The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-15

Improper feeding, combined with close confinement. has been the cause of many failures in turkey raising. When on Tree range the poults are busy most of the day searching for feed. Here there is no overlooking and lack of exercise, such as the poults are often subjected to by those ignorant of their wants. If the range is plentifully supplied with green fed, grasshoppers, and other in- sects. and if the weather is favorable, the best plan is to allow the poults to feed themselves. It is usually advisab ble, however, to have them come home at night, and if driven up and fed at a cer- tain place every night they will soon learn to come up themselves.
 When, on account of rainy weather or unfavorable range conditions, it is ad- visable to raise the poults by the coop method, more care must be given to their feeding.
 Successful turkey raisers use mary dif- ferent kinds of feed Some of the best fol- low:
 Hard-boiled egg chopped fine and corn bread crumbs for the first week, and then whole wheat and hulled oats; stale bread, soaked in milk and squeezed dry. for the first few days. and then com mon chick feed clabbered milk seasoned with a little salt and pepper, cornbread
 
 whole wheat and cracked corn cracked wheat; cornmeal and wheat bran mixed in the proportion of 3 to 1 and baked into bread: and bran or middlings one half, cracked corns one-quarter, wheat and hulled oats one-quarter.
 In addition to the above, skim milk and butterrnilk are quite often fed with excellent results. good plan is to keep the milk in front of the poults dur ing the morning and water during the afternoon. If grit and green feed can not be picked up outside the coop, they must be provided in some other way. Chopped onion tops, lettuce leaves, dandelion leaves and alfalfa make excellent green feed. Grit can be furnished in the form of coarse sandl
 In the manner of housing fowls there are two systems widely different in their extremes. At one extreme is the colony plan. which consists in placing small houses for small flocks far enough apart to obviate the necessity of fences. thus giving free range with but little mingling of the different flocks. At the other ex- treme we have the continuous house This kind of house consists of a series of separate pens, under one roof, opening directly into hallway in the rear, or having doors between the pens without the hallway in the rear, or having doors between the pens without the hallway, or opening into the hallway and also Into one another. There are several plans and between these two extremes which may be built to suit varying con- ditions.
 The advantages of the colony plan are, first, small flocks on free range second. no expense for fencing; third, there is less need for scrupulous attention to c1eanli- ness and providing regular supplies of an mal and vegetable feed during summer months. This plan, however, has the following disadvantages: First, extra cost of labor in caring for fowls in stormy weather. when it will often be diff fcult to get around to feed and care Tor the fowls regularly; second, houses built on the colony plan, if built as we'll, cost more than a continuous house oc the same capacity, for partitions, which may be constructed largely of wire netting, are much cheaper than two end walls; third, the colony plan allows only about 100 birds to the acre. while the continuous house system. with suitable yards allows 45O to 800 birds to the acre.