO that they
| can all get near the heat. II there is
tendency toward piling up 1t indiA
When sufficiently warm the chicks
spread out evenly about the brooder.
The burlap. while retaining the heat,
yet admits fresh air.
After the incubator chicks have thor.
oughly dried out they should be res
moved to the brooder. II the weatheh
is cold the brooder should be at a tenn.
perature but a little below that OF the
incubator, say about 100 degrees. After
the first week the heat may be grade
ually reduced, about 10 degrees a week.
Be sure that the brooder is about 90
degrees on cold nights.
For strong egg production plenty OF
succulence in poultry feed is required,
BY succulence is meant food material
l
| juices Of the plant as 1t grew-for ex-
ample. cabbage. lettuce. sprouted oats.
mangel beets. etc Succulence. as here
DEFINED. has two definite purposes to
perform in the ration-it acts as q
| tonic, increasing the food consumption
| by having definite effect upon the
palatability OF the ration: where plenty
of green food is given the birds RELISH
the food better and digest mora.
Mangel beets have peculiar advant
tages as succulent carriers. They ara
very succulent, containing approxi<
| Mangels are generally fed by cutting
in half lengthwise. The halves can
then be nailed to the wall (the cut side
out with twenty penny spikes about
a foot from the floor.
! Mangel beets are essentially a winter
feed and should be fed in such an
amount that the poultry will clean
them up each day. II greater quanti-
ties are given there will be waste. Some
poultrymen grind the beets in vege-
table cutter and feed them in an open
wooden trough. This method admits
of the birds eating the entire beet: but.
on the other hand, it requires consid-
cradle labor.
Strong healthy. vigorous turkeys
| will mate and begin to lay at the very
opening of the breeding season, while
W
feed until the warmer weather makes
itself felt in the spring. II is true that
the feed and care that the birds re-
ceive. the proportion of males to fe-
males. and many other things enter
into the matter of egg fertility and
strength of the germs. but besides all
these the strength of the ancestral
stock plays no little part. Without
good care strong birds may not beget
strong pults, but no amount of care
will enable weak birds to produce
strong ones.
It is after the spring matches that
the difference between good stock and
weak stock makes itself most keenly
felt in turkeydom, for that is the time
when the poult mortality runs high
est Where coveys from understood
or otherwise deficient ancestry VIII
dwindle steadily from week to week.
until possibly only Is or 20 per cent or
the original hatch remain. the coveys
Matched from vigorous breeding stock
will be far better perhaps SO to 80 per
cent of the young birds surviving the
danger period under identical condl-
tons If the poults are ranging with
the turkey hen the difference shows
most markedly. for the greater intelli-
gence, alertness. strength and solici-
tude of the better turkey mother also
play their part.