The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-06-02
RAISE TURKEYS
Profitable Side Line for Grain and
Stock Farms-Breeding Stock
Should Be Selected With Care.

Because the number of turkeys in
the United States has constantly de-
creased in the last few years while the
demand has perhaps increased. a.
more profitable side line than turkey
for those favorably situated
Tor the work could hardly be found.
Given plenty of range, it is pointed
out by the United States Department
of Agriculture in Farmers Bulletin
No. 791, turkeys will readily find
grasshoppers and other insects, green
vegetation, the seeds of weeds and
grasses, waste grains, and acorns and
nuts of various kinds. In this way the
cost Of raising them is small and the
profits large. Grain and stock farms
are particularly we'll adapted to tur-
key raising, and it is in such places
that most of the turkeys are found.
Little has ever been done in the way
of raising turkeys in confinement.
and when it has been tried the results
have been discouraging.
Selection of Breeding Stock.
One of the most important steps
toward success in turkey raising is the
proper selection of breeding stock.
Unhatchable eggs, weak poults, and
small, scrubby turkeys are largely the
result of carelessness in the selection
OF the parent stock. In selecting tur-
keys for breeding purposes, strength
and vigor are the first points to be
considered. To indicate this the body
should be deep and wide, the back
broad, and the breast round and full.
The head should be of good size and
Of a clean, healthy appearance. A
strong, well-made frame is shown by
thick, sturdy shanks and straight,
strong toes.
1nbreeding is harmful and If car
ried on very long will result in the
loss of vigor and Of vitality. It is
therefore advisable each year to OBJ
tain new tom Of unrelated blood,
but of the same type. Nothing Is to
be gained by crossing varieties, as
isuch prectice soon reduces pure breds
to mongrels.
The most satisfactory time of year
to select breeding stock is November
or December. BY purchasing early in
the season one not only has a larger
are given ample time to become &C.
quainted With their new surroundings
before the mating season, which in
the south ordinarily begins early in
February and in the north about a
month later.
Fifteen turkey hens can safely be
mated to vigorous tom. If rs or 30
hens are kept, two toms should not
be allowed to run with them at the
same time, but one should be confined
one day and the other the next.
If breeding pens are used to confine
the laying hens for part of each day
they should be of hog-proof wire.
Rail, board, or stone fences are of no
value for combining turkeys, which
easily fly on top of them and then
case of a wire fence, however, there
is no place on which to alight, and
under ordinary circumstances they do
not make the attempt. For this rea-
son steel posts are better than wooden
posts for turkey fence unless the
latter are sharpened at the tops.
Good breeding condition means
being we'll fleshed, but not fat. Given
free range where there is amply sup
ply of natural feed during the winter
and early spring, such as is usually
the case in the southern portion of
the United States, a good daily feed of
grain, preferably oats or wheat, is
sufficient to KEEP the birds in good
condition. During the winter northern
turkey raisers usually feed twice a
Of re
and corn, with vegetables such as
potatoes, turnips, beets, and cabbage
as substitute for green feed. AMI
NAL feed at this time of year is es-
sential to the best results, and can be
supplied by feeding meat scrap, beef
livers and lungs, or skinned milk,
either sweet or sour.
Care of Eggs.
When there is danger that the tur-
key eggs may be chilled or destroyed,
they should be gathered every day
and nest egg left in each nest. Eggs
for Matching should be kept at tenn
perature of as near so or so degrees
Fahrenheit as possible and should be
turned over every day. They should
be. Jared as little as possible while
handling and should be incubated
while still fresh, never holding more
than two weeks if it can be helped.
1t is an excellent plan to mark the
date on each egg as it is gathered. in
order to be certain that no eggs are
kept too long before they are incu-
bated.
Turkey hens are very close sitters,
and if MANAGED properly thew are the
surest means of Matching turkey eggs
that can be used. Incubators, how
ever, are quite as successful with tur-
key eggs as with chicken eggs. The
period of turkey eggs is %
days. The first egg is usually pipped
during the first part of the twenty
seventh day, the first poult Matched
by the middle of that day, and the
hatch completed at the end of %
days, although in extreme casea ali.