South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-08-11

that the pOultryman with a good
size flock Of layers this coming fall
and winter will realize fully as much
on his investment as he did in nor
NAL times.
THE backyard poultryman and the
owner OF the farm flock are
J. today i'm better condition for
the economical production OF poul-
Try than the big commercial poultry
farm because they are working un-
der conditions that allow of many
real economies. Economy must be
made the keynote of today's poul-
try management if we are TO succeed
IN making profit, but the poultry
raiser must not deceive himself as TO
what constitutes real economy.
Reducing the flock OF layers or
cutting down the number of young
stock raised this season is not a real
economy, because it only reduces the
chances for profit, and really gains
nothing The trouble with most
poultry raisers is that they want 10
continue to manage their fiOcks in
the same old fashioned way that they
did in times gone by.
Swat the Useless Males.
The first thing to do by way Of
economy is 10 swat the rooster"
BY that I mean get rid of those SUI
perfiuous old cock birds that are
eating their heads off. and market
the young stock of males at the
broiler age. Select the few males
needed for breeding purposes, and
then market the rest. If possible
they should he sold at the pound and
"A half or two pound size. for then
they will show the greatest profit on
their feed.
/ Even roasters of from four pounds
upwards can be grown with profit
today if the poultryman will select
the birds and feed and care for them
with that idea in mind. Leaving
! these prospective rOasters to run
with the rest of the flock and just
simply grow into rOasters in their
own way, as has been the manner Of
producing most rOasters. will be sure
to cause the poultry raiser loss. Pro-
fits from this part of the business to-
day are only Obtainable by following
. the latest and most approved meth
DDS OF rooster production. as follow
ed by specialists in the soft rooster
producing districts. BY such meth
DDS of scientific feeding the rooster
of a given weight can be produced
in half the time and at much re-
duced cost per head for feed by rea-
son of the methods of feeding prac-
ticed.
The next thing in line of making
the poultry pay "A profit today is to
be rid Of the loafers in the flock. The
first step in this regard is TO rid the
laying flock of all the hens two years
old or over. for they are rarely
worth keeping even in normal times.
Yearling hens Chose that have just
completed their first year of LAYING
are. however decidedly worth keep
ing. if the poultryman will weed out
the drones.
Select Only the Best Pallets.
The selection of the pullets for
winter egg production is the next
I. step, and one that can make or break
the poultryman. If the puliets are
to prove worthwhile as winter layers
they must he from such matches and
have such care as will bring them to
the age Of laying by October. Pullets
that weigh around two pounds by
October should be disposed of as
broilers, for the pOultryman can be
sure that such small stock will not
lay until spring.
Economical Feeding
-
nomy is the feeding of the flock.
Here is where the backyard poultry
man and owner of the farm flock
have a great advantage over the big
y commercial poultry farm.
First of all let us discuss the pos
sibilities of the backyard flock.
There are few families who could not
keep from six TO a dozen hens upon
the table waste Of the house. OF.
course. this necessitates the careful
saving OF all kitchen waste, but sure
~ il is worth while when we consid-
or that backyard flcck of such size
as the average households kitchen
scraps would maintain will supply
that family with their eggs and poul-
try at little cost beyond the labor of
saving the material. With such
flock some little grain would. of
course. be necessary 10 add variety
10 the ration. but this need only be
a small amount
In growing poultry products for
market the owner of the farm flock
really has the greatest chance of
making a profit. During the sum-
mer months the farm flock il allowed
free range can pick up at least 50
percent OF their own living from off
the farm. and when il comes 10 win
ter feeding the farmer again has the
advantage because he has grown the
feed he viii use.
Using Damaged Grains.
ON most farms there are always
products such as wheat screenings.
small and defective ears of corn and
grain damaged by storm or storage
that would bring very little on the
market. but for the purpose of feed
ing poultry they can be used 10 good
purpose.