The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1921-12-22
OUR POULTRY
DEPARTMENT
Conducted by S. P. Porter
{ Mallet Greek, Ohio
MAKE PLANS EARLY

It's not at all too early to begin
to plan the poultry department on
the farm now. Whether we wish to
grow a lot of pullets next spring and
summer for the purpose of egg pro
ductlon, or grow lot of broilers, OF
a lot of heavy birds for the holiday
trade next year, we must plan before
hand and work to purpose.
If our hobby is egg production
then we must decide whether we aim
at winter egg production or breed for
heavy summer layers. For summer
layers in 1923, it would be bully to
hatch chicks. early next spring-June
or early July is sufficiently early to
hatch for that purpose, as we do not
expect to have these birds make wint
ter layers.
A lot Of time and feed can be saved
by Matching late, but whatever is
done we can't afford to hatch both
early and late birds and let them run
together, as chicks of different sizes
and ages running together do so at
loss to the owner, as the stronger
grow stronger and the small ones
grow weaker. To hatch in June or
early July we do rot mean June and
July, by any means, for in this way
we would have some chicks several
weeks older than others. It certainly
will pay to plan to have these late
matches come off in either month not
more than two weeks apart, the closer
the better. Then as soon as the
cockerels will do to go, sell them to
the, butcher regardless of price, and
give the pullets the feed, care and
room, that the whole bunch would
take, and those pullets will develop
so much faster it will make up many
times over the little loss sustained by
selling the cockerels when quite youn,g
at a price which at the time might
seem ruinously low.
Such pullets should not be pushed
with food that stimulate egg produc-
tion, but rather with food that will
make perfectly developed birds by
the time they are expected to enter
their egg campaign, say about April
1 OF the next year. This plan of
course applies to the man who hasn't
the proper accommodation for winter
layers, or for any reason does not
care to dabble in winter egg produc-
ton. If winter eggs is our hobby, the
plans should be outlined early. Also,
however, winter egg production for
profit has really come down to fall
production instead. Note, this pres
ent year, those who had early hatch
ed pullets properly cared for have
been getting eggs all the fall at
prices ranging from SOC to zoe per
dozen until now, when winter has
hardly set in the prices begin to
tumble already, and while the egg
prices will not likely go down so
very low before February or March,
they carr hardly be expected to soar
back to where they have already been
this fall. To leave our subject for
just moment-what caused the re-
cert big slump in the egg market?
1t must be remembered that the far
mer or poultryman does not control
the price of eggs, but the packers or
cold storage men do. It is the hon.
est belief of the writer that the
packers really got scared at their
own game. The supply of fresh eggs
has been so liberal during the last
few months that they were much
sought after by the consumer, even at
the high prices, rather than risk the
cold storage eggs, that possibly
may have been in the world too long.
This development caused dump all