Smyrna times., 1926-08-25
POULTRY INDUSTRY DOUBLES
IN VALUE IN PAST FIVE YEARS
REPORT SHOWS THAT SALES
REACHED LARGE PROPORTIONS
Worst Enemy of Poultry is Being
Waged by Farmers in Delaware
State Aids in Combating Disease

State Aids in Combating Disease
The tremendous strides made by
the State Board Of Agriculture and
particularly those engaged in the
poultry industry in Delaware in the
past twelve months, were pointed out
by DR.. Frank Hare, poultry patholo-
gist for the State Board of Agricul-
ture in his annual report just made
public. DIR. Hare began his duties in
Delaware last September, and during
the past IL months has been engaged
in testing poultry, accrediting focks,
and aiding the raisers of poultry thru
advice and suggestions whenever the
ftocks were attacked by some disease.
Some idea of how poultry raising has
grown in Delaware may be gained
from the statement that half a dozen
of the leading poultry farms in Sus-
sex and Kent counties have planned to
double their capacity within the next
few months. 1t used to be the case
that the Matching of chicks began in
January and continued until summer.
But now, poultry papers carry adver-
tisements offering day old chicks from
Delaware the year round. One Sus-
sex county hatchery is arranging to
increase its capacity to $4,000 chicks
a year. In commenting on his work,
and the growth of the poultry indus
try in Delaware, DR.. Hare said:
"The value of the poultry on farms
in 1925 in this state was only exceed
ed by the value Of all the breeds of
cattle. According to the census of
agriculture Of 1925 for the State of
Delaware, the value of the chickens
on farms in that year was S1,733, ,591.
The value Of the eggs sold in 1924
was $2,360,929. This was several
thousand dollars in excess of the value
of dairy products sold in the same
year, while the value Of chickens sold
in 1924 was $1,582,186. l would say
that the total value of chickens and
eggs alone in 1924 was $4,943, ,115.
''This was greater than the value of
the corn products in this state in the
same year by nearly a million dollars.
These values are almost double those
Of five years ago, and judging from
the amount Of poultry equipment in
the form of incubators, poultry hous-
es, etc, that are being constructed
throughout the state, | assume that
this will nearly be doubled again with
in the next five years. It is not diff
ficult, therefore, to understand the
necessity Of safeguarding properly an
industry Of such great value.
State Fighting Diseases in Poultry
at might well be asked, then, what
is the greatest hindrance to this in
.dustry? And the answer would be,
disease. There is no form of animal
life that suffers more from the raw
ages of disease than fowls. Losses
from the general maladies are heavy,
and those from the infectious ones
are sometimes appalling. Entire
focks are frequently decimated. A
great deal Of attention was focused on
the poultry industry the past year by
the quarantine existing in some Of the
Eastern markets upon poultry coming
from the West, because of the pres
ence Of the disease known as fowl
pest Fowl pest was reported within
this State, the past year, for the first
time. Prompt destruction of the flock
was ordered, thereby averting quar-
antine on poultry and poultry pro-
ducts coming from the State, which
would have wrought untold hardships
upon the poultrymen. The rapidity
with which infectious diseases travel
through focks closely housed causes
their control to be exceedingly diff
cult.
"All improvements in husbandry
must be based upon the health and
vigor of the foundation stock Dis
eases resulting in either death or dis
ability mean loss. There are some
diseases that are more devastating
than others. One of these is known
as bacillary white diarrhea. 1t is
probably the greatest menace to the
poultry industry. 1t attacks particu-
larly baby chicks, and therefore
strikes at the root of the industry.
This disease has become such SER
ious menace, to the purchasers of baby
chicks, and to the hatcherymen, that
steps have been taken in various
states to eradicate or limit as far as
possible the spread, and dissemination
of this desease.
Diarrhea Seems to be Worst Menace
"Bacillary white diarrhea is unusual
distinct from most diseases, in that it
is transmitted as a usual thing thru
the egg. The baby chick is born with
the disease, and it usually destroys
the chick within the first ten days or
two weeks of it's life. We probably
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