Milford chronicle., 1917-03-30

| While il is true that you hear many report
from poultrymen throughout the various section
Of the country who advocate the Matching of chick
4 ems throughout the entire year yet this is not 4
be encouraged. At least | would not advocate
this method for the average poultrymaR. nor vel
for the man engaged in the culture of poultry In
any Of the colder sections Of the eouRtry. There
are. however. many who claim that il is being
done with quite degree OF success. believe that
this may be true in certain sections Of the South,
but not for the average poultryman.
The most successful poultryman in my opinion
is he that follows closely the natural traits Of the
fowl And, n-as-much as the spring months are
set aside by nature the time for the mother hen
TO get out her brood believe that this IS also the
best season for the poultryman to utilize as his
Matching period. whether with hens or the man
made hen. 1.-THE incubator.
The best argument in favor of spring Matching
is found in the fact that at this time the hens be-
come broody anxious to sit and get out the little
fellows. Nature then. provides that the hen get
Matching was the right dope. then nature would
most certainly cause the hens TO get broody at
other seasons. but this in the main is not true,
therefore say stick closely to nature for ultimate
I success.
The late summer and early fall are not good
times for Matching. The season is 50 far advanced
that the youngsters have not time 70 get any
growth befory being overtaken with the cold basts
of winter. thereby making them late in maturing.
And these birds will not lay until late the next
spring. This method is retarding rather than pro
noting the interest of the breeder and means the
/ loss Of much good money.
! The spring months are the very best for hatch
ing ana Win Lnese lucluQe Lue early sum
mer, as for instance, the month Of jane. This
however. is the limit. Never hatch later than
June. for the reasons already stated above. June
chicks. nevertheless need special care and atten-
tion if you would make them pay a profit. But
they can be made to pay. provided the brooding
and surroundings after breeding are Of the very
best
But spring is the one season above all others =
when the breeder should aim to get off his hatches
and thus build up his flock Of winter layers-noth- /
ing helps winter laying as well as early hatchnR |
This gives you the groundwork for good prOfita-
bic flock. firmly believe that much greater sue :
cess will be yours if you follow closely the laws of
nature. as far as the Matching season goes, rather
than ignore them.
The late hatched chicks. or those hatched during
the months Of July. August and September. will
not mature in time for fall or winter laying but
instead will have to be kept over until spring be-
fore they begin to yield. This is not only expen-
sive. but markets their products when eggs are at
their lowest ebb in point Of price
While it is true that the bulk Of the Matching
should be done during the months Of April. May
and June. yet | am an advocate of even earlier
matches than those Of these months. March to my
mind, is even a better month for Matching than
any Of those mentioned above. and many success
full breeders get out large percentage of their
chicks during February.
One must be particularly careful and attentive ,
with chicks that are hatched during June if he
desires to raise them and make them become )
source Of profit. Unless the June hatched chicks
are given the very best of care and attention, il is
far better that you made no attempt TO hatch at
all.
Late Matching. however. should never be fndulg-
ed in where you keep the largebodied fowls as
these take much longer to mature and rarely ever
develop before the heavy weather sets in.
Many chicks are lost to the breeder by the i'm S