The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1918-09-13
]R1lD|1lBlT
USES FOR Different FOWLS
Poultry, Other Than Chickens, Have
Important Place in Increasing
Needed Food Supply.

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
The hen, first and last, is the main
dependence for increasing the supply
of white meat and eggs, but she re-
uuires the aid of turkeys, guineas,
geese, and ducks, just as, on q dairy
farm, the cow requires the aid of pigs,
sheep, and goats. The setting Of the
standard at 100 hens per farm is safe,
but no such arbitrary standard can
be set for the other kinds Of poultry.
The small farm, with grain fields of
neighboring farms in proximity to the
barn and dOoryard, would, perhaps, be
better without turkeys. The farm
through which no streams run and
which has no large pond would per-
haps be better without ducks. But
keys would be a disadvantage may be
well supplied with streams and ponds
so that ducks would be unusually
profitable, and the farm that has no
streams and ponds may have large
range for turkeys. Each farm family
will have to determine for itself what
poultry can be profitably kept in adj
ditiOn to 100 hens, bearing in mind
always that an adequate number
should be kept of all the kinds for
which free range can be found.
Turkeys, ranging farther afield,
prey upon insect forms that escape
the hens. From the time the young
are old enough to begin foraging for
themselves, perhaps early in June, un-
til near frost, turkeys take the bulk
of their food from field insects, de-
vouring millions of grasshOppers and
other injurious forms in meadow and
pasture. In regions where wooded
areas are still fairly extensive, mast
is an important item in the diet of
the turkey. When the insect stores be-
gin to fail, the mast larders are be-
ginning to be filled. Feeding on
acorns, chestnuts, beech nuts. and the
like, turkeys will go long way toward
fattening themselves for the Thanks
giving or Christmas market and will
not require much feeding of corn OF
other grain to finish them. Generally
SpCdhlIS, lul hCyo Will iC4uliV u ioi SCI
feeding Of grain than chickens to fl
them for market, but, as they utilize
forms of waste that hens and theil
broods would not reach, the keeping
of fair number of turkeys Is goot
economy.
Guinea fowls utilize still other kind
of waste that would escape both hen
| f,,rl Toly u,iIo q,
than chickens and yet not quite 81
wide as turkeys, keeping largely t.
thickets and weed patches, and com
hitting fewer depredations agains
field and garden than either chicken
or turkeys, requiring little feeding a
any time being prolific layers, durin
their season of eggs that are though
by many to have a richer and fine
flavor even than hen eggs, the guine
fowl is an economic necessity on an
farm where a serious effort is made t
convert all waste into meat and eggs
Geese hold still another sector i
the line of the poultry army tina
makes war against waste. They touc
TANKS with the chickens in utilizin
| WdSt6 SIdIu dDout lCSuiu
pens. In larger measure than chick
ems or any ether kind of poultry, the
are grazing stock, taking their Twin
In large part from the ordinary grasse
of the pastures.
The one kind Of poultry of question
able economic status on farms is tn
pigeon. Almost exclusively graf
eater, the pigeon renders no notabl
service as a conserver of waste, e!
cept it might be shattered grain in tn
fields, and that in large measure woul
be taken up by other poultry and b
pigs. The pigeon has its econom
place in the scheme of urban pOultr
production, but, except in isolated Il
stances where conditions are peculia
ly favorable, it's production on gener
farms may not be desirable.