The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-06-28
Poultry Accounts I'm Somerset County
and Elsewhere.

An interesting summary OF poultry
accounts kept on 1873 Maine farms
! during a period of twelve months has
been compiled by o. VI. Wilbur, poul-
! try specialist, and NJ. b. Jones, farm
| management demonstrators, of the
! College of Agriculture extension SER
vice. The 1S3 fiocks were located by
counties as follows: Androscoggin-
Sagadahoc, IL; Cumberland, Ia;
Franklin, Z; Hancock, 10: Kennebec
Sc; KnoxLincoln, "a; Oxford, IL:
Penobscot, ID; Piscataquis, 10; Som
erset. IA; waldo, 4; Washington, o;
York, 16.
The records kept by the owners of
! these f1ocks included 29.988 hens and
| they showed an average production
of 124 eggs per hen In the year. The
| average cost per hen, not including
! labor, was 1892.
The records were tabulated In the
| extension office to show that methods
were most profitable in handling the
| business. In computing overhead
costs, use of buildings was charged
at percent of valuation; equipment
costs at Is percent of their value,
plus cost OF equipment actually used
up during the year. Interest was
figured at 5 percent on the valne of
| the flock at the beginning of the year.
The average number of hens was
computed on the basis of the number
in the flock each month.
In their analysis of the returns the
extension service agents point out
these general conclusions, each sup
ported by detail Information.
Egg production per hen increases
proportionately the labor return or
profit on the flock.
Use of curtain-front poultry houses
pays better than that of closed-front
houses. OF the 16 best producing
flocks Is were in curtain-front houses.
Pullets pay better than hens. 1t
would seem to be good business to
plan on pullets for the laying flock
and depend on culling oHt the old
hens in the summer as soon as they
stop laying.
Early Matched pullets lay best.
The use of lights in the houses in
creased production. The real advan-
tage Of lights was that more eggs
were produced at a season when tire
price of eggs is highest.
Both production and labor costs ia
vor the use of the larger pens.
Medium sized flocks paid best,
There is apparently good opportnn-
ity in this state to keep flocks OF so
to 200 hens as an adjunct to the gen.
eral farm.
Flocks fed the Orono ration paid
best, and those that were fed at least
twice a day laid more eggs than those
fed only once Il day. Flocks that
were given green feed produced a
larger labor return,
Fifty-one fiocks showing sales of
day old chicks, breeding stock and
Matching eggs showed an average Ia
Dor return of $3.52 per hen, In COM
parison with an average OF $2.92 for
other nocks.
There were II flocks, containing a
total of 3401 hens, that met all of the
following conditions Seventy-flve
percent or more pullets Matched be-
fore May Is; housed by November /;
curtain-front houses, with board
floors and fed the Orono ration, sup
plemented with green feed, Thus
were brought together in these flocks
the major factors that appear to in
crNase profits in keeping poultry.
The average production In these
fiocks was $50 eggs per bird and the
average labor returns was $3.50.
This represents an increase in pro-
duction of 26 eggs per hen or FL per-
cent and an increase OF so percent
in labor returns, or S1.53 per hen.