The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-12

1uThty IS the ldNOTeQ IO"l at nOl- iday tables. But turkey raising is on the decrease in che United States This is because many turkeys range through the grain fields of adjacent farms and thus become a cause of neighborhOod i'll will, while the high morality among young poults as or dinarily cared for on the farm, the outbreaks of such serious diseases as blackhead, and serious losses from predatory animals have all tended to discourage turkey raising. How ever, for people favorabIy situated raising of turkeys is one of the most profitable side Ines which can be combined with general farming.
 Given pletny of range, turkeys will rust'a for grasshoppers and other in sects, green vegetation, weed and grass seeds waste grain, acorns, chest nuts and other waste nuts, and con vert them into delicious meat at a minimum expense. Plenty of range is essential to success in turkey ra S ing, and usually the d:scouraging re- suits have come from attempts to raise the fowls under close confine- rnent.
 PICK YOUR BREED
 It is a free-for-au choice as to what breed the farmer will raise. Six varieties of domestic turkeys. in cluding the American Bronze, the White Holland, Bourbon Red, Narra- gansett and Slate varieties of domes- tic turkeys, are recognized by the American standard of perfection. Be cause the Bronze turkey is heaviest, it is most popular among turkey raisers, as the fowls are sold by weight. Generally speaking, other conditions being equal. the Bronze is the hardest variety, the Bourbon Red and the White Holland are the most dome estic, while the White HoI- land is the most prolific.
 Turkeys generally are raised in small flocks on general farms. Few extensive commercial projects devot- ed exclusively to turkey raising are operated. Usually from 10 to Is turkey hens and one vigorous tom constitute a flock, the fowls being al lowed free range during the breeding and laying season. The turkey flock requires particular care during the laying and matching season and dur ing the early life of the young poults, or until these youngsters are able to range at lArge with their mother.
 The incubation period of turkey eggs is four weeks, the average mum Der of poults raised under ordinary conditions being about 50 per cent of those matched out, or about seven poults for every turkey hen. The greatest loss occurs when the pouIts ae quite young, the high morality re- sulting from exposure to dampness and cold, improper feeding, close confinement, lice, and predatory an imals, and to inherent weakness, the result of carIessness in selection of parent stock. As soon as the poults are old enough, the mother hen and her brood should be placed on the range in an Individual coop where
 the hen may be confined and the pouIts allowed to pick about in grass clover, alfalfa, and the green feed at will, so that the youngsters will | become accustomed to this feed. Young DouIts usually remaia with the mother hen until about October or November, when the males ordi- narily separate from the females and range by themselves. Improper feed 1 ing combined with close confinem ment has been the cause of many failures in turkey raising. When on free | range the pouIts are busy searching 1 for feed most of the day, and hence l there occurs no overfeeding or lack 1 of exercise. Even If the ran is | good, and the supply of Insects 1 abundant, it is usually advisable to l have the flock come home at night the daily feeding of a little grain i inducing the return of the birds to 1 the home roost-in order to accustom | the fowls to a common sleeping i place.
 ] NATURAL BOOSTS FOR POUITs 1 At the age of about weeks the | turkeys are old enough to go to roost. 1 Most turkey raisers allow the birds 1 to roost n open trees or on fences
 or on other roosts especially provided. 1 One of the greatest difficulties is to keep flocks from wandering over too
 wide an area and invading neighbor- 1 ing farms. To some extent feeding
 heavily night and morning reduces l the area over which turkeys range l but even then they often go too far i An effective plan is to drive them 1 into an enclosure and keep them i there unti! about noon.
 1 HAPPENING FOR MARKET i Turkeys are fattened for market 1 from about the lst of October up tC selling time, They are fed just enough so that they go away still | feeling a little hungry. The quanti- ty is gradually, increased until they are given all they will clean up three l times Q day during the week before 1 Enarlreting. Some turkey raisers feed l wheat and oats during the first part 1 of the fattening season, gradually 1 changing to corn as the weather be- ! comes cooler. New corn can be fed safely if he turkeys are gradu7' 'iy ac- | customed to it by by feeding lightly
 at first As a rule. 1t has not paid
 to confine turkeys during the fatten.
 ing period as they lose appetite and
 get off feed when penned up. Nuts
 os various kinds are a natural fatten-
 ing feed picked up by the turkeys or the range. Of these beech nuts
 chestnuts, oceans, and acorns are thos,