Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-11-30
OPEN FORUM
CHICKENS AND RABBITS.

Editor Evening Capital News: Hav-
few weeks pertaining to the feeding
and the kind of chickens to raise dur
| ing these times of high prices. /
thought perhaps a few lines in your
far reaching paper would be of some
value to others thai may be at sea
] in the same matter. While / do not
pose as one of authority on these mat
| tiers, raise a few chickens. find the
feed question a perplexing one. It mat
| tiers not what we resort to in the feed
line, we find 1t high in price. With
wheat at $3.50, mill feed. 81. oats, 1925
per 100 pounds and corn-we dare not
even ask the price-it makes one
scratch his head and wonder If it
would not be the cheapest to cut the
heads off of the chick ems but when we
come to think of those nice fresh eggs
next spring we are compelled to cast
this thought aside and we say try and
pull them through some way.
! am feeding wheat, small potatoes
and mill feed with now and then a
| feed of rolled barley for a change. /
also give loose heads Of cabbage. car
rots and beets for green stuff. l feel
that everybody that has chickens will
have to be governed by and feed what
ever they can get the cheapest.
One lady from Oregon wants to
know what is the best breed of chick
ems to raise. That's a hard one. /
am SIS years of age but she will have
to ask some one older than I am be-
cause l don't know. This Is some
thing every individual will have to
decide for themselves. l raise the
Barred Plymouth Rocks and am well
satisfied with them both from a beauty
and utility standpoint. In my opinion
1t will not pay anyone to cater to an
altogether meat breed or an altogether
egg breed, but rather choose some all
purpose breed such as the Wyandotte
or any of the Rock family. These
breeds have been tested out in all the
egg laying contests and you will eitlDl
er find them at the very top or close
to it. besides, when you want to dis
pose of the carcass you have some
thing you will receive the top price
the so-called egg machines. Not only
has it been demonstrated that the
Wyandottes- and Rocks will lay al
many eggs In the course of IL months
time but there are other good quail
ties they possess that should not be
overlook ed Their quiet, gentle dispo-
sition; one does not have to build
| their enclosure to the tree tops In or.
der to keep them confined, and II
most cases they are capable Of inou
batting and rearing their own young
All these things are worthy of though
I when it comes to choosing breed.
II ever there was time more II
than another for the disposal Of thu
mongrels and replacing with goot
pure bred STOCK 1t is now. Feed In to<
high to keep a large flock Of any kline
so why not keep the best? 1t doei
not cost any more to feed them thar
1t does flock of scrubs. Besides
having a nice, uniform flock to looi
at is no small item. .
Why not raise q few rabbits ant
help out on the meat question?
have been raising Rufus Red rabbits
for the past two years and l find +
both profitable and a pleasure. M!
family has always been great lovers
of fried chicken. in fact chicken pre-
pared in any way. but ever since W.
/. got our first taste of rabbit, CHECKER
: has had to take q back seat. Rabbit
mature much quicker than do chick
. ems, and they are much easier ant
quicker prepared for the table and IA
g more particular in choosing their food
They are absolutely clean ANNA
: with nice white fine grained flesh. ant
' their principal feed IL rolled barley. al
falfa hay and pure water.
q e. s. BAILEY.
II. p d. No. 4, Boise, Ida