Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-17


er should cul the old stock, dispose
of surplus cockerels, and get rid OF
scrub puIIets. More meat, more
eggs, and more profits will result
The situation is summed up by the
United States Department Of Agri-
culture: "More Poultry and Better
Poultry" II is realized that the de-
mand lor poultry products will increase
during the war. and after the war.
The primary need for poultry IS to
supply our homes with Ditrogenous i0ods.
These keep the body IN health and
strength. they take the place of red meats
ON the table, for poultry and eggs can sup
plant beef. mutton and pora IN our dietar-
les. But, if poultry should be greatly IN
creased for the sole purpose Of supplying
meat for the table, the egg supply would
not meet Our needs. For general food uses
oggs are more important than the iowls
themseiVe5.
One Of the needs for better poultry IS to
give ms great an egg supply with n fewer
number Of fowls This can be done by pro-
perly ctilling the older hens. The tune to
slaughter q hen for the table or market ls
when she is no longer capable Of profitable
egg production This IS utilizing the dual-
purpose hen To the best advantage. lests
have shown TINT few hens are profitable
after two laying years. Hens should be
carefully culled, therefore, IN their second
year
The first hens to be culIed for meat are
the fat birds, which are usually poor lay
ers But today fat hen IS store OF
wealth Such hen viii frequently yield
from pound 70 a pound-and-a-haif of
tat Thus s a concentrated food. IL yeids
heat for the human body. The money
value Of this fat may run from 40 to %
cents Ia addition the flesh will be worth
80 or 10 cents pound While the heavier
lual-purpose fowls may grow fat, when
has been regarded as a fault, It -, not 70
their disadvantage in war tunes. kil Oh
the older fat hens for the meat, the fat,
and the money they will bring.
SELECTING HESs FOR LAYING.
Some hens mott carly and others mott
late 1t has been found better to keep
carly -rnoItlng hens for late fall and wlnt.r
egg production These usually begin Law
ing before the pullet7, and continue lay
ing al winter Moreover, these birds
make the best breeders for early Matching
of vigorous chicks. If early moting hens
show signs of health and vlgor, they should
be retained for winter egg production,
ara is tft4ttlFIS tDI IltbtJtdiHtiAE glt~ Ft'et'
lty Of the flock.
But latc-rnoltinp hens should be killed
or sold for table us They have served
their economic usefulness as late layers
As a rule, they would be fed all winter nj a
loss They require more food to MAINTAIN
the heat of the body on account Of their
lack Of feathers To keep them warm. he
more food expended IN keeping up bodily
heat. the less surplus energy IS produced
for creating feathers. Hence the noting
process takes longer than IN summer. 30
It has been found economy to turn late,
noiting hens INTO meat than to keep them
for egg production.
The time has come for poultry keepers
10 realize how much they can serve their
country. The demand for poultry and
cags during the fall Of 1918 and the succeed
ing winter will be greater than ever.
There ought to be a rational system 81
dealing with this great economic demand
No hen capable of becoming a profitable
egg producer ought to be used for meat,
and no hen should be kept for egg-laylng
which will bring in greater money returns
II killed To this end poultry keepers
should watch their molting hens and Gull
accordingly. 1t will pay to do 50. This
will be utilizing dual-purpose hens 70 the
best aQEanIaBe.
SURPLUS COCkERELS AND SCRUB PULLETS.
Besides the old hens, many young
birds should be fitted for table use This
applies particularly TO surplus cockereIS
and scrub pullets. The latter usually
lack vitality As such they make poor
LAYERS and worse breeders The best thing
is To feed them on a fattenlng ration for
two or three weeks and then snip them TO
/ time. ANNOYANCE and expense, but it viii
prove profitable.
As a rule. 50 per cent Of the chickens
t hatehed are cockerels. \ little attention
/ given to systematic feeding viii Weld
/ the producer a good profit For table
purposes there Is no better meat than a
| well-fattened cockerel of the heavier
| breeds. Surplus cockcrels and scrub pull
lets sold for this purpose viii improve the
meat situation this winter.
This applies also to the disposal of sur
i plus breeding males Why keep a male
that is no longer needed for breeding3
"The males for meat" this was slogan
of the Kansas Experiment Station and it
proved great financial benefit to farmers
in that State The advantage in the pro
duction Of infertile eggs was worth mil
lion dollars.
FITTING CoCKERELs FOR MARKET.
The best cockerels needed for breeding
! should be carefully selected. The Others
should be penned by themselves For put
ting flesh on them they must be fed liber-
ally A variety of feeds helps digestion
Experiments have shown that oats, whole
or ground, are excellent for putting flesh
on cockerels Since this Is now one of the
cheapest grains, to feed oats works 70 the
advantage of poultry raisers. The follow
/ ing rations have given good results:
First thing in the morning the cockerels
| are given a little grain mixture composed
of two parts, by measure, of oats and
equal parts OF corn, wheat and scratch
| feed About nine clock they are fed a
wet mash consisting OF parts bran,
part middlngs and II part each ot
| ground oats, cornmeal, meat meal and
boiled potatoes At noon they receive a
small quantity Of the grain mixture and
1T night all they can clean up Of the same
gram ration Plenty of green feed IS sup
piled morning and night. In three weeks
time, the c0ckercls are fat enough to mar
ket This fall and winter such birds will
probably bring 90 cents a pound
SELECTING SCRUB pULLErs
Every poultry keeper should determine
as early as possible how many pullets tie
intends to winter and then sell the others
| If his surplus birds are standard in size
and vitality they should be Sid to some
one who proposes to keep them for egg
production There IS always a demand