C OIWM ER C I AL LA Y I N G HOU S E

ON E TY P E OF M O D ER N C OLO N Y H OU S E
HA RP ER S HA N D B O O K S
’

Ed i t e d b y W C O K an
’
. . e

P OU LT RY
BY

A . W . RI CH ARD SON
P r of e ss o r o f P o l tr y H
u b dy u s an r

Ne w H am hi r C olle e f Agri lt
ps e g o cu ure
Co pyri ht
g . by Harp r 8 Broth r
192 2 . e : e s

Pri n ted i n th e Uni ed S a e f Am ri

t t t s o e ca
 CO NT ENT S

I N C U B A TI ON
B ROO DI N G
SU MMER FEE DI N G

FEE D IN G PU LI E TS
SE LE CT I ON OF B REEDI N G ST OCK
CULLIN G
I' .

' . MARK ETING

'I . DIS EASES

Fo r Gen e r a l I n dex l d p a g e s fo l l o wi n g p a g e 9-1 72

see co o r e . .
 I LLU STR ATI ONS

A TY PICAL C OMMERCIAL LAYING HOU S E r

F on ti sp i ec e

ON E TYP E OF MO D ERN CO LONY HOU S E

FRONT AND EN D VIEW OF B ROO D E R HOUS E
FRAMI NG OF B ROO D ER HOUS E
FRONT E LEVATI ON O F LAYIN G HOUS E
D ETAIL CONSTRU CTI ON OF LAYING HOUS E
C ONSTRU CT I ON OF NE STS AND B ROO DY
COOP
CONSTRU CTI ON OF FE E D H O PPER
T HE HEN AT LEFT IS LAYI N G W E LL. T HE
HEN AT RIGHT HAS MOLTE D AN D HAS
STOPPE D LAYING
TESTIN G SPAN B ETW EEN REAR EN D OF
K EE L AND P E LVI C B ON E S
. A SPREA D
OF FOU R FIN GERS INDI CATES A GOO D
“
PRO DUCER T HI S IS CALLE D SPAN
.

NING ”

TESTIN G SPREAD B ETW EEN PE LVI C B ONE S.

A LAYIN G HEN W I LL SHOW A SPAN OF

 I LLU ST RAT I ONS

THREE FINGERS AN D TH E B ONES WI LL

B E FLE' I B LE AN D THIN I F THI CK
.

THEY IN DI CAT E A PO OR PRO DUCER

AT LEFT F U LL AB D OMEN IND I CAT E S LAYING
,

COND ITION AT RIGHT CONTRACT E D

.
, ,

HAR D AB DOMEN IN DICAT ES THAT TH E

H EN IS NOT LAYING
AT LEFT W I D E SPRE A D B ET W EEN KEE L
,

AN D PELVI C B ONES AND B ETW EEN

PE LVI C B ONES THEMS E LVES IN DICAT ES
LAYING CONDITI ON AT RIGHT NAR
.
,

RO W SPREA D IN D I CAT E S N ON LAYIN G .

T H E LO W E R CROSS ES MARK P E LVI C

B ONES AN D TH E U PPER MARK S END OF
K EE L N OTI C E ALS O M OI ST LARGE
. ,

VENT AT LEFT AN D SMALL DRY VENT

, ,

AT RI GHT
P O ULT RY DISEAS ES
 D E' T O IN CHAP T ER I
B egi nni g a Po l try B si ness
n u u H eal th Imp ortan c e Of
B ra ch e f th e Po l try f Par en t S toc
, .

H o u sm g o
B
n
u sm ess
s o u
I nspe ction Of Parent Stock
Choo si ng Par ent Stock Lo ation Im portan c e f
Pr d cti e Abil ty
c o
Choi c e f Stock f
. ,

hm t o u v i
Pro fits Factors I fl
a e, o or
Chm t Cond iti ons
a l c
Range grown Stock
, n u e n cm g
Cold Cl imat e Ch oi c e f Par o
S ele ctio n f Par en t S tock
-

ent Stock
,
o
Si e O f Par en t S tock
C ol or f E Imp ortan c e f
o gg , o
z
S ci a li ed Po l try B
Cont es ts E l i u sm ess
.

pe u
Starti ng a Po l try B s i ness
z
gg ay n g
Egg Col or Imp orta n c e f
e

,
u
Type f B
u
o
Egg la yi ng Abili ty o
Vigor f Par en t Stock
u sm ess
,

E gg la yi ng Contests o
Warm Cli mate Choic e Of Par
.
.

Eggs per Y ear P bl o ss l e en t Stock ,

A erage
v .
,

Wh t e Diarrh ea Danger of
i ,

CHAP T E R I . SE LE CT ION OF ST OCK

Th e Seve n The first Fu n dam en t a ls .

factor t o be c onsidered in the success of

any poultry business is th e foundation
stock The kind Of birds one Will finally
.

select Will depend upon the type o f business

o n e Wis h es to go into th e market th e geo , ,

gr aphical location and one s own personal ,

’

preference B ut th ere are certain funda .

m e n t a l s Whi ch every foundation stock must

possess and in the selection of an y fo u n d a
,

tion stoc k these must alway s be con sidered .

4 PO UL TRY

Th ese f ac tors are seven in num ber and a r e

“
,

as follows : (1) Vigor (2) Eg g laying Ability ,

-
,

( )
3 Size ( )
4 , C limatic C ondition s ( )
5 Free ,

dom from D ise a ses (6) Kind o f Marke t and , ,

( )
7 Type O f B u sine ss .

1 Vi g o r
. Eg g produc tio n fertili ty and
.
,

h atch ability all depend upon th e h ealth and

vigor of th e p arent st oc k I t is plainly evi .

dent therefore that th e birds sh ould be

, ,

strong and V igorou s Th ey sh ould come .

from stock that gro ws e venly fe a th ers well , ,

grows r apidly reac h es m aturity and begins

,

t o lay at fi v e to fi v e a nd o n e half mont h s -

.

Thi s i s true Wh eth er th e birds selected be

Reds Rocks Wy an dotte s o r Legh orn s
, , , .

If pos sible th e buyer sh ould visit th e

,

plant from whic h h e intend s to purch ase

eggs o r birds H e sh ould m ake h i s visit at
.

the time th a t th e c hicken s are being grown .

H e s hould see th e condition s under whic h

the birds are h oused b ec au se thi s will h ave a
great bearing upon the V itality and h ealth o f
the stock H e s h ould know th e c ondition s
.

under wh i ch th e chi ckens are grown

Wh ether th ey are g r own in small runs or o n
unrestricted range Thi s i s bec ause th ere i s
.
 S ELE C TI O N OF ST O C K 5

a great di fie r e n c e in the chi ckens that a re

grown under the two con di tions the u n r e ,

st r i c t e d r a nge
-
chickens being superior in
e very wa y to chi ckens gro wn in confinemen t .

Especially i s this true after four o r five su c

c e ssi v e generation s grown on unrestricted
range .

2 Eg g l a y i n g A b i l i t y
.
- .Th e birds s h ould
h ave in their make u p the power of high egg
-

production High egg production is i n

.

h er i t ed . It i s passed down from t h e parent

stock to the next generation Therefore
.
,

w e should know t h e p arentage of th e birds

o r eggs we wis h to purc h ase .

If p ossib l e t h e stock sh ould be purc hased

,

from some grower wh o h a s s h own a willin g

ness to enter h is birds for successi ve year s in
egg l a ying c ontests Th e reason i s that m o st
-
.

o f t h e m en wh o a re doin g t h i s a re growers

wh o are gi vin g speci al attention t o trap

nesting and p e d i g r e ei n g of th eir birds i n ,

Order to build up a stock th a t will l ay h ea vily .

Ev en th ough the grower m a y ne v er h ave

bee n a winner at a contest yet h is stock ,

usually is a way abo ve t h e aver ag e in eg g

p ro d u c ti on ,
6 PO ULT RY

Wh en w e c o n sider that th e av erage produ c

tion Of eggs o n th e general f a r m i n th e e ast ern
U nited State s i s approximat ely se ven ty fiv e -

eggs per h en per ye ar and th en di sco ver that

,

many o f t h e succe ssful c hic ken men in tha t

same area a re getting an a verage of one h un
dred and forty eggs per h en per ye ar a nd ,

are doing t his with flocks of ten h undred ,

twelve hundred and fifteen h undred h ens we ,

can see t h at t h ere mu st be a gre at de al in th e

selection o f th e stock A gro wer c an aff ord
.

to pay a h ig h er price for found a tion stoc k

coming from strong vigorous thrifty bird s
, ,

wh ic h h av e been bred to produc e eggs .

U nder pre v ailing prices a flock l aying ele ven

dozen eggs per h en per ye ar will yield a
return o f fifty to sixty cent s more per h en
th an a fl oc k whic h is laying ten dozen eggs
per h en per year Y e t it will take p r a c
.

tic ally n o more feed t o produce the ele v en

dozen eggs from th e o n e flock th an it will t o
produc e ten dozen eggs from th e oth er fl ock ,

a nd it certainly takes n o more time to t ake

care o f th e bird s n o r any m ore m oney i n
v ested i n th e equipment .

O ne oth er a d vant age that th e pr ac tic a l

8 PO ULTRY

dred h en s be t ween birds which will aver age

l arge and those which run small .

4 C l i m a t i c Co n d i t i o n s
. Th e g eograp h .

ic al loc a tion o r c lim atic c ondition s of th e

pl ace wh ere th e m a n in tend s to go into
bu siness m u st be c on sidered in selec ting th e
found a tion stoc k Th e smaller birds suc h
.
,

as Legh orns A n c onas a nd Andalusian s are

, , ,

clo sely fe athered and originated in a c o m

p a r a t i v e l y wa rm c lima t e T h e se breeds will.

not st and up and l ay uniformly through th e

win ter in th e north ern p arts O f our c ountry
wh ere th e winters are l ong and severe Thi s .

type o f bird is a goo d producer o f eggs in a

C li m at e wh ere th e win t ers are m ore open a s , ,

for e xample in th e south ern p a rt of N e w

,

Engl and N e w Y ork N e w Jersey and oth er

, , ,

pl aces th r ough ou t th e c oun try which hav e

appro xi m ately th e same cli m ate Th e Re ds .
,

Ro cks and Wy andot t es are a loo ser feathered

,
-

type o f fo wl are larg er c a n With stand th e

, ,

cold and are bett er a d ap ted t o t h e c older

clim at e Th eir e gg p r o d u c t i o n i s n o t m a teri
.
'

ally a fiec t e d by the c old we ath er It take s

’

prolonged c old suc h as t en or fifteen de gree s

,

belo w zero o r lo wer t o m ateri ally aff ec t t h e

,
 S ELE C TI O N OF ST O C K 9

produc tion of thi s type o f h en if th ey are ,

kept in condition and in the proper type of

ho u ses .An y man wh o is contemplating
going into the chi cken business Should choo se
such breeds as Reds Rocks or Wyandotte s, ,

for the colder c l imates ' and such as Leg

horns Andalusians or Anconas for locations
, ,

where the winters are not severe .

.5 Fr e e d o m f r o m D i s e a s e s It i s be .

li ev e d by competent p oultrymen to day that -

there are very few di seases of fowls whic h are

actually i n h erited N evertheless there are
.
,

several diseases wh ich affect th e value o f

fowls as foundation stock .

The one particular di sease whi ch ev es'

poultryman should avoid and whi ch c a n ,

easily be a v o i d e d i s whi te di arrh ea From

,
‘ '

the scientist s point of V iew thi s disease c a n

’

not h e inh erited techn ically speakin g y et

, ,

from the practical poultryman s sta ndpoin t i t ’

,

amounts t o the same thing bec ause the germ s

o f the di sease are carried by the yolk of the

egg and when the egg is incubated th e yolk

,

pass e s into the digestive s y stem of th e young

chi ck thus in f ecting it with the dise ase
, .

h as been perfected a test by whi c h

2Th ere
10 PO UL TRY

th e fo wl s that are c a rriers Of thi s dise ase c an

be detected and eliminated from any breed
i n g fl ock Th e test is pr actical and accurate
.
,

and th e man wh o intends to buy foundation

sto c k wit h which to start in t h e chic k en busi

nes s sh ould buy only stock whi ch h as been

tested fo r several generations for whi te diar
rhea and whic h h a s been fou n d free upon each
te st o r which at least h as been found free for
t wo consecuti v e generations . Th e bu y er
s h ould lay particular stres s up o n thi s factor
bec au se th ere probably i s no di sease which
c arries 0 3 so many young c hi ckens as white
di arrhe a Th ere i s no known cure for it
. .

O nce e stablis h ed in a man s flock th e disease

’

will do more to discourage him and cause

h i m to go o u t O f th e bu sine ss t han any oth er
S i n g le fac tor
.

F oundation stoc k Sh ou l d b e free from

su ch disea ses as roup c a nker a nd t u b e r c u
, ,

l o si s
. Wh i le th ese di seases m ay n o t be
tra nsmitted from th e parent stock to th e
chi ckens ye t th ere i s at least a strong p o s
,

si bi l i t y t h at suc h stock will tr a nsfer a low e r

vitality to th e chi cks and th e c hicks are then

s usceptible t o t h e disea se .
 S E LE C TI O N OF ST O C K 11

6 . Ma r k e t olor o f th e egg de
Th e c

m a n d e d by the market in which the poultry

m a n wi sh e s to sell his product s will h a ve a
bearing o n th e selection of hi s stock The .

N ew Y ork markets for example demand a

, ,

whi te egg and this must be produced by

,

suc h h ens as Leghorns or si m i l ar breeds '

whereas th e B oston and other N ew England

markets dem and a brown egg whi ch is pro ,

d u c e d by such h ens as Reds Rocks and , ,

Wyandottes In each case both the white

.
,

egg in the New Y ork market and the brown

egg in the N ew England market command
a higher price th an the egg of the other
colored S hell A poultryman should a sc e r
.

tain what type of egg sells best in h i s market

and should make every effor t possible to pro
duce that type .

7 T h e T y p e o f B u s i n e ss
. There are .

several different types o f poultry busi n es s

whi ch a man may go into It will be wise to .

consider carefully thi s factor before choosing

foundation stock If the poultry m a n is
.

going to produce capons he will want a breed

that will grow to a comparative l y large size ,

such b ree d s as Ro ck s or B r ah m as If h e i s .
12 POU LTRY

goin g i n t o th e b roiler bu siness a s a sep ara te

business he would again choose such breeds
a s Roc k s o r Wyandot tes .Th e m ajority o f
succes sful poultry men however are making
, ,

th e mo st of their money out of table eggs and ,

thi s s h ould be the type Of business th at any

m a n except a specialist s h ould elect .

Unless h e is very familiar with the poultry

b usiness he will be better Off to avoid an y
p h ase o f the business that is not generally
considered a s good sound poultry practice
,

in the conduct of a standard poultry plant

such a s for instance the h atching of c h ic k ens
, ,

in September O ctober or N ovember with

, , ,

th e idea of getting th e birds onto the market

a s broilers in the winter when the price may
be high T h e market for suc h a type o f
.

product is limited and th ere are m any handi

c ap s that a man must o v ercome if h e is g o

i n g to make this type o f business succe ssful .

Su m m a ry . T o sum up th e selection o f
st ock : The stock s h ould ha v e v igor s h ould ,

hav e th e Size best suited to the breed should ,

be a d apted to th e climate should above all

,

thing s be free from diseases should hav e ,

bi g egg l aying qu ality i n i t s m ak e u p sh o uld

- -

,
 S E LE CTI O N OF ST O C K 13

produce th e type o f egg that i s dem ande d

in the local market and the business sh o u l d
,

be estab l ished and bui lt up upon good sound

,

poultry pr actice The best wa y to be sur e o f

.

the foundation stock will be to write t o the

experiment station o r state c ollege an d get
from them a list o f breeders whose stock the
college can stand behi n d and recommend .
 I N D E' T O CHAP T E R II
Candl i ng E ggs B ef ore I n eu I n c bator Tryi ng O t
u
I n c bator What t B , u
b t
E ar l y C hicks V a l e f
a i on u o u y
I n c b ator Wh en t Start
,

u o
arly Lay ng D epend s i
,

on
u
I n c bator Wh er e t Pl ac e
, o

E arly Chicks , u
L amp i n I n c bator , o

Eggs S ele ctio n f I n c ba M oi s t r e i I n c bator

u
.

or u
tion ,
u
N r se ry f I n c bator
n u

E ggs T rni ng in I n c bator “ u o u

.

u
H atchi ng C ar e O f Chick s “
, u
Oil f or I n c bator u
Sa i ng E ggs f or I n c bati o n
H atch ng M e thods
i
,
v
S ele cti ng E ggs f or I n c batio n
u

H atchi ng Wh en S tora ge E ff e ct E ggs f

u

H en hatchi ng Dis a d an tage

,

H atching
on or

I n c bator Chicks H eal th of

,
-
, v .

I n c bator D etails
u ,
T emperat r e i n I n c b ator
u u

I n c bator hatching A d
u ,

Tim e f or H atching
T rni ng E ggs i n I n c b ator
u v an
tage of
- .
,

u u
I n c bator Setting U p V ent l ation f I n c bator
.

u , . i o u ”

CHAP T E R II . IN CU B AT ION

In c u ba t o r vs . Hen s . H aving c h o sen th e

foundation stock and being ready to repro
duce this stock in the form Of young chick s
fo r th e approaching season one must con ,

sider the question o f incubation There is .

always some discussion as to the relative

merits of h en h atching and incubator hatc h - -

ing The consensus o f Opinion among poul

.

t r y m e n I s that a man in the commercial hen

bu siness cannot aff ord t o bother with setting
hens The time that he puts into it is t o o
.
l 6 PO UL TRY

co urse we wi sh o u r h ens to l ay t h e sam e size

,

egg as f ar as po ssible a nd th e sam e sh a de Of

,

brown o r th e sa me degree o f wh i teness .

Th ey sh ould be free fro m ridg es Th ey

sh ould be c a ndled before a stron g ligh t to

remo ve any that sh ow blood spots o r m e at

S pots b ec a use suc h eggs will ne ver h atch
, .

Any tha t Sh o w fine crac ks sh ould be re m ov ed ,

becau se th ese will seldom ha tc h and in any

ev ent are v ery likely to bec o m e broken in
turnin g All eggs th at are extremely long o r
.

e xtrem ely sh ort sh ould als o be di sc arded .

Ef fec t o f S t o r a g e Th e h atch ability O f

.

eggs i s m ateri ally less after th ey are se veral

days O ld Eggs sh ould n o t be sa ve d unl es s
.
,

un der special circumsta nce s for m ore than

,

ten d ays If the operator is trap nesting his

.
-

h ens o r if h e h as certain h ens t hat h e knows

,

t o be unusually high producers t h e eggs from ,

th ese birds may be sav ed t hree weeks ' but

th ey sh o u l d be turned onc e a day after th ey
are four o r fi v e days old Wh i le th e per cent
.

of hatch from th ese Ol d eggs will be small t h e ,

c hicks whi c h come from them will be wort h

m ore to th e grower th a n the e ggs w ould be

w orth if th ey were sold t o e at .
 I N C U BATI O N 17

Ho w t o S t o r e . C are s h ould be t aken to

se e that the eggs during the time th ey are
,

being saved are stored in a pl ace th at is not

,

too dry and at a temperature around 5 5 to °

If they are kept at a much lower

°
60 F .

temperature th e germs may be weakened and

may not hatch well o r may not hatc h at all
, .

If they are kept at a much hi gher tempera

ture they are li k ely to start to develop In .

th at cas e after being placed in the incubator

,

and kept there for several days they will di e , .

Wh e n t o Hat c h Th e b est ti me Of ye ar
.

—
to h atch chi cks is early in th e season from
the fir st week i n M ar ch to about th e 2ot b of
April Thi s is true even in locations wh ere
“

th ere may be snow on th e ground at th e time

th e chi ckens are hatched b ecau se the chi cks ,

that are hatched early are in h erently better

chicks If we are saving h atchi ng eggs from
.

a flock of h ens and pullets in February or

M arch we are getting them from th e best
birds i n the floc k b ecause on l y the best are
,

producing eggs The chi cks that they pro

.

duce wi ll be strong and V igorous ' whereas ,

if we s av e eggs from either hens or pullets in

April o r May w e are savin g eggs during th e
18 PO UL TRY

ti m e o f natur al h eavy production when p r ac ,

—
tic ally all o f the fl o c k are l ay ing good bad
—
, ,

and in different and therefore we a r e get

, ,

ting a large percentage o f o u r eggs from the

av erage and poor producers Thi s is espe .

c i a l l y apt t o be true because the heavy layin g -

h ens are likely t o be going through their first

broody period at that time Under these .

con d itions the later hatched pullets are n o t

-

as good and nev er will be as good as th e early

h atched Chi cks They will n o t mak e as
.

rapid growth bec a use t h ey a re not inh eren tly

as good c hicks .

A d v a n t a g e s o f Ea r l y C h i c k s If th ey .

a re h atched e arl y the y will become well

feathered before hot weather arrives and
will be protected from th e h eat by fe ath ers .

They will m ake a rapid normal growth , .

Wh ere as if they are hatched later th ey will

,

n o t be as co m pletely feathered will n o t hav e ,

protection from the extrem e h e at and will not

m ake t h e s a me growt h .

If t h e oper ator will c omp are a fl ock o f

chicken s hatched the 2ot b o f March and
anoth er floc k hatched six weeks later he will ,

find that there will be consider ably m ore than

 I N C U B ATI O N l 9

six weeks di fference i n th e time of reach ing

maturity The earl y hatched chic kens wi l l
.

probabl y reach mat u rity at approximately

five months whi le the later hatched chic kens
,
-

in all probability wi l l requ i re two o r three

,

wee ks longer The late hatched chickens

.
-

will n o t make as u n i form growth ' they wi l l

exhibit more runts and improperl y developed
chickens there will be some chi ckens that
,

are poorl y feathered and taken all in all , , ,

they will be a poor l o t .

Se l ect i o n o f In c u ba t o r In the selection .

Of an incubator there i s one prime rule to

follow : B u y a goo d standard make Of ma,

chi ne D O not buy a ch eap poorly con

.
,

structed machi ne because in the long r u n

,

they are the most expensive They are more .

apt t o get o u t o f order a n d they are n o t as

substa ntial l y built An occasional poor
.

hatch will more than make up the difference

between the cost o f a che ap machine and that
of a better higher priced standard make
,
-

, .

Lo c a t i o n o f I n c u b a t o r The best p l ace .

t o run an incubator is in a cel l ar H ere the .

temperature is more near ly uniform If the .

surroun di ngs are free from mark e d flu c t u a

QO POU LT RY

tio n s it will be easier to m ai n ta in an e v en

temperature withi n the machi ne and th e ,

better thi s is acco mplis h ed th e better th e

eggs will hat ch .

T h e O i l t o U se . If th e m achi ne use s Oi l
—
f o r fuel and most O f th e smaller m ac hi nes
—
d o c are must be ta ken t o purchas e th e best
grade o f O il that can be Ob t ained Since th e .

lamps in an incubator are forced t o run

straigh t t hr ough ev ery h our in th e twenty
four thr ough a period o f twent y th ree o r -

twenty four d a y s i t sta nds t o re as on th at only

-
,

th e best Oil sh ould be pur ch as ed If a poo r Oi l

.

is us ed the wi cks becom e ch arred and co v er e d

with carbon th ey are v ery likely t o fl ar e up
, ,

depositing s o ot o n the interior Of th e c him

ney th e lamps become intensely h ot and may
,

set fir e to the machi ne Incident a ll y th e

.
,

h ouse m ay be set o n fire Even t h ough th e

.

machi ne is closely watc h ed i t i s more di ffi

,

c ul t to Obtain a u n i form temperature with

poor o i l t h an with good Oi l While a goo d .

o i l may cost sever a l cents more per g allon it ,

wi ll be well worth the added price .

Se t t i n g U p t h e Ma c h i n e I n buyi ng.

any make O f machi ne follow as far as p o s

,
 I N C U B ATI O N 21

sible th e maker s di re ctions fo r setting up th e

’

mac hi ne and fo r running it It shoul d of .

,

course first be leveled If this is n o t d o n e

,
.

o n e c orner may be higher than the other s ,

wit h th e result that the part th a t is hi gher

will al so be hotter and the eggs in various
parts o f the m a chine will n o t be getting the
same degree o f temperature Some wil l be
.

t oo h o t and others wi ll be t o o cold .

T r y i n g It O u t Whether the machi ne is

.

new o r second hand it shoul d be run several

-
,

days to see that it will run accur atel y If a .

second h and m ac hi ne is used care sho u l d be

-
,

taken to see that the r o d whi ch connects the

thermostat with the d amper arm is per
fec t l y straight . If th i s i s at all bent the ,

rod may bind as it p a sses through the little

hole in the top of the m ac hine and cause the
damper arm to stay down or it may l ift the ,

damper arm and hold it li f ted so that it will ,

be impossible to run the temperature even l y .

If the m achi ne is run several day s before

placing the eggs in it the operator will hav e
,

a chance to find o u t Whether all the parts are

perfect At least two days Should be a llo wed
.

for g e tt ing t h e m achi n e warm e d up .

22 PO UL TRY

Ca r e of th e The lamp sh ould be

La m p .

filled and trimmed once each day The lamp .

sho u l d n o t be filled nearer th an h alf an inch

from the t o p and if any Oil has been spilled
,

on the lamp it should be thoroughl y wiped Off

so as t o avoid any possibility o f smoking .

Thi s should n o t be done until after th e eggs

h ave been h andled because if the operato r
, ,
'

in caring f o r the lamps gets any Oil o r soot

upon the hands it is v ery likely t o get onto
,

the eggs and affect the hatch .

P r o v i d i n g Mo i st u r e M any o f the pres

.

ent day incubators are supplied with a mois

-

ture pan This pan should be filled with

.

sand and kept moist from the time t h e ma

c hi ne is first started in order that all the

,

con di tions may be the same in regulating th e

m achi ne a s they will be after the eggs are
put into it If t h e m ac hi ne is not equ i pped
.

with m oisture p ans in m ost clim ates and in

,

most cellars it will be well to use sev eral tin

pie pl ates filled with sand and water and
pl ac ed o n t h e floor o f th e incubator under ,

neath the egg tray being v ery carefu l how

, ,

e v er not t o set the pans o v er any opening

,

wh ic h m ay be u sed in v en t il a ting th e m a
24 PO UL T RY

th e c hicks are very likely to die in th e s h ell .

Also if th e moisture pan i s taken o u t o f th e

,

incubator at this time o r a t th e beginning of

th e exclusion period th e inn er sh ell m e m
,

brane becomes very dry h ard and brittle

, , ,

and th e ch ick will h av e difficulty in picking

its way o u t o f the S h ell The s h ell membrane
.

may stick t o the back Of th e c hicks or th e ,

chick s intestines may be entirely pulled up

’

from being attach ed to thi s dry inner

m embrane .

T u r n i n g t h e Eg g s. Th e eggs sh ould b e
turned at th e end o f twelve h ours after th ey
are put in the machine In oth er words if
.
,

th ey are put in the machine at eigh t o r nine

o clock in the morning they sh ould be t urned
’

for th e first time at eigh t or nine at nigh t .

Th e proper wa y to t urn eggs i s as follows

On e end O f th e tr a y o r tray s sh ould be
m arked with a pencil . T wo o r th ree rows of
eggs sh o u l d be taken from that end o f t h e
tray and placed a t one side With th e p alm
.

o f the ha nds the remainin g eggs i n t h e tray

,

sh ould then be rolled toward the m a rk on t h e

tr ay Eac h time th e eggs are turned thi s

.

sa m e procedure sh ould b e follo w ed re m o v in g

,
 IN C U B ATI O N 25
9

on e or two rows at the marked end of the

tray s and rol l ing the rest toward that end .

By following this s y stem of turning at the ,

end of two o r t hree day s th e eggs will have

passed di rectly acros s the tray and will have
occupied every possible variation of tempera
ture which may be present in the machine .

After th e first twelve hours the eggs should

—
be turned three times daily 6 A M 12 noon
—
.
, ,
.

and at 6 P M until a chick is found to have

. .

pipped th e shell ' then the turning s h ould

cease .

Ve n t i l a t i o n.In th e av erage h ouse cellar

where the v entilation is good it will not be
,

necessary to take the eggs o u t of the ma

chine and allow them to set for any length
of time merely to cool them The v entila
.

tion of a cellar may be judged by the presence

o r absence of O dor s . In the older typ e s of
incubators where the v entilation problem
,

had not been seriously considered or in ,

some cellars where the ventilation is i n su ffi

cient it may be necessary to cool the eggs '
,

but under most con di tions it will not be

necessary The eggs of course will have to
.
, ,

b t aken o u t of th e m achine t o turn th e m

g ,
26 PO ULT RY

and th is will gi ve them sufficien t cooling .

D uring the time when th e eggs are being

turned th e door Of the incubator may be
left open and this will aid in airing o u t th e
machine It will o f course lower the t em
.
, ,

p e r a t u
, r e but only f o r a S h ort time and ,

should have n o ill effect upon th e h atch If .

any thing it will be beneficial

, .

Ca r e a t H a t c h i n g Wh en th e firs t chick
.

pips t h e s h ell th e th ermometer if Of the ,

standing type should b e t i e d down adjacent

,

t o t h e second r o w o f eggs from t h e door so ,

that the chicks in scrambling around will n o t

tip it over and so that the operator can
watc h the temperature The moisture pan s .

sh ould be filled the mach ine closed up and if

, ,

th ere i s not an outside wooden door a bag o r ,

someth ing similar sh ould be h ung o v er the

front o f the machine to exclude any light '
otherwise the chick s th at h ave h atched will
come forward t o the light and crowd The .

machi ne sh ould not be opened again until th e

h atch i s entirely o v er a t th e end O f t wenty
,

o r twenty one day s

-
.

Re m o v i n g t o N u r se r y At tha t time t h e
.

door sh ould be opened the moisture pan s r e

,
 I N C U B ATI O N 27

mo v ed a burl ap frame placed in th e bottom

,

Of the nursery and the chi cks removed by

,

hand from the egg tray to the nursery .

They should not be allowed to drop down to

the nur sery floor because the change in tem
,

p er a t u r e is t o o great especially
, i f the c h ic k s
are not hardened Off and the fall may ,

be injurious Af ter the chi cks have been

.

transferred to the nursery the egg tray s h o u l d

be taken o u t thoroughly washed with some
,

good di sinfectant and p l aced i n the su n to

,

dry Any v entilators o n the m a chine

sho u l d be opened wide and th e doo r sho u l d
be fastened so that there wil l be an opening
an inch wide at the t o p The chi c ks should
.

then be kept in the nursery given no feed ,

n or water for at least thi rty six hours to -

,

thoroughly harden them Off and get them

ready for transfer to the brooder .
 D E' T O IN CH AP T E R III
Arrange m ent f B r o o d e r o F ee di ng Chi cks in Bro d ero

B rooder H o se D e tailed u
Cons tr ctio n u
,

Feed Tray s f Broode r

B rood er S to e C himney
or
v
Brooder Sto e M a nage m ent ,

Fen c e f or B roode r H o se
. .

v
B rooder T empe at r e Form l a M a sh f or C hicks
, u
u
G rit f B roode r H o se
r u

B rood er T emp orary F en c e

, ,

or
H o se B roo der
u

B rood er Tra nsfer i ng C hi cks

, .

u
M a s h f or C hicks F orm l a
r
O
,
,

M i l k f or Chicks
u

C hicks E erci se
. ,

M i l k V a l e o f f or C hick s
x

Chick Feed
,

Ch cks Feedi g i Broo der One room B ro d er H o se

, ,

o
B es t
-
u ,
i , n n

Chi cks Tra nsferri ng t Open f ro nt Brood er H o se u

Portable B roo der H o se
-

o
Brood er ,

B roo der H o se
u

Chi mney f B rood er Sto e o v

R un
S i e o f B roo de r H o se
, u

Co ns tr ctio n f B roo de r z u
.

u o S to e B roo de r
H o se u
v
T e mperat r e f B rooder
,

C rt i n o f B roo der H o se T wo room B roo der H o se

u o
.

u a u
E erci se f or C hicks u
-
.

Feed Chick, Wi d o ws of B roo der HO

n u se

CHAP TER III . B ROOD IN G

4 1 b
S i ze ofTh e first thi ng
B r o o d e r H o u se .

t o consider in plan n i ng for th e brooding of

c h icks is th e brooder h ouse Th e h ouse .

sh ould be large enough to per m i t the sto v e

t o be se t o n e thi rd o f the way from th e back -

w all and a t the same time le ave plenty of

roo m in th e front o f th e house for the chicks
t o exercise in Th e depth from fron t t o .
 B ROO D I N G

rear shou l d be such th at th e front thi rd wil l

be cool and at times ev en cold The secret .

o f the proper brooding of c hi cks is to main

tain a temperature under o r near th e hover

s uf ficiently hi gh t o insure th at th e chi cks will
be warmed up qu i ckly whi le at th e same
,

time th ey h ave ready access to quarters

that are considerably cooler Thi s makes it .

possible to h arden th em Off .

O n e Ro o m B e s t It is better t o h ave th e
.

cool area and th e warm area a ll in one room ,

so that th e chicks when th ey are running

,

around wh ere it is cold may constantly see

,

the stove and the other chi cks Th ey will .

then rea di ly go back and get warmed up

when they grow too cool If th e broo di ng .

arrangements are in two rooms it will be

necessary to teac h th em to go in and o u t
through an Opening O f necessity this Open
.

ing must be small The c hicks may get too

.

far away from the opening and become lost ,

because they cannot see or feel th e source o f

heat or see other chi cks
, .

C o n st r u c t i o n o f H o u se Th e brooder .

ho use should be twelve feet wide and sixteen

feet deep The roosts and dropping boards
.
30 PO ULT RY

sh ould be permanent with th e roosts S0

,

hinged that they can be tipped up o u t Of

the way during th e brooding season There .

S h ould be an open front at least two a nd o n e

h alf feet high and extendi ng clear across the

front This open front should start a t the
.

plate or in other words as h igh up in the

, , ,

front as is possible so that th e sunligh t and

,

fresh air will penetrate to the b a ck part o f th e

h ouse .

The door Sh ould be built directly i n th e

middle o f the front o f the house Th e upper .

h alf Of the door should be an Open space .

At th e bottom o f this open space a slanting

water table o r board Sho u l d be arranged so
as to c arry Off rain which may spatter down
from t h e roof The eav es bot h front and
.
,

back but especially at th e front sh ould

, ,

extend out over the stud s at least a foot .

The dropping board is used during the

brooding period fo r the storage o f coal and
grain If the grain is stored th ere including
.
,

rolled oat s c hick feed and mash i t will sav e

, , ,

th e operator many step s

W i n d o ws a n d C u r t a i n T wo windows
.

should be placed at either end o f the front .

32 PO ULTRY

Thi s will give plenty o f ligh t during th e

time th at it is nec es sary to have th e Open
fronts covered with a curtain This curtain .

should be made Of th in cotton clo th suc h as ,

sheeting . White c loth b agging such as ,

rolled oats come i n m a y be us ed Th e cur

, .

ta in s h o u l d be c lo sed during th e nigh t in

M arch and April U ntil th e c hicks are ten
.

days O ld it sho u l d no t be r ai sed until eight

O clock and it sh ould be c lo sed down about
’

four wh en th e day begins t o c ool Off

, .

De t a i l s o f C o n st r u c t i o n
. Th e brooder
h ouse sh o ul d be se t o n si x by si x skids so
- -
,

that it m a y e asily be m o v ed An av er age .

pair o f farm h orses c a n m o v e th e h ouse

described h ere with out di ffic ulty Th e h ouse .

sh ould be portable because it i s desirable

th a t th e chi cken s sh ould n o t be allowed to

r u n o n t h e same ground ye a r in and year out .

Th e r o of i s O f th e t ype known a s a two

thirds sp an whi c h me an s th a t th e front
,

rafters are half a s long a s th e rear r afters .

Th e building i s m ade comparati v ely lo w

behi n d t o lessen the c o st and t o make it
warm er and lig ht er It i s c o v ered with o r
.

d i n a r y drop sidin g o r shi p l ap whi c h i s

-
,
34 PO UL TRY

tongued and groo v ed This a fio r d s a b u i ld

.

ing that is light and a t the same time tight .

Incidentally the b u i lding has a good a p

,

p e a r a n c e T.hi s type Of wall is but little

more expensive than ordinary boards covered
with roofing paper and it will give much
better satisfaction .

The floor is made Of single match ed floor

ing If well laid it will serve just as well as
.

a double floor because there should alway s

be abun dant litter o n the floor and thus no ,

cold a i r can g e t through from beneath .

T h e Br o o d e r S t o v e There are o n the

.

—
market several makes Of coal burni n g brooder
stoves practically all o f which a r e good
, .

Thi s is the type Of brooder sto ve th at will

give best res ults In a h ouse o f t he di m e n
.

sions described h ere four hundr ed t o five

,

h undred chickens can be brooded 'With a

brood o f thi s size the stove sh oul d h av e a
hover o r canopy at least fift y two inch es in
, ,
e-

diameter .

In making calcul ations to brood from four

hun dred t o five hundred chi c kens in each lot
care should be taken that the eggs be set in
mu l tiples Of approximatel y eight hundr ed .
 B ROOD I N G 35

With good stoc k and proper incubators a

pou l try man shou l d get a hatch Of about 5 5
per cent Thus he will have a reasonable
.

margin to g o o n Fo r example if he gets a

.
,

6 0 per cent hatch he wi l l have four hundred

- -

a n d eight y chi c ks which wi l l be fairl y within

,

the capacity o f his brooder house If he .

gets a poor hatch o f say 45 per cent he will

, , ,

have three hundred and S ixty chi c ks whi ch ,

wi l l make a comfortable brood In other .

words hi s incubating should be so planne d

,

that each h atch wi l l f u rn i sh o n e good brood

o f chic ks Earl y hatched chi c ks require a
.
-

larger stove in proportion than late hatched -

chi c ks ' thus a forty t wo to forty eight inch

- -

hover will be large enough fo r a brood o f

four h undred in April or M a y .

Ar r a n g e m e n t o f C h i m n ey C are sho u l d
.

be taken to see that the chimney extends at

least a foot and a half above the ridgepole ,

in order that there may be a good draught ,

regardless Of the direction of the wind A .

certain amount of creosote is very li kely to

be deposited o n the interior o f any metal
chi mney O ccasionally the chi mney should
.

be taken Off the stove swung t o o n e side

, ,
36 PO ULTRY

and tapped with th e poker o r sh aker to ,

m ake certain that it s h all not become clogged

up a s frequently h appen s if th e oper ator is
,

c areles s o r ignorant It will be well to h av e

.

a metal c a p four o r five inch e s abo ve th e top

o f t h e c himney t o keep out direc t r ai n s o r

st or m s .

M a n a g e m e n t o f S t o v e A half ton o f
.

c oal i s usually sufficient to c arry th roug h

e ac h brood o f c hicks This may be placed

.

i n th e brooder h ou se at any time tha t i s con

v e n i en t Eac h h ou se sh o u l d be equipped
.

with its o wn shaker poker and fir e sh ov el

, , .

Wh en th e ashe s are sh aken down from th e

sto v e th e pan containing t h e m sh ould be

pl aced o n th e dropping board and allo wed

to become cold Th en they sh ould be
.

dum ped o n th e fl oor o f th e brooder h ouse .

C hicken s like c oal ash e s and the ash e s are

good fo r th em This may look like c are
.

lessness o r negligence o n th e part o f th e

operator but it really i s g ood pr a ctice
, .

When th e c hicks ce ase t o need h eat th e ,

st ove can be taken down th oroughly cleaned

,

o u t painted with some stove paint and set

, ,

o n a s h elf on th e wall O f th e brooder h ou se ,

 BROOD I N G 37

a foo t and a half abov e th e fl oo r Th e .

stovepipe may be pulled down through the

open i ng in the roof cleaned and put up b y
, ,

the stov e The opening in th e roof may

.

then be co vered with roofing paper so that

it shall be tight .

Fe e d T r a y s ' Th e feed tray s whi c h are

used fo r the small c hicks up to the time they
are eight wee ks old may be made Of a board
a foot wide and two feet long with laths or ,

narrow strips nailed around th e outer e d ges .

It is necess ary Of course th at the chicks be

, ,

able to get at the grain rea di ly While they .

may soil the grain in such a tray this will be ,

Ofi se t by the fact th at the c hicks will h ave

-

eas y access to the feed Thi s i s essential

. .

Pr o v i d i n g G r a ve l B efore th e c hicks are

.

transferred from the inc ub ator to the brooder

house enough fine gravel n o t sand sh oul d- —
be p u t in th e house to co ver th e floor one
half inch deep A fire s hould be built in the
.

brooder stove so that th i s gravel will be

thoroughly dried out and warmed and will
give the operator a chance to regulate the
stove O n top of thi s gr avel should be placed
.

a lay er of chaff from the b arn or finely cut

38 PO ULTRY

clover o r alfalfa Thi s chaff or litter should

.

be S wept Off and removed about once a week

and a new coating put on .

T e m p e r a t u r e of Br o o d e r D uring th e.

first ten day s after the chi ck s are placed in

the brooder h ouse the temperature should
be two inch es from the floor at th e
outer edge o f the hover It sho u l d be low
.

ered about fiVe degrees a week until th e time

comes when the chi cks will need no h eat .

Fo r earl y hatched chicks thi s will be about

-
.

ten weeks f o r later h atched c hickens about

,
-

eight weeks .

T r a n sf e r r i n g C h i c k s Wh en the chi cks

.

are transferred from the incubator they

S hould be k ept covered with flannel o r some

thing Of that kind so that they will run no

risk Of being chi lled Just before they are
.

placed in the h over their bil l s Sh ould be

,

dipped in sour skim m i lk o r butterm i lk SO ,

tha t e v ery chi c k is forced to swallow a drop

o r t wo. Sour skim m i lk or butterm i lk aids
in th e digestion o f th e Chic k s food and h elps ’

it to adjust itself to the poultry man s s y stem ’

o f feedi ng.

After the c hi c ks are all i n the ho ver a ,

40 PO ULTRY

shi ngle s : one h undred pounds each o f corn

meal o r hominy feed bran white middlings
, , ,

gluten feed meat scraps and ninety pounds

, ,

o f rolled oats . Thi s Sh ould be l eft before th e

chicks fifteen o r twenty m inutes in the after
noon The next day it s h ould again be
.

placed before them fo r perh aps a h alf h our in

th e morning and a h alf h our in the after
noon O n succee di ng days th e time s h ould
.

be gradu ally increased so th at by th e time

th e chi cks are three weeks O ld th e dry mash
is constantly before them From th e time .

the chicks are three weeks Old until th ey are

approximately eigh t weeks old th e amount o f
chick feed given them should be so regulated
that they will be getting half chi ck feed and
half dry mash by weight , F or further .

instructions o n summer feeding o f chicks ,

see th e succeeding chapter .

Va l u e o f M i l k The question is fr e
“
.

quently asked Ho w long can o n e afford to

,

buy milk to feed the chicks ' If ski m m ilk ”

o r buttermilk can be purchased for two cent s

o r les s per quart th e poultryman can afford

, .

to feed this all summer Ev en if it is neces

.

sary to pay a h ig h er pri c e for ski m m ilk i t

 B ROOD I N G 41

sho ul d be fed without fail u n til th e chi cks

a r e four weeks Old In fact rather th an omit .
,

this item o f their diet th e poul trym an can

profitably g o to the extent o f buying whole
milk s ki m m i ng the cream (using it in th e
,

house) souring the s kim m i lk and feedi ng

, ,

thi s sour s kim m i lk t o the chi cks There i s .

n o feed th at will gi v e c hi cks as good a start

as milk C hi cks fed o n m i lk will grow faster

.

a n d more uni form l y will su f fer materi ally ,

less mortality and will exhi bit fewer runts o r

,

poor chic ks Th ey will reach the broiler .

age much sooner and therefore wi l l be , ,

wort h more because during the summer the

,

broil er prices drop rapidly and the sooner o n e

gets hi s broilers o n th e m arket th e m ore
profit th ere i s i n th e business .

O u t d o o r Ex e r c i se Every effort sh ould .

be m ade to get the chicks o u t onto the

ground by th e time th ey are eigh t or nine
days Ol d Small portable yards made o f
—
.
,

one foot wide inch mesh wire nailed onto

- -
,

two inch strips ten o r twel ve feet long mak e

-
,

good yards They are e a s y to step over and

.

are plenty high enough to confine small

cl i ck s
i
.
42 PO ULTRY

Th e day selected f o r the first outdoo r

exercis e Of the chi cks sho u l d be if possible , ,

warm and sunn y The chi cks should be

.

gotten o u t about ten O cloc k i n the forenoo n

’

and incidentally at about f e edi ng time

, , .

The door leadi ng into t h e yard shou l d be

opened ev e ry chi ck driven outdoors and the
, ,

door closed Then the chi cks sho ul d be f ed

.

their roll e d c a t s o r chi c k feed outdoo r s .

Thi s will k e e p t h e m bus y a ctive and c o n , ,

tent e d f o r a little time even o n a cold raw , ,

d ay.

After th e chi cks h av e ea ten their fill a n d ,

wh enever they begi n t o pee p and a pp e a r

c old Open the doo r and dr ive t h em a ll bac k
,

i n again every chi ck

, Thi s shou l d be d o ne
.

agai n that sam e afternoo n abo ut t wo o r ,

thr e e o clock whi le th e day i s still warm

’

, .

If thi s process i s followe d f o r ab out three

days then the chi cks wi ll g o i n an d Ou t o f
,

their o wn accord and g O re adily .

C are shoul d be ta ken t o see th at the run

from th e brooder h ouse t o the gr oun d be
jus t a s l o w and a s gradu al as possible Th i s .

may be accomplished b y usin g sods O r ea rth

and building a gr a dual run way A steep .
 B ROOD I N G

board runway sho u l d never be used because

, ,

the chi c ks will n o t g o up and down rea di l y

“
.

Re m o v i n g Fe n c e. IVh en the chi c ks are

large enough t o fly over the temporary fence
the fence can be removed and the chi cks
a ll owed to run at large After the chi c ks
.

have b e en outdoors in the yard several d ay s

all o f their feed hopp e rs and mil k di shes
should be placed out d oors and every in d uc e
,

ment made t o get the chi c ks o u t and ke ep

them out If thi s is done the chi c ks wil l be
.

hardy and will never b ecome so call ed h o t

-

house chi ckens .

 N D E' T O CH AP TE R IV I
B roi ler Wh en to M arket
s, H oppers f Dry M a sh or
B rooder H o se Cle anli ness L ayi ng H ow t T ell Wh en
B roo der ho se R oos ts
u
P llets Ar e Re a dy
, . , o
u
B roo der ho se Sprays
u
Litt er C orns ta lks
-

u
i l k S e mi s oh d M a le B ir ds Wh en t M ark et
-
,

utt er m
B tte rm lk S bstit te f M a s h H o ppe r s
o
-
, ,

u i u u or
Gr een F eed M e at S cra p M il k a s S b t i
,

C orn a s Li tter
C orn f or Sha de
Clea nl iness f B roo der H o se
Dry ma sh H o ppers
Feed Amo nts to Gi e
-
t te f or , u s
u
M il k a s S bst t t e f or M eat i
S cra ps
u u
o u
46 Pro fit i n B roi lers
4 5 P lle t F ee di ng

u v u
F eed Danger o f F
,

P llets H ow to T ell Wh en
o r cm g u
Feed Dry M a sh S cratch Rea d y to L ay
, . ,

vs
Grai n R oosts i n B rooder H o s
.
,

Feed H wt Feed S cratch

e
S cratch F eed
” u .

o o
Grai n ,

S cratch G ra i n H ow to Feed
Feed L at e S mm er S e mi s o l i d B tt e rmil k
,

u
F eed S cratch G rain S ha de C or n
, u -
.

Feed S mm er
,

4 4 S ha de f or C hi ck s
,

Feed Y o ng P llets 5 1 S p ray s f or B roo de r H o se

, u

4 5 S mm e r F eed ng
u u
Forci ng Da nger f
, u .

u i
4 5 Wat e r H ow to S ppl y
o
F orm la Scratch Feed
u
,

, , u

CHAP TER IV . SUM MER FEE D IN G

S c r a t c h Fee d In order an d Dr y Ma s h .

th at c hick ens shall make th e most rapid and

efficien t gro wth th ey sh ould be furnished ,

during th eir entire growing period with a p

proxim ately half scratch feed and h alf dry
m ash by weight T his is o f special impor .

t anc e from th e time th e c hicks are eigh t o r

ten w eeks O ld until m at urity Th e change .
 SU MME R FEE D I N G 45

from chi ck feed to th e scratch feed sh ould be

made when the chicks are eight to ten weeks
Old and about a week sh ould be occupied in
,

making th e change .

Sc ratch feed should consist o f equal parts

b y Weight of cracked corn wh eat and oats
—
.
, ,

This feed should be fed twice a day h alf in

the morning and h alf a t n i ght .

Ho w t o A d ju st Fe e d i n g It will not be
.

at all di fficult to adjust th e scratch feed so

that th e mash and scratch shall be equally
di vided If th e chickens eat fifty pounds
.
,

f o r example Of m ash o n e week they s h oul d

,

receive fifty pounds of scra tch th e succeeding

week o r approximately seven pounds per
,

day If in some succeedi n g week the chicken s

.

eat o n e hundred pounds o f mash in a week ,

they should rec eiv e th e following week o n e

h undred pounds o f scratch feed o r approx ,

i m a t e l y fourteen pound s per day .

A v o i d U n d u e Fo r c i n g B y feeding th e
.

c hi ckens in thi s manner th ey will n o t be

,

undul y forced into egg production It is .

possible to feed pul lets S O they will reach

maturity as far as egg production is c o n
,

cerned before they re a ch m aturity in size

, .
46 PO UL TRY

Wh ile th ey will l ay and while some will l ay

,

large numbers o f eggs yet the tendenc y o f

,

th ese pullets is al w ay s t o lay a co m parativel y

small egg O f course th e tendenc y is that
.
,

th e pullets themselves will never be as large

a s the y might have been .

M i l k If milk in some form is available

.

after th e ch icken s are eight o r ten wee k s Old ,

th e me a t scrap content o f the m a sh should

-

be cut in t wo In oth er words fifty pounds

.
,

will replace the o n e h undred pounds given in

th e original formula .

Ho w t o Fe e d Th e scratc h feed s h ould

.

be fed o n th e ground and scattered over a s

great an area as possible It should be fed .

at some distance away from the h ouse .

Scratch feed S h ould never be fed so liberall y

a s to lie o n t h e ground from one feeding time

to the next Th e chickens s h ould clean up

.

each feeding in an h our o r le ss .

T h e dry m as h h oppers should be c o n

-

s t ructed so that th e mash will n o t get damp .

The roof Of the h opper should extend o u t over

the h opper itself at least a foot o n eac h S ide
so that the chic k ens ma y stand under there

and eat even if it is raining hard outside

,
.
48 PO ULTRY

wo rds fifty pounds instead o f o n e h undred '

,

and this semi solid buttermilk should be fed

-

all summer While semi solid buttermilk

.
-

may not entirely t ake th e place O f green feed ,

it will materially h elp It h as been found

.

that ch ickens ranged considerably le ss when

fed o n m i lk and ate down the gra ss on th eir
—
range v ery much less a n indication th at
milk will t ake th e place o f th e green feed for
growing chicks .

S e l l i n g O ff B r o i l e r s Ju st a s soon a s th e
.

chic kens reach t wo pounds th e male birds ,

after th e breeders h av e been picked o u t ,

S h ould be S h ipped t o m a rke t Th ere i s no

.

time when a chicken will pay a s grea t a per

cent age o f profit o ver and above i t s feed
cost as it will wh en it is disposed o f as a t wo
pound broiler Th e man wh o keeps his male
—
.

bird s until th ey reac h the ro asting size fiv e

—
,

six and se ven pounds doe s n o t m ake as

,

much money o n each individu al chicken a s h e

would h ave i f h e dispo sed o f it a s a broiler .

Also h e h a s a dded to h i s co st o f labor in

,

caring for the chickens h e h as added to his

,

ri sk and O f c ourse h e h a s added to h is

,

h ousing co sts .
 SU MME R FEE D I N G 49

Ro o st s i n Br o o d e rAssum i ng
H o u se .

that the m ale birds have been taken o u t o f

a brood o f four hundred to five hundred
chi ckens and th e mortalit y h as been a p
,

proximately 10 per cent whi ch is average ,

u nder or di nary con di tions there will be left,

approxi m ately t wo h undred to two h undred

and twenty fiv e pullets in the h ouse Thi s wi ll
-
.

be a satisfactory and manageable number .

Whenever the p u l lets begin to Show a de

sire to roost addition al temporary roosting
,

poles s ho u l d be placed in the buil di ng so

th a t all the birds will learn t o go to roost .

If some o f them are obliged t o remain o n th e

floo r there will be difficulty in te aching them
,

t o go t o roost wh en th ey are transferred t o

winter qua rters Thi s wil l be avoided by
.

seeing to it that th ere are enough roosts i n

th e brood er h ouse .

C l e a n l i n e ss Th e bro oder h ou se sh oul d

.

be c leaned o u t a t leas t once a wee k during

th e sum m er It sho u l d be sprayed every two
.

or three weeks with a strong solution Of some

good co al tar spray An y Of th e standard
-
.

commercial spray s o n the market wi l l be

satisfactory After the ho u se th e floor and
.
, ,
50 PO UL TRY

dropping boards h ave b e en cleaned a thi n

sprinkling o f sand should be placed o n th e
floor and dropping boards so that th e drop
ping s wi ll n o t stick and the h ou se c a n be
kept muc h cleaner .

Sh ade If possible the brooder h ouse

.

shoul d be located in an orchard o r some

place wh ere there is natural shade If n o t .
,

s ome effort s h ould be made t o furnis h shade .

T h e easiest way t o furni sh shade t o growing

chi ckens is t o plant corn The chi ckens as a
.
,

rule will n o t di sturb the corn even wh en it

, ,

is small After it gets t o be a foot hi gh the

.

c hi ckens wi l l spend a great deal Of time in the

corn will get all th e shade they will need

, ,

will have a chance to di g and burrow and will ,

O f course get some gr ubs and insects The

, .

corn m a y be ripened and pic k ed Off and

used as feed The c ornstal ks may be a l
.

lowed t o dry th oroughl y and may then be

c u t up into S h ort lengths and used as litter

i n th e h enh ouse th e succeeding winter .

Wa t e r If no liquid m i lk i s available
.

th ere should be a constant supply o f fresh ,

and if possible cold water If running water

, .

is t o be had this may be accomplished b y

 SUMME R FEE D I N G 51

laying a pipe two o r thre e inch es under

ground The simp l est wa y t o lay such a
.

pipe is to plow a furrow place the pipe and

, ,

plow th e earth back This arrangement

.

keeps the pipe and water cool If the water.

is allowed t o drip slowl y into a tub o r trough

there will n o t be an y muddy place around
the drin king fountain At the same time
.

there will be an ample suppl y o f cool fresh ,

water When the pullets are taken from the

.

range and placed in winter quarters the ,

pipe may be disconnected and pulled up

without an y difficul ty .

La t e S u m m e r Fe e d i n g . It h as been
Observed that a p ul let that is about to lay ,

or one that has just begun t o lay is ch arac ,

t er i st i c a l l y fat
. This excess o f fat i n th e
p u l let is used b y her as a surplus to carry
her through the cold winter months It .

should be the aim o f the poultry man to get

an ample amount of thi s fat o n the body o f
hi s pullets before they are placed in winter
quarters .

About two weeks before the pullets are

ready t o lay the fo l lowing Change in fe e d in g
sho u l d be made Instead Of provi d in g ha l f
.
52 PO ULTRY

scratch feed and h alf mas h a s was done pre

,

v i o u sl y
, the quantity o f scratch feed Sh ould
be materi ally increa sed so th at th e pullets
,

are ge t ting at le a st t wo times as much scratc h

feed by weight a s mash This is done b e
.

cause th e body maintenance o r fat forming

- -

ingre di ent s are in th e scr atc h feed and it is

desired to pus h along th e body dev elopment .

The pullets s h ould be induced to eat all th e

scratc h feed th ey will e a t wi th ou t le aving
any on th e ground .

It is n o t difficult to tell wh en th e pullet s

are ready t o lay They will begin to Sh ow
.

the m a t r o n l y li k e appearance o f a h en their

,

comb a nd wattle s will begin to redden and

develop th ey begin t o sing and th ey bec o m e
, ,

v ery tame .

D irection s for th e h ou sin g and m an ag e

m en t o f pullet s in winter quarters will be
giv en in th e c h apter o n M anagem en t .
 IND E' TO C HAP TE R V
B roody C oop
C ement Floors
.

C os t of Layi ng H o se 57 O pen Front

Partitio s
u
57 n

D esi gn L ayi ng H o se u
Roof
D i rt Fl oor s M a n a ge m en t
,

, . o

Roosts
Si e o f L ayi ng H o se
D I f
IS D i e Ct O n
D ra g hts A o i d a n c e f
u
S nli ght Imp orta n c e O f
z
u v o
D ro pp ing B oards
,

Ventil ation
u ,

Feed H oppers
.

Fl oor Wa ll C o nstr ction

Wat er C o ntainers
u

Fo ndations
u Wat er H eat ers
L a y ng H o se D etai ls Wet Fl oor Danger Of
.

i u

M a sh Feede rs
, ,

CHAP TER HOU SI NG

FR OM the time they are ready t o lay eggs ,

on through the rest Of their life pullets will ,

be confined in a laying house o r h enhouse .

Regardless o f the style o f h ouse i t s size , ,

o r the climate in which it is to be built there ,

are several features whi ch must be taken

into account These are as follows : (1) Fresh .

Air (2) Sunligh t (3) C ost (4) Ease o f C lean

, , ,

l i n e ss (5 ) C on venience
, .

Fr e s h A i r It is absolutely nec essary .

that fresh air in abundance be present in a

h enh ouse Th i s i s due to a simple and
.
54 P O ULT RY
e a sily un derstood f a ct Since a h en h as n o
.

urin a ry a pp a ratus it i s necessary th at all

O f the moisture whi ch sh e take s into h er body
in the form Of w a ter o r in h er feed be given
Off wit h t h e breath from t h e lung s T h us.

h ens r e qu i re five times a s m a ny cubi c feet

O f a i r per poun d O f live weigh t f o r proper
m aintenance Of life as a ny oth er dom e stic
a nimal .

T o o M u c h M o i st u r e .If th ere is n o t
suffici e nt v e ntil a tion in t h e h ou se the air

b e c o m es l a d e n with m o i stur e Thi s m o i sture

.

s e t t l e s t o w a rd t h e flo o r h a s a t e nd e ncy t o
,

wet t h e litt e r and c o ll e cts o n t h e gl a ss and

,

o n t h e w a lls and roof . W h en cold weath er

com e s thi s moistur e will be d eposited as
frost D urin g the m i ddle O f th e d a y wh en
.
,

th e h enh ouse warms up thi s frost will ,

m elt r u n down o n t h e floor and cause t h e

, ,

litter t o be e v en dam p e r th an in summer .

If a h enh ouse i s damp t h e h en s breathi ng

’

a pparatus h as t o work h arder t h an it s h ould .

Sh e is more susceptible t o colds a nd t o all

kinds Of digestive disorders .

O p e n Fr o n t B e s t P l a n Th ere i s o f
.
,

co urse , a difference be t ween fre sh ai r and

56 P O ULTRY
draugh ts Th ere s h ould be no draugh ts in a
.

h enh ouse especially in winter

, .

Th e best wa y to get fresh air into a h en

h ouse is through a n Open front T his O pen .

front s h ould extend downward fro m th e

eaves t o about t wo and o n e h alf feet fro m -

the floor and lengthwise to a window at

,

eith er end of th e h ouse as described in the ,

next par agrap h s Its area s h ould be o n e

.

sixt h th at o f t h e floor area Of t h e h ou se .

Th e reason fo r h aving th e open front as

high a s possible is to allow th e air to come in
at a high lev el It will th en g o f arther back
.

into th e h ouse and th erefore gi ve bet ter

,

v entil ation a ll o v er th e h ou se .

Su n l i g h t Sunligh t being o n e o f n ature s

.
,
’

best disinfec tants s h ould h a ve ample acc es s

,

to th e interior Of a h enhouse Sunlight of .

,

course will come into th e h enh ouse through

,

the open front Therefore th e open front

.
,

sho u l d be o n th e south side o f the h ou se In .

a h enh ouse from twelve to twenty four feet -

in length there sh ould be t wo windows .

These Windows S h ould be pl aced o n th e

south side at the extreme right and extreme
,

lef t O f th e front Th ese like t h e open fron t

.
, ,
 HOUS I NG 57

should be placed hi gh up in th e front o f the

buil di ng S O as t o get the sun l ight as far bac k
into the house as possible .

Th e windows that are reco m mended are

the or d inary stoc k sash They shou l d be
.

screwe d o r nailed to the stu d di ng because it ,

is not necessary that these windows be

opened at any time Any window that Open s
.

o r s wi n g s is m uch more li kely to be bro k en

than o n e th at i s permanent .

O n stormy days it is intended that the open

fronts shou l d be covered with their curtains
ma de Of thi n cotton cloth .

Co s t. Since the profits tha t are made

from th e po ul try business depen d in part o n
—
the amount o f so c a ll ed overhead charge ,

whi ch includes intere st on the money taxes , ,

and depreciation it is Obvious that the cost

,

o f construction O f a h enh ouse sho u l d be

seriously considered It is not necessary
.

that any henh ouse be double boarded o r ,

sheathed o r plastered or in any other wa y

, ,

made unu suall y warm It i s only nec essary

.

that a henhouse be ab solutely tight o n three

si d es A hen h ouse should be as simpl y and
.

p 1a i n l y construct e d as possible The . only

5
58 P OUL TRY
fini sh that i s nec essary o n th e b uilding i s
t h at which will make it c onform a s clo sely
a s necessary t o t h e ot h er far m building s .

Ea s e o f D i s i n f e c t i o n
. Th e h enhouse
should be so constructed that th ere sh a ll be
few crevices to collect dirt This can be .

accomplished by using drop siding or ship

lap whic h is tongued and groo ved a nd fits
togeth er snugly Th is gives th e appearance
.

Of clapboards and a t th e same time m akes t h e

house tight The nests sh ould be so c o n
.

structed tha t t h ey can ea sily be taken down ,

washed sprayed and dried

, , .

Co n ve n i e n c e Th e h enh ou se Sh ould be
.

so de signed t h at t h e O pera t or c a n stand up

in it anywh ere and do the work con v eniently .

If it i s designed as a series of connected com

p a r t m e n t s under o n e roof i t sh ould be so
constructed th at a litter carrier c a n be used .

This litter carrier will be a l abor saver n o t

only in remo ving the droppings but in c arry ,

ing grain m ash water green feed o r eggs

, , , , .

T y p e s o f H e n h o u se s . T h ere a re in
general u se several differen t types o f h en
h ouses h aving various shape s style s o f roof , ,

open fronts etc Th e type which will give

, .
60 P OULTRY
th e b est resul ts i n a climate that i s cold and
frosty in winter will o f course give good
result s in a clim ate wh ere there is but little
frost in winter B ut a h ou se th at would
.

gi v e g ood re sult s where there w as but little

frost would n o t necessarily Offer the same
advant age in a colder country .

De s i g n o f H o u s e Re c o m m e n d e d Th e .

h ouse which is here recommended is designed

as a series o f pens all under one roof and
,

within connected walls It is constructed

.

with a t wo thirds span roof ' o r in other

-
,

words the peak Of the roof is one third of th e

,
-

wa y from the front wall th e front r afters

,

being half a s long a s the rear rafters .

Eac h pen o f this h ou se sh ould be twenty

two feet square Such a pen o r compartment
.

will ac commod a te o n e h u n dred a nd sixty

layi ng hen s Of th e h e avier breed s such a s ,

Reds Rocks o r Wy andotte s It will a c c o m

, , .

m o d a t e a t le a st o n e h undred a nd ei gh ty
Leghorn s or simil a r light er bird s This ty pe
.

o f house i s economical to build ' it i s light '

it gives th e bird s plenty o f fres h air and

exercise ' and it allows a man to take c are of
a l a rge number o f h e n s with a m inimu m
 HO US I NG 61

amount of eff ort It h as been used succes s

.

fully as far north a s the northern part of N ew

England . There i s no apparent reason why it
should not be successful farther north I t will .

be equall y satisfactory in a warmer climate .

H e i g h t Abo ve g r o u n d .Any henh ouse

h aving a board floor should be placed at
least a foot and a half above the ground .

If it is so built it will be prac tically rat proof -

,

because rats will n o t live under a floor which

is built up that high above the ground since ,

cats and dogs can easily get under the floor

and drive t h em o u t A floor so built will
.

be more nearl y dry because there is a free

circulation o f air under the floor The h ouse .

should not be banked up in win t er because ,

if this is done th e ground underneath the

building will n o t freeze and as capillary action
,

pumps up moisture all winter th e floor will

always be moist .

Fo u n d a t i o n s a n d Fl o o r Th e bes t
.

foundations are cement piers alth ough posts

,

o f cedar or chestnut may be used The floor .

is best made o f single matched spruce or

,

pine flooring With plenty Of litter on the

.

floor it will be sufficiently warm .

62 P OULTRY
Di r t Fl o o r s No t Ec o n o m i ca l . D irt
floors should never be used in a henhous e
b ecaus e they ar e hard t o k ee p clean The .

on l y time that a di rt fl oo r is reall y fit fo r a

h en t o live o n is during a month o r t wo after
the fl o or h as been laid o r after it h as been
cl e aned o u t and n e w di rt put i n After two .

m onth s th e d ir t b e comes th oroughl y m i xed

with th e d r o ppings I n th e long run a di r t
.

fl o or is e xp e ns ive t o main t a in b ecaus e it i s,

absolut ely n ec e s sary that thi s floo r be entir ely

removed at l e as t once a year and new di rt
o r gr avel h a u l ed t o th e henhous e shoveled ,

into th e buildi ng and then even l y spread

, .

Thi s in a commercial poultry plant o r i n

, ,

any pou l tr y plant f o r th at matter in v olv e s a

, ,

great deal o f work .

C e m e n t Fl o o r s A cemen t fl oor can be

.

fairly sat i sf a ctory In localities where gr avel

.

is h andy it i s a comparatively cheap floo r t o

co nstr uct B ut un less it is very well b u i lt
.
, ,

it i s lik ely t o be damp owing t o th e capill ary

,

a ction c au s ing mois ture t o p a ss up t h rough

th e foun dation and into th e cement It is a .

c o ld floo r un der an y condi tion s and i s n o ,

easier t o k e ep C l e an th a n a board floor .

64 P OULTRY
other so that th ey can be more easily taken
o u t and cleaned Eac h nest should be o n e
.

long continuous compartment with no par

,

ti ti on s .Th e h ens are less likely to break

eggs in such a nest than in o n e which i s par
ti ti o n ed A drawing O f thi s nest will be
.

found o n page 63 .

B r o o d y COO p Th e broody coop sh ould

.

be built abo ve o n e o f th e tiers o f nests The .

floor s h ould be made Of matched boards so

laid t h at th ey can be e asily cleaned The .

walls and top o f th e coop should be built o f

wire Th ere s h ould be a door which c a n be
.

easily opened .

Fe e d H o p p e r s Th e feed h oppers s h ould

.

be so con struc t ed th at th e mas h i s alway s

a vailable and yet so designed th at t h e h en s
cannot w a ste th e mash o r scratch litter into
it M any types o f deep self feeding h oppers
.
-

are in use B ut in deep h oppers wh enev er

.
,

there is an excessive amount o f moisture in

the air th e mash i s very likely to beco m e
moist stick to th e side o f th e h opper and
, ,

not flow readily .

Th e h opper which is recommended i s

S h own o n page 6 5 Thi s h opper i s u sually
.
 HO US I NG 65

plac ed on pi e ces of t wo by four set up edge - -

way s and is loc ate d directly under the Open

front and about a foot away from th e front
wall With the hopper located here p r a c
.

tically no litter is ever scratc hed into it .

'

f a ff ( c a f e'

B r ic e /« c f

C O N S TR UCT I O N O F FE E D H O PP ER

It is easy of access and th e bir ds c an

get to it even late at night
, .

There is no necessity fo r placing a m ash

hopper o n an elevated platform in order to
provide exercise f o r the birds Th ey will .

get sufficient exercise during th e day in

searchi ng f o r scratch grain The mash .
66 P O ULTRY
s h ould be m a de so readily acce ssible that t h e
birds will n o t be obliged to make any extra
effort t o obtain it .

Wh i le th e h opper sh own requires a little

more frequent attention than do some o f th e
deeper h oppers this fact is indirectly an
,

advantage because the poultryman s h ould

,

k eep an acc u rate record o f the amount and

pounds o f mash and scratch feed his birds
consume each week and this record is more
,

easily Obtained in using a small h opper than

in u sing large h oppers which m ay furnish a
month s supply o f mash
’
.

Wa t e r Co n t a i n e r s Th e water con t ain

.

ers should be such a s c an be easily cleaned ,

should be inexpensive and li ke th e mas h

, ,

h opper Sh oul d be easily accessible

, .

Th e best water container t o u se fo r su m m er

o r winter is an ordinary twelve o r fourteen

quart galvan i zed iron pail In t h e summer

-
.

it is set o n th e floor in side o f a frame whi c h

prev ents th e birds from tipping th e pail
over and which furn i shes th em with a plat
,

form upon which they can stand In winter .

,

if in a climate where freezing occurs th is ,

same pail is set into a small b o x lined wit h

 H OUS I NG 67

asbestos paper h aving an opening at the

,

t o p correspon di ng to the diameter o f the

pail about five inches below its t o p In the .

bottom o f this b o x is placed an y o n e Of

several commercial lamps made f o r the pur
pose O i keeping the water from freezing It .

will be necessary t o bore several holes in the

sides o f the b o x t wo o r three inches above
,

the floor .

This water container both summer and ,

winter is place d near the front o f the building

,

under the open front principally t o locate

,

it in a place where the least l itter from the

floor will be scratched into it since usually ,

the birds fac e the light and scratch bac kward .

Dr o p p i n g B o a r d s The dropping boards

.

shou l d be laid perpen d icu l ar t o the back wall ,

because if they a re l aid para l l e l t o the back

wall the operator wi l l have di ffic u l ty in clean
ing them o ff rea d i ly They should be
.

matched boards S O a s t o leave no large

,

crevices .

Ro o s t s The roosts in a twenty t wo foot

.
,
- -

house sho u l d be in th r ee sections hi nged at

, ,

the bac k so they may be tipped up o u t o f the

way when the dr op ping boards are c l e aned .
 P OULTRY
Pa r t i t i o n s If two or more compart
.

ments or pens are t o be built the best par ,

tition is o n e m ade o f boards running th e

width o f th e building and up t o a h eigh t o f a
foot abo v e th e roosts Th e remainder o f th e
.

partition s h ould be o f inch mesh wire -

.

Thi s gi v es good circula tion of air especially ,

in t h e upper part O f th e h enh ouse toward

th e back part Also it gi v es m ore sunligh t
.
,

in all o f th e pens because as th e sun is ,

setting toward the west it will sh ine di agon

,

ally th rough th e open spaces O i th e parti

tions and in the same manner th e m orning
,

su n will shine diagonally .

While this particular type of h enh ouse is

n o t the only good house that has been built

in this country it is a h ouse that will give

,

satisfaction an y where and it pro vides all th e

requirements o f a good h ou se .

j O/f Y O
‘
/
/W
W
k h
 IND E ' TO CH APT E R V I
Appeti t e Imp orta n c e of M a ngels and C abba ge
B tt ermil k A mo t to Fe d
u
,

M a s h C o n tro l o f A mo n t e
B tterm l k Car e i n Fe di ng
un
E at en by P lle ts
, , u

B tt ermi lk D ri ed
u i e
M as h F orm l
, u

B tt ermil k S em s oh d
u , , u a
80
Cabbage a nd M a ngels
u i -

7 9 M il k S b s ti t t e f or G r en
,

Ch se Potee
, u u e

C ond ti o n f P llets H o w t
i
,

O
O at s S p ro t d
u o
' dge eese
e
Pot C
u
h
, ,

Dri ed B tt erm lk
u
S cratch G ra i n A mo t to
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

i
Dry M ash A mo nt to Feed
u .
, un

Dry M ash F orm l a

u

S cratch Gra i n S m e r F e d
, .

L ayi ng C ond tion of P il , u u m e

,

E
lets N e c e s ary to
gg i h

S cratch G ra i n W n t e r F eed
,

Egg L ayi ng C ontrol by Feed

s
i
,

S em s o l i d B t t
Egg Pro d ction P ercentage Sp ro t ed Oats
flk i -
u er m

to E pe ct
u ,
u
S mm e r F eed ng Re a s o n f or
0 0 0 0 0

Fat R ser e N e c ess ary

x
u i
D e cr e sed A o nt
,

Feed F orm l a
e v ,
a m u

Feed G r een m e r F e d ng cratch

O . D

, u
S
.

S um e i

Form l a Dry M ash

,
,

Form la S cratch F eed

u
Weight of P llets H o w to
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

' dge
u u ,
,

W nt er F eedi ng Reas on f or
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hens F eed ng In cr e ased A mo t ,

un
C ondition Wint er Fe ding S cr a t c h
, i
' d
Grai n
e
Lay i ng H e s Feed ng
u gi n g ,

n , i 0 0 0 0 0

CHAP TER VI . FEE D IN G P ULLET S

The In the feeding o f

Du a l P u r p o se .

pul lets throughout their first lay ing year the

po ul tryman is concerned i n securing the
maximum num ber o f eggs that can be pro
d u c e d per h e n consistent with good hatch
ability O f the eggs Therefore the fee di ng .
,
70 P OULT RY
proble m i s a dual o n e o f producing all th e
eggs possible but at the same time main
,

taining the vigor and condition O f the pullets

'

at such a pitch that in the spring months th e

eggs which they lay will produce a large per
centage Of chicks that will live and grow .

C o n d i t i o n o f P u l l e t s The pullet when

.
,

S h e is about t o lay o r has just begun t o lay ,

is inv ariably fat This surplus Of fat sh e

.

accumulates t o use as a reserve d uri ng cold

weather and this reserve Of fat must be
,

maintained a s far as possible if we are

going to keep the pullet in g ood p hysical
condi tion .

A d ju s t i n g Fe e d t o Eg g La y i n g - P oul .

tr y m en consider that the egg producing -

ingredients O f the feed are found largely i n

the mash wh ereas the body mainten anc e
,
-

and fat forming ingredient s are found in th e

-

scratc h feed .

It is possible for th e feeder t o reg ul at e th e

consumption o f mash by a flock O f pullets
bec a use they will naturally eat scratch feed
more readily th an mash since they like it ,

better Thus the proportion between th e

.
,

t wo kind s o f feed ca n be controlle d in Sp i te

72 P O ULT RY
Of course th e bird s s h ould be weigh ed at th e
,

same time Of day It is immaterial what time

.

i s selected .

Ho w t h e W e i g h t s S h o u l d Ru n Th e .

pullets for a s h ort time after h ou sing sh ould

, ,

gain in weight After th a t there should be

.

n o appreciable drop in weig h t t h rough out t h e

whole winter season until after the i ncuba

tion period i s over If there is a drop i n .

weigh t the quantity o f scratch feed should be

increased P resently the n at ural sequence
.
,

—
will follow t ha t i s t h e egg production will,

fall Off and body weig ht will increa se .

S t a n d a r d s o f Eg g P r o d u c t i o n A re a .

sonable standard of egg production will run

a s follo w s : T h rough September 2 0 per c ent ' ,

O ctober 30 per cent ' N ovember and D e

,

c e m b e r 3 5 t o 40 per cent ' J a nuary 40 to 4 5

, ,

per cent ' th en th e production may be allowed

to go to 5 0 o r abo v e during February M arch , ,

and April without materially causing th e

,

birds to lo se fles h and with out at all impair

ing their production o f vigorous h atchable
eggs .

Am ou n t of Sc r a t c h Fe e d Re q u i r ed .

Th e amount of s cratch feed th at will be

 “

I N D E'

c d p ho sphate dropp ng boards

A i fOI‘ i , 114
pp a ren t olds 142
’
\
A c ,

ppeti t e i mp o r ta nc e Of ma i n tain i g
A , n , 83
A a ng m en t of b r oo der ho se 2 9
rr e u ,

Ar t i fici a l l i ght f i p lle t s 118 o

'
u ,

Ar t i fic i a l l i gh t how to se 116
‘

, u ,

B
B egi n i ng a po lt ry b si ness 3
n u u ,

Bo d y s ha pe Of a s gu i de i c lli ng 100
, n u ,

B r anch es f th e p l t y b si ness 11
o ou r
'

u ,

B reedi ng h ens p llet s 104 , v3 . u ,

B eedi ng t a k selecti on Of 84
r s c , ,

B r oi lers Wh en to mar ke t 48
, ,

B r oo der ho e cleanl i ness 49 us , ,

B r oo der h se r oo s t s 49 ou , _

B r oo de ho use spr ay s 4 9
r ,

B r o der rec rds 12 1

o
'

o ,
«

Br ood e r Sto v e man gem en t 36 , a ,

B r oo der t e mper at re 38
, u ,

B oo d r t e m p o r a ry fence 38
r e , ,

B Od
r o t r n f err i ng chi cks to 38
er , a s ,

B Od i i
rO h w to co n t r o l 122
i e s s, o ,

B oodi ness e a s a g i d i c ll i ng 103

r , us i e n u ,

B r oo dy coo p i n l ayi ng ho se 6 4 u ,

B tt r mi lk m O nt t feed p llet s 8 1
u e , a u o u ,

B i t t m i l k Ca r i feed i ng p ll et s 8 2
l er , e n u ,
ll

B u tt erm i lk , r ed fo r p ll et s 8 2
d i , u ,

B u tt erm i l k , semi s ol i d 4 7 -
,

B u tt ermi lk , s m i sol i d f o r p ll et s 8 0
e -
, u ,

B u tt ermi lk , s bst i t t e f or green feed 47

u u ,

C
Ca bb a ge a nd ma ngl s f r p l le t s 79 e o u ,

Candl i ng eggs bef o e i n c b at i on 16 r u ,

Ca bo li c aci d
r a s spr y 107 , u se a ,

C em en t flo rs i la yi ng ho se 6 2 o n u ,

Ch ese p ot f o r p lle t s 8 2
e , , u
'

C hi cken feed 39 ,

Ch i ck en p 14 3 -
ox,

Chi ck s co s t o f i fl en c e f breedi g s tock 88

, , n u o n ,

Ch i ck s e er c i se 4 1
, x ,

Ch i ck s feed i ng i br o der ho se 39
, n o u ,

Chi ck s t r a nsferr i ng to br ood er 38

, ,

Chi mney Of br oo der s to e 35 v ,

Choo s i ng p a ren t s tock 3 ,

C leanl i ness f br ooder ho se 49 o u ,

C l i mat e cho i ce of s tock fo r 8

,
-

Cl i mat i c co nd i t i ons 8
’

C i d i Si
oc c ca se O f 143
o s, u ,

C cc i d i o s i s t reatm en t fo r 144
o , ,

Cock erels how to j dge fo r breedi ng s tock 91

, u , ,

Cock erels cock s f breedi ng s tock 8 9

vs .
, or ,

Cockerels i go r f f o r breed i ng s tock 90

, v o , ,

Cocks co st f fo r breed i ng s tock 90

, o , ,

Co ld cli mat e cho i ce f p a re t stock 9 , o n ,

Colds app a ren t 142

, ,

Colds ca se f 141
, u o ,

Cold s sym p tom s f 14 1

, o ,

Col or f egg i m p or tan ce Of 11

o , ,

Co ndi t i o n Of p llet s how to j dge 7 1 u , u ,

Co nst i p at i o n 14 6 ,

Cons t r ct i o n Of br oo der ho u se 32
u ,

Con tai ner fo r eggs 136 ,

 IN DE ' i ii

Co rn a s li tt e 50 r,

Co n fo r ha de 5 0
r s ,

Co t f l ayi ng ho e 5 7
s o us ,

C r op bo nd ca se of 149 u , u ,

C r op b nd t eatm ent fo 15 0
ou , r r ,
-

'

C l l i ng how to d 99
u , o,
’

C ll i ng i m p o rt nce of 96
u , a ,

C lli ng p llet s f breedi ng st ck

u r u , or o , 93
C lli ng rea s o ns f 96
u , or ,

C rta i n f b Od ho se 30
u O ro er u ,

C ta i ns i layi ng ho se 5 7
ur n u ,

es gn l aying ho se 60
D i , u ,

Di a rr ea wh i t e 137
h , ,
“

Di r t oo r ma na gemen t 62
fl s, ,

Di sea ses 137 ,

nf cta nt s f l ayi ng ho se 10 7
D i si e or u ,

s n ect i o n of layi ng h s 5 8
Di i f ou e,

D r a g hts a o i d a n c e of i l ay i ng ho s
u , v n u e,

D es i ng p o l t r y 128
r s u ,

D r i ed b tt er m i l k f o r p llet s 8 2
u u ,

D r o pp i ng boa rd ca re f 114 s, o ,

D r o pp i ng b a rds i l y i g h
‘
67
o n a n o u se ,

D r o pp i ng h w t s to r 115
s, o o e,

D r op p i ngs of 115
,

, u se ,

D y m a s h amo
r t to f d p ll ts 75
, un ee . u e ,

D y m s h f o r m l a f o r p llet s 7 5
r a u u ,

D y m s h h ppers 4 6
r a o ,

D y p i cki ng h w t ki ll 129
r , o o ,

D y p i cki ng
r s ca ldi ng 128 vs .
,

E a rl y ch i cks al e of , v u , 18
E rl y layi ng d p end
a , e s on ea rly ch i ck s , 19
Egg co lo r i mp o rtan c , e o f 11,
iv I NDE X
Egg co nta i ne f m a r ket i ng 136 rs or ,

Egg l ay i ng a b i li ty 5
-
,

Egg l y i ng co ndi ti o n f p lle ts n c essary to

-
a , o u e , 70
Egg layi g co n t es t s 5
-
n ,

Egg lay i ng co nt r ol b y feed i g 70

-
, n ,

Egg pr d ct i o n p r cen t ge to e pe ct 72
-
o u , e a x ,

Egg reco rds 120 ,

Egg s hom e preser at i o n 134

, v ,

Egg per y e r p o ssi ble a era ge 6

s a , v ,

Eggs sel ct i o n f o r i n c b at i on 15
, e u ,

Eggs select i o n f o r ma r k et 132

, ,

Eggs sell i ng b y p a r cel p os t 135

,
’
,

Eggs sell i ng pl a n 132

, ,

Eggs stam p i ng f o r ma r ket 133

, ,

Eggs s t er i le f o r ma r k et 133
, ,

Eggs t rn i ng i i n c b ato r 24
, u n u ,

Elect r i c l i ghts e q i p m en t nec ss y 117 , u e a

r ,

Eps om s lt s fo r l ay i ng h ens 112

a ,

E ers i on 14 9
v ,

E er ci e f chi ck s 4 1
x s or ,

Fat re e e nec e sa r y i p ll et s 70
s rv , s n u ,

Fatt en i ng ad a n ta ge f 127 , v o ,

Fatt eni ng h ens 126 ,

Fatt eni ng ma le b i rds 127 ,

Feed amo n t e q i red f ma les 125

, u r u or ,

Feed amo n t req i ed p p o nd ga i n

, u u r er u ,

Feed a mo n t s to gi e 4 5
, u v ,

Feed ch i ck 39
, ,

Feed d a nger f f o ci ng 45
, o r ,

Feed dry ma s h sc r atch g ain 45

, vs . r ,

Feed fo rm l a f o r p ll et s 75
, u u ,

Feed green f p ll et s 7 8
, , or u ,

Feed hopp rs i l ayi ng ho se 64 e n u ,

Feed h wt feed scr atch gra i n 4 6

, o , o ,
’

Feed l at e s mm e 5 1
, u r ,
 IN DE X

Feed records 120 ,

Feed s cr atch gr a i n 45
y

, ,

Feed s m mer 44
, u ,

Feed t r ay s fo r br ooder h e 37 ous ,

'

Feed yo ng p l l t 5 1
, u u e s,

Feedi ng chi cks i br ooder ho se 39 n u ,

Feedi ng p lle t 6 9 u s,

Fema les sel ct i o n of f breedi ng s to k

, e , or c ,

Fe i ce f o r br oo der ho s 4 1
l u e,

Fi al electi o n f breedi ng s to k 94
n s o c ,

Fl o r f l ay i ng ho se 6 1
o o u ,

Fo r ci ng da nge f 45 , r o ,

Fo m l dry m a s h f r p ullet s 75
r u a, o ,

Fo r m l a f r f att en i ng 127
u , o ,

Fo r m l a ma s h f h i ck s 39
”

u , or c ,

Fo r m l s c r a t ch feed 45
u a, ,

Fo r m l a s c ratch feed fo r p l let s 7 6

u , u ,

F o n dat i ons of l ayi ng ho se 6 1

u u ,

G
G r am fo r m l a s fo r p llet s 7 6
, u u ,

G reen feed fo r p llet s 7 8 u ,

G reen feed sal t s a s s bst i t t e f , u u or , 112

r t f o r br oo der ho s 37
G i u e,

H
Hatch i ng ca re of chi ck s 26 , ,

Hatch i ng m t h d 14 f e o s,

Hatch i ng wh en 17 , ,

H ea d s ha pe a s g i de i c lli ng
, u n u , 102
H ea l th i m p o r tan e of 9
, c ,

H eat ers f wat e 120 or r ,

Hen hatch i ng di s a d anta ge 14

-
, v ,

H en ho se (see l ay i ng h se)
u ou .

Hens f e d i ng 6 9
, e ,
Hens how to choo se fo r breed i ng
, , 104
Hom e preser at i o n f eg g s 134 v o ,

Hop pe s f o r dr y ma sh 46
r ,

Ho se br o der 28
u , o ,

Ho s l y i g ( l ay i ng ho se)
u e, a n s ee u .

H s i ng f p a rent s t ck 4
ou o o ,

I
I n b ato r ch i ck s h ea lth f 15
cu , o ,

I nc b at r deta i ls 19
u o , ,

I nc b to r hatch i ng a d a nta ge
u a -
, v o f
Inc b ato r re co rds 12 1
u ,

I nc b ato r se tt i n g p 20
u , u ,

I nc b ato r t r y i ng t 21
u , ou ,

I n b ato r what to b y 19
cu , u ,

I nc b ato r wh en to sta r t 2 1
u , ,

I nc b ato r wh ere to pl ace 19

u , ,

I n pe t i o n of p a ren t stock 4
s c ,

'

'a n a r y sel ct i o n
u e , in c ll i n g u , 98
dgi ng co nd i t i on f p lle t s
\

'u o u , 71

K
Ki i ll ng , fo r dry p i cki n g , 129
Ki i ll ng , u se o f w e i ght ed cu p , 130

Lam p i i n c b t r 22
n u a o ,

Lay b o nes how to j dge i n c ll i ng

, u u , 10 1
Layi ng h ens feed i ng 6 9 , ,

Lay i ng ho se cha ng i ng l i tt er 109

u , ,

L ayi ng h se cleani ng 10 7 ou , ,
Mo i s t re i i n c b ato r 22
u n u ,

Mo i st i l ayi ng ho se 5 4
ure n u ,

N es ts i layi g ho 6 3 n n u se ,

No — ya rd s y s t em f p l le ts or u , 109
Nu rsery of i nc b ato r 26 u ,

O at s fo r li tt e 115 r ,

O at s spr o t ed f o r p ll et s 78
, u , u ,

Oi l fo r i nc b ato r 20 u ,

On e oom br ooder ho se be t
-
r u , s , 29
O pen fr o n t br ooder ho se 30
-
u ,

O pen fr o n t layi ng ho se 5 4
-
u ,

P a r cel p o st co n t i ner fo r eggs 136

-
a ,

P a r c el p o st l i mi tat i ons of i sel li ng eggs 136

, n ,

Pa rt i t i o ns i lay i ng ho e 68 n us ,

P el i c bo nes how to j dge i c lli ng 10 1

v , u n u ,

P en s i lay i ng ho se 6 0
n u ,

Pes t s t e tm en t fo r 111
, r a ,

Pho sp hat e f o r dr o pp i ng boa rds 114 ,

Picki ng dr y m e thod , sca ldi ng 128 v3 .

,

Pi g m en tat i o n h w t j dge i c ll i ng 99 , o o u n u ,

Po rta ble br oo der ho se 32 u ,

P t ch eese f
o p l let s 8 2 or u ,

Po l t ry di seases 137
u ,

Po l t r y li ce t reatm ent f o r 111

u , ,

P o x, ch i ck en 143 ,

Pr i c es sell i ng wh en ma rk e t i hi gh 125
, s ,

Pr o d ct i e abi li ty 6
u v ,

P r o fit a nd l o ss reco rds 122 ,

Pr o fit f cto rs i n fl en c i ng 6 125
s, a u , ,
 I ND E X '

Pr o fit i n bro i lers 4 8 ,

Pu llet feedi ng 5 1 ,

Pu lle ts c u l l i ng fo r breed i ng s tock 93

, ,

Pu lle ts fo r breedi ng 8 4 ,

Pu llets feed i ng 6 9
, ,

Pu ll e t s how t o c u l l 98
‘

, ,

Pu lle ts how to t ell wh en r ead y to lay 5 2

, ,

Pu lle ts i m porta n ce o f gi v i ng att ent i o n to 126

, ,

Pu ll ets l i ghts fo r 1 18
, ,

Pu llets ma i n ta i ni ng wei ght fo r breedi ng 8 9

, ,

Pu llets mat u r i ty o f fo r b r ee di n g stock 88

, ,

Pu lle ts sel ec t i o n o f f o r bree di ng stock 93

’

, ,

Pu l l e ts sp a ce fo r 10 6
, ,

Pu lle ts s u cc ess as b r eedi ng s tock 85

, ,

Pu llets t r a nsferri ng to l ayi ng ho u se 10 8

, ,

Pu ll e ts vs h ens as breed i ng stock 85

.
, ,

Pu llets v i go r of , fo r b reedi ng s tock 8 7

‘

, ,

Pu ll et s v i ta li ty o f for breed i ng stock 86

, , ,

P u lle ts yar ds n ot nec essa ry 109

,
— ,

Ra nge gro s ock 4

-
wn t ,

a nd ggs 120
Re c o r ds f f ee d e ,

e co d n c bato r and brooder

R r s i u , , 12 1
R eco d pro t and lo s 122
r s fi , s,

B o o st s i n b ooder ho e 49
r us ,

B oo sts f o r lay i g ho se 6 7
n u ,

o p
R u , 15 1
Ru n broo der ho se,4 1
, u

Ru ns not n ec a y fo r p l let s
, ess r u , 10 9

Sa lt sfo r i lay ng h ens , 112

a ng e gs
S vi g c b ti o n 17
f o r i n u a ,

c d ng dry p cki ng 128

S al i rs i .
,
 “
I ND E'
f

f
x -

Scaly leg 15 0 ,

Sc r atch feed 45 ,

Sc r atch gr a i n mo n t to feed p lle t s 72

, a u u ,

Sc r atch gr a i n h w to feed 46 , o ,

Sc r atch gr a i n s mm er feed i ng 77 , u ,

Sc r atch gr a i n w i n t er feedi ng 7 6 , ,

Select i ng eggs f o r i nc b at i o n 15 u ,

Select i ng eggs f o r ma r ket 132 ,

Select i o n of breed i ng s tock 8 4 ,

Se
‘
lect i o n of p a ren t s tock 3 ,

ell ng at h i gh p i c es 125
S i r ,

ell ng eggs pl a ns fo r 132

S i , ,

Sem s o li d b tt er m i lk 47
i -
u ,

Sem s o li d b tt er m i l k fo r p ll et s 8 0
i -
u , u ,

Sha de co rn 5 0
, ,

Sha de fo r ch i ck s 5 0 ,

Sha nk s how t j dge i c lli ng 102

, o u n u ,

Sh a pe o f b o dy o f i c ll i ng 100, u se n u ,

h pp i ng p l t r y 13 1
S i ou ,

Si ze of br oo der ho se 28 u ,

Si ze of l ay i ng ho se 6 0 u ,

Si ze o f pa ren t s tock 7 ,

Sp ac e o f w p llet s 106n e u ,

Sp a n , f i c l l i ng 10 1
u se o n u ,

Spec i a l i ed p o l t r y b s i ness 12
z u u ,

Spr ay s f o r br oo de ho se 49 r u ,

Spr ay s f o r l ay i ng ho se 10 7 u ,

Spr i ng select i o n i c ll i ng 97 , n u ,

Spr o t ed oat s f o r p l le t 7 8
u u s,

Stam p i ng eggs f ma rk et 133 or ,

Sta r t i ng a p o l t r y b s i ness 3 u u ,

Sta r i ng bef o re k i l l i ng 129

v ,

St er i le eggs f o r ma r k e t 133 ,

Stock f o r breed i ng select i o n o f 84 , ,

Sto r a ge e ff e ct o n eggs f hatch i ng 16

“

, or ,

St o e br oo der 3 4
v , ,

S lp h r how to a d m i n i s t er 114
u u , ,

S mm er feed i ng 44
u ,
 IN D E X x i
Su m mer feed i ng eas on fo r dec reased amo nt 77
, r u ,

Summ er feed i ng c r atch gr a i n 7 3 , s ,

mm er selecti o n i c ll i ng 98
Sl i , n u ,

n ght m po rt n ce b f i l ay i ng ho se 5 6
S u li i , a n u ,

w tch el ct r i c li ght h w to co nst r t 117

S i fo r e s, o uc ,

T emper at re i i nc b ato r 23
u n u ,

Te mper at re of b oo der 38
u r ,

Ti m e fo r hatch i ng 17 ,

n ng eggs i i nc b ato r 24
T ur i n u ,

T wo r oom br o der h o se di s ad an ta ges

-
o u , v , 29
T ype b s i ness 11
of u ,

V
V en t lati on l ayi ng ho e 54
i , us ,

V ent l ati o n of i nc b ato r 25

i u ,

o of pa e t sto k 4
Vi g r r n c ,

W
W all co ns tru ct i o n o f l ay i ng ho use 5 7 ,

W a rm cl i mat e ch o i ce o f p a re nt stock 8
, ,

W a sh i ng p o u l t r y f o r ma r k e t 13 1 ,

W at er co n ta i ners fo r l a y i ng ho u se 66 ,

W at er gl a ss f o r preser v i ng eggs 34
, ,

W at er h eat ers f o r l ay i ng ho u se 6 6 ,

Wat er how to p e en t free i ng

, r v z ,
—120

W at er how to s ppl y 5 0
, u ,

W e ak ess leg 145

n , ,

W ei ght m ai t m m g m breed i g s toc k

, n a , n ,

Wei ght ed p f o r ki ll i ng 130

cu , ,

W ei g ht f p l l t h w to j dge 7 2
o u e s,
’

o u ,

W t floo r da nger o f i l ayi ng ho se 5 4

e , n u ,

Wh i t e di a r h ea ca se f 137
r , u o ,

W h i t e d i a rr h ea da nger o f 9 , ,

W hi t e di a r h ea eli mi at i o n o f 140
r , n ,
W h i t e d i a rr h ea ,sym p tom s o f 138 ,

W hi t e di a rr h ea t e s t i ng fo r 140
, ,

W ind ow s i n l ayi ng hou se 5 7 ,

W i nd ow s o f br ooder h ou se 30 ,

W i nt er feed i ng rea s o n f o r m c r ea sed

,

W i nt er feedi n g sc ratch gr a i n 7 3
, ,

Y a ds
r , n o t n ec essa r y for p a ll e t s, 109
 FEE D I NG PULLET S 73

necessary to produce these resul ts will vary ,

n o t onl y with the climate but also wit h the ,

type o f hens kept .

Th e following table will give th e reader

a general idea o f approximately the amounts
required for Legh orns in the general latitude
o f the southern part o f N ew Y ork or northern

part o f N ew Jersey and in areas westward ,

with the same climatic conditions :

Se p te m ber . . 10
Octo ber . . 11
N o ve m ber . . 12
D ec em ber . 12
'a n u a r y . . 13
Fe bru a r y . . 13
. 13
12
. 11
10
9
Au g u st 6

The following table will apply to Rhode

Island Reds Roc ks o r Wy andottes under the
, ,

same climatic conditions

6
74 P OULTRY
Se p te m be r . . 10 p o u n d s d a i l y p e r 10 0 h e n s
Oc t o be r . 11
N o ve m b e r . 13
D e c e m be r 14
'a n u a r y . 15
Fe b r u a r y . 14
M a r ch 14
Ap r i l 13
12
10
10
Aug ust 9

Fo r th e c ondition s whic h prevail 111 cen tral

o r north e rn N ew England and in area s west

ward wi th th e sam e climatic conditio n s th e

following figu res will apply fo r Red s Rocks , ,

and Wy andot t es
Sep tem ber : 12 p o u n d s d a i ly p e r 10 0 hen s
.

Oc t o be r . 14 .

N o ve m be r 16 .

D ec e m ber 17
'a nua ry . 20 .

Febr u a ry 20
. .

M a r ch . 18
Ap r i l 16
15
12

Aug ust
76 P OULTRY
In th is formula th e amou n t o f me at
scraps should be reduced to fifty pounds if
milk is fed See paragraphs o n feeding milk
. .

S c r a t c h f e e d Fo r m u l a
- .Th e sc ratc h
feed form ula whic h i s recommended i s c o m
po sed o f equal p a rts by weigh t o f cr acke d
corn wh ole oats and whole wh eat
, , .

I n c r e a se d A m o u n t s i n W i n t e r.It will
b e noted fro m th e above tables th a t co n
si d e r a bl y m ore sc ratc h feed i s g i v en t o t h e

b i rd s in winter Th e re ason for th is i s re a dily

.

understood since th e scratch feed furni shes

,

th e body m ainten a nce o f f at and fuel .

Nat ur ally more fat and fuel are used in cold

,

we ath er th an are used in warmer weath er .

Furth er if a s winter c omes o n th e birds

, , ,

d o n o t get a n increa sed quantity of scra tch

feed they will use up all th e body re serve o f
,

fat by l aying t o o m any eggs in proportion to

th eir c ap ac ity and th eir mainten ance ra tion .

P re sently th ey will bec o m e th in will sh ed

,

th eir fe ath ers and will stop l aying This

, .

period o f nonproduc tion will last fro m th ree

weeks t o th ree m onth s W h ere as if th e
.
,

body weight o f th e bird s i s m ain t ained during

c old w e a th er b y feedin g a n i n c re ased qu an
 FEE D I NG PULLET S 77

tity o f scratch feed the birds will shed but

,

few feathers during th e first winter and wi ll ,

continue to lay all winter long .

De c r e a se d A m o u n t s i n S u m m e r It is .

every poultryman s ambition to produce as

’

many eggs in summer as possible and in ,

order to do thi s h e must get the birds to eat

as much mash as they will duri ng the warmer
months To accomplish thi s the scratch
.

feed ration sh ould be reduced thu s causing ,

the birds to eat more mash .

If this plan i s followed the birds are much

less likely to become o verfat and lazy .

B ecause they have consumed more mash

they will lay more eggs Th e egg produc
.

tion will not drop to a low point in the

summer a s is frequently the case when too
much scratch grain i s gi v en during the
warmer months .

Ho w t o Fe e d S c r a t c h . Th e scratch feed
should be given in a deep litter to induce as
much exercise as possible because it is ,

thorou ghly proved that birds that are kept

active both summer and winter show better
, ,

ap petites eat more food o f all kinds and

, ,

therefore have a greater power to produce

78 P O ULTRY
eggs b ecau se th ey are i n b e tt er and m ore
vigor ous condition .

O ne fourt h o f t h e day s supply sh ould be

’
-

fed in th e morning o n e fourth at n o o n and

,
-
,

on e h alf at night I n e xce ssi v ely c old

.

weath er for in st anc e i f th ere are t wo o r th ree

, ,

days wh en th e th ermo m e ter goes t o c o n

si d e r a bl y belo w zero two o r three pounds
,

extra o f th e scr atc h feed per o n e h undred

h en s sh o uld b e gi v en e ac h o f th ese d ays .

Thi s may be gi ven in ex tr a feed s so a s t o ,

induc e as m uch ex ercise a s po ssible .

G r e e n Fe e d . It i s c onsidered b y m an y
poultry m en th a t green feed in som e form i s
essen ti al Th e green feeds which are m o st
.

g enerally used are sprouted o ats c abb age , ,

and m angels O f th e th ree sprou t ed o ats

. ,

are be st .

S p r o u t e d Oa t s If o ats a re sprou ted

.

for green feed th e grain used for th e purpose

sh ould b e t hat wh ic h h a s no t b ee n t re at e d

with sulp h ur or by any oth er sim il ar proc ess .

T h e sprouts sh ould be allo wed t o grow n o t

o v er t wo o r three inch e s a nd sh ould be fed
in th e litter so that th e birds will h ave t o
searc h t o ge t th e m .
so P OULTRY
a r ation wh ic h includes milk will keep i n
better physic al condition Th ere will b e .

fewer death s fro m such a p e n th an fro m a

pen fed no m i lk If such birds go through a
.

mol t o r p artial molt th ey will feather much

more re a dily a nd quickly Th e eggs from .

milk fed hens will h atch be tt er and will pro

-

duce better chi cks In th e judgment of the

.

auth or if any strain of h ens is fed for fi v e

,

consec uti v e generations both as chicks and

,

h ens on a diet containing milk th ere will be

, ,

an extraordin ary g ain in the general condi

tion I n f act th e author believes that no
.
,

man i n th e poultry business t o day s h ould -

try to gro w chickens o r keep laying h en s

with ou t th e u se o f milk in some form .

S u b st i t u t e s f o r Li q u i d M i l k Sinc e .

m a ny poultry m en li v e so m e di st ance fro m a

cre a mery o r e v en fro m a r ailro a d station it ,

often is di ffic ul t t o obt ain liquid m ilk H ow .

e v er th ere a re o n th e m arket to d ay sev eral

,
-

substitutes whic h c an ec onomic ally be u sed .

Semi solid butterm ilk i s a product whic h i s

-

comparati v ely low in price will keep well ,

under any conditions and will be relished by

,

th e h ens If no liquid m ilk is a v ailable this

.
,
 FEE D I NG PULL ET S 81

product as far as the author s experience has

,
’

proved i s a satisf actory sub stitute

, .

The best wa y to feed it is just as it c omes

from the barrel If sev eral n arrow wood
.

strips three or four inch es wide are nailed

, ,

between the studs along the walls in the

poultry hous e about a foot from the floor
, ,

the semi solid butterm i lk can be spread

-

thinly upon these strips This gives al l th e.

hens an opportunity to get their share At .

the same time it is kept up away from the

, ,

floor so that no dirt o r l itter can be scratched

,

into it and the fowls themselves cannot get

,

up onto th e strips to foul them .

A m o u n t t o Fe e d The qu antity to be
.

fed to pullets is as fol lows : Two and one half -

pounds per hundred hens per day during , ,

September O ctober and N ovember ' three

, ,

pounds during D ecember and January ' four

o r fiv e pound s per hundred hens per day , ,

d uring the remainder o f the year .

If semi solid butterm i lk in these quantities

-

is furnished to the laying hens the quantity ,

o f beef scraps in the mash ration shou l d be

change d from o n e hundred pounds t o fifty

pounds If liquid m i lk is given instead o f the
.
82 P O ULTRY
s e m i solid bu tt ermi lk a n d th e birds have
-

access to all th ey wish th e same c hange in ,

beef scr ap s sh ould be m a de .

Dr i e d B u t t e r m i l k D ried buttermilk c a n
.

be purchased almost anywhere and is being

used to a g r e a t e x t e n t as a milk substitute
’

From t h e author s experience th e birds do not

’

eat it as readily a s semi solid buttermilk and -

,

th erefore th e l at ter is preferred if it i s th e

, ,

intention to ge t a s m uc h m ilk into th e birds

a s po ssible .

P o t C h e e se A ne w produc t o n th e m a r
.

ket known a s po t ch e e se is also being us ed to

a consider able ex tent Just h o w long th e .

produc t wi ll keep in summer i s n o t known

t o th e au th or but i t see m s prob able that i t
,

will keep a s long a s th e poultrym an would

normally hav e i t o n hand bec a use n a tur ally ,

h e is going to buy onl y in such qu anti ties as

wil l be used up i n a c omp ar a tively sh ort time .

C a r e i n U s i n g S u b st i t u t e s In th e c a se.

of any m i lk sub stitu te s we m ust u se di sere

tion Th e m ash sh ould n o t be o v erlo a ded
.

with po w dered milk for instance bec ause

, ,

the birds will n o t ea t th e m ash if it i s In th e .

case o f sem i solid butterm ilk unless th e

-
,
 I N D E X T O C HAPTE R VII
Chi cks Co s t f I nfl en c e f o P llets f B d u o u or r ee mg
S tock 8 8 P lle ts M a ta W h
. , .

d mg
'

r ee
t
ockeerrels
el s H w to ' dge 9 1 P lle ts M a i
u
CC ock of
. o u
i
.
f u
,

l
e 1g

90 P llet s S l t
, , .

V l g or
C ockerels C ocks ,

vs 89
P lle ts S cc ess as
f u
u
’ e ec l o n

u
o

P lle ts V igor f u o
P lle t s
,

Fe a le Sele tion f
m s
P lle t
Vi t
H
h t
ens
f u , a y o
Fi na l S ele cti o n
c o
u s ”3
94
M a le C o s t f H o ld ng O e r 90 S tock f B
s, d S ele cti o n or r ee mg
M a les S ele cti o n o f
o i v ,

93 W e i g ht M a i n ta i ni ng
,

P ll
a C lh
et s , u n g . .

CHAP TER VI I . SELEC TI ON O F

B REED IN G ST O C K

Br ee d i l l e t s From all avail

n g f r o m P u .

able egg records from egg laying contests ,

-
,

and from the rec ord s kept by the commercial

poultrymen it is considered th at the h en in ,

her first o r pullet laying year will l ay more

, ,

eggs than in any succeeding ye ar .

If a man were in th e po u l try busi ness for

eggs alone he would naturally keep pullets
and nothi ng else B ut if a man is going into .

the chicken business seriously and expects ,

to stay in it h e must plan to replace his ,

stock Th erefore he is obliged t o use some

.
,
 B REE D I NG S TO C K 85

of his stoc k f o r breeding purposes The .

question then arises whether he should use

pul l ets a s breeding stoc k .

Until recently it h as been the consensus of

opinion th at a man should not use pullets
as breeding stock under any consideration .

This belief probably was due to the fact that

formerly men hatched their chickens con
si d e r a b l y later in the season than n o w
(formerl y
, sa y, in the latter part o f April ,

M a y o r in June) Such pullets probably did

, .

n o t reach maturit y until the latter part of

N ovember or early in D ecember Under .

these conditions the birds woul d be alto

gether too immature to use th e same season
as breeding stoc k .

P u l l e t s S a t i sf a c t o r y
. To day the mod
-

ern commercial poultryman hatches chicks in

February and M arch and has his pullets lay
ing in July and August Thus conditions .
,

have changed Under these modern circum

.

stances the ju d gment o i the author is

that pullets may be and should be used as
breeders .

This conclusion has been reached after

se veral years of successful use o f pullets as
86 P O ULTRY
b reeding st ock Fu rth er 90 per cent o f th e
.
,

suc c essful poultrymen in t h at section o f the

c oun t ry w h ere t h e au t h or resides u se noth ing

bu t pullets as breeders They not only use .

no o l d h ens at all but th ey h ave c arried on

,

th is sy stem of breeding fo r from five to

twel ve years and are as u n iform l y successful
t o day a s t h ey hav e been a t any time in th e
-

past .

V i t a l i t y Ma i n t a i n e d Th ere h as been
.

n o apparent depreciation in t h e size , th e

v igor th e vitality or th e stamina of th e
, ,

presen t d ay stock Wh en a poultry m an c a n

-
.

keep t wel ve h undred laying pullets and u se

‘
th e best fi v e hundred o f these as breeding
stock can produce eggs whic h will average
,

to h atch 6 5 p e r cent o f th e total nu m ber o f

egg s incubated and wh en th e mortality o f
,

the resulting chicken s fo r season after se ason

o f breeding will av erage n o t o v e r 12 to 15

per cent and frequently a s low a s from 3 to

5 per cent it is apparent th a t th ere h as been
,

n o appreci able lowering of the vit a lity o f t h e

stoc k
Furth er th e se c hicken s are being man a ged
,

so that at four m o n th s th e c oc ke rel s o f su ch

88 P OULTRY
pullets are th ree weeks old until they are
dead A flock o f o n e h undred o f these pul
.

lets will produc e more eggs per day during

th e time o f s aving th e eggs for h atchi n g
from the l st o f F ebru ary until the l ot h o r
15 t h o f April t h an th e a v erage floc k o f o n e
,

hundred h en s in th eir sec ond laying ye ar .

Th ese egg s h ave been proved t o be fully as

fertile as and in many cases more fertile than
, ,

th e eggs produced b y th e o l d h ens .

Lo w e r C o st o f C h i c k s
. Under th ese con
di t i o n s i t is obvious th at th e pullets will
p roduce c h ick e ns more c h eaply tha n t h e
h en s will From th e author s experience
.
’

and from th e figure s secured o n th e hatch

ability o f th e eggs and vitality o f th e c hicks ,

it is certain th at the stock raised from mature

pullets will be at least as good as th e av erage
c hi ckens from o l d h ens .

Ma t u r i t y o f P u l l e t s . Wh ere pullets
h ave laid for five o r six m onth s previous to
th e time th eir eggs are saved th ere s h ould be
,

no question a s to the m at urity of th e stock .

U nder th e o l d poultrym an s c onditions o r the

’

present farm con di tions th ere are we should ,

judge but few h ens whi ch lay as many eggs

,
 B REED I N G STOCK 89

in th e first t wo y ears of th eir life as th ese

pul l ets lay in the first five or six months of
production .

Ne c e ss i t y o f Ma i n t a i n i n g W e i g h t Th e .

o n e important circumstance that will cau se

the eggs from pullets to hatch poorly is the

fo ll owing : If the pullet has laid very heavily
d uring the five o r six months has been fed ,

insufficient scratch feed for her to maintain

her normal weight and has begun to lose
,

weight then she has begun to g o to pieces

,

phy sically and cannot put the ingre di ents

into th e eggs whi ch are necessary to produc e
strong livable chicks
, .

Su m m ary . The present day poultryman

-

should use pullets as breeders feed them

,

heavily d u ring November D ecember Janu

, ,

ar y, and February on scratch feed possibly ,

slowing up their production a trifle but e n ,

d e a v o r i n g to maintain the health and vitality

o f the stoc k the best measure of which i s th e
,

weight o f the birds .

M a l e B i r d s In breeding t o these pullets

.

the poultry man should use cockerels hatched

at the same time as the pullets The reason s .

are practically the same as those which make

90 P O ULTRY
it a dvisable t o use pullets rather than old
h ens as female breeders .

S a v i n g i n Mo n e y
. Th e question o f cost
enters into th e case with male s as well as
females If we use t wo year o l d cocks for
.
- -

breeding we must keep over into t h e second

year o n e male bird fo r every ten o r twelve
female s because some o f the males are al m o st
,

certain to die a n d because some o f them are

li kely to be injured by fighting At present .

prices o f feed it costs approximately two

dollars to feed a male bird o n e year Th is .

two dollars must be ch arged again st the ten

o r twel v e h ens t o which he m a y be mated .

In other words it has cost us at le a st sixteen

,

cents and possibly twenty cent s per h en t o

carry o ver the male bird from the time th at
h e m ight h ave been used as a cockerel breeder
to th e time when he is used a s a cock b reeder ,

o r into h is second ye a r o f age . Thi s i s equi v

a l e n t to subtracti ng sixteen t o twenty c ent s

from th e profits th at we can m ake fro m a

h en With a th ou sand h ens t hi s ru n s in t o
.

m oney .

Ad va n t a g e o f C o c ke r e l s .A stron g ,

vigorous m ale bird whi c h i s ten t o eleven

92 P OULTRY
easier t o pick ou t a good male th an wh en
the y reach adult size because the difference
,

between a rapi d l y gro wing male which now

weighs two and o n e quarter pounds and a
-

slower growing male whic h weighs only one

and three quarters to two pound s is easil y
-

noticed We h ave a better measure of the

.

maturity o f th e birds at this time because if ,

the comb and wattles o f any particular male

bird h av e developed muc h more than the
average o f his brothers it shows that he ,

possesses the factor of early maturity It is .

known further that the factor o f earl y

, ,

maturity is trans m i tted from th e male bird

to his offspring In s h ort if we pick out
.
,

from o u r male birds as breeders th e earliest

maturing the quickest growing the strongest
, ,

and most vigorous we will have th e best

,

bree di ng stock it is possible fo r us to select .

S e l e c t Do u b l e t h e N u m b e r Ne e d e d At .

th e time o f selection twice a s many male

,

bird s as will be required for breeding should

be c h osen This gives th e poultry man an
.

opportu n ity to eliminate later a ny birds

that do not keep up with their broth ers .

Ev en a m ong th e so c alled be st birds th ere

-
 BREE D I NG S TO C K 93

wi ll be some whi ch will n o t do well B ut if .

twice as many as will be necessary h ave been

selected th e poul tryman will h ave an o p p o r
,

t u n i t y to cull the bi r ds during the remainder

o f th e summer . This h as proved to be a
practical method in th e selection o f male
bird s and shou l d show a gradual improv e
ment o f the egg production of th e female
offspring of such selected males especially ,

after t wo o r three years o f thi s pr actice .

T i m e t o M a k e Fi r s t S e l e c t i o n o f Fe
m a les . Th e best opportunity fo r m aking
the first selection of female bree di ng stock is
at housing time because at thi s time the
,

poultryman h as an opportun i ty to pick out

the e arliest maturing females If the ear .

liest maturing females are selected he will

have in hi s preliminary floc k those birds
whi ch will develop into the best lay ers The .

po u l tr yman shoul d g o into each brood r e ,

g a r dl e ss of the difference in age pic, k o u t the

best 25 per cent and put these into the per
,

manent laying house t o be used as st o c k

from which t o sel ect breeders .

'u d g i n g P u l l e t s The span o f p u llets

.

which are about t o lay will n o t be as great

94 P O UL TRY
as the span o f those pullets whic h hav e laid
f o r some time but the di fference in span
,

between a good producing pullet and a poor

producing pullet will be as marked o r nearly
as marked previous t o the time o f h er laying
“
as at any future time B y span is meant
.

the distance between the back end o f th e

breastbone and the pelvic o r lay bones .

Se e illustration s h owing method of spanning .

In selecting pullets fo r the breeding pen no

pullet should be considered whic h will not
span at le ast the width o f two o r th ree
fingers .

Cu lli n g
. From time to time th ese pullet s
s h ould be culled just the same a s the poul
,

t r y m a n will cull the rest o f h is stock during

the winter Th e characteristic s wh ic h h e
.

will have in mind will be giv en in th e c hapter

o n C ulling .

Fi n a l S e l e c t i o n After pullets h av e laid

.

from e arly July o r Augu st until th e m iddle

or latter part o f January th e poultrym a n
will h ave a n opportunity in Jan u ary t o go
into h i s flock o f birds whic h h e ha s se t aside
a s breeders and make a final elimin a tion of
th e poorer lay ers The birds whic h h e h a s
.
 I N DE X T O C H AP TE R V III
Bod y Shap e f a s G i de 100 Lo B o nes H ow t ' d ge 10 1
B reedi ng H ens P llets 10 4 P el i c B o nes H o w t ' dge 10 1
, , u . ay , o u
vs u
B ro di ness U se a s Gm d
,

10 3 P i g m en tati o n H ow t ' dge 99

v o u
.
,

o e
H ow to do ,

9 9 P lle t s H ow to C ll
o u
.

,
C lh
u n g
C lling Imp orta nc e of
u
,

96
S ha n ks H o w t ' dge
u , u

Re a s ons f or
,
o u
C lh
ha pe o f B dy U se
,
u n g
H ead Sha pe a s G de
,

10 2 S
Sp a n U se o f
ul
f o , o

H ens H ow to Choose f or
,

S ele ctio n
, .

B d
r ee 10 4 S p rm g
9 8 S mm e r S ele ctio n
l n g
'a n ary S l
u e e c t 1o n u

CHA P TER VIII . C ULLI N G

l l i n g Th e a verage pro
Re a so n s f o r C u .

duction of a flock o f fairl y good pullets is

o n e h undred a nd twenty eggs per hen per ,

year In any such flock we may safel y

.

assume that 25 per cent o f these bird s wi ll

lay approximately o n e hundred and eighty
eggs or 5 0 per c ent more th an th e av erage '
,

that 5 0 per cent of th e birds will lay around

the av erage o r from o n e h undred and ten to ,

o n e hundred a nd t h irty ' a nd 25 per c ent will

la y sixty eggs o r 5 0 per cent le ss th an th e ,

average With such conditions pre v ailing it

.

is plain to see that culling in order to cli m i

nate poor producers is absolutely necessary .
T HE AT LE F T I S LA Y IN G WE LL T H E HE N A T RI GH T
. HA S
M O LT E D A N D HA S S T OPPE D LA Y IN G

E S TIN G S P
AN BE T WE EN REA R T E STIN G S PREA D B E TWE EN P E
N D OF K EE L AN D PE LV IC B ONE S
. V I C B ONE S
. A L AY I N G H EN WIL
98 P OULT RY
C ulling h ould c bn t i n u e all sum m er and
s ,

those chi cks should be removed wh ic h are

slow to feat h er o r which do not keep up with

the av erage o f th e flock in growth and

dev elopment .

From th e remaining p ullet s left at h ousing

time th e good ope rator should house a p
,

proximately 90 to 95 per cent The remain .

ing 5 o r 10 per cent even in a good flock

, ,

should be sold as culls .

C u l l i n g i n 'a n u a r y If the average

.

commercial poultryman running a o n e man ,

-

plant h as o n e thousand o r twelv e hundred

,

pullets which g o into quarters b y the middle

o f September he should do some culling in
,

January because if there are pullets which

, ,

have n o t begun to lay by January they should ,

be culled out .

As a general thing th e price o f live poultry

is considerabl y higher in January than in
June July or August Assuming th at the
, , .

difference in price is fi v e cents per pound ,

and the birds average five pounds apiece ,

there is a loss in value o f twenty fiv e cents -

per bird in th e case o f an y birds kept o v er

until summer If a pu l let has not laid any
.
 C ULLI NG 99

eggs at a ll up to January and if the flock h as

,

been properl y han d l e d so that egg produc

tion is at a good level then it is certain that
,

thi s pullet is inherentl y a poor lay er ' and

if she is a poor layer she would naturally be
culled in June o r Jul y If she is a poor lay er
‘
.

it i s a p p a r e n t that she will n o t pay her own

board plus t h e twenty fiv e cents loss in
,
-

value as live pou l try Therefore it is best

.
,

that she be disposed o f in January .

Fu r t h e r C u l l i n g B irds whi ch have

started to go to pieces between January and
June shoul d be di sposed o f B irds which .

become o u t of con di tion or for an y reason

cease to lay should be cul led B eginning in .

June s y stematic culling should be carried on

,

throughout the whole floc k to di spose of all ,

that have stopped laying .

Ho w t o C ul l . In all culling th e first

emphasis sho u l d be p l aced upon the general
hea l th o r con d ition o f the bird B ut there .

are several other important gui des t o follow .

Pi g m e n t a t i o n
. A valuable fact t o c o n
si d er is the pigmentation o f the s kin In .

such birds as Reds Roc ks Le ghorns and

, , ,

Wy an d ottes there is present in var i o u s p ar ts

100 P O ULTRY
o th e body at th e time of mat uri ty a c e r
f
tain amount o f y ellow colorin g matter This .

coloring matter i s a thin la y er o f fat which is

used up b y the h en l n the manufacture of
the egg The more rapidl y eggs are produced
.

and the greater the number the more will,

this coloring matter disappear It d i sa p .

pears first a t th e v ent after a week o r ten

,

days production N ext after the pullets

’
.
,
.

h ave laid four or five weeks it disappears ,

on th e beak beginning at the end and gradu

,

ally extending toward the point of the beak .

After fi ve o r si x month s of production the

coloring matter leaves th e legs first o n th e ,

front and then o n th e b ack of the legs .

It follows from this that any pullet which

in June July o r August still h as golden c o l
, ,
-

ored legs h a s been a poor producer We .

know that if sh e h as been a poor producer

she W l l l continue to be the same Sh e s h ould
.

be culled o ut and sold .

S h a p e o f Bo d y Another factor to be
.

considered is the body conformation This .

can be judged as follows :

If we put o u r thumb and finger behi nd the
wings and move them toward the hips the
1O2 P O ULT RY
number of eggs that a hen h as l aid bec ause ,

it has been found that the width between th e

pelvic bones may v ary from d ay to day .

S h a p e o f S h a n ks Anoth er f actor to be
.

considered in culling is the shape of the

shan ks It has been proved that a bird with
.

a round shank is apt t o be a poor lay er ' or ,

in other words she is a meat hen B ut if

, .

a hen has flat o r wedge shaped shanks this -

indicates that she will be a good producer .

Therefore in the culling the birds having

, ,

round shanks shoul d be sold

T h e Head The beak o f a good p r o -

d u c i n g hen will be short and stubb y and ,

will be faded whi le the beak o f a poor pro

,
-

d u c i n g hen may be yellow o r may very ,

likely be long and somewhat hoo king The

, .

eye o f a good producer wi ll be bright and

not too pro m inent If we h old th e h e a d in
.

s uc h a wa y th a t we look squ a re a t it the ,

eyes will n o t appear t o be cross e d If a h en .

appears to be cros s eyed it will in di cate that

-

the bird has been a ra th er poor lay er The .

width o f th e head shows constitution ' that

is the hen with a wide he a d is a strong vigor
, ,

o u s t h r ifty h en whi l e t h e h en wh i ch h a s a
, ,
AT LEFT FU LL A B D OMEN IND ICA TE S LA Y ING C OND ITI ON A T R I GHT
, .
,

C ON T RA CT E D HA R D A B D OMZEN I ND ICA T E S T H AT T HE H EN I s N O T LAY I NG

,

AT LEFT , WI DE SPREA D BE T WE EN K EE L AN D PE LV IC B ONE S AN ] :

10 4 P OU LTRY
“

of p o or lay ers It has been proved that those

.

hens which are frequentl y broody are poor

producers If after a month or six week s it
.
, ,

is found th at certain h ens h ave three o r four

leg ba nd s s h owing tha t th ey h ave been
broody three o r four times in that period o r ,

even if a bird has been broo dy as frequently

as four o r five times in eight o r ten weeks it ,

proves that sh e is a poor layer and sh e

should be c ul led and sold .

If a man picks up his broody h ens e v ery

night places them in a broody coop and
, ,

once eac h week goes over these broody hens ,

handles them ove r and throws o u t those

’

birds wh ich sh ow from previous indications

that they h ave been poo r lay ers he will ’

gradually elim i nate all th e poor producers

from his floc k .

B r e e d i n g f r o m Fl o c k C u l l e d i n T h i s
W ay . If such a culling campaign h as been
carried o n thoroughly at the end o f th e first
,

lay ing year th e birds that rem ain possibly ,

two hundred o u t o f th e original th ousand ,

wi l l naturall y be th e best two h undred h ens .

If the po ul tryman desires to use hens in their

s ec ond laying year as breedi n g stock t h e se
 C ULLIN G 10 5

hens sh ould make good breeders In the .

first place they have shown that they are

,

goo d lay ers ' otherwise they would n o t be

,

l eft at the end o f the culling season Further

.
,

if they h ave stood up as far as health and

,

vitality are concerned they will make good

,

breeders because a hen that can stand up

,

under heavy pro d uction under o u r modern

,

sy stem o f forced fee di ng has in her make u p

,
-

the faculties that she will need as a good

breeder Thi s may appear to contra di ct the
.

statement previously made regarding the

use o f p u l lets as bree di ng stock but it is
,

merely written to in d icate t o the man wh o

d oes wish to use o l d h ens as breeding stock
what type o f h en s h e should u se .

8
 I N D E X TO C HAP TE R IX
A d Pho sp hat e f
c1 Droppi ng Li tter Imp orta n c e f Cha ng
or
13 oar
, o

A r tl fi i l L i g ht f or P l le ts
c a 1 18 M e r e e O t t H o w to
u m m
l L h t H o w to U se 1 16
. . . un en ,

A r t1 fi 1g
B rooder Re cords
c1a
T r eatm ent f or
, .

M 112 1t es ,
H ow to C ontrol 122 N o yard Syst em for P llets 109
.

B roo d m es s ,
C arbol ic A d Use a s Spray 107 Oats f or Litter u
-
.
.

cI

es s e en f
,

P T r or
.

D 1sm f t
H o se
t f
ec an L s t atm
o r t a y l n g
Pho sp hat e D r o p p i ng
,
u
D ro pp i ng B oard s Car e o f
f
ds
or

D ro pp ngs H o w t S tor
1 14 B oar , .

i , 1 15
Po l try L i c e Tr eatm en t f or 11 1
o e . .
u

Pro fit a n d L o ss Re cor ds
U
, .

r op In se
Egg Re cord s p g s,

P lle t L g ht s f or
.

E le ctri c L i ghts E i p m en t
i
.

u s,
P lle t s p ac e f or
.

qu
N e c ess ary
,
S u

E ps om S a l ts f or L a yi n g H e P lle ts T ra nsfe rr ng to L ay
, .
.

ns1 12
.

i u

Feed Re cords i H o se n g
,

Green F eed Sal t a s S b st P lle t.

s Y ards N ot N e cess ary 10 9 u

Re cords Feed a n d E ggs s 1

t t e f or , u ,

12 0
Re cords I n c b a t o r a n d
u
H eate rs f or Water
, .

u
I n c bator Re cords Broo der ,

Re cords Profit a n d L oss

u
L ayi ng H o se Cha n gi ng
. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

R ns N ot N e c ess ary for P l

u , , .

L tt
uet s
1 er u
Layi ng H o se Clea ning
,

10 7
10 7 Sal ts for L ay i ng H ens
u
a yi ng H o se D f t
,

1sm e ct a n
S p ac e f or N e w P lle ts
u s
m H o se Sp rayi ng
, .

106 u
S p ray s f or L a yi ng H o se
ay g
L ayi ng H o se Tr nsfe rri ng
u ,

10 7 u
S lp h r H ow to A d
u a
P lle ts to i e i 114
.
,

m 1n st
S w tch f or El t
u u
'

u
Li c e T r e tm ent f or
. ,

L ht i ec n c 1g
H ow to Co nstr ct
a s,
,

at E eni ng
.

L h ti
1g u
Wat er H w t Pr e ent
ng v
at M
.

Li h t mg o o
Fr ee i ng
g or n l n g v
Li ghts E le ctr E
,

t q u l p m en z
Y ar ds N t N e c ess ary f
1o ,

N e c ess ary
.
,

o or
h t f or P l le ts
. ,

g s u ll t u e s

‘
CHAP TER IX . MANA GEMENT
Pr e p a r i l l e t s A ssum ing n g f o r Ne w P u .

that a man s commercial pl ant h a s a capac ’

ity of o n e thousand h en s and that h e is

replacing each year th e entire stock with new
10 8 P O ULT RY
and if pos sible should be allowed to dry in
, ,

the sun .

T e a c h i n g P u l l e t s t o Se e k Gr a i n After .

the h ouse and all o f its equipment hav e b e

come dry the litter fo r the new pullets may
be placed in th e house Fo r this a thin layer
.

o f shavings is recommended perh aps a bale ,

o r a bale and a half t o eac h pen twent y t wo -

feet square If this litter is put in thinly the

.

new pullets wh ich have n o t been accu stomed

,

t o scratching while o n the range will se e the ,

scratch feed among the litter and will readily

learn t o scratch Th e change from th e out
.

door system o f feeding to the indoor s y stem

will be made graduall y If a deep litter is .

used the pullets n o t being accustomed to

,

scr atchi ng will n o t know enough to fin d th e

,

grain In this case a t the end o f a week o r

.
,

ten days consider able grain will be a cc u m u

lated in t h e litter a nd unless care is taken
, ,

the pullets m a y lose th eir appetite for scratch

grain If thi s h appens th ey will also lose
.

their appetite for mas h and the first thi ng ,

the poultryman knows his production will

start downw ard and th e birds will begin to
lo se weight .
 M A NA GEMENT 10 9

Ch a n g i g L i t t
n e After the birds have
r .

been housed t wo or three week s additional

litter such as shavings with a lay er of straw
,

or cheap coarse hay should be used Thi s

, , .

deep litter should be m aintained throughout

the winter Whenever the litter becomes
.

somewhat dirty from droppings o r if it be ,

comes damp it should be cleaned out This

, .
,

under average con d itions should be every ,

five o r six weeks At this cleaning time all

.

o f the li tter should be removed the house ,

swept o u t and n e w shavings and straw put

,

in Thi s may be done at any time during

.

the day if care i s taken not to disturb or

,

frighten the hens .

No Y a r d s Ne c e s s a r y In th e sys t em of .

management which is followed b y the author

no y ards fo r the laying hens are used While .

this is contrary to general practice it h a s ,

worked out nicely

The feedi ng o f the h ens or pullets unde
this s y stem is more nearly under th e control
of th e feeder Fo r example if in the early
.
:
,

spring the birds have access to a y ard in

whi ch there is plenty o f green feed growing
and if there comes a spell o f co l d raw rainy , ,
110 P O ULTRY
weath er whi c h may las t sev eral days th e
, ,

birds will go outdoors very little and will be

getting an entirely diff erent kind o f feed .

Under suc h conditions it I s difficult t o de

termine th e amount and kind o f feed to
gi v e B ut if t h e bird s are kept confined
.

the feed i s entirely under th e control of th e

poultryman .

It is often stated th at th e birds whic h are

t o produce h atching eggs should be allowed
range B ut if pull ets are to be used a s
.

breeders and th e poultryman intends t o h ave

all h is c hick s h atch ed o u t by th e first or
second week in April it will be nece ssa ry
,

t h at th e las t eggs shall be in the incubator by

th e last week o f March It is o f course. , ,

obvious th at in th e more north ern section s

o f t h e country where th e climate i s si m i l a r
,

to th at o f N ew England it is p r actically,

impossible to allow h ens to go o u tdoors

previou s to that time .

A d v a n t a g e o f No y a r d S y s t e m
- Thi s
.

sys t em o f n o yard management h as been

-

used by some o f the most successful poultry

men o i N ew England fo r a period o f ten years
a nd no harmfu l effects h ave been noticed .
1 12 P OULTRY
sprayed th e four appli cations sh ould keep
,

the hens practically free from lice .

T r e a t m e n t f o r Mi t e s
. Under many cir
c u m st a n c e s m i tes are a terrible pest and a

menace to good egg production The y can .

be controlled by proper spray ing Mites .

live on the body of the hens only at night or

possibly wh en they are o n the nest Th ere .

fore i t is an easy matter to rid a h enhouse

,

of mites . Th e h en h ouse especially the

,

dropping b o ards and the nest s sh ould be ,

thoroughly sprayed with a strong solution

o f crude carbolic acid o r simil a r spray A .

second spray should be put on about five

days after the first application If too long
.

o r too shor t a time elapses between the first

and second spraying the treatment will not

be successful because the eggs whi ch h ad
,

already been laid a t the time o f th e first

spraying will not be controlled by th at spray
and will hatch The second spr ay if applied
.
,

at the end of fi v e day s will catc h th ese y oung

,

mites after th ey are all h atched a nd before

they have become mature enough t o lay eggs .

Sa lt s. It has been proved that the use o f

Epsom salts is beneficial in maintaining the
 M A N A G EMENT 113

p hysical condition o f a floc k o f laying hens ,

if no milk o r similar food is fe d T h e salts

.

should be given once every three o r four

wee ks as follows : The dose is three quarters
,
-

o f a pound o f Epsom salts to each hundred

birds N o water should be given the fore

.

noon o f the day when the salts are to be

given At noon o r thereabouts the salts
.
, ,

should be d issolved in about three quarters -

o f the amount o f water that is usuall y con

sumed in a day b y a given number o f h ens .

At that time all of the h ens are thirsty and

will drink the water containing the salts
rea di ly The dose of salts will be practically
.

uniform l y divided among all the h ens After .

the water containing the salts has been c o n

sumed a pail o r container o f fresh water
,

should be supplied them .

If milk in some form i s fed to the h en s th e ,

onl y time the salts need be used is whenever

the droppings become dry and hard It is .

claimed that b y the judicious use o f salts the

poultry man will n o t be obliged to use green
fee d in any form While the author believes
.

that from the mechanical stan d point o f di

gestion salts will take the place o f green feed ,
114 P OULTRY
yet he doe s n o t believe th at salts will take
th e plac e o f green feed fo r all purpo ses In .

most o f the green feeds which are used there

are vitamines present and naturally salts will
,

n o t ta k e the place o f these vitamine s .

Su lph u r Sulphur should be fed to lay ing

.

pullets throughout the winter as regularly as

once in four to six weeks It is fed at the .

rate o f o n e pound o f sulphur to each twenty

pounds o f mas h Thi s mixture o f m ash and
.

sulphur is kept before the hens five o r six

day s Th e dose is repeated as above men

.
,

t i o n e d in four to six weeks

, It merel y aids
.

th e birds to keep in good physical condition .

C a r e o f D r o p p i n g s The dropping boards

.

in every h enhouse should be cleaned o ff

daily summer and winter bu t especially in
, ,

the summer It is good practice to scatter

.

over th e dropping boards sev eral times a ,

week a light coating o f acid p h osphate

, .

This acid phosphate will preserve the nitro

gen which is presen t i n th e droppings and the ,

combination make s a more nearly complete

fertilizer Also the acid phosphate has a
.
,

tendency to reduce the possible number of

m i tes and k eeps the henhouse itself c o n
116 P OULTRY
is alway s o f c ourse th e li keli h ood th at mi c e
, ,

will get into the oats while in storage in the

barn ' but this loss wi ll be more than o fl se t
b y the fact that straw that h as not been run
through a threshi ng m achi ne will last longer
o n the floor o f t h e h enh ous e a nd g l v e better

s ervice .

V a l u e o f A r t i fi c i a l Li g h t Th e use of
.

artificial light in commercial po u l try plants

is co m i ng into more and more general favor
e ach year The author without any reser
.
,

v ation h eartil y indorses the pr actice pro

, ,

v i d e d o f course th a t th e lig h ts a re used wit h

, ,

discretion .

El e c t r i c i t y B e st Th e source o f light
.

th at gives th e best service and causes th e

least difficulty i s electricity although kero ,

sene lanterns a re used qu i te successfull y in

poultry plants that do not h ave electric

current available Many poultry men who
.

h ave no access t o electric c urrent have i n

stalled electric lighting plants o f their o wn
-

and consider that the added profit from the

h ens secured b y t h e use o f artificial light has
warranted them in the expenditure U suall y .

all o f th e cost o f suc h installation is not

 M A NA G EME NT 117

charged t o the h ens because the current wi l l

,

naturally be used in th e house and in the

barn .

There are o n the market to day sev eral -

compact electric lighting plants which are

-

run b y a gaso l ine engine and which n o t only

furnish the electric current fo r l ighting but ,

also pump the water which is required for the

hens and in the dwelling .

Eq u i p m e n t
. When electric lights are
used forty to sixty watt nitrogen lamps
,
-

should be suspended about SI ' feet from the

floor using over each lamp a sha d e fifteen
,

or sixteen inches in diameter a n d four or

five inches deep Fo r eac h pen twenty two
.
-

feet square t wo such lights should be used ,

suspended about equal distances between the

edge o f the dropping boards and the front o f

the bui lding.

An ordi nary alarm clock can be used as a

means o f throwing the electric switch At .

tach a spool to the key that winds the alarm .

Wrap a wire around this spool the other e n d

,

of thi s wire being attache d to a plain knife

switch When the alarm goes o fl the key
'

naturally turns winds up the wire and throws

, ,
1 18 P O ULTRY
the s witch It is an arrangemen t whic h an y
.

man can attach and it is cheap

, .

No t A l l B i r d s t o Be Li g h t e d N ot all .

hens under all conditions and o f all ages

, , ,

s h ould necessarily be ligh t ed It h a s been .

found b y experience that it is poor economy

to try to light a flock o f hens in their second
laying year un til they h ave completely
molted grown a new coat o f feathers and
, ,

started i n to increase their egg production .

T h en the lights may be used at such time ,

a s to give a fourteen hour day -

.

Li g h t i n g a t M o r n i n g If the lights are .

used in the morning only practically all o f ,

—
the birds good bad and indifferent will
, ,
—
get down from the roosts a nd go t o scratching
and eating It has been found th at th e so
“
.

called e v ening lunc h — that i s getting

”

the birds up at eigh t o clock at nigh t and ’

keeping them up u n til nine o r h alf p ast h a s —

given v ery good results ' but it seems t o th e
author that i t makes a poultryman s d a y ’

much longer and much more c omplicated

than the morning light system -
.

Li g h t i n g o f P u l l e t s Early ha tc h ed pul
.
-

lets which are t o be u sed a s b r eed er s a n d

,
120 P OULTRY
approximately o n e fift h if the birds are to
-

be artificially lighted .

Ke e p W a t e r f r o m Fr e e z i n g Some plan .

should be followed Whereby the water may

be kept from freezing because it is essenti al
,

that the birds h ave access to water after

they get up in th e morning The poultry man .
,

o f course does n o t want to get up at three

,

thirty o r four o clock merely to water the

’

h ens . Th ere are o n the market sev er al

types o f small stoves similar to an incubator
lamp .The se h av e given about a s good
satisfaction a s anythi ng While th ey are .

not absolutely fireproof th ere is very little ,

danger following th eir use These sto v es .

should be placed in a box li ned with a sbestos

paper Several small holes sh ould be bored
.

in the bo x fo r th e ventilation o f the l amp .

The water pail is set down in th e box and ,

th e t o p o f the bo x so made that the pail fit s

tightly All that is necessary is to keep th e
.

water from freezing It is n o t essential to

.

keep the water warm th ough if i t i s kept ,

warm it will be better .

Fe e d a n d Eg g Re c o r d s Th ere are .

certain records whi c h every poultry man

 M A NAG EME NT 7
12 1
7

“ “
sh oul d keep ' na m ely an acc oun t th at will
,

show him th e total production o f eggs the ,

total con sumption of scratch feed and mash ,

and th e mortality A rec ord sh eet such as

.

is here suggested gives al l the inform ation as

far as feeds are concerned gives th e poultry,

man a n opportun i ty to know at the en d of

i

each week just h o w m a n y pounds of feed h ave

been consumed and discloses what th e pro
,

portion o f mash to scratc h feed h as been .

After such records h av e been kep t for

perio d of two to three y e ar s a poul try m an
can devi se feeding formulas o r proportion s _

of mas h and scratch whi ch his o wn particular

strain of h en s needs under h i s o Wn p artic ul ar
cl imatic condition s .

I n c u b a t o r a n d B r o o d e r Re c o r d s In
'

cu b a t o r record s s h ould be kep t w i c h give

h
th e poultryman a knowledge a s t o th e fer
t i l i t y o f hi s eggs th e t ot al nu mber of de a d in
,

sh ell found i n e ac h h atc h and th e total

,
,

number o f c hic ks h atched B rooder rec ords

.

sh ould also be kept wh ich s h ow the mortali t y

o f the c hic k s and the dates when they di ed .

These shou l d also furnish him information

122 P OULTRY
as t o th e a mount o f feed required and th e
am ou n t o f coal c on sumed .

As with egg and feed records th e longer ,

suc h r ec ord s a s th o se of inc ubation and

b roo di ng are kep t th e m ore valu able th ey

bec om e b ec au se th ey m ay prov e at th e end
,

o f a ye a r o r t wo tha t a c e r ta in in c ubator

sh o uld be di sc arded a n d a c er t ain t ype o f

b roo der st o v e sh o uld be ab andoned '

P r o fi t a n d Lo ss Re c o r d s Furth er r ec
.

ord s wh ich sh o w th e t o t al co st o f th e f eed

c on su m ed , a n d t h e av er ag e price o f e gg s

receiv ed sh ould be kep t B y m e an s o f

, .

th ese th e poultry m an c a n tell at any time

wh eth er h i s h en s are p aying a profi t and ju st
h o w m uc h .If th ey are sh o wing a l o ss h e
will kno w i t at onc e and take e v ery m e asure
t o prev en t i t .

Ca r e o f B r o o d y H e n s Ev eryone t e
.
,

g a r d l e ss o f th e s tr a in of h ens w ill h,ave m a n y

h en s that are broody durin g th e spring .

Th e m e th od o f bre aking up th ese h ens so

that th ey will ge t back to laying a s soon a s
poss ible i s a s follows
All o f th e broody h en s whi ch are o n th e
ne st at sev en o r eight o clock i n th e e v eni n g
’
 I NDEX T o CH AP T E R x
Co ntai ner f E gg or s P arc el p o s t Conta i ne r f or
E gg
-

ess ing Po l try u g g i3

Dry P k i H w l Po s t Li mi t ti o n
”

n g o P a r ce s o f,
m S l h Eggs
1c a
D Picki ng S l d
ry
,

vs ca mg e n g
,

Egg C t M arket
. .

f
on a m er s or
1n g
Eg s H ome Preser ati o n 134 Pric s S ell ing Wh en M ark et
.

v
Eggs S ele cti o n f or M ark et 132
g
I s H igh
e
, .
,

Eggs S l b Parc el Pos t 135

,

Pro fits Factors I nfl en cing 125

.

e hn g
Eggs S l h P a n
,

e n132g P llets Imp ortan c e f Gi

, u

Eggs Stampi ng f or M ark et 133

, u
Att entio n to ,

12 6
o vm g

Eggs St l f or M ark et 133 S ca ld ng Dry Pick i g 128

. .
,

er l e,
Fatteni ng A d a ntage of 127
,

v
i vs

S ele cti ng E ggs f or M ark e t

.

132
n

H ens S ell i ng at H igh Pr c es

.
,

F t
at em n
F t
at M ale B d
em n
g
g 1r s
S elli ng E ggs P l a s f
12 5 i

Feed Amo nt R d f or u eq u l r e
Shi pp i ng Po l try
132
, n or

M ales ,

S ta m p i ng E ggs f
13 1
u

M ark et 133
Feed Amo n t Re i r ed p u qu er
B efore K illing
or

d G ai n
,
St am n g 12 9
Form la f Fatteni ng S t e ri le E ggs f or M ark e t
ou n .

12 7 13 3
H om e Pr eser ati o n f E gg 134
u . or
s Was hing Po ltry f M arket 13 1 u or
Water Gl ass f or P
v o
f or Dry Pi cki ng
.

K 11 r es e r v m g
K lli ng U se o f W e i ght ed C E ggs
1 1n g , . ,

130 u p
M ash f or F t W eight ed C f or Killing 130
i ,

,
12 7
at em n g . . u p ,

CHAP TER X . MARKETIN G

Im p o r t a n Th e profits ce of Ma r k e t i n g .

whic h are to be m a de o u t o f any poultry

enterprise depend n o t only o n th e production
of a large number o f eggs or o n r a I S1n g chicks ,

th at gro w vigorously but also o n th e success ,

o f t h e poultryman in marketing his produc t

a n d ob ta i n ing t h e be st po ssible p r 1c e s .
 MA RKETI NG 125

Se l l i n g W h e n P r i c e s A r e HA poul
i g h .

t r y m a n should clo sely watc h hi s markets and

obtain from th e nearest board of trade or
chamber of commerce daily o r weekl y quo
t a t i o n s not only o f fowl broilers and eggs
, , ,

but also of th e grains whic h h e may purchase .

Ev ery effort s h ould be made to di spo se o f h i s

product a t th e time o f year when th a t par
t i c u l a r produc t brin gs th e high e st price .

H e should pl an always t o h atc h hi s c hi ckens

early so tha t hi s broilers wil l re ach th e m ar
,

ket durin g th e time when broilers are h i gh .

All of the m ales which are n o t to be used as

breeders sh oul d be dispo sed o f wh en th ey
wei g h from two to two and a hal f pounds .

Fe e d Re q u i r e d f o r Ma l e s It h as been
.

qui te definitely pro ved th at seven o r eigh t

pounds o f feed is all th at i s required for the
first two pounds of growth and that from
twelve to twenty pounds o f feed are required
for eac h suc ceeding pound o f growth up to
S i x pounds Th erefore it is obvious th at th e
.
,

commercial poultry m an cannot afford t o

keep h i s male birds until th ey weigh five or
six pounds If it requ i res eighteen t o twenty
.

pounds o f feed to put on the fifth pound of

 P OULTRY
~

126

gro wth and th e feed i s co sting tw o and o n e

half c en t s per poun d a n d if li v e roo sters are
,

selling fo r t h irty c e n t s a pou n d i n t h e f all ,

th e poul try m an cert ainly h as l o st m oney o n

this p ar ticular fifth p oun d and i n a dditio n i s , ,

deriving a lower pri c e per poun d o n th e en tire

W eight t han h e c o u ld h ave g o t e arl i er i n t h e
se aso n .

At t e n t i o n t o P u l l e t s If th e surplu s
.

m ales a re dispo sed o f a s b roiler s m ore roo m

i s left for th e de v eloping pulle t s T h i s also .

give s th e poul try m an m ore tim e fo r t h e c ar e

o f t h e pullet s and pullets will rep ay t h e
,

ext ra a tt en tio n T h ey will m ak e a b etter an d

.

more econ o m ic al gro wth an d will r e ac h ,

m a turi ty soo n er As h as alre a dy b een

.

sh o w n , th e sooner th ey re ac h m at urity t h e
soo n e r t h ey will b egin to lay th e h ig h priced -

eggs whic h are p r oduced i n Novem b er ,

D ece m b e r an d J an uary
, .

Fa t t e n i n g . Wh en h en s ar e cull e d o u t
th ey sh ould be fattened before bei n g sen t t o
m a rket . Th i s f atten in g process sh ould t ake
appro xi m ately t e n d ay s o r i n a n y e vent no t
, , ,

longer th an two week s The birds sh ould be

.

fed a n d h an dled a s follows :

 28
19 P OULTRY
of th e m ale birds at th e end o f th e bree di ng
se ason I t i s questionable h owe ver if it
.
, ,

p ays th e aver age poultry man t o attempt to

fatten h i s broilers O wing to th e fact th at
.

the poultrym an a t th at time o f year i s ex c ep

t i o n a l l y busy t h e best syste m to follow in
,

disposing o f broilers is to go into th e va rious

brooder h ouses and after selecting the breed
,

ing m ales to t ake out any rem aining m ale s

,

that weigh t wo o r two and o n e half pounds -

,

put t h em in cr ate s feed th em well o n scr atch

,

feed and s hip them t o marke t

, .

D r e ss i n g . If th e po u l tryman i s si t uated
wh ere h e h as a goo d re tail market whi ch will
p ay h i m a f ancy price fo r hi s dres sed fowl ,

and if h e h as th e time t o do th e work it will ,

p a y h i m i n doll ar s and c en ts t o dress h i s o wn

fo w l .

S c a l d i n g v s Dr y P i c k i n g
. Th ere are .

t wo m e th ods o f killing and pickin g fowl i n

general u se : (1) th e sc aldin g meth od ' (2) th e
dry pickin g m eth od Fo r imm edi ate c o n
-
.

sumption o r for h o m e u se a nd espec ially in ,

th e c ase o f a m an who doe s but little killing

and is n o t expert the scalding method i s
,

prob ably th e better B ut for birds whi ch are

.
 M ARKETI NG 12 9

to be h eld some little time before being used ,

or for bir d s whi ch are to be sold the scal di ng

,

method is n o t advised because withi n thirty

,

six or forty eight hours after the birds are

-

scalded the flesh begins t o turn brown and

may eventuall y turn black Thi s o f course
.
, ,

spoils the appearanc e o f the carcass and

renders it less salab l e U sual ly fowl dressed
.

in this manner brings les s per pound than

fowl pic ked dry .

S t a r v i n g B e f o r e Ki l l i n g
. In dry picking
o r in scaldi ng it is essential that the birds be

starved for twenty four to thi r ty six hours

- -

before being killed Thi s practically emp

.

ties th e di gesti v e tract and if the di gestive

tr act is empty th e birds will then keep in
good con di tion without being drawn In .

fact it h as been proved that undr a wn birds

,

will keep better than drawn .

Ho w t o Ki l l f o r D r y P i c k i n g In dry
.

picking th e o n e essential for success is proper

k il ling. The bird should be h ung up b y a
cord whi ch h as a button or small stic k fas
tened at the lower end The free end o f the
.

cord is wrapped once around the legs o f the

bird to be kil led and the button o r stick is
130 P O ULTRY

s wun g b ack o ver th e cord binding bet wee n

,

it and the legs o f the bird Thi s holds th e

.

bird although no knot is made

, .

Th e knife to be used in kil ling s h oul d be

s h arp and h av e a thi n narrow point The
, .

head o f th e bird is h eld fir m l y between the

thumb and first finger the knife run down
,

th e thr oat to a point just beyond the eye ,

and an incision made o n the inner lower side ,

o f the throat so that the bloo d flows freel y .

Then the kn i fe is turned and the e n d o f it

is forc ed into th e skull a t a point just b ack
o f th e eye wit h the back o f th e kn i fe pre ss
,

ing firm l y agains t th e lower bill and th e

lower bill pressed downward as far as p o s
sible If the k n i fe i s so h eld th e point will
.

enter th at part of the brain whic h c ontrols

th e m uscles o f the skin and a relaxation o f
th ese muscles takes pl a ce whi ch allo ws th e
feath ers t o b e e a sily rem oved .

U se o f We i g h t e d C u p. H a ve a bloo d Cl i p
which h as been weigh ted with le a d at th e
bottom a nd h as h ad a l arg e s harp h oo k ,

s oldered to t h e inside near the top Faste n .

th is in the beak immedi ately after sticking .

I t sim p lifies the pick ing pro cess because th e ,

13 2 P OULTRY
that th e birds feet are th oroughly wash ed
’

after picking and also that any blood which

may be in o r o n the h e a d is remo ved The .

better th e appearance of th e carc as s the ,

more readily i t wi ll sell and th e hi gh er price

it will bring .

S e l l i n g Eg g s .Th e poultryman sh ould

make every effort to dispose of his eggs direct
to the consumer if that be possible o r a t
, ,

any rate to a retailer B y so doing h e will

, .

avoid sen di ng his product through any m ore

hands than necessary In almost any o f th e.

larger towns and cities there are fir st class -

grocers o r provision dealers wh o supply th e

better class of customers and wh o are in ,

position to pay a premium o ver th e m arke t

price fo r the best grade of product Th e .

poultry man s h ould wh enever possible do

, ,

busines s with suc h a grocer o r pro vi sion

dealer .

S e l e c t i n g Eg g s O n th e oth er hand in
.
,

order to get an d hold such a trade th e eggs ,

whi c h h e i s putting out must be first class .

They should run at least twenty four ounces -

to the dozen should be uniform i n Si ze and

, ,

shoul d be free from small crac ks and from

 M ARKETI NG 133

b lood spo ts Th e o n l y way by whi ch the

.

poul tryman can know that his eggs are free

from small cracks and blood spots is t o candle
th em and it is good practice f o r every poul
,

t r y m a n to can dl e all the eggs whi ch he p r o

duces whether he sells them o r puts them
,

into the incubator .

C a r e o f C o n t a i n e r The container which

.

he uses should be a good o n e a n d shou l d be

clean It shoul d have the name o f hi s farm
.

stenciled o n the outside All o f the fillers .

and flats whi ch he uses should be clean In .

other words if a filler comes back in which an

,

egg has been broken and the contents smeared

over the filler that fil l er should be destroy ed
, .

P r o d u c e S t e r i l e Eg g s D uring a ll o f the
.

ye ar that is possible the po ul try man should

produce sterile eggs There should n o t be
.

any m ale birds runni ng with the flock except

during the time of actually saving eggs f o r
hatchi ng As soon a s this period is o v er the
.

m ale birds sho u l d be taken o u t and sold .

S t a m p i n g Eg g s .In order to bu fld up a
name and identify the product it is well to
stamp e ach egg with a rubber stamp giving ,

t h e n ame o f th e farm and possibly the date

134 P O ULTRY
on whi c h t h e egg is laid Eggs should be sent
.

to m arke t a s often as twice a week bec ause ,

t h e m ore ne arly fresh t h e eggs are th e better ,

they will be and th e h igher price th e poultry

m a n w ill recei v e .

H o m e P r e se r v a t i o n o f Eg g s T h e poul .

t r y m a n s h ould mak e ever y effort t o sell to

th e people in h i s o wn locality a s m any eggs
a s possible for them to use for future con

sumption From th e poultrym an s stand

’
.

point this will tend to raise the price o f eggs

during th e time of normal low pric es as in ,

April From the purchaser s st andpoint it

.
’

will t end t o lower the price o f eggs during th e

time o f lo w production a s in N o v ember and
,

D ecember If th e egg s wh ich a re preser ved

. .

fo r h o me use a re sterile a nd are fre sh wh en

,

they are put down th ey will keep in good

,

shape a n d will ser v e a s well a s fre sh e gg s for

ordin ary c o o king purpo ses .

Ho w t o P r e se r v e Eg g s T h e pre serva ti v e
.

whi c h i s rec omm ended by th e auth or is

w ater gl ass It i s e asy to u se i s c h e ap and
-
.
, ,

is effic ient Th e material is a h e avy c le ar

.
,

liquid and c a n be obtained o f drug stores

, .

Variou s lo ts o f w at er gla ss m a y differ some

-
136 P OULTRY
tion s th e producer n atur al ly will m ake ev ery
effort possible to give to his customer th e
best grade o f egg whi ch h e can produce .

The consum er knowin g th e eggs to be o f th e

,

best grade and strictly fresh and perhaps

, , ,

knowing personally the producer himself is ,

wi lling to pay a premium over t h e egg mar -

ket price fo r ordinary fres h eggs .

Co n t a i n e r s
. Various box m anuf ac t urers
have developed parcel post containers which
—
-

are practical containers whi c h a r e light

and at the same time stro ng If such a con
.

t a i n e r is used there s h ould be but v ery little

difficulty in using th e parcel po st a s a m eans
o f transporting eggs .

No t A d a p t e d t o La r g e P l a n t s Th is .

meth od of marketing eggs is not considered

practicable o n the large farm wh ere a man
,

is keeping twel v e h undred h en s o r upward ,

because th e time th at would be in vol v ed in

packing and caring for th e large number of
eggs produced o n such a farm and making ,

them up into separate shipments would be ,

too great The extra margin to be made out

.

o f this s y stem of mark etin g would

warrant th e hi ring o f extr a help .

 I NDEX TO C HAP TE R XI
Appar ent C old Li er Di seases Tr eatment f 148
s v o
Chi ck en P Po l try D se se ,
.

i a s
Chi cken
u
C occi d o i s C a se f
ox
P o x,
C occi di osi s Tr eatment f
i s , u o
144
C olds App ar ent 142 S ca l y Leg
, or .

C olds Ca se f
,

1 1 W e akness Leg 4
C olds Symp toms f 1 1 Wh t e D iarrh a C a se f
, u o .
,

13 7 4
1 6 Wh it e Diarrh ea E l ation
, o i e , u o
o n st i a ti on 4 i mi n
rop B o d C a se
p

Crop B o nd Tr eatment f or 150 Wh i te Diarrh ea Rem edial

un , u

D iarrh e a Wh t M e a s es
u , .
,

E e si on Wh te D iarrh ea S t
, i e ur
i YI D p O I DS
L eg W e akness
v r .

f 13 8
Li er D ise ases S ymp toms of 147 Wh t e Diarrh ea Tes ting f or 1 0
. o .

v , i , 4

CHAP TER XI . D I SEA SES

Wh i te Whi te di arrh e a i s Di a r r h e a .

probably the worst scourge o f the chi cken

industry especially in the eastern part o f t h e
,

United States It is trans m i tted from one .

chi ck to another during the first four o r five

day s o f its life From that time o n the chick .

appears to be more o r less immun e to the

d i sease until it reaches the adu l t stage .

Then the disease may again be tran smitted

from one infected hen to another .

The principal cause and source o f in f ection

at thi s time i s th e male bird and every effort ,
I 38 P OULTRY
s h ould be made t o keep th e males away from
the females until t wo weeks before the eggs
are t o be saved fo r h atch ing Th e m ale bird
.

becomes a m echanical carrier o f th e infection ,

because th e infection is no t l imited t o the

o var y o f th e female but app aren tly p asses
,

down th e o viduct and is present at t h e v ent .

Thus th e male birds can spread t h e disease

r apidl y t h roug h a floc k if th ere is o n e i n
,

f ec t e d female in th e flock .

The following s y mptoms m ay be expected

in a floc k o f chicks i n f ected with whi te diar
rhea At time o f h at c hing th e chicks will
.

appe ar normal and health y After th ree o r .

four d ay s certain chi cks will beco m e some

wh at dum p y and will h av e a tendency t o
stay around t h e source o f h e at A whi ti sh
.

o r brownis h whi te disc ha rge will be found

-

stuck t o the do wn at t h e v e n t and t h e c hicks

will make a peculiar noi se wh en ev er th ey

atte m pt to v oid droppings .

Th e m ortality begin s u sually at fiv e days

after ha tchi n g a nd in c re ase s rapidly d ay by
day until th e tenth to the four teenth day ,

when i t re ac h es its pe ak Fro m that time on

.

u n til t h e c hi cke n s a re thr ee o r four w eek s

 D I SEASE S 13 9

old the death rate gradually dim i n i shes If .

a post mortem exam i nation o f the chi ckens is

-

made it will be foun d that their entire di ges

tive tra ct is practical ly empty with the
,

exception o f some sl i m e li k e fluid There i s

.

usua l ly some part o f the y olk which is u n

d igested o r unabsorbed . The lungs appear
norma l (a salmon p i nk) .

Externa l l y the s y mptoms of whi te diar

,

rhea and those due t o chi l ling are the same .

B ut o n post mortem o n e will find that in

-

chi ckens whi ch have been chi l led there is

usuall y some food a l ong the d igestive tract ,

either in the gizzard o r intestines and it will

,

be foun d that the lungs are congested and o f

a d ark garne t in color Thi s is the easiest
.

wa y t o te l l the two disease s apart

.

There is no positive cure f o r the di sease .

P robably the best thing that any poultry

man can do when he suspects that his ch icks
may develop white di arrhea is t o feed them
all the sour skim m i lk o r butterm i lk that
they will drin k Thi s will assist because it
.
,

is a readily di gested and easi ly assim i lated

food and therefore m a kes the chick stronger
, ,

whi ch of cou r se h elp s i t t o com b at th e

, ,
140 P OULTRY
di se ase Eith er sweet or sour m ilk h a s b een
.

found to b e satisfactory but th e po u l try

,

man wi ll find th at i t i s e a sier t o feed th e milk

sour .

It is possible t o elimin at e thi s dise a se fro m

a flock by the procedure known a s the a g g l u
t i n a t i o n method . In follo wi ng thi s plan a
”

blood sample is taken from each hen the ,

h en being marked with a numbered leg band .

This sample is sent t o a bacteriological labo

r a t o r y and put through a certain process
which di scloses whether o r n o t that particular
bird is infected with the disease If she is .

infected s h e is at once remo ved from the

,

breeding pen It h as been found th at after

.

a flock has been th us tested fo r sev eral

generations and po ssibly two o r thr ee retests
,

hav e been made in any given ye ar the di sease ,

c an be entirely eli m i nated There are

.

se v er a l o f t h e state c ollege s wh ic h are doing

thi s work at a no m i nal cost usu a lly ten c ents

,

f o r each bird tested O nce t h e dise a se h a s

.

been elim i nated it sho u l d never appear in the

flock again unless it is brought i n through
some outside source If a floc k is fo u nd
.

aft er t wo o r three test s t o be ab solutely free

14 2 P OULT RY
v entilated thi s s h ould be reme d i ed If th ere
.

are any draughts in the house these should be

attended t o The birds should h ave at once a
.

dose o f Epsom salts at the rate o f three

quarters o f a pound o f salts to each h un
dred bird s Several days after th e salts a
.

dose o f su l phur should be given at th e rate o f

o n e pound o f s u l p h ur t o eac h twent y pounds

o f mash , thi s m i xture t o be kept before th e

birds fo r five o r six day s .

A p p a r e n t Co l d s. In th e fall m any poul

t r y m e n find t h at their h ens are afflicted with
what appears t o be a cold in spite o f th e ,

fact that th e h ousing is well arranged th e ,

ventilation is proper and the birds h ave not

,

been exposed t o drau ghts In many ca ses the

.

cause o f these apparent colds is th e litter

whic h is used If fine dirt o r v ery fine sand
.

is used o n t h e fl oor o f the houses th is may

become v ery dry and dust y after th e birds
hav e been s h ut up fo r five o r six week s .

The birds breathing apparatus will be

’

affected by fine particles whi ch will h ave the

,

same effect upon the birds as the dust around

a threshi ng machine will have upon a hum an
being The o n l y thi ng t o d o under these
.
 D I SE ASE S 14 3

o dition s i s to remove th e cause On this

c n .

account the a uthor does n o t belie v e i n u si n g

,

an ythin g o n the floor of t h e henh o use for

litter except shav ings stra w coarse m e ado w, ,

hay or som ethi n g of that k ind

,
.

C h i c ke n P o x C hi cken po x i s a di sease
.

whic h aff ect s the h e ad m ostl y and i s n o t ,

u su ally fat al It appears as small blotches

.
,

sometime s yello wi sh in color upon the c omb ,

and wattles After the dise ase h a s pro

.

g r e sse d it w ill be found t h at t h e re a r e c a n k er s

inside t h e m outh Frequen tly it app ears

.

first i n t h e m ales especially if th ey h av e

,

been fighting the disease appar entl y attack

,
e

ing open wo u nds It m a y spread all over t h e

.

face to th e extent that both eyes may be

closed tight . T h e be st remedy for thi s
di sea se i s t o soften a n d remove the sc ab s ,

using some c arbolic s a lve t o aid in softenin g .

Then apply iodine at about the same strength

a s for hu m an u se A dose of Ep som sal ts
.

should be gi v en t h e sam e as for c olds a n d ,

thi s shoul d be follo wed with a do se of sulphur

a s used for c old s .

C o c c i d i o s i s — T hi s disease app e ar s u su
.

ally in growing chicken s e speci a l l y in chick ,

14 4 P OULTRY
ens which weigh from three to fiv e pound s .

The symptoms of the disease are a yellowish ,

watery discharge o r at least so m e peculiarl y

,

colored discharge and a rapid em aci ation

, ,

followed b y apparent leg weakness .

C occidiosis in its true form i s a germ

disease fo r which there has been developed
as yet n o positive cure though some exp er i
,

ment stations are work ing o n a v accine that

promises well It h a s been th e author s
.
’

experience that the best method of h andling

this disease is to take all the mash away from
the affected birds giving them all the sour
,

skim m i lk or buttermilk th ey will drink .

After two o r three day s of starvation feed

th em all the scratch feed they will clean up
readily Further the birds should be r e
.
,

mo ved from the range on which th ey h ad

been kept and placed on a new thin sodded ,
-

range The old range sh ould be treated

.

with a h eavy coat of lime sh ould be plowed

,

and reseeded If this treatment is used t h e

.

disease should not recur th e follo wing season .

If the feeding has been at fault a similar

trouble is l i kely to develop If the birds
.

have been obliged to eat too great an amount

14 6 P OULT RY
outdoors a nd every effor t i s m a de t o keep
the m o u t they will seldom come down wi th
,

leg weaknes s B ut if th ey are c o nfin ed t o o

.

closely if th e feed i s t oo h eavy esp eci ally in

, ,

ani m al protei n and a lso if th ey hav e t oo

,

gre a t a n am ou n t o f m a sh th ey a r e ap t t o
,

de velop typical leg we akness Th e we akn ess .

is probably due t o t h e fac t that h e avy feed

forces growth o f fl e sh t o suc h a n ex ten t tha t
the legs will no t support t h e weight o f th e
body .

In th e c ase o f close c onfin em en t th e

remedy o f course i s to get t h e ch icken s o u t
, ,

o f door s If the cause i s i m proper feed

.
,

remo v e the m a sh entirely keep before th e ,

chicken s a con stant supply o f milk and feed ,

liberally o n h ard grain o r c hick feed A .

little bone m e al add e d to th e m a sh m ay h elp .

C o n st i p a t i o n C onstip atio n i s n o t a t all

.

infrequent in laying h ens especi ally i n th e

,

late winter P rob ably it i s brought o n by th e

.

sy stem o f feeding tha t i s u sed i n p r a c t i c a ll y

every com m erci al poultry pla n t Th e m o d .

ern efficient poultrym an i s feedi ng h i s h en s

,

o n a forcing feed all t h e time Thi s forcing .

feed is o f course in a high ly c onc en trat ed

, ,
 D ISEASE S 14 7

form In every fl ock th ere are occasional

.

in di viduals whi ch cannot stand up under this

system of feeding and constipation fr e
,

quently follows .

This f act sh ould cause the poultryman no

alarm unless th e con d ition spreads t hrough
the floc k If th ere is a general difficulty it
.

will be observed t hat th e droppings become

hard and dry th e birds are getting o u t o f
,

condition and usually a change in color o f

,

th e comb and face will be noted Just as .

soon a s a poultryman observes this set o f

conditions h e sh ould giv e a do se o f sa l t sa n d ,

if possible giv e so m e green feed If h e is

, .

already u sing green feed th e thi ng t o do i s to

ch ange to some oth er green feed In a word .
,

the plan to follow i s to ch ange th e feed

somewhat and do e v erything pos sible to
loosen the bowels If the poultryman is not
.

using a mash made according to an approved

formula it will be well fo r h im t o ch ange to
,

a formula whi ch is appro ved .

Li v e r D i s e a s e s There are se veral diff er

.

ent liver dise ases to whi ch hens are subject ,

but a s far a s the practical poultry man is

c oncerned the y may all be classed under o n e
l 48 P OULTRY
—
h ead li ver di seases Th ese di se ases are
.

usually brought about by improper feed : f o r

example feeding too muc h mash to the lay
,

ing h en s ' o r fee di ng t o o muc h protein such ,

as m eat scraps fis h scraps and m i lk Al so

, , .
,

in di gestion o r c on stip ation m ay c ause a

similar condi t io n .

Th e following ar e th e u su al sy m p tom s
Th e comb o f th e bird u sually t urns dark ,

frequently a deep p u rple O ccasionally th e

.

c omb turn s ligh t o r pale A post mortem

.
-

examination shows th e liver to be either v ery

m uc h e n l arged o r v ery much sh runken It .

m ay be spotted o r marbled in appearance .

It i s u sually pale and in m any c ases i s v ery

,

friable o r easily broken .

The best treatmen t for th e di sease i s of ,

c ourse t o remo v e th e cause H owever as

, .
,

mentioned in th e paragraphs o n constipation ,

an occ a sional case o f li ver di sease need cau se

n o alarm There are likel y a few birds i n
.

e v ery flock which cannot stand the modern

system o f fee di ng If th e trouble appears to
.

be somewh at general it will be well t o take

th e mas h away from the h ens fo r several
d ays Feed th em rather sparingly o n scr atch
.
15 0 P OULTRY
from the crop into th e gizzard in such a wa y
that n o food wi ll pas s through The bird .
,

being h ungry continues to eat until i t s crop

, ,

becomes so full th at it c an hold no more .

Th e food n o t passing along wil l ev en tu a ll y

start t o d ecompose and th e poisons gi v en o ff
,

will pass into the blood of the h en .

If t h e poultryman desires t o save th e h en ,

becaus e o f h er value it may be done by mak

,

ing an incision into the crop removing the ,

obstruction was hi n g th e crop with some

,

mil d di sinfectant and sewing it up again

, .

In thi s case probably ten days o r t wo weeks

will el apse before the crop is entirely h ealed ,

a n d the bir d must be fed v ery sparin gly o n

some watery food Thi s o f course seriously

.
, ,

influence s her con di tion and at leas t t wo or

,

three weeks longer will elapse before th e bir d

gets back i nto laying con di tion .

A bird which is crop bound sh ould be

rem oved from th e flock as soon a s th e c ondi
tion i s noticed Such a bird may be kill ed
.
,

dressed and used f o r food un l ess th e contents

, ,

o f t h e crop h av e begun to spoil .

S c a l y Le g
. Scaly legs are c a used by a m i te
whi ch em bed s it self u nder th e scales o f th e
 D ISEASE S 15 1

legs a n d m ultiplies t here It i s a disease

”
.

which apparently h a s n o seriou s ill effect

upon the hen but which h urts her appe arance
, .

In mo st ca se s scaly legs do not appear if th e

,

hen house a n d espec i ally the dropping boards

, ,

h av e been thoroughly cle an If th e t rouble .

does d evelop th e best t hing t o do i s to dip

,

th e legs o f i n fested h ens into a c a n c o n

taining co m m on kerosene Two or three .

applic ation s o f thi s treatm ent sh ould ki ll the

mit es Th e m i te s will disappear and the
.

sc a le s will re t u r n t o a normal condition .

Ro u p . Roup i s no t a s common o r p r e v a
len t i n th e pre sent day poultry h ouse as it
-

wa s i n th e old c lo sed h enh ou se

, It is a .

dise ase which m a y be c on sidered a s an after

e fl e c t of a c old The eyes run there is a
.
,

di scharge from th e n ostrils which is sticky ,

t h e eye s may l at er fill up wit h a puslike d i s

c h arge a n d m a y b ec ome entirely closed '
there i s v ery likely to be c anker o r yello wish
white growth s inside the mouth .

Th e best meth od of treatment i s preven

tion by having a sufficient quantity o f fresh
,

air comi ng into t he h enhouse th rough the

open fronts B ut if in spite o f th is th e
.
, ,
15 2 P OULT RY
dise ase at tacks th e bird s th e aff ec t ed birds
,

should be remo v ed fro m th e fl ock and should

be killed and burned .

Wh i le it i s n o t impos sible t o cure roup yet ,

i n the average commercial plant it i s ex

t r e m e l y di ffic u l t because whi le th e dise ase
, ,

may app arently be cured it i s likely t o break

,

o u t again at a ny time If t h e individual bir d

.

a fl e c t e d is a valu able one o r if t h e disease i s

,

present in o n l y o n e o r t wo in stances it may ,

be well t o re sort t o individual treatment If .

t his is th e c a se th e followin g i s recommended :

,

Wash th e ou tside o f th e f ac e all around th e

,

eyes with a mild di sin fec tant such as h ydro

,

gen peroxide o r a we ak solution o f carbolic

-

acid Take th e bird s h ead an d dip it into

.
’

the solution h ol di ng it there fo r an in stant

, .

—
Give th e bird a small do se o f salts perhap s
h alf a t e a spoonful t o th e h en K eep in a .

warm dry pl ace and gi v e a lit tle hard grain

, ,

bu t only a li t tle .