The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-12-17
HARRY NJ. RUSSELL
KEEPS HENS0
As A SIDE LINE
But Manages to Make Them
Work For Him
PULLETS BEsT FOR EGGS
South Street Farmer Who Has
Made a Badly Run Down
Farm Prosperous

Harry NJ Russell of South street is
one of that energetic and limited mum
Der Of general farmers who make poul
try successful and paying side line.
I He can show in black aud white that
Mrs Bidhy has always paid him for
her board and lodging and returned a
: good generous profit in the bargain.
Mr.. Russell ascribes no special abil.
ity or masculine charm to himself in
obtaining results. He has simply
studied his own fiocks, and sifted out
and put into practice az far as practic-
able what others have learned and
written about the matter of chicken
raising and egg production.
In his own particular case Mr.. Rus
sell has found that it does not pay him
TO hatch and raise his own birds from
the she'll The spring is his busiest
season, as with most farmers and he
cannot devote the time and pains ne.
cessary to the youngsters wellbeing.
For this reason he reuews his flock
each year during June and July with
/ promising looking pullets OF twelve or
fourteen weeks. These would all be
early hatched chickens. Mr.. Ru sell
says that early chickens, all other
things being equal, will make the ear
liest and best layers and as a rule will
have the longest laying periods.
This winter he has a flock OF l75 lay.
ing pullets The flock averages about
half and half, Rhode Island Reds and
White Leghorns, with a few White
Wyandottes thrown in for good luck.
! Mr.. Russell has tried several kinds
OF both light and heavy weight breeds
and deems 1t unwise to depend upon
one class Of fowl for good steady egg
production. When the heavy types
are taking vacation such light weight
birds as the Leshorns often keep
right on producing and 80 help to bal
ance the sheet The Reds have 1t on
their Leghorn sisters, however. when
IL comes TO going to market, They sci.
dom Dire s under five pounds and have
fine yellow flesh, wheress the lighter
/ gtrains VIII seldom run that high;
/ and their meat never has quite the
same quality. Their greater activity,
perhaps, serves to make them tougher
When Mr. Russell has stocked up
with the number OF pullets that ne in
tends to winter, he shuts them into
his big house and proceeds to bring
them 10 maturity before cold weather
sets in
He has tried letting them run and
l. al t,, Il
generous house; and has had the
greatest measure OF success with the
latter method. both in summer aud
winter. He makes every effort To
give them as complete and balanced a
ration as they would get if they were
! allowed 10 range
In bringing the flock to maturity Mr..
Russell never tries TO force their
srowth. He believes that this is un.
| natural and that what may be gained
in roint Of time, is lost in later size
and egg production
Every morning the flock is fed a
! helping of mash we'll moistened with
skimmed milk IN winter this is always
warmed. The mash consists of equal
parts Of bran. middlings, ground oats
and beef scraps They are given what
they will clean up in an hour.
Along AZ noon time ne feeds a ra-
tion Ct equal parts of cracked corn
and cats--threa quarts of each grain.
This he takes pains to scatter thor
oughly into the straw litter on the
floor. Straw makes the best litter be.
csnsc It draws but little moisture and
Is readily accessible to most farmers.
He also hang cabbages or mangels
on convenient nails for the birds to
jump at. These serve the dual pur-
pose of supplying additional exercise
and green food
Just before dark he gives them ten
quarts more of cracked corn and oats
and sees to IL that they have a final
| drink of fresh SKINNED milk IN
winter this is warmed.
When tie flock has gone to roost be
soatters more of the same grain in the
litter. This assures the birds of work
and food the minute they get off the
roost in the morning
'Fhe birds are never without plenty
of fresh skinned milk.-the same as
the wet mash and oyster shells.
The mash shells AND drinks are put
in convenient hoppers and containers
on Platforms out of the litter and
placed behind latt 'ces so that q mini.
mum OF d!rt and refuse can get into
them.
Mr. Russell depends upon the pull
let's for his fall and early winter egg
production. lie estimates that under
ordinary conditions fifty per cent of
the flock should lay daily. The year
ling birds seldom lay to any extent
before January or February. because
OF the long moult'ng period that they
go through IN the late fail Each year.
however. he carries over one hundred
birda Of So These are the pick of the
flock. They have The brightest eyes.
and the reddest combs aud are known
to be consistent laycrp They are
kept separate from the pulets and
fed to bring them through the moult.
ing period Moet OF them start lay.
Ing again the early part Of the year
and lay fairly consistently until the
following june, when they are mar.