Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-29
A Letter That Helps Me

Dear Mrs. Thomas:
Will YOU please tell me how often
one should get new cockerels. This
s-my first year with purebreds.
have the Barred Plymouth Rocks.
Last year 1 got two settings of
purebred eggs. out of these 1 raised
12 bullets. l kept two of these cock
erels and later bought twelve more
pUrebred pullets of the same strain,
butt from a different yard.
What I want to know is should
get new cockerels next year? II
so,5 want to get a setting of eggs
this year and raise them.
3iSor--, -,--s to'% rS-e I should not
havc sept the cockerels that are
mates to the twelve puliets l raised
lasI,, year, but I did, and though l
have had only few droves Matched
off yet, they Matched well, and are
growing off as we'll as l ever saw
chicks grow. Was it all right to have
kept these two cockerels that are
mates to my hens? If SO, want to
Keep about twenty-siX of the pullets
l raised this year, with the twenty
four hens l have now, so L Will have
fifty hens next year. 1 sold all my
scrubs and kept only my purebreds,
as Tshad no yard to keep my pure
bteds in. They have free range and
plenty of green stuff to eat on all
winter and spring.
Please tell me how long should
one keep hens, have read never to
keep a hen longer than two years.
IsTthat true? And how can 1 tell
my, one and two-year-old hens apart?
I have often found this hard to do
when I had hens of one color.
.-o.I cut out and keep all your chicken
talks and since I've been following
your rules, have always had sue
cess. I also enjoy your chats on
other subjects. I've been taking The
Journal for years, and 1 have cut
out and saved most all of yours and
Mrs. Felton's letters. Am going to
make a scrapbook of them some day,
and I want you to know that the
good letters you have written to the
Journal have been a great help to
me in striving to live a Christian
life, and I'm sure there are thou
sands of others. who, like myself,
have been greatly helped by your
letters. May the Lord spare you
many, many years, is my prayer.
L will thank you very much in
advance. Also want to\thank you
for the recipes you give us from
tin1e to time. l never knew how
to make good eggbread until you
gave us your recipe few years ago.
Yours truly,
MRS. S. F.
So often this uestion comes to me.
''How can tell my hens?" 1 think
a good way is to get colCred leg
bands, have red for year and all
the pullets with green. Then have
a ---glittle memorandum book and
make a note thus: my hens in
1928 have red celluloid bands, my
pullets green" then next year get
rtIlOt-er color, we will say yellow,
and data them in the book, for next
year you will know your two-year-old
hens have red, your yearling hens
green and your pullets yellow. With
1925 you will do away with some
for you surely can tell the differ
pu,let Another question is abo-t
the age to dispose of hen.
I generally sell mine during their
second year. Not that 1 want to
unload" stock that has seen it's
best days, but because want the
purchasers to get their moneys
worth and 10 per cent. Most of US
sell, then because we need room for
puIIets. I never set a pullets egg
for the chicks are weak and liable
to disease, had a lady to tell me
last. week that two hens she got
freTA me two years ago are still
laying one has given her three doz-
en- eggs this year, and had done
splendidly last year, one has never
wanted to set and lays continually.
One who bought ten hens last sum-
mer, wanted ten pullets in January
because those hens have done so
well.
AS rule tWo-year-old hens do
well, I'd rather have them in my
breeding pen than any others. All
hens are not alike. I have a letter
fromea lady asking me what to do
with some a year old that have
never laid an egg. A neighbor had
one of that sort, she killed it and
found her a mass of fat. So I'd run
them into the woods. or oats, or
some place that would insure them
against starving and not feed even
half as much. Or I would put such
hens in a pen with litter six inches