Milford chronicle., 1917-05-11
Some Hints To The Beginner.
By J. H. MeFAUL, Jr.
(AH Rights ReSerVsn

There are probably more persons who enter tn
poultry business at this season of the year than a
any other one time and the vast majority Of then
seldom stop 70 consider just what it means or fig
ure just what they are going to get out Of it, Th'
bulk Of beginners in the industry simply plunge
in, and after spending considerable money fol
stock and fixtures sit idly by with the hope thai
the business viii conduct itself. The ultimate re-
suit is failure. and indeed il takes but a compare
lively short time for this to become a realty.
The raising Of poultry is not business Of idle
ness but on the contrary is one of activity and de-
tails. The man who gives attention to the details
in the industry is the one who succeeds. while
failure is the goal Of the idle and careless man.
In order to attain success in the poultry busi-
ness. even more so than in many other lines Of
pursuit. it is largely the amount of energy one
puts into II that produces results The conduct
! Of a successful poultry plant means work and
study. The sooner one learns the essentials of the
business and then aims to provide them in the way
they should be. the sooner his efforts will be
/ crowned with success.
Many persons make a start in the business and
then. after failure comes through idleness and in
attention to the necessary essentials they lay the
/ blame at the door Of the chickens.
! Almost every failure in the business Of raising
chickens can be attributed to the person who at
tempts to run something the wrong way. / say
who attempts for the person who fails does really
only attempt 70 his business. II the business
is properly conducted it will not be a failure
Many persons lose out because they think that
after the start is made the rest will be easy-and
they invariably find out differently.
The raising Of chickens is by no means an cay
task, for on the contrary it is quite a laborous
one. and the assertion true that there is no money
in the feathery tribe is an absolute untruth
There are many essentials necessary to the sue
cess Of a poultry business and il is imperative
that they be strictly called out. These are per-
Iecty familiar to all persons engaged in the rails
ing Of poultry, or at least they should be- but
there are others entering the business each year
who are not conversant with them and it is for
their special benefit that this article is written 1t
might also be that some who already have this
knowledge but do not apply it to their business,
might also profit from what is said
This paramount question of essentials is not
confined to the raising of any particular breed
of fowls. but applies to the business generally no
matter. what kind Of birds you might be raising.
REGARDLESS of size or color.
10 my mind the most important Of the many es-
sentials are: fresh air. sunshine pure water est-
ercise. good dust bath. comfort cleanliness.
feeding and housing.
At this point it might be well to touch upon |
each Of these details separately in order to i'm {
press them upon your mind more clearly Fresh /
air is as important for chickens as it IS for the |
human body. Think what it must mean TO fowls |
TO be compelled TO sit upon perches over night in
house hled with foul, stuffy oders. with no pure
oxygen to breathei You can readily see that nm
der such conditions healthy fowls are out Of the
question Pure air then. is one Of the first essen
tails in the busness-but this does not mean that
you should permit drafts. These are as detrimen-
-al as the lack OF fresh air. Have the coops ar
ranged so as to admit pure fresh air in abundance
without compelling the fowls to sit in a draft
sunshine IS another essential which must be
resh air God in his supernatural wisdom has
provided plenty Of both Of these for every living
.reature and he intended that the fowls should
get their share of both
Sunshine should be allowed TO penetrate the s
Owls quarters as much as possible. but when we
dvocate sunshine, we do not mean that the birds
hould be compelled to sit or stand throughout the
nure day IN the excessively hot rays of a summer
un. Ihs IS as far from correct as bOttng up the h
irds so that they will never get ray Of sunshine t
ou should protect the birds by the construction
artificial shade in the runWays or Yards 81 that
hey may seek shelter at will By allowing the
IN rays to penetrate the coops they will be kept
Teet and wholesome. and the only cost is a litte s
Dor on your part n
1t should go without saying that the birds should
constantly supplied with pure fresh water to
INK Common sense tells us that fowls do not
lish drinking dirty. filthy or stale water This d
ost important matter however is very often ne c,
ected. Many persons will give the birds fresh | ii
ater each morning and then fail to change 1t {,
ring the day-thus compelling the fowls top
ke Of what's there or TO do without Impurt
ater is often the cause Of much sickness in the
cks and Furthermore as the larger portion OF ~