Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-05-26

There perhaps never was a time
when greater interest or greater r
of the poultry was more justified.
than right now. On nearly every
farm, regardless Of size. there is room
for more poultry. and there never
was q time when greater profit was
assured. 1t is q time to study these
smaller, but nc less essential n prof
liable lines OF production.
Poultry production III the United
States is Of a greater value than the
wheat crop.
There is probably not a farm, or
very few at least that do not keep
soma poultry. The value derived from
this important side line of farming de-
ponds very largely upon a few essen
tials in their management.
Usually the first question to be
asked by the poultry beginner Is what
breed he should handle. 1t is not SO
important as to what breed is kept.
but it Is important that it be kept
pure as possible, and properly housed
and fed.
Generally. a farmer, when asked as
to how his chickens are getting along,
will answer. II don't a much atten-
ton to these a they are looked
after by the women and kids" How
ever, as Indicated. this important
branch of the farm industry in the
United States totals up more tina a
billion dollars annually. for the
amount sold. his does not lake into
consideration the valu Of what Is
used on the farms, nor the benefit de-
rived from the chickens as scaHengers
and destroyers of weed seed n in
sects.
What Breed?
The question of breeds is one that
need not bother the farmer a great
deal, except to decide on a general
purpose breed and keep it pure. n
sell h old hens regularly. II he is
going into the poultry business ex-
clusively. he may find that a certain
breed is better suited to a particular
locality, or condition. than another.
However. it is probably r that the
largest amount Of products are from
nocks Of no special breeding, but the
profits could be very greatly increased
by paying more attention to keeping
a pure breed. A certain breed
should be selected and kept as pure
as possible. 1t is not advisable for
very many to go into the breeding
business, but should depend on buy
ing their breeding stock from reputa-
Me breeders, who la a knowledge
of the performance Of their stock.
1t costs practically as much to feed
Il hen that lays only fifty eggs a year
as it would one that laid $50. 1t may
not be possible to get entire f1ocks
but it will pay to try. While it is not
possible for every farmer to use a
trap nest and determine exactly what
each individual hen is doing. he can
buy breeding stock of known produce
tiv1ty.
The results from a flock Of poultry
are usually directly with the amount
~ ot$AptfN~ orA ~oro niNyor fhora
and there is perhaps no other depart
ment Of the farm that will respond
more readily to a given amount Of e.
fort than the flock Of poultry. The
year old hen Is most profitable. and
, will lay twice as many eggs as the
two year old hen. The two year old
hen lays twice as many as the three
vear old hen, while the four year old
hen Is a "star boarder."
The Hen House.
1t is not necessary to have expen-
Sive hen houses and give them ones
entire attention. but there are certain
tention which are essential. The mod
ern poultry house should be a COM
promise between two extremes in
poultry house construction, between
the open shed shelter on one hand,
which is too open, and the large dou-
pl~e-boarded, tight house, which is
90 close. In the former the fowl
suffer from cold; in the latter they
suffer from the lack Of fresh air. The
modern house is the composite Of the
success Of centuries and the result Of
the elimination of many mistakes.
The house must be first Of all, cheer
full. healthy, comfortable. convenient,
inexpensive and durable. In order to
meet these requirements it must be
built to meet the conditions Of cli-
mate. That 1. 1t would not do to
build the same in the southern states
as In the northern. for the reason Of
the difference in climate. The size Of
the flock would determine the size
OF the poultry house. The modern
tendency seems toward larger focks.
and therefore larger houses. This Is
because the labor required to attend
to large focks Is relatively less than