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 OF THE 
 
 1Rew IDorF^ State CoUeGe of Hariculture 
 
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SF 487 Hfi"'^"^" ""'"^'■'"y Library 
 
 Tricks of the poultry trade .. 
 
 3 1924 003 178 179 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003178179 
 
TRICKS 
 
 of the 
 
 POULTRY 
 TRADE 
 
 REESE V. HICKS 
 
Advertising Pays 
 
 You can get paying returns from your adds only 
 by reaching people interested in poultry who have the 
 money and the will to buy your stock and eggs. 
 
 You can't fine a richer poultry field than the great 
 grain and poultry producing middle Southwest — Kansas, 
 Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, etc. You know, 
 as does every schoolboy, that these states lead in corn^ 
 wheat, poultry and livestock. 
 
 These people have the money to buy. Kansas alone 
 raised eighty million dollars worth of wheat in 1909. 
 Missouri sells forty million dollars worth of poultry a 
 year. And the other states are right along with these two. 
 
 Then there is the will to buy. It's proverbial how 
 quick to trade — buy or sell — the western people are. 
 And these progressive poultry people with the money 
 are justly noted as good spenders. 
 
 Poultry Culture reaches the people who raise poultry 
 in this field better than any other medium, because it is 
 located in the heart of this rich belt — it is in touch with 
 the industry and is a live wire. Every issue is readable 
 and is read closely by twenty thousand subscribers. 
 
 Then the advertising rates are reasonable — they are 
 in fact low considering circulation and returns adver- 
 tisers get. Write for testimonials and rates. 
 
 POULTRY CULTURE, Topeka, Kansas 
 
TRICKS of the POULTRY 
 TRADE 
 
 Some Methods, Little Things, and ^^Nigh 
 
 Cuts'' Practiced Among the 
 
 "Initiated" of the Craft 
 
 Edited and Compiled by 
 
 REESE V. HICKS 
 
 Editor "Poultry Culture" 
 
 Price, 25 Cents 
 
 Published by 
 
 Poultry Culture Publishing Co. 
 
 Topeka, Kansas 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY REESE V. HICKS 
 
Introduction 
 
 In recent years a wonderful revival has taken place in the poul- 
 try business. A tide has set in from city to country. All this has 
 created an interest for poultry information and especially for "nigh- 
 cuts" to wealth and health at the same time. Many so-called "sys- 
 tems," "processes" and "discoveries" have been heralded through 
 the poultry jdurnals and many of these "discoveries" sold at fancy 
 prices. It is an old and true saying that there is nothing new under 
 the sun. The majority of these much heralded "discoveries" have 
 been known among poultrymen for years. Believing that a brief 
 telling of them in a plain, practical way will be of help, is the excuse 
 for this book. It is not claimed that these systems or discoveries are 
 original with the writer of this pamphlet, but have been known to 
 him and many others, as well as practiced by them, for years, before 
 ma^y of these "discoverers" published them. There are good points 
 in some of these systems, and, if carefully put in practice, will prove 
 valuable to any one. 
 
 The word "trick" suggests in itself something clever, and to 
 the minds of many, means an action of "shady" character. This 
 treatise will touch upon both sides, giving many little things — and 
 some large ones — that go to make success in handling poultry. It 
 will also tell of some things done that should be left undone — and 
 their telling here does not mean, "go thou and do likewise," but 
 these things are only given to warn the unwary against them. 
 
 This book is submitted for your careful study, as the information 
 given herein is valuable only when applied by a skillful hand and 
 a knowing head. 
 
 REESE V. HICKS. 
 
 Topeka, Kansas, July 1, 1909. 
 
Information for the Buyer 
 
 HOW TO GET A GOOD START. 
 
 There are two methods of getting a start in poultry. 
 
 First, buy the stock and raise your own flock. 
 
 Second, buy eggs and raise the foundation stock. 
 
 Each of these methods has its advantages, as well as disad- 
 vantages. Buying eggs is largely buying "sight unseen." Buying' 
 eggs is largely a' gamble, because breeders do not know positively 
 what will be the result of their matings, and what they think will 
 prove a first-class mating may produce very poor fowls. 
 
 The stock method is costlier than to start by the egg method, 
 but, on the other hand, you can get a good sized flock the first 
 year and thus get in the business a year earlier. 
 
 The important point then in buying stock or eggs, is to be sure 
 the dealer you buy of is reliable. 
 
 If you are a beginner and know little about the merits of the 
 stock you are buying, it is even more important that the dealer be 
 reliable. If you are posted on the merits of the fowls you are buy- 
 ing, it is better to buy stock and buy them subject to your approval. 
 
 Avoid cheap stock and eggs unless the breeders give you a very 
 clear and good reason for selling cheap. Some good breeders offer 
 special prices on eggs after setting season, etc. 
 
 It takes a breeder years to build up a flock and from $5.00 to 
 $10.00 each bird is as low as he can afford to sell you anything that 
 is at all near standard requirements. Eggs from well-bred stock 
 cannot be sold for less than from $2.00 to $10.00 per 15 from high- 
 grade matings. 
 
 ALL WINNERS NOT GOOD BREEDERS. 
 
 Picking up a poultry paper you will notice many breeders adver- 
 tise eggs from their prize winning matings at a higher price than 
 from other matings. It is a fact that prize winning birds, especially 
 in the parti-colored breeds, are not by any means the best breeders. 
 Take Barred Eocks, R. I. Reds, Brown Leghorns, Light Brahmas, 
 Silver Wyandottes and other parti-colored breeds — that is, birds 
 with more than two colors in the plumage — and the highest scoring 
 
4 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 birds are seldom very reliable breeders. When you go to buy and 
 want good stuff, sit down and write and tell the breeder you are 
 going to buy from what you want. Ask him to send you stock mated 
 to produce that, or else eggs from stock mated for that purpose. 
 Many of the best fanciers get their best birds from matings that the 
 average buyer would not consider the birds in the pens worthy of 
 consideration. 
 
 In the white and solid colored varieties this is not so true, as 
 the white and solid colored varieties, buff and black, breed many 
 show birds from their winners. Even in the buff varieties special 
 matings often produce better results than the highest scoring birds. 
 
 Don't get crazy over the eggs from big winners. 
 
 Buy from an established breeder who can produce the stock. 
 Thus his winnings are an indication of his ability to breed, unless 
 he bought the winners. 
 
 HINTS ON VITALITY. 
 
 It is very important that you have highly vital birds when 
 you select breeders. In selecting breeders have the males look 
 their part — robust, considering the size of the breed, and thrifty 
 looking — full of vim and energy. The females should look the very 
 opposite, looking trim and neat in outline and still showing vitality 
 and strength. Comb and wattles are important indications of vitality 
 and should be well developed, considering the breed, and of good 
 color. Never use in breeding pens a bird that has sickly looking 
 comb and wattles or these organs under size. 
 
 The eye is one of the most important indications, as it shows 
 the life and vitality in the bird. Small eyes are to be avoided, as 
 well as those having a dull and sickly look to them. 
 
 The beak is generally considered also and it should have a 
 reasonable curve for the breed and be of good size. Never breed 
 from a bird with a small, straight, spindling beak. "Strong beak, 
 strong bird." 
 
 Feet are considered good pointers and they should be well 
 developed and large for the breed. In considering all these points, 
 breed traits must be considered. "What would be a large comb 
 -on a Plymouth Rock would be a small one on a Minorca. And large 
 legs on a Leghorn would be small on a Plymouth Rock. 
 
 Carriage or attitude is also considered a good pointer to vital- 
 ity. Never breed from a bird droopy and not alert in action. 
 
 Breadth of back is also considered as an indication of a strong, 
 well developed bird. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 5 
 
 TELLING THE AGE OF FOWLS. 
 
 Telling the age of fowls is a good deal like estimating the age 
 of a horse after it is ten years old — ^largely guesswork. The first 
 year of a chicken's life can be very easily told. There are more long 
 hairs on an old chicken and fewer pin feathers. On a young and 
 growing chicken there are more undeveloped feathers. The breast 
 and pelvic bones in a young chicken at the tip are tender and flexible 
 and bend on slight pressure. After the bird has passed a year old, 
 these bones become hard. The feet and legs of a young bird are 
 smoother, cleaner and free from scaley leg, bumble foot and the toe 
 nails show no wear. While scaley leg, bumble foot, etc., do not 
 always appear on a bird over a year old, and their appearances 
 are a pretty sure sign of this age, yet their absence are not infallible 
 signs. The breast bone, as well as the point of the two pelvic 
 bones, frequently get their hardness in 8 to 14 months, owing to the 
 breed. The smaller breeds get hard on breast and pelvic bones 
 sooner than the large breeds, the Asiatics being the slowest in hard- 
 ening these bones. 
 
 Another thing in considering the age of a fowl is the amount of 
 fat on the bird after a year old, which indicates age, as old birds take 
 fat more readily than young ones. The brightness of plumage is also an 
 indication of the youthful bird, as the faded, "scraggly" bird is 
 nearly always an old one. Bad keeping and poor attention, however, 
 make birds appear much older than they really are, it ages them 
 in usefulness as well as appearance. Frequently "off colored" 
 feathers will appear on the neck and head of a hen or cock when 
 they have passed their first or second year. There is also a sunken 
 appearance around the eyes of birds past the second or third year. 
 Old hens frequently have a "baggy" effect in the rear, caused by 
 age, fat and heavy laying. A hen with this baggy, broken down 
 condition in the rear is in effect old, as she has passed her day of 
 usefulness, no matter whether one year old or ten. 
 
 The spurs are considered a good indication of age, especially on 
 male birds. The spurs are said to be "set"' — that is, become fixed to 
 the leg bone at froin 8 to 10 months, according to the breed — the 
 small breeds "setting" their spurs earlier than the largei: breeds. 
 This test does not apply to hens so much as to male birds. A male 
 spur is one-half to three-fourths of an inch long at one year old. 
 Older birds have not only longer, but larger and rougher spurs. 
 Hens differ much in size of spurs and the size of a hen's spur is not 
 much of an indicatipn as to age, except a large spur means age, but 
 its absence does not mean youth. 
 
 In ducks and geese the wind pipe is an almost infallible indica- 
 tion of age. Young ducks and geese have fetift, flexible cartilage in 
 the wind pipe, while an old bird's is considerably harder. "The 
 
6 TRICKS OP THE POULTRY TRADE- 
 
 breast bone is also a sXiieJe iiidicatioil' with dTiebs.afiid geese, as it is 
 very pliable in young birds and becomes hardened in old ones. 
 
 The end of the wing joints in turkeys area very gopd indication 
 of age, as they harden about the saine time tte bird gets a year old^ 
 
 In telling the age of turkeys thie turkey, does not molt its feathers' 
 as soon as a chicken and a turkey under a year old. will usually 
 have sharp pointed feathers, while birds over that age will have 
 rounded points. 
 
 In young chickens from two mpntbs to four months old the first 
 feathers afte? the furze on the main wing and tail feathers are sharp 
 pointed, while the adult feathers ar_e round pointed. Some birds 
 carry them only two or three months, depending on breed, conditions 
 of growth, etc. 
 
 As stated in the outset,' none of these methods are absolutely in- 
 fallible, but are simply good "pointers" that all taken in the hands 
 of any one who practices poultry raising, soon become almost a 
 certainty, just as a horse "jockey" can make a very correct estimate 
 on the age of a horse. 
 
 TELLING THE AGE OF EGGS. 
 
 Expert handlers of eggs learn to tell cold storage eggs 
 by the amount of evaporation that they have undergone. Eggs 
 that have been on cold storage show much larger air cells, as the 
 contents of the eggs shrink all the time. Cold storage eggs also 
 show an unevenness in the contents on account of having laid a 
 long tiihe in one position. They show mould on the shells often. 
 When boiling cold storage eggs with the shells on they show a 
 marked tendency to crack. 
 
 A very fair , estimate of the age of an egg can be told by the 
 means of its specific gravity. Several methods are used, hut we 
 give herewith an instrument that any one can make that will do 
 this. Eggs dry out constantly from the time laid and the older they 
 are the lower the specific gravity. It is true there is considerable 
 difference in specific gravity of eggs when first laid, but the eggs' 
 low in specific gravity are usually pretty sure to be old, as the 
 moisture has evaporated out of them. 
 
 Eggs have a ' ' bloom, ' ' or tint, that is familiar to all who handle 
 eggs. This "bloom" is destroyed by washing or considerable 
 handling, and also eggs kept on hand for some time naturally lose 
 sonic of their bloom through contact with the air. Eggs that have 
 been incubated under a hen have a slick, greasy appearance, and 
 those incubated in an incubator do not show this, but the bloom is 
 very much affected. The absence of the "bloom" on an egg is 
 a pretty fair indication of age or usage. 
 
Houses, Hoppers and Fixtures 
 
 LOCATION OF POULTRY PLANT. 
 
 An unfavorably located poultry plant is likely to be a failure, 
 just how bad depending on how bad the location. The first thing 
 to avoid in locating a poultry house is a damp and swampy place, as 
 dampness affects both young and old fowls. The ideal location is 
 "one sloping gently to the southeast, but not too rapidly. Avoid steep 
 hillsides for a poultry plant, as it means extra exertion in getting 
 in and out with feed, cleaning, etc. Very shady locations are also 
 bad, although an orchard is a fine place for stock to range in spring 
 and summer, but the shade should not be over the buildings or over 
 more than half of the yards and runs. Sunshine is necessary for 
 proper sanitation. 
 
 THE HOUSE AND RUNS. 
 
 Simplicity is one of the most important things in your poultry 
 house and fixtures, and is a stumbling block that nearly all beginners 
 fall over when they build their poultry houses, etc. Have them 
 simple and free from cumbering details. It takes time to clean 
 complicated fountains, houses, hoppers, etc., and to insure reasonable 
 results with a flock of poultry, the houses, etc., must be cleaned often. 
 
 The modern idea in poultry house building is to get as close 
 to nature as possible. In other words, give the poultry all the air 
 and sunlight you can, providing, of course, against excessive sun- 
 shine and heat in the summer. The open front house, as it is called 
 on account of the fact that the whole ,front, or a good portion of it, 
 is open or at least closed only by a light curtain, is gaining more . 
 and more popularity. The true ' ' open front ' ' house has no curtain at 
 all on one side. The open side should be open towards the southeast. 
 The ' ' curtain front ' ' house is an open front house also, except that a 
 curtain of muslin or some similar material, is provided to drop down 
 over the front in unfavorable weather and on some nights. 
 
8 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 MODERN POULTRY HOUSES. 
 
 I When we begin to build a house we should make up a line of 
 questions that are to be answered before we build, or rather an- 
 swered in the building. A good list is as follows : 
 
 1. Location of house. 
 
 2. Size of house. 
 
 3. Height of house. 
 
 4. Style of roof. 
 
 5. Floor — and floor space. 
 
 6. Foundation. 
 
 7. Walls and ventilation. 
 
 8. Windows. 
 
 9. Nests and roosts. 
 li). Dust bath. 
 
 11. Sanitation. 
 
 1. Location. — A house should be built level, whether conform- 
 ing with the slope of land or not, because a sloping house makes bad 
 ventilation. The house should face south, be located on a south 
 slope and be protected on the north by trees, buildings or some 
 suitable windbreak. This allows all the sunlight possible to obtain 
 in a day and prevents a northern exposure. 
 
 2. Size. — This depends on the size of flock kept. The constant 
 tendency is towards larger flocks, hence larger houses. Some poul- 
 trymen keep 500 hens in a healthy condition in one house. But the 
 average seems to be 40-50 laying hens per flock. Different breeds 
 need a different amount of 'floor space, but a good average is 4-5 
 square feet per hen. Thus a house 15 by 15 would accomodate 50 
 hens. If a great number of hens are to be kept, a long house all un- 
 der one roof is the most economical. Two houses under one roof 
 saves the expense of one side, etc., and the labor is reduced. The 
 nearer square it can be built, the cheaper it will be in the end. 
 
 3. Height of Roof. — Five feet in the rear is about as low as a 
 man can comfortably work in without bumping his head. It should 
 be high enough in front to command a good slope. Make the roof 
 as low as possible so that the hens will not have to heat up any more 
 air space than is absolutely necessary. In building cow stables, the 
 rule is 1 cubic foot of air space per pound of live weight. To apply 
 this to poultry houses would make them impracticable, but we should 
 conform to that rule as nearly as possible. 
 
 4. Style of Roof. — This is a much argued point, but I like the 
 shed roof type the best for cheapness, ventilation, etc. Light pene- 
 trates better in a shed roof front, and what dead, foul air accumu- 
 lates may be easily let out in front. Gable roofs demand a cupalo 
 for ventilation or else a straw loft. The shed roof is the simplest to 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 9 
 
 build, easiest to cut, turns all water to the rear, and building paper 
 will last longer on it. More sunlight will strike the floor of a house 
 when a shed roof is used than with any other type. Paper makes 
 by far the best roofing material because it is the warmest. 
 
 5. Floors. — The floor space has been discussed so the material 
 of the floor should be considered. Dirt is extremely unsanitary, gets 
 full of rats, and is dirty and damp. A board floor is too expensive for 
 its life and is not as good as cement. Cement, while expensive, is rat 
 proof, dry if well put in, and easy to clean. It demands a straw litter 
 to protect the hens' feet, but then all floors should have a litter on 
 them anyhow. At Cornell University a two inch cement floor is a 
 
 Y 
 
 J' 
 
 Gash Roo' 
 
 Sh«o Roof 
 
 More Sunshine Gets Into a Shed Roof House Than a Gable Roof With Same Floor Space. 
 
 success. At West Virginia Agricultural College and at several poul- 
 try farms, a one inch floor is a success. 
 
 6. Foundation. — This should be of concrete and so made as to 
 hold the house six inches above the level of the outside ground. It 
 need not go more than 8 inches into the ground, just deep enough 
 to prevent frost heaving up the ground underneath the floor. 
 
 7. Walls. — There are three things to consider in putting up the 
 walls: temperature, moisture and purity of air. The most economi- 
 cal way of handling these is by putting one thickness of matched 
 pine lumber on the north, east and west sides, and covering with 
 roofing paper. This makes the three sides air tight. The front 
 should be made up mostly of cloth and glass windows, the boards be- 
 
10 
 
 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 ing merely ship-lap.. If the sides and back are tight and the front 
 open, no draughts can be made through the house, because it is like 
 blowing into a bottle, it can't be done. But the air may work gradu- 
 ally in and out, purifying and changing, but not suddenly. 
 
 From the dropping boards, up the back wall and over head of 
 where the fowls roost, should run an inside wall of matched lum- 
 ber. In the outside back wall just below the roof, should be a door, 
 about 3 feet long and 12 inches wide, which can be opened in the 
 summer. In the front over head should be another similar opening 
 to be used at the same time. Thus in the summer an excellent venti- 
 lation may be carried on and no draught effect the fowls. This isn't 
 
 High Windows Allow Sunshine to !R«ach the Roosts in Cold Weather. 
 
 always necessary but is an excellent thing if the money is at hand to 
 be used. 
 
 The walls need not be double, making a dead air space. They 
 are too costly and do not really answer the purpose they are intended 
 for. In winter the dead air space would become cold and cool the 
 inner layer of boards, thus causing condensation of the moisture 
 from the warm air inside. 
 
 Dampness is caused by the warm moist air coming in contact 
 with a cold surface, thus condensing the moisture. The warmer the 
 house the more moisture it will hold in suspension. Keep the house 
 cool, yet prevent draughts and the dampness problem is reduced. 
 The moisture in a house comes from the hens' breath, drinking pans 
 and droppings. 
 
 A house with one open side and all the rest tight, may allow this 
 moisture ladened air to escape gradually, without condensation, 
 thus keeping the house dry. 
 
 8. Windows. — Since we wish a front made up mostly of win- 
 dows, their construction cnmrs next. In order to allow this, more 
 
TRICKS OF' THE POULTRY TR1;DE. 
 
 11 
 
 or less 'free eirc-ulatioii of air, as just discussed, ail glass vriadows 
 are out of the questien. Glass allows a quieli cooling of the inside 
 air and probably causes more dampness than anything else. All 
 wire allows too much free passage of a;ir so we must use muslin, or 
 canvas. Muslin allows the slow entrance of air, prevents draught, 
 allows some light, but not' enough. Sunlight is the best germicide 
 known and brings a great deal of cheer in a house, so, some glass 
 m.iist be allowed. 
 
 The glass window, allowing one square foot to 16 square feet 
 of floor space, should be placed perpendicular to the floor, because 
 
 Ground Plan of a Well Arranged House. 
 
 it allows sunlight to strike both the back and front of the house 
 some time in the day. 
 
 The cloth windows, allowing 2 to 2% tinies as much cloth per 
 square foot of floor space as glass, should be placed parallel with the 
 floor and in the upper half of the front. This prevents draught 
 directly on the fowls, when open. 
 
 9. Nests and Roosts. — The roosts should be at the back. of the 
 house under the hood described. At the end of the roosts should be 
 a broody coop with a slatted bottom, for extra males or broody 
 hens. From the ceiling sWirig a muslin door so that it will cover 
 
12 
 
 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 the roosts at night. Leaye a narrow slit near the top of this door, 
 so that air circulation may continue and prevent the fowls from be- 
 coming too warm. 
 
 Underneath the roosts should be the nests, high enough off of 
 the floor to allow freedom of scratching. 
 
 10. Dust Bath. — Lice is one of the pests of poultry. The best 
 way to fight this is to allow the fowls the freedom of a dust wallow. 
 So in front of the glass window where the light will penetrate freely 
 build a pit and cover with a movable hood. This hood keeps the 
 house almost free of the dust. 
 
 11. Sanitation. — This is probably the most important point. 
 Especially where fowls are confined do we find this so. We cannot 
 allow dust that is laden with vermin to blow freely through the 
 houses nor allow droppings to accumulate until foul, if we expect 
 
 ^\\\\N \ \\\\\\\\\\\ \\\ W. \\\ \\\\V\ 
 End Section of a Modem House. 
 
 healthy chickens. Now some may say they allow such things and 
 their fowls are healthy, but we find the savage human race living 
 the same way, without our caring for such a life. An ounce of 
 prevention is worth a pound of cure, and though some things can 
 live in filth, we never know which ones they will be. A house with 
 pure air and a wholesome smell is much more conducive to good 
 health than the opposite. 
 
 To best describe the above points accompanying cuts are shown 
 with this. Maybe you can build a house to suit your circumstances 
 a little differently, but this is a reasonable house that can be built 
 cheaply. It does not pay to put up an expensive house, but a good 
 house will prove advantageous. 
 
 A. G.PHILIPS, 
 Assistapt in Poultry Husbandry, Kansas State Agricultural College. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 13 
 
 A TOWN LOT PLANT. 
 
 Many poultry raisers are situated on small lots. In recent 
 years a strong appeal has been made to such by several so-called 
 methods of poultry raising. Some of these methods contain good 
 suggestions and others contain suggestions that are impractical and 
 unsanitary. If you are raising poultry in small quarters, the first 
 lesson for you to get into your mind is that extraordinary care is 
 required where poultry is kept in close confinement. 
 
 Absolute cleanliness is an absolute necessity. 
 
 Clean your houses, brooders, runs, etc., every day if your 
 quarters are small. Spade up the runs carefully if they have no 
 grass growing on them. Fight lice and mites all the time by paint- 
 ing roosts, brood coops, etc., with the disinfectants given in this 
 book, and spray houses, etc., with the remedies herein recommended at 
 least every other week in the spring and summer. Feed the feeds 
 recommended, keeping the stock busy, except when you want to 
 fatten it, by scratching in litter. By following these simple instruc- 
 tions you can succeed with your poultry, even if in very small quar- 
 ters. 
 
 Build your house for large stock according to our plans given 
 elsewhere and furnish them with as much run as you can con- 
 veniently spare. If you cannot give them runs more than 10 feet 
 long and 5 feet wide, do so, but dig up the runs weekly and keep 
 plenty of fresh litter scattered over it, as well as in the house. 
 Arrange your brood coops all together, counting each coop 5 feet 
 long the long way and 3 feet wide the narrow way. Say you want 
 a place for five broods, then build your five coops altogether 25 feet 
 long. You can build runs out from these coops from 5 to 10 feet 
 long and with each run a width of 5 feet you will have 25 to 50 feet 
 for your chicks to run on. Build the runs of 1-inch mesh wire and 5 
 feet high. A brood coop 3x5, with a fireless brooder in it, as recom- 
 mended in another chapter, will hold from 30 to 40 chicks very 
 nicely in moderate weather, and they can be kept here until three 
 months old. If you increase the number in each coop beyond that 
 yon increase the danger to health and the death rate among the 
 chicks. These brood coops should be ll^ feet high at the side 
 away from the run and 2^/^ feet high on the side facing the run. 
 No limit is put to the number that can be built along together. Three 
 6-ineh boards make the right height for the low side and five for the 
 other. The length of the boards should be according to the number 
 of coops you wish. Thus, for five, 25 feet long, two 12% feet each 
 would be all right. For only four, 20 feet, use 10-foot lengths. 
 These sides should be, of tongued and grooved stuff, not less than 
 % inch thick. The two outside ends should be of the same stuff, but 
 the partitions of lighter material or even heavy roofing paper nailed 
 to a cross piece of 2x3 stuff at the top and fastened to sides and 
 bottom. by a cleat of 1x3 stuff. The coops should each have a cover 
 41^x5, made of 1-inch boarding, covered with roofing, and it should 
 
u 
 
 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRAlJE. 
 
 be hinged with two small hinges at the high side, so as to raise up 
 from the- low side. Let this cover extend over the front or high side 
 12 to 14 inches and 6 inches at the low side or rear. By raising 
 this cover up and hooking with a, small hook and eye, at the fence 
 posts that hold the fencing for, run, this cover is made to serve 
 as one end of the fence in sunny weather. This lets sunshine into 
 your brood coop, which is very necessary. When the solid cover is 
 raised, cover the coop with a frame covered with 1-inch mesh wire. 
 This frame should be so it will go inside the coop and rest on cleats. 
 It is not fastened, but lifts out. It should be of 1x2 lumber, with 
 two cross pieces the short way to brace it. When the wealjier is 
 unfavorable this wire frame is taken out and the solid cover let 
 down and the wire frame hooked up to make the end of the fence. 
 Thus you have the wire frame and solid cover both in use all the 
 time. In placing the fireless brooder, described in another place, 
 
 Brood Coop 3x5 Feet and Wire-Enclosed Kun 5x10 Feet for a Town I.ot Plant. 
 
 in this brood coop, it should be placed within 4 inches of one end, 
 so as to give scratching room at the other end in bad weather. Cut 
 out a place 6 inches wide and 2 feet long, about 6 inches from the top 
 on the high side, cutting it away from the end where the hover is 
 placed. Cover this window on the outside with heavy muslin that 
 has been soaked in linseed oil for a day and tack up while damp with 
 the oil. This will give a good light, like a glass, and at the same 
 time it will let in a fair amount of air and very little rain. A door 
 for the chicks to go in and out should be cut out under the long 
 window, about a foot from the end. The object in having door and 
 window at one end is to keep any drafts or cold air off the end the 
 chicks roost or hover in^ Two or three large auger holes should be 
 bored in the low side opposite the door and about 3 inches below 
 the top. These may be left open all the time except in extra cold 
 weather, when rags, straw or something of the kind should be 
 stuffed in them. In real warm weather the top of the solid cover 
 may be raised up several inches at night, and the wire frame put 
 over the coop, to prevent chicks escaping in the morning. They 
 will hot be likely, even .if of some size, to fly over the front end 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 15 
 
 before you get up in tlie morning and raise the "fence" — one of the 
 tops. This brood coop may be raised off the" ground a few inches — 
 a 2x4 set edgewise and nailed to the coop along the entire bottom of 
 the high side. 
 
 Hens may be used in this plan to brood the chicks. 
 If hens are used a larger door will have to be made for them 
 to go in and out. A small door of coarse mesh wire may be put on 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 W 
 o 
 
 "1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 3x5Bs«a 
 
 
 IFT. PASSAGE 
 
 8 
 
 5X S 
 BROOB 
 
 COOPS 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 40 rr. 
 
 Flan of Arransing Brood Coops and Buns for 500 Chicks in a Space 30x40 feet. 
 
 to confine the hen and allow chicks to go in runs or even in the 
 outside, yard. 
 
 By lining this coop with tar paper and using the hover and hot 
 water method recommended elsewhere, chicks may be raised, even in 
 cold weather, out of doors. 
 
 These coops are cleaned by raising up both the solid and wire 
 covering and the whole coop is thus exposed and easily reached 
 without much effort. K you have occasion to get in the runs you 
 can go over the solid cover, using care not to break the roofing 
 paper on the cover. It will not be necessary to get in the runs more 
 than once a week in order to spade them up, clean out rubbish, etc. 
 Fresh scratching material can be thrown in the runs from outside. 
 Considerable expense of building gates is saved by this method. 
 Although, if you do not care for expenses, you can make gates to 
 go in each run. 
 
 Feed hoppers and fountains are kept inside the brood coop. In 
 
16 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 real hot weather shade may be provided by stretching a cloth along 
 the lower end of the run. This cloth should be 3 or 4 feet wide 
 and should be off the ground several feet, so that air can circulate 
 under it. If small trees can be inclosed in the runs, it is all the bet- 
 ter. Sunflowers may be grown in thei yard, planting them very early 
 in the spring and keeping them inclosed with a small wire fence until 
 they are large enough so the chicks will not damage them. A place 
 30x40 feet will hold two tiers of brood coops of eight each, with 
 yards 5x10 feet. This will make sixteen coops, and estimating' a 
 little over 30 to the coop, it will take 500 chicks on a space this size. 
 The brood coops and runs should be arranged so that two sets of them 
 will have their coops at the same end and thus by going down the 
 alley, care may be given to 500 chicks in a distance of only 40 feet. 
 We give an illustration . of an arrangement of brood coops for 500 
 chicks. Of course, more than eight can be built together if you 
 have a space more than 40 feet wide that you wish to devote to 
 brooding chicks. 
 
 Great care must be taken to keep absolute cleanliness, plenty of 
 pure food, as well as spraying frequently for mites and watching the 
 chicks every week for lice. 
 
 Remember again, the more the number in a given space the more 
 the trouble and closer the care. 
 
 The above system will be found to be better than many of the 
 Tvidely advertised ones, as it involves less labor and care of the 
 flock, and the buildings, etc., are free from cumbering details, too 
 many doors, latches, etc. 
 
 HOW TO GROW LARGE COCKERELS. 
 
 Just as soon as the cockerels can 'easily be distinguished from 
 the pullets, put them in separate runs, at about 4 to 6 weeks, and 
 feed them a good growing ration. By keeping them separate all 
 the time from the pullets they will grow muCh more rapidly and 
 increase to larger size than if allowed to run with the females. 
 
 HOW TO GET MORE PULLETS THAN COCKERELS. 
 
 Keep your hens as quiet as possible. 
 ^■^ It is claimed that mating an old cock bird two or three years 
 old to fifteen or more vigorous pullets will "produce more pullets than 
 cockerels. 
 
 The eggs will not be so fertile as a smaller mating. 
 
 Another thing, eggs hatched late in the season will produce more 
 pullets than those hatched earlier. 
 
 The feed should be very high in nitrogenous feed like wheat, 
 meat, linseed meal, etc. Feed very little corn and all the green bone 
 or meat scraps that they will eat without causing bowel trouble. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 17 
 
 CORNELL PEED HOPPER. 
 
 It now seems certain that hopper feeding in some form is to be 
 an important part of the modern system of poultry feeding. Hopper 
 feeding saves labor, guards against under feeding and makes the 
 
 Cornell Hopper With Front Open and Top Raised. 
 
 Cornell Hopper Closed. 
 
 keeping of fowls in large flocks less objectionable because it avoids 
 
 crowding, which is likely to occur when fowls in large flocks are fed a 
 
 wet mash. To be successful, however, it must be adapted to suit the 
 
 • various breeds and other conditions as to age, season and environment. 
 
 The feed hopper shown here is used for feeding dry meals, meat 
 
18 
 
 TRICKS OF THE POULTBY TRADE. 
 
 scraps or grain. It is made of No. 26 galvanized iron, is 36 inches 
 long, 24 inches tall and 8 inches wide, divided into three compart- 
 ments 12 inches -wide and will hold about 60 pounds of meal or 100 
 pounds of grain. 
 
 It is built with a slanting top and has a door on the front that 
 hinges up from below to close the opening when it is desired that the 
 fowls should not eat. It is the outcome of a series of experiments and 
 is the only hopper of a large number tried at the station plant that 
 will not waste feed and yet does not clog. The fact that it has a door 
 to close and that it is made of galvanized iron makes it entirely rat 
 proof. It is placed on a platform 5 inches tall that projects outward 
 6 iaches in front to prevent the litter from being scratched into it. 
 It has been found that one catch in the center of the door is more 
 satisfactory than the two catches as shown in the illustration. The 
 cost is about $4. 
 
 This feed hopper was invented by E. C. Lawry and Prof. James 
 E. Eice of Cornell University. 
 
 A SIMPLE FEED HOPPER. 
 
 A simple feed hopper is here illustrated and may be used to 
 advantage for growing stock or breeding stock. It will be noticed 
 that one-half of the top is hinged so it can be raised and feed put in 
 or dirt cleaned out. The hopper here illustrated is 8 feet long and 
 is 8 inches wide. The ends are solid. The side board is 4 inches 
 wide. A strip projecting 1/2 inch is nailed on top of the side boards 
 to prevent the chicks pulling out feed. The upright slats are 3 
 
 A Simple Hopper That Fowls Can Eat from Out of Both Sides. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 19 
 
 inches apart and common lathing is used for making them. The 
 hopper may be set on a 2x4 two feet long, one at each end, nailed 
 across the hopper to prevent it being turned over. The height be- 
 tween the bottom part and top of the hopper, or the space they reach 
 in and get feed, should be from 6 to 8 inches. 
 
 HOME-BUILT HOPPER. 
 
 The feed hopper here illustrated may be built of old dry goods 
 boxes, and a hammer, saw and square are all that are necessary to 
 do the mechanical work. Cut out two boards for the sloping sides, 
 making them 4 inches wide at the bottom, 10 inches wide at the top 
 and 20 inches high. These are triangular in front, as shown in the 
 illustration. A board 15x18 inches makes the front and one 15x20 
 the back. Two boards 5x8 inches tacked on at the bottom keep the 
 grain in at the sides. A board 15x5 inches closes the front and 
 
 Popular Type of Feed Hopper — ^Houie Built. 
 
 one 15x2 inches should be tacked on top of the front and two 5x8-inch 
 end boards to prevent the chicks pulling out the grain. Care should 
 be taken that the angle of the two sides is not too sharp, so that the 
 hopper will be top heavy and tumble over if filled with grain. The 
 front upright board should lack 2 or 3 inches of going to the bottom 
 of th^ hopper. The bottom of the hopper should be 15x12 inches. 
 This will tend to make it stable on its feet. Make the top some wider 
 and longer than the hopper and thus keep the feed dry. Hinge top 
 at the back, but the hinges should be under the cover and not on top, 
 as shown in the illustration. 
 
Knowing and Breeding the 
 Heavy Layers 
 
 METHOD OF SELECTING THE LAYING HEN. 
 
 We treat fully in another chapter of the pelvic bone test and 
 the methods given here are also good to use in connection with 
 this test. In fact, it is only by an application of all the known 
 methods that the best layers can be arrived at without trap nesting, 
 as some of the best layers will be found to not have all of the 
 specifications of any method. 
 
 One of the methods of increasing the productiveness of your 
 flock is to select only the very early layers and breed from them. 
 The first pullets that lay can usually be told very easily by the 
 small eggs, their reddened comb, frequent singing, etc. In all 
 flocks there are a few pullets that lay considerably ahead .of all 
 others. These will be found to lay a far larger number of eggs 
 during a year than their sisters that lay later on. 
 
 Another method, by trap nesting for two months, a very fair 
 idea of the laying ability of each hen can be determined. Some 
 hens lay every day, some every other day, and some every third day, 
 while some scarcely lay at all. After laying out a clutch of eggs, 
 some hens rest three, four, five^ or six days while some rest as much 
 as two weeks. It is usually found that the hen that lays right along 
 each day,, will only rest a few days until she begins to lay again. 
 This hen is a valuable hen to keep and breed from and not the hen 
 that lays every other day or the one that rests two or three weeks 
 between laying spells. 
 
 In selecting layers three things should be carefully, considered. 
 
 First, the shape. 
 
 Second, the color of comb, wattles, face, and plumage. 
 
 Third, the actions of the hen. 
 
 Shape. — It cannot be said positively that the egg type of the 
 hen is yet known. The majority select a hen that is wedge shaped, 
 narrow in front, and wide behind and low down, with legs not too 
 long or too short but wide apart. The back is usually long in the 
 best layers, but as stated in the outset, no shape signs are absolutely 
 infallible and the best sign is the laying itself. This shape here indi- 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 21 
 
 eated gives big lung capaety, big organs for digesting, and large 
 egg bag. The crops of layers will most usually be found full at 
 night, while those not laying are usually only partially full. The 
 fingers may be greased and inserted in the vent and hens laying 
 teavily will be found to have large egg bags and small layers small 
 egg bags. 
 
 Color of Comb, Face, Wattles, etc. — In the laying hen face and 
 comb are nearly always a bright red, especially in pullets that are 
 just beginning to lay. A pullet that is soon going to lay will show 
 very red comb, etc. The plumage also of birds that are laying is 
 usually brighter about the time they begin to lay than any other 
 time. Heavy layers in the buff and some parti-colored varieties can 
 be told by a dingy effect that their feathers have after a season's 
 laying. A hen that has laid heavy all season has a much more faded 
 plumage than one that has laid little. It can be safely stated that 
 a heavy laying hen always has bright comb, face, etc., unless she is 
 sick and that shows by other signs also. 
 
 Actions of the Hen. — Early laying is one of the best indications 
 of a good layer. A hen that is going to lay will usually be found 
 singing and "chuckling" to herself a good part of the time. A lay- 
 ing hen is also more active, more inclined to be hunting and digging 
 for something to eat and is more nervous than the non-layer, who is 
 usually drone-like in action. The real fat hen, as well as the real 
 lean hen, is not a good layer. You want a happy medium and this 
 gives a fair amount of activity. Many heavy layers can be told by a 
 duck-like walk that is caused by breadth of body, a fair amount of 
 fat, and width between the legs. 
 
 Other Things to Note. — Neither the overly large or the under- 
 sized hen should be selected for high egg production. Of course in 
 considering size, you should consider the standard weight of the 
 breed. For instance, a 5 pound Wyandotte hen would be more 
 likely to prove a good layer than a 5 pound Brahma, while an 8 
 pound Brahma would be more likely to prove a good layer than an 
 8 pound "Wyandotte. 
 
 If you are improving your egg laying or working to that end, it 
 is just as important to have cockerels that are from egg laying 
 mothers and grandmothers, as it is to select the good egg layers to 
 mate them to. 
 
 The Belgian breeders say to select the cockerels that crow first 
 and mate them to the pullets that lay first and thus you will increase 
 the vigor and egg laying qualities of your flock. A surer method is 
 to select the first cockerels that crow, provided that they are right 
 in other qualifications, and then selecting from these early crowing 
 those whose mother and grandmothers were known to have a high 
 egg yield — early layers, good shape, and tested by the pelvic bone 
 test, — or better, tried out in ^he trap nest. 
 
22 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 THE PELVIC BONE TEST. 
 
 This test has been largely used and much claimed for it. It can 
 be said to be a sure indication of the hen that is then laying, but to 
 take it and tell how many eggs a hen will lay during the year is a 
 different matter. However, by practising the system on the hens 
 every two weeks, the poor layers can soon be weeded out. Several 
 experiment stations, notably California and Minnesota, have tried 
 methods along this line and report a very materially increased 
 egg yield of the flock by selection under this method . 
 
 The skin of most animals when they are in good condition is soft 
 and pliable to the touch. This also applies to domestic poultry. In 
 hens this elasticity is most noticeable in the hinder part o-f the body 
 from the legs to the vent, and especially when they are in full laying. 
 If a bird has been out of condition for any length of time, or. even 
 when overfat, this pliability of the skin is then apparent. There is 
 also a corresponding expansion and contracton- of the pubic bones 
 of the pelvis noticeable at this part of the body according to 
 the laying or non-laying condition of the fowl; and on this fact is 
 based the so called discovery of these several systems. When it is 
 understood that laying almost wholly depends on condition, the 
 fallacy of any such system of picking heavy layers is apparent. 
 
 No matter what width the pelvic bones may be apart, if a hen is 
 overfat she will not be a heavy layer; and any reduction in flesh 
 below normal laying condition that has a tendency to interfere with 
 the vitality of the bird will both cheek her laying, and cause a speedy 
 contraction of the abdominal parts mentioned. However, when once 
 a correct knowledge of the application has been acquired, this com- 
 bination of fair condition, wide pelvic bones, and pliability of the 
 skin beneath the fluff, will prove a sure guide as to whether the bird 
 handled is laying at that particular time. If hens are carefully 
 looked over at stated intervals, and those found to be not laying are 
 removed, the drones of the flock will soon disappear ; for they cannot 
 possibly escape detection. 
 
 When lifting a hen to examine her condition the most handy 
 way to take hold of her is by placing the hand on her "shoulders" 
 from the front; and, slipping the thumb under one wing, and the 
 fingers under the other, to grasp them at the butts firmly but gently ; 
 the hen can then be handled without any fuss. Then, by placing the 
 other hand on the fluff or rear part of the bird's body from the under- 
 neath side, or by slightly turning her over, with the tips of the fin- 
 gers the two pelvic bones which lie one on each side below and adja- 
 cent to the vent can be located. Almost invariably in a low con- 
 ditioned bird the points of these bones stand clearly defined to the 
 touch. As the bird makes flesh they gradually become covered ; till, 
 in an overfat bird, there is some slight difficulty in exactly locating 
 them on account of the thickness of the overlying tissue. The 
 structure of fowls varies greatly in its formation at this part, some 
 birds having a much larger space between the pelvic bones than 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 23 
 
 others, even as chickens; and others, when matured, having the 
 points of these bones not more than one-half inch apart; others, 
 again, will have them at various widths, even up to two inches. To 
 a practical poultryman who understands feeding for condition, and 
 who consequently is well versed in the handling of fowls, the posi- 
 tion of these bones, when taken with the bird's general condition, is 
 a tolerably good guide as to whether she is laying or not. He can 
 also determuie how long it would take to put a particular bird into 
 laying condition if necessary. When from any cause whatever the 
 bird is not laying, there is almost immediately a drawing together 
 and tightening of the skin, and a closing towards each other of the 
 points of the pelvic bones. There is also a corresponding relaxation 
 in those' parts as laying approaches. As size, age, and breed, all to 
 some extent control the structure of each bird, the actual width be- 
 tween the pelvic bones cannot by itself be taken as positively demon- 
 strating the laying condition of any hen. Speaking generally, the 
 bird that is fairly wide between these bones may be looked upon as 
 a good layer; just as one that is wide and deep in the fluff when 
 viewed from the rear is likewise usually considered. The condition 
 of the bird can only be ascertained by handling; and without the 
 knowledge of her condition as drawn from the actual touch, no 
 external appearance of a hen will correctly indicate whether she is 
 laying or not. 
 
 The want of a simple method of culling out the non-layers from 
 an ordinarily well bred and well cared for flock has been the cause 
 of much annual loss to poultrymen. Trap nests have done much 
 towards culling out these drones; but these eohtrivanees are not 
 suitable for the practical working of an ordinary farm flock. The 
 periodical handling of the fowls is a much simpler, and almost as 
 effective a method; and for general egg farming nothing more is 
 needed. 
 
 Every hen house should be built and fitted to permit of the 
 stock being easily handled at night time. Poultry are usually averse 
 to being interfered with in any way in daylight; but they can be 
 looked over at night with little trouble with the aid of a lamp; and 
 it is policy to accustom them to being dealt with while they are 
 chickens. In this connection it is essential that their roosting houses 
 be so constructed that they can be closed at any time ; that the roosts 
 be all on the one level, and not more than three feet from the ground ; 
 and that the houses are kept clean and free from vermin; all of 
 which are in accordance with the requirements of practical chicken 
 raising. Fowls generally molt during the late summer or autumn 
 months ; and while they are growing their fresh coat of feathers egg 
 production usually ceases. Molting occupies from six to eight weeks ; 
 and, unless she is hatching or raising chickens, a hen should be en- 
 gaged in laying throughout the rest of the year. Many hens will 
 take an occasional rest for a week or so after a long spell of laying ; 
 and, unless those rests are prolonged to the possible detriment of the 
 total egg yield, no notice need be taken of them; but the hen that 
 
24 TRICKS aF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 does not do anything towards paying for her board during any four 
 consecutive weeks — excepting when she is molting — should be re- 
 moved from the flock; and either fed to promote laying, or be sold 
 for what she will bring. On the farm, the latter course will be 
 found the most satisfactory way of dealing with non-layers, unless 
 the price obtainable is below their value as table fowls for home use, 
 or the quantity to be disposed of is too large to be thus dealt with. 
 
 This systematic handling of the flock will be found very useful 
 in many ways. The presence of vermin in the sheds will soon become 
 detected, and their destruction will allow the birds to thrive better. 
 The result of any change of feed, or the necessity for a change, can 
 also easily be noted. Incipient cases of sickness have also better 
 chances of being discovered by such inspections, and with prompt 
 treatment losses may be prevented. The non-productive hens should 
 he regularly culled from every flock. By careful observation along 
 the above lines their discovery is easy j and with their removal poul- 
 try farming speedily becomes more profitable. — J. S. McFadzean, in 
 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria, Australia. 
 
 SELECTING THE LAYING HEN. 
 
 This selection is to the average man a problem, but many breeders 
 believe that those fowls which produce for them the most eggs all 
 resemble a common type. Since this is generally so, the question is, 
 what is this desirable type. 
 
 If any person was going to select a herd of cattle for a dairy 
 he would not go to a breeder who has for sale cows- which produce 
 meat instead of milk. He will, however, look for cows which appear 
 to be large milk producers, and have a capacity for handling a large 
 amount of feed. 
 
 This same principle applies in selecting the laying hen. In the 
 first place, since eggs are demanded from her, she must have a large 
 place in which to produce those eggs. This will make a long back, 
 deep abdomen and well spread legs. 
 
 The egg, in order to be laid, must pass between the pelvic or 
 "lay" bones, so we must demand a wide spread of these bones. 
 
 A laying hen must in the first place bear no resemblance to the 
 meat producing fowls. Producing eggs is her business and nothing 
 else must be expected of her. 
 
 With the idea in mind that she must possess a suitable conforma- 
 tion for the production of these eggs, we will go through the process 
 of one who is purchasing some hens and wants only the layers. 
 
 The following are the requirements which each hen must fulfill : 
 . (1) She must be healthy. (2) Comb red and full. (3) Eye bright 
 and lustrous. (4) Neck not short. (5) Breast broad and sloping 
 upwards, long. (6) Back long and broad. (7) Abdomen wide and 
 deeper than breast. (8) Well spread and rather long shanks. (9) 
 V-shaped three ways, viz., (a) on sides, rear to front, (b) top and 
 

 AHTSIZIOIZ, ^iSjP^e^T' 
 
 Diagram for Use in Selecting the L<aying Hen. 
 
26 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 bottom, rear to front, (c) base of tail, from abdomen upwards. (10) 
 "Well spread tail. 
 
 A hen wbich fulfills these requirements should be a layer. But 
 the final test is to catch the hen and examine the spread of the pelvic 
 arch. These bones should be soft and pliable and if a Leghorn and 
 laying, three fingers may be placed between them. 
 
 On page 25 is a chart and outline as used by Prof. James B. 
 Kice, at Cornell University, for students in their practical work of 
 selecting laying hens. This is rather a laborious outline to follow, 
 but the application of its principles should enable anyone to better 
 select the hens he desires. 
 
 Personal experience and observation has taught me that the 
 general use of these ideas will enable any poultryman to select with 
 reasonable accuracy his laying hens. 
 
 The average farmer has not the time to keep trap nests, so he 
 must use some other way. He selects his dairy cow because she is 
 wedge-shaped in three directions and stands well up off of the ground. 
 Why can he not select his laying hens by the same method ? 
 
 A. G. PHILIP, 
 Assistant in Poultry Husbandry^ Kansas State Agricultural College. 
 
 Egg Type Formation, Used by Professor Rice. — Select from 
 among the fowls in the coops (a) three which in your judgment show 
 the best egg type conformation, (b) three that show the poorest egg 
 type conformation. 
 
 For each of the six fowls selected record the following: Length 
 of back from origin of wing (a) to base of rump (b) ; diameter of 
 body, point of keel (d) to base of neck (e) ; diameter of body, rear of 
 keel (b) over back at (g) ; circumference at c-d; circumference at 
 g-h ; circumference at e-f ; distance across pelvic opening (p p) ; dis- 
 tance across pelvic opening from spine (s) to point of pelvic bones 
 {p b) ; vertical distance across from p b to rear of sternum. 
 
 HOW TO BUILD A CHEAP TRAP NEST. 
 
 Trap nests are numerous on the market, but there are very few 
 of them thdt operate as they should, especially when the flock of 
 hens vary in size. After trying a number of these at the Kansas 
 Agricultural Experiment Station, and finding them far from satis- 
 factory, we designed the one shown in the accompany^ing illustration, 
 and after using them a year, we are very well satisfied with them. 
 
 A trap nest, to be successful, must not only catch every hen that 
 enters, but must prevent the entrance of other hens. The one here 
 shown does that to perfection and is very simple to understand, as 
 well as to construct. The design is not patented and anyone can 
 make use of it. In constructing one of these trap nests the gate is 
 made of thin box boards, cleated top and bottom and should be about 
 12x18 inches. A hole is sawed in the lower half 8 inches square. A 
 small gate is made by connecting two pieces of wood together with 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 27 
 
 three wires, 8 inches long. Holes are bored in each end of these 
 pieces of wood, so the gate may slide up and down on two upright 
 wires that are fastened to the gate cleats. This gate works the same 
 as a gate to an exhibition coop and is held up by a wire trigger, 
 having a shoulder bent on one end, on which the gate rests when 
 open, as shown in the cut. The closed door at the left shows that 
 the same kind of a wire shoulder is used to fasten the door, which 
 is done by simply pushing it shut. To open the door this latch is 
 raised with the thumb until the door is released. 
 
 These doors may be fitted to any kind of a box or barrel, but 
 we find it best to nail a 1x4 up edgewise across the box, about 4 
 
 View of Trap Nests- 
 
 -The I^eft-Hand One Is Closed and the One on the Bight Opened 
 to Show Triggers. 
 
 inches from the front, to keep the nesting material from interfering 
 with the gate. This also makes the men more certain to trip the 
 trigger in entering the nest. 
 
 The partitions of the nests shown here are made mostly of cheap 
 muslin, and extend from the roost platform to the roof, so that the 
 hens cannot roost on them. The fronts are made in one section and 
 held in place by three nails, partly driven, so that they may be readily 
 moved should the interior of the nest need spraying or whitewashing. 
 
 The cost of making one of these doors with the gate and trigger 
 attached is about 25 cents each, so the cost of making trap nests of 
 this kind would about equal the freight charges on other makes pur- 
 chased from a distance. — "W. A. Lamb, Superintendent. 
 
28 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 LINE BREEDING. 
 
 Line breeding is the best method you can follow to start a strain. 
 It may be described as selecting a male and female that are as near 
 ideal as you can get hold of and mating them. The following season 
 mate the sire to the best one of his daughters and mating the original 
 dam to one of the picked cockerels of the first year's mating. The 
 third season you breed together two birds of the second season's mat- 
 
 Fclch's diart for Line Breeding to Establish Strains. 
 
 ing, one from each side, and you thus have 50 per cent of the original 
 blood of both birds on each side and still do not mate brothers and 
 sisters. The chart given on line breeding herewith is known as 
 Pelch's chart and was originated by that veteran poultryman, I. K. 
 Pelch. He is also due credit for much work in developing the line 
 breeding system. 
 
 In this chart each dotted line represents the female, having been 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 29 
 
 selected from the group above, while the solid line represents the 
 male so selected. Bach circle represents the progeny. Female 1 
 mated with male 2 produces group 3. Female from group 3 mated 
 back to male 2 produces group 5, and has three-fourths the blood of 
 No. 2 and one-fourth the blood of number 1. A male from group 3, 
 mated to female 1, the dam, produces group 4, only one-fourth of 
 the sire blood, number 2, and three-fourths of the dam blood, number 
 1. A male from group 5 and a female from group 4 produces group 7, 
 one-half the blood of the original birds for the second time. The 
 original male is now mated to females from group 5, and this produces 
 group 8, which has seven-eighths of the original male blood, and a 
 cockerel mated back to the original female, number 1, produces seven- 
 eighths of the original female blood. A male from group 8 and 
 female from group 6 produce group 11, which are the third set of 
 birds to be half the blood of the original pair. By mating a male 
 from 6 and female from 4, group 9 is produced, and this is thirteen- 
 sixteenths of the original sire blood and the same of the original 
 female. A female from this group, 11, and a male from group 9, 
 produce group 14, your new strain on the female side, or twenty-one- 
 thirty-seconds the original dam blood. A female from this same 
 group and a male from 13, produce your new male strain, oi twenty- 
 one-thirty-seconds of the original male blood. 
 
 This system is kept up on and on and no new blood is introduced. 
 It is rather complicated to understand until practiced and then it 
 becomes easy. This method is not inbreeding. 
 
 HOW TO KEEP EGGS FROM HATCHING. 
 
 The popular superstition is that a small drop of grease will 
 keep an egg from hatching, but this is not true, as it requires covering 
 the grease over considerable part of the egg in order to kill the germ. 
 Any kind of grease getting on the outside of the egg during incuba- 
 tion will more or less affect the hatching of the egg by smothering 
 the germ. If you put enough grease on eggs to kill the germ it will 
 be enough to show and be easily detected. One of the favorite ways 
 of preventing eggs from hatching, if you have eggs that you are 
 selling for market purposes and the eggs are from mated stock, is to 
 put a single pin prick in the broad end of the egg. This will nearly 
 always prevent hatching, and is not easily detected, unless especially 
 looked for. Of course, no one with any self respect would either 
 grease or prick an egg and then sell it for hatching. However, all 
 eggs that you expect to sell on the market should have the male birds 
 removed from the females at least two weeks before Ithe eggs are 
 offered for sale. Eggs that are not fertilized keep betten and the hens 
 will produce a larger output, being free from worry of the male bird. 
 
Incubation and Brooding. 
 
 SECURING FERTILE EGGS. 
 
 The first and most important thing is to have vigorous, healthy, 
 well matured, but not too old, breeding stock. 
 
 Second, do not mate too many birds in one mating, from five 
 to twelve, according to breed and vitality of the male bird. . The 
 Asiatics require smaller mating than any breed, while the Mediter- 
 raneans will allow the largest number. 
 
 Third, feed should be with a view to produce fertility rather 
 than great numbers of eggs. The feed should not contain over 10 
 per cent meat scraps, beef meal or fresh cut bone. It should have 
 plenty of nitrogenous feed and not over one-third corn. A very 
 good ration is beef scraps, 10 per cent; wheat, one-third; cracked 
 corn, one-third, and oats, one-third. Also, see recipes for some very 
 successful feeds under proper headings. At least two feedings a day 
 should be fed the fowls in a litter from 12 to 18 inches deep. The 
 litter should be clean and fresh, so that their feed will not be con- 
 taminated by being stirred up in it. 
 
 Remember your breeding stock must take plenty of exercise. 
 
 If it has range it will take enough exercise, but it is not best 
 to breed from birds on the range, as higher fertility can be had 
 from yarded fowls. 
 
 Some breeders practice a system of trap nesting that releases 
 the females after laying in the yard where the male is. At night 
 you will thus know every female that has laid and that only layers are 
 with the male. The next morning your females are placed in the 
 yard alone and the male in the adjoining yard. As they lay and 
 are trap nested, they are put in the yard with the male. This method 
 is said to insure a high degree of fertility. The hen that lays seldom 
 will not be in the yard with the male as much as the one that lays 
 often. The theory is that this is the proper method, as hens not lay- 
 ing much do not require the service of the male to increase fertility. 
 
 Some breeders practice a method of having two males for each 
 yard and alternate them once a week. The theory is that a week's 
 time gives a male an opportunity to become better acquainted with 
 the females in the pen. This system cannot be practiced where eggs 
 are wanted from a special male bird. Where this is desired the best 
 method is to mate the bird to individual hens, having small pens for 
 each hen, with a small roosting or colony coop for each pen. The 
 pens need not be over 5x10 feet. This saves trap nesting, but it is 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 31 
 
 nearly as difficult as to care for the hens in this manner as trap nests, 
 but the time is all taken nights and mornings, and not all along 
 throughout the day, as in trap nesting. In this manner the male 
 bird can be put in each pen half a day at a time. Not over four or 
 five hens should be mated to one bird where this individual system is 
 practiced. 
 
 TESTING EGGS BEFORE SETTING. 
 
 Various methods to tell whether an egg will hatch or not have 
 been suggested. It may be safely stated that it is at present an 
 impossibility to tell whether an egg has the proper germ cell to insure 
 its hatching. But some idea as to its age can be had by simple tests. 
 
 An egg three, to four weeks old stands far less chance of hatching 
 than one a week old. Shape and size have something to do with 
 hatching. Very large or extra small eggs usually give very poor 
 hatches. Ill shaped and deformed eggs also hatch poorly. 
 
 A method offered for sale and claimed much for is that the large 
 end of the properly fertilized egg has a rough, cross-like mark on it. 
 It is claimed that this shows the proper male fertilizing elenient en- 
 tered the egg. It is a fact that the male germ enters the egg up in 
 the ovary and before the egg has taken on any shell material at all. 
 So this theory has little foundation. 
 
 Another method is to use a common egg tester and the small and 
 light colored yolks are infertile and the large, rich colored ones are 
 fertilized. It is true that the richer yolk may cause the chick to 
 grow better after hatching, but the size and color of the yolk have 
 nothing to do with the hatchability of the egg. The yolk is simply 
 feed stored up for the chick's use for the first few days after it 
 hatches until it can rustle for itself. Both the male and female 
 germ cells are located in the white of the egg and all the chick 
 development before hatching is in the white. 
 
 The color, as well as the size, of the yolk is affected by the feed. 
 A large, rich, deep yellow yolk indicates the hen has been fed a 
 strong fat feed, with plenty of green stuff for a few days before lay- 
 ing the egg. The light colored yolks indicate nitrogenous feeds were 
 eaten. 
 
 It has, been claimed that by the use of a microscope the germ 
 cells could be seen in the egg, but as they are practically the same 
 color as the white of the egg, this method is very unreliable. 
 
 By breaking an egg, two cord-like attachments can be seen float- 
 ing in the white and the germ cells are attached to these, but it is 
 impossible to distinguish the cells through the shell. These cord-like 
 attachments are in both fertilized and unfertilized eggs. 
 
 In recent years one of the widely advertised methods has been 
 what is known as the "specific gravity" method. This is simply tell- 
 ing the specific gravity of the egg. It is claimed that eggs low in 
 
32 
 
 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 specific gravity are poor to hatch. As an egg dries out from the time 
 it is laid eggs low in specific gravity will, of course, be older than 
 those higher in gravity. As water evaporates out of an egg the air 
 cells at the large end grow larger. 
 
 These patented instruments to tell the specific gravity of an egg 
 are no surer than the old method of testing eggs by dropping them in 
 a large glass half full of water. If the egg is fresh, it lies flat on the 
 bottom. If not so fresh, the big end will rise up a little, and the 
 
 lUnstration of Simple Method to Test Eggs. 
 
 higher the big end the older the egg. Real stale eggs will in time 
 float. This simple method will give an idea of not only the age, but 
 amount of water in an egg. An egg that is fresh and floats with the 
 big end off the bottom of the glass should not be set, as it is already 
 too low in water^specific gravity — to hatch well. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN EGG TESTER. 
 
 Take an empty box used for breakfast oats or any of the prepared 
 cereals. Cut off one end, and then cut away the pasteboard (on one 
 side) on a curve so as to come against your-forehead. On the opposite 
 side make a V-shaped opening to. fit the nose; in fact, you want to 
 fix this pasteboard box so it will come up tight and close around the 
 eyes, nostrils and forehead. When put up against your face you 
 have a dark box. In the opposite end of the box make, with a small- 
 bladed knife, an oval opening. It should be just about the size and 
 shape of a good-sized spectacle glass. The egg is to be held up 
 against this opening on the outside; but in order to have it fit tight 
 against the pasteboard you want to paste around the opening a circle 
 of dark colored woolen cloth. The idea is to shut out every particle of 
 light, especially any gleam of light that might get in around the 
 egg;. then if the light is cut off in the same way when the pasteboard 
 box comes up against your face, you will have a little ' ' dark room. ' ' 
 With this instrument you can tell whether a white shell egg has the 
 germ started, generally, in 48 hours. In 72 hours, or three days, 
 you can tell very plainly. Point your egg tester right toward the- 
 sun ; or, if. after night, hold the egg near a strong lamp or electric 
 light. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 33 
 
 SOME HANDY ITEMS IN INCUBATION. 
 
 Don't be afraid to use plenty of moisture after the second week. 
 
 Don't be afraid to air from 20 to 30 minutes in a room that is 
 comfortable for you to stay in. 
 
 If your incubator is running in a cellar you will not need to 
 bother with the moisture problem, as it will largely solve itself. 
 
 Whether you have hens or incubators, wet the eggs in water that 
 feel warm to the hand on the nineteenth day. 
 
 Be careful that pipped eggs are just dampened in the water, but 
 eggs that are not pipped may be let stay in the water one-half minute 
 or more. This will improve your hatch considerably. 
 
 A woolen cloth' wrung out of hot water laid over the eggs on the 
 twentieth day is also good when you are using an incubator. 
 
 Eggs that have live chicks in them on the twentieth day will 
 ,show a quivering motion when put/ in water that is as warm as your 
 hand can stand well. As soon as they begin to quiver remove them 
 and put them under hen or in machine. 
 
 Eggs should be tested where set under hen or in an incubator on 
 the fourth day. Eggs that are perfectly clear on that day and do 
 not show dark may be removed. However, if you are uncertain, leave 
 them until two days longer. Any incubator that you have will have 
 a description and illustration of the development of the chick germ 
 for your guidance in testing. If you have not such a booklet and 
 are using hens it is useless to test the eggs under the hen, except to 
 remove infertile ones on the fourth or seventh day. 
 
 Very little can be done to improve the hen's method of handling 
 the eggs except to dampen them weekly and wash off filth that may 
 be on them. Filth should be washed off of setting eggs as soon as 
 found. 
 
 "While it is generally useless to try to save chicks that do not 
 come out of the shell by the twenty-first day, yet you can fre- 
 quently save them by carefully pecking around the shell with the 
 point of a knife and carefully dampening the shell if the chick is: 
 alive and cheeps. Such eggs should be removed from under the hen 
 and wrapped in a warm woolen cloth and placed in a warm place. 
 If in an incubator, place a woolen cloth, wrung out of as hot water 
 as you can bear, over the eggs treated in this way. 
 
 A NATURAL HEN INCUBATOR. 
 
 Where you wish to use hens for incubating eggs they should not 
 be allowed to set all around through the houses, one or two in a place, 
 but should all be in one house, or if you have an old barn or shec^ 
 they may be put in there. A room or shed 12 feet each way can be 
 made to accommodate 20 hens. 
 
 A "natural hen incubator" should be 18 inches liigh and each 
 compartment should be 12 inches wide and 4 feet long. To illustrate ; 
 
34 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 for a shed or room 12x12 feet here is a good plan to build one for 20 
 hens. If your shed is longer add on extra setting compartments. 
 
 Build a box without top or bottom, 18 inches high, 10 feet 
 long, and 8 feet wide. Eun partitions a foot apart the 8-foot way, 
 making compartments 12 inches by 8 feet. Divide these compart- 
 ments in two at the center, making them 12 inches by 4 feet. This 
 will give you 20 compartments. At the ends, away from the middle of 
 each compartment, take a board 6 inches wide, 1 inch thick, and 10 
 feet long and nail across the top, tacking it to each partition. This 
 board should be nailed so as to. leave an opening 18 inches at the 
 ends away from the center partition. Hinge doors to these boards, 
 having the doors 18 inches by 3 feet, except one, which will have to 
 be 18 inches by 4 feet. Thus each door covers three nests at each 
 end, except one, which covers four. The space in the center, between 
 the two 6-inch boards, may be covered with wire netting, 2-ineh mesh, 
 or strips of boards. This makes the top. Let the ground be the 
 bottom. Eaise up the covers and put your nests in next to the ends. 
 Use two brick bats to keep your nest material from working away. 
 Put a shovel full of dust and ashes, equal parts, in each compartment 
 next to the dividing partition, away from the nest end. Put water 
 and feed as far away from the nesting material as you can easily 
 reach, toward the dust pile. This water should be changed every two or 
 three days, according to weather. This gives you a light and cool 
 place to set your hens and you can go along each day and raise up 
 the covers and see if your hens and eggs are all right. Hens are 
 never allowed out of the nest and run, as water and feed, both grain 
 and green stuff, are kept in the little runs all the time. Also, a nice 
 dust bath is handy to allow the hen herself to fight lice and mites. 
 
 SOME LITTLE CHICK SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 Keep little chicks from getting chilled. 
 
 Never allow them to eat until 36 hours old, and until 48 hours 
 only a little water and a small amount of ha,rd boiled egg. 
 
 Keep them as quiet as possible for the first three days, never 
 allowing them more thafi a foot from the hover until after that time. 
 A small plank partition may be put in the brooder in order to confine 
 them close to the hover. 
 
 Little chicks may be taught to drink by springing chick feed 
 on top of the water, as they will peck it off and learn to drink. 
 
 An older chick, after it has had the run of the brooder, will be 
 handy in teaching the chicks to drink, as well as eat. To teach them 
 to eat, sprinkle a small amount of feed on' a white paper and tap the 
 paper lightly with your fingers, placing the little chicks near the 
 feed. They will soon learn to come when they hear this rattling 
 noise on thei paper. 
 
 "When chicks are 8 to 10 weeks old they should be taught to 
 perch. Place the perches in the brood coop, low at first and gradu- 
 ally raising them until they are the right height. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 33 
 
 If kept two or three nights in a certain brood coop, they will 
 learn to go to that coop at night, or the majority of them will, even 
 when they have a larger range with the other chicks and the oppor- 
 tunity to go to another brooder. 
 
 Watch small chicks constantly for head lice, a large gray louse 
 that is found on the head and neck, and is very fatal. A little 
 grease applied on the head and neck will take care of this trouble 
 but the chicks must be carefully preserved from getting wet while 
 they have the grease on them. 
 
 Built from an Old Goods Box. 
 
 FIRELESS OR LAMPLESS BROODERS. 
 
 In recent years this system of 
 brooding has become very popular, 
 especially for indoor use, or where 
 you have an old shed or in a climate 
 where the early spring months are 
 not subject to severe cold and rapid 
 changes. They are not advisable 
 for mid-winter brooding unless you 
 have houses that will not get below 
 freezing, and even with such houses 
 in cold weather your chicks will 
 show poor grbwth. For warm 
 weather they can be recommended. 
 The theory of a lampless brooder 
 is that the chickens make enough 
 heat to keep themselves warm if 
 it is only kept from escaping. This is not a correct theory 
 for very small chicks, as they will become chilled even when piled 
 up in considerable bunches if the weather is cold. You do not want 
 chicks either chilled or piled up in bunches. The brooder, to hold 30 
 to 40 chicks, should consist of an outer covering 2x3 feet and the box 
 8 to 10 inches deep. The top should be in two sections, as per our 
 illustration. The upper top should be hinged on to the rear. The 
 strips of cloth shown in the illustration should be 2 inches wide and 
 one-half of them 2 inches long and the other half 4 inches, and put 
 in double rows around the four outer edges. They should be made 
 of flannel or some soft material. Tack them in strips an inch apart, 
 completely covering entire top. On warm nights it will be necessary 
 to lift the upper covering some, especially as the chicks grow in age, 
 
 The brooder should be as simple as possible. Line it inside with 
 roofing paper or double the walls. The cushion or hover part should 
 be tacked on a separate cover three inches smaller each way than 
 the top lid and thus will give better ventilation and allow the chicks 
 to come outside if it is too warm under the hover. This cushion- 
 holding frame need not be solid, but may be a frame of 1x2 stuff, 
 covered with flannel or burlap. This covering on the frame may be 
 
36 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 allowed to sag in the center thr^e or four inches. A cross piece should 
 be placed in the center of the frame, the long way. Tack the burlap 
 to this. This sagged covering is nice for the chicks to brace their 
 backs against. In using frame and cloth covering the hanging strips 
 are tacked to the cloth with needle and thread. Place in the sagging 
 burlap a bottle full of hot water at night and this will be found a help 
 in keeping the chicks warm. Hot sand can be used in place of water, 
 as it will hold heat longer. The bottles of water or sand may be 
 heated on a cook stove and then laid in the brooder. An extra cloth 
 on top of the bottles helps retain the heat. The frame that holds 
 the cloth or hover part should be hinged to the box about half way to 
 the top, or it may rest on cleats nailed to the sides. By having the 
 cleats nailed down low so that the hover when on the cleats fits the 
 smallest chick, by putting in blocks of wood on the cleats, the hover 
 can be raised as the chicks increase ia size. An adjustable hover to 
 fit chicks of any size may be hung onto the top lid by nailing an old 
 broom stick just a little longer than your box is deep perpendicularly 
 to the cross piece of the hover frame. Bore a hole in the top just a 
 little larger than the broom stick, passing the broom stick out through 
 this hole. "With a small gimlet make holes through the broom stick 
 about 3 inches apart. Put a 10-penny nail through one of the holes, 
 the one nearest the top for the least baby chicks, and the nail resting 
 on the top lid holds the hover off the floor. By moving the nail you 
 can regulate the height of the hover so that the inside of it just 
 touches the chick's back. 
 
 These brooders may be used outdoors in a brood coop in moder- 
 ate weather. 
 
 A heavy cloth over the entire brooder helps retain heat and keep 
 out cold. 
 
 HOW MUCH A HEN EATS A YEAR. 
 
 The average amounts of the material eaten by a hen during a 
 year is about as follows: 
 
 Grain and meal mixture 90.0 pounds 
 
 Oyster shell 4.0 pounds 
 
 Dry cracked bone 2.4 pounds 
 
 Grit 2.0 pounds 
 
 Charcoal 2.4 pounds 
 
 Clover 10.0 pounds 
 
 HOW TO TELL MALE AND FEMALE SOON AFTER HATCHING. 
 
 In the single comb breeds the little chicks that are males have 
 larger combs than the female chicks. Also some spurs can be seen 
 on the little cockerels when only a few days old. The cockerels in 
 the larger breeds are nearly always some larger. As the chicks grow 
 the cockerels are inclined to be straight in body and do not feather 
 out so evenly or quickly. The pullets put out small tails and wing 
 feathers earlier than the cockerels. 
 
Feeds and Their Preparation 
 
 "FEED FOR A FEW CENTS A BUSHEL." 
 
 Cheap methods of producing feed have been widely advertised 
 in the poultry journals and the process sold for a high price. There 
 is no patent on the idea and you can utilize it. 
 
 The feed produced in this manner is especially valuable for 
 winter feed, but will prove a good tonic for feeding yarded fowls 
 even when other green food is convenient. You can feed freely of 
 it. Sometimes the oats spoil and do not sprout properly. These 
 spoiled oats must be fed sparingly, if fed at all. 
 
 The feed is known as "sprouted oats." The method can be 
 practiced in warm weather in the poultry house or barn, care being 
 taken, of course, to have the oats that you are sprouting kept away 
 from the fowls until ready to feed. But in cold weather it is neces- 
 sary to have .a cellar for the process. 
 
 There are four methods. 
 
 One is to take a box that will hold about a bushel and put the 
 oats about 3 to 5 inches deep in it. "Wet them good with warm 
 water in the morning, stirring up carefully. Three or four auger 
 holes should be bored in the bottom of the box to allow surplus water 
 to escape. The oats should be at least two inches deep and not over 
 six. As above stated, it is necessary to have a warm place to sprout 
 them. They should be stirred up and wet down every day. It will 
 take from a week to ten days to sprout them properly by this 
 method. When sprouted they are a mass of green sprouts and oats. 
 
 Another method is to have a rack in the cellar, or wherever 
 you wish to do the sprouting, with shelves or drawers, the drawers 
 to be about 6 inches deep and the bottom of them of fine screen 
 wire or burlap, that will not let the oats run out. By making seven 
 of these shelves or drawers and filling them half full of oats and 
 having them one above the other, you can throw the warm water on 
 the top- shelf and sprout feed for each day of the week, starting new 
 shelves at the top. If the oats are not too deep and plenty of water 
 is used, care being taken not to have the water too hot, it will not 
 be necessary to turn the oats. It will be necessary in this method 
 to soak enough oats over night to fill a compartment each morning, 
 as pouring water through them will not get enough water in them. 
 In any of these processes care must be tal^en not to allow the 
 oats to freeze. 
 
 A good method is given by J. F. Lenard as follows : 
 
 "Take one bushel of common oats and soak them over night. 
 
38 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 Make a frame of lx6-iiicll lumber, 3 feet wide by 8 feet long. Place 
 the frame on smooth, hard ground and spread the oats evenly inside 
 it. Cover the oats with one inch of loose ground and water every day. 
 
 When the sprouts show through it is ready to feed. Then with 
 a garden hoe, work under the roots, pull them up straight and you 
 will have the finest green fbod you ever saw — food that you cannot 
 beat with anything else as cheap, or as simple to obtain. Every hoe 
 full has a big lump of dirt on it, also some animal food. You will 
 wonder where I get the animal food. Examine some of this earth 
 and you will find it full of worms and bugs. This gives the birds 
 exercise to scratch them out! Green food grown in earth has more 
 strength and substance than when it is sprouted with water in a 
 warm room. ' ' 
 
 Another method is to sow the oats in rows in the ground, soaking 
 them over night before planting. Put enough to keep the hens busy 
 for two or three days, as you give the hens exercise by digging the 
 oats up. This method can, of course, be practiced only during warm 
 weather and where you have runs of sufficient size so they will not 
 be scratched up all at once. 
 
 The second method is preferred by most poultrymen. 
 
 THE FEEDING PROBLEM. 
 
 The problem of poultry raising, next in importance to breeding, 
 is the feeding problem. 
 
 The art of feeding is a scientific one, but should also be treated 
 in a practical way. No man should give a hen anything to eat with- 
 out having a reason for so doing. 
 
 Let us look into this matter as a beginner would who was tend- 
 ing his first flock of poultry. What is he going to raise poultry for ? 
 Let us suppose it is primarily for eggs, and take up that standpoint. 
 What is the egg cornposed of? The chemical composition of the dry 
 substance of the inside of the egg is : 
 
 Protein. Fat. 
 
 White (albumen, white of the egg) 88.9,2 .53 
 
 Yolk 20.62 64.43 
 
 This composition would naturally lead us to think that in order 
 to make eggs, fatty as well as nitrogenous food must be given. 
 
 A hen requires so much food per day as a maintenance ration. 
 When this is supplied, and not until then, will she lay. All over 
 this required amount is put into the egg until its limit is reached, 
 then the surplus goes into fatty tissue. In order to lay, a hen must 
 have some fat, the egg requires it, but not too much. An over supply 
 causes liver troubles, broken down legs, etc. Therefore the problem 
 is, feed enough, but not too much. But what is enough and what is 
 too much ? ■ 
 
 Prof. W. P. Wheciler, of the. New ,York Experiment Station, 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 39 
 
 Geneva, N. Y., has found that 500 pounds live weight of hens in full 
 laying, each hen weighing from three to five pounds, would require 
 per day : 
 
 Dry matter 27.5 pounds 
 
 Ash 1.5 pounds 
 
 Protein 5.0 pounds 
 
 Carbohydrates 18.75 pounds 
 
 Fat 1.75 pounds 
 
 This has a nutritive ration of 1:4.6. 
 
 The nutritive ratio means the ratio between the carbohydrates, 
 plus 2^4 times the fat, and the protein. The protein makes the fibers 
 and muscular tissue, and the carbohydrates and fat produce the 
 fatty tissue, energy and heat. 
 
 Now we know how much feed constituents it takes to keep a 
 hen in laying condition and what the analysis is of the egg after 
 being laid. So what grains, etc., shall we feed? 
 
 Fowls beiQg primarily grain eaters, we discuss the principal ones. 
 
 Wheat. — This the best one grain, is palatable, ^mall size, not 
 hard, and is rich in mineral matter as well as protein. It is an 
 easy grain to obtain and should be used extensively in the feed 
 mixture. Screenings are good if clean. 
 
 Corn.— Corn is the king of grains, because it is so cheap and 
 economical, except when fed as a single grain. Alone it is too fat- 
 tening, does not contain enough protein, but does have too much 
 mineral matter. Hens will pick it out in preference of all grains, 
 partly on account of its color ; corn gives a yellow tinge to the yolk 
 of the egg, and also to the plumage. 
 
 Oats.— r-If heavy, oats are desirably. The shucks are about as 
 good as straw. The grain is a growthy feed and the oat oil is sup- 
 posed to contain 'avanin, a nerve tonic. 
 
 Barley. — ^Barley is good for fattening, and if handy and reason- 
 able in price is equal to wheat. Hens like it. 
 
 Buckwheat. — This is used for fattening, and whitens the yolk 
 of the egg and skin of the fowl. The middlings are richer than 
 wheat middlings. 
 
 Rye. — ^Dd not feed. Hens rarely like it. 
 
 When forcing hens to lay their work of digestion must be re- 
 duced, hence we feed ground food made . mostly of by-products. 
 Ground food is used to narrow the ration because no combination 
 of whole grains' is narrow enough for a laying hen. 
 
 Bran. — This is best for bulk and can be fed liberally. There is 
 a big difference in quality and the test is to chew it. If gummy it 
 contains gluten which is the valuable part of bran. 
 
 Middlings. — This is sometimes made of ground bran, but flour 
 
40 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 middlings are best. When mixed with water it should be sticky. 
 A low grade of flour is better than most middlings. But it is a 
 valuable food in a dry mash. 
 
 Linseed Meal. — This is a laxative and should be fed sparingly, 
 never more than 1-10. 
 
 Cotton Seed Meal. — Never feed. It is constipating. 
 
 Meat Foods. — Give a liberal amount, if the hens are confined, for 
 there is no substitute for it to be found in grains. The best is skim 
 milk. Curdle the milk and feed the pot cheese. 
 
 Green Cut Bone. — This ranks next, but is sometimes unhandy to 
 feed. Never feed more than i^ ounce per hen per day. 
 
 Beef Scrap. — Much illness is caused by feeding this, especially 
 if the quality is poor. Get a guaranteed analysis and test by smell- 
 ing the aroma given off when hot water is poured on it. But it 
 is a valuable feed and can be fed as 10 per cent of the feed. 
 
 Green Peed. — If confined, feed the hens green food as it aids in 
 digestion. Mangel beets are the best. Rape and alfalfa are good. 
 Alfalfal meal may be fed in winter. 
 
 Now that we have looked at some of the important feeds, how 
 shall we feed them. First let me say, keep as close to nature as 
 possible. A hen eats when she wants to, from daylight until dark, 
 and aU she wants of it. So we must allow this, but possiblv control 
 what she shall eat. If allowed free range the feed bill will be greatly 
 lessened and the fowls probably much healthier, but everybody can- 
 not allow this. 
 
 Some essential points in a good ration for fowls are: 
 
 1. It should be composed Of foods everyone of which the fowls 
 like. Do not try to force them to eat undesirable food. 
 
 2. It should contain a sufficient quantity of digestible nutrients 
 to supply the needs of rapid growth and large production. 
 
 3. It should have enough bulk to enable the digestive secretions 
 to act quickly upon it. 
 
 4. It should not contain an excess of indigestible fibre, which 
 must be thrown off- by the system, thus causing a waste of energy. 
 
 5. A certain portion of the ration should be of whole grain in 
 order to provide muscular activity of the digestive organs. This' 
 is made necessary in grinding the grain. Under certain conditions a 
 quantity of the ration should be soft, ground food. This is for the 
 purpose of providing quickly available nutrients to supply the imme- 
 diate demands of rapid growth or heavy continuous egg yield. 
 
 6. It must provide a good variety of foods, in which are included 
 grain, green food, meat and mineral matter in proper proportions. 
 
 7. The foods in the ration must not have an injurious effect upon 
 the color or flavor of the product. 
 
 8. The age of the fowl, the breed and the kind of product it is 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 41 
 
 desired to produce must be considered, as to whether the food is in- 
 tended to grow muscle and bone or to produce eggs or to fatten. 
 
 9. The ration must provide the two classes of food nutrients; 
 the protein and carbohydrates in such proportion that they will sup- 
 ply the daily needs of the fowl's system; it must also provide suffi- 
 cient digestible protein to repair the waste of tissue with new growth, 
 and to produce eggs; and provide the proper amount of digestible 
 carbohydrate food to furnish heat, energy and lay by a little surplus 
 flesh in the form of fat. 
 
 10. The ration must consist of foods which furnish the nutrients 
 at the lowest possible cost. 
 
 11. It is not how much a fowl eats but how much it can digest 
 that determines the value of a food. Various classes of animals differ 
 in their power to digest the same kind of food. Foods also vary in 
 their digestibility when used by the same animal. Since the propor- 
 tion of each poultry food which fowls can ordinarily digest has not 
 yet been determined, we will accept the standards of digestibility 
 which are used in compounding rations for other animals. 
 
 It has been our experience that a hen should be made to exercise; 
 if she will not do it naturally. To do this a grain feed should be 
 put in a straw litter. Early in the morning a few handfuls may 
 keep the hens busy all day. At night, especially in the winter, 
 they should go to bed with full crops. If we can keep the ration 
 narrow ,enough all the feed a hen wants will not over fatten her, if 
 she exercises. 
 
 As has been stated before, all grain is too fattening, so ground 
 feed must be given. "Wet mash takes too much time for the results 
 obtained, so think the dry mash is best. Make a good hopper that is 
 non-wasteful, and keep before the fowls all day. If you care to, 
 close them at night. 
 
 Grit should be before them at all times, also oyster shell. Grit 
 is the hen's teeth; oyster shell makes the egg shell; so both are abso- 
 lutely necessary. 
 
 Green food should be given if at hand, and water is iadispensible. 
 
 The following ration has been found to be a successful one, where 
 eggs are in demand : 
 
 The proportions of grain mixed together for the litter is 10-10-5. 
 
 Wheat 10 pounds 
 
 Corn (cracked preferred) 10 pounds ' 
 
 Oats 5 pounds 
 
 The proportion for the dry mash in the hopper is 6-6-3-1-1-5. 
 
 Middlings 6 pounds 
 
 Corn meal 6 pounds 
 
 Bran 3 pounds 
 
 Oil meal 1 pound 
 
 Alfalfa meal 1 pound 
 
 Beef scrap 5 pounds 
 
42 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 This nutritive ratio is 1 :3.9, a little narrower than Professor 
 Wheeler says is necessary. In feeding, the grain and ground food 
 in the above proportions should all be eaten up at the same time. 
 Hens M^ill naturally eat more grain than meal, so the grain may have 
 to be held back in order to make them eat the meal. Generally the 
 grain will run' out just a little ahead of the meal so the ratio runs 
 about right most of the time. 
 
 Now do not think we mean that all hens should be fed grain 
 in the proportion of 1:4.6 because in the hen business, too much 
 scientific work is a failure. But the above discussion of feeds is a 
 good gtiide. Any poultryman should use his own judgment, and suit 
 his actions to his conditions and environment, etc. 
 
 With some fowls the above ration is a grand success. With 
 others, we find all the mentioned feeds cannot be obtained, so the next 
 best thing is done. 
 
 We have .talked to feeders who know nothing of the science of 
 feeding, btit just use common sense. They claim a hen is like a man. 
 She wants a variety and she wants a plenty. But the real and main 
 point is to know the hen and give her what will bring the best results. 
 
 A. G. PHILIPS, 
 Ass't in Poultry Husbandry, K. S. A. College, Manhattan. 
 
 A FAMOUS CALIFORNIA EGG FEED. 
 
 This ration feed, with green feed of potatoes, cabbage, etc., gives 
 the highest results in egg yield at the California Experiment Station. 
 It was fed in hoppers as a dry mash. 
 
 Two parts middlings, 2 parts bran, 1 part corn meal, 1 part shorts, 
 1 part bolted barley, 1 part meat meal, y^ part bone meal. 
 
 CHICK RATION USED BY KANSAS EXPERIMENT STATION. 
 
 Grain Mixture. — Two parts cracked corn, two parts cracked 
 wheat, two parts Kaffir corn, one part millet. 
 
 Mash. — Two parts corn meal, two parts shorts, two parts bran, 
 two parts beef scrap, one-half part alfalfa meal. 
 
 'Give them all the grain and mash which they desire. As they 
 grow older, change the mixed grain to a mixture of whole grain, 
 rather than cracked grain. This will furnish variety and practically 
 all the necessary things which grain will furnish a growing chick. 
 In feeding the mash, which feed in hoppers, be very careful that they 
 do not over eat when quite young, as some chicks are apt to become 
 over-zealous in their desire for this good tasting mixture so that 
 they become afEected with diarrhoea and consequently are held back 
 somewhat in their growth, but with judgment this combination of 
 feeds is safe. 
 
 This ration has been very successfully used by the Kansas sta- 
 tion, and the loss of chicks was practically nothing. It produced 
 very quick-growing and thrifty chicks. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 43 
 
 MAINE STATION CHICK POOD. 
 
 Infertile eggs are boiled for half an hour and then ground in an 
 ordinary meat chopper, shells included, and mixed with about six 
 times their bulk of rolled oats, by running both together. This mix- 
 ture is the feed for two or three days, until the chicks have learned 
 to eat. It is fed with chick grit, on the brooder floor, on the short 
 clover or chaff. 
 
 About the third day the chicks are fed, in low tin pans, a mixture 
 of hard, fine broken grain, as soon as they can see to eat in the 
 morning. The mixture now used has the following composition : 
 
 Parts by 
 weight. 
 
 Cracked wheat 15 
 
 Pinhead oats (granulated oat meal) 10 
 
 Fine screened cracked corn 1.5 
 
 Fine cracked peas : ;j 
 
 Broken rice 2 
 
 Chick grit 5 
 
 Fine charcoal (chick size) 2 
 
 It is fed on a litter, care being taken to limit the quantity, so 
 they shall be hungry at 9 o 'clock a. m. 
 
 When they are about three weeks old the rolled oats and ejjrg 
 mixture is gradually displaced by a mixture having the following 
 composition : 
 
 Parts by 
 weig-ht. 
 
 "Wheat bran (clean) 2 
 
 Corn meal 4 
 
 Middlings, or "red dog" ilour 2 
 
 Linseed meal 1 
 
 Screened beef scrap 2 
 
 This mixture is moistened with water just enough so that it is 
 not sticky, but will crumble when a handful is squeezed and then 
 released. The birds are developed far enough by this time so that 
 the tin plates are discarded for light troughs with low sides. Young 
 chicks like the moist mash better than that not moistened, and vaJl 
 eat more of it in a short time. There is no danger from the free use 
 of the properly made mash twice a day, and since it is already ground 
 the young birds can eat and digest more of it than when the feed is 
 all coarse. This is a very important fact, and should be taken ad- 
 vantage of at the time when the young chicks are most susceptible to 
 rapid growth, but the development must be moderate during the first 
 few weeks. The digestive organs must be kept in normal condition 
 by the partial use of hard feed, and the gizzard must not be deprived 
 of its legitimate work and allowed to become weak by disuse. 
 
 " By this time the chicks are 5 or 6 weeks old and the small broken 
 grains are' 'discontinued and the two litter feeds are wholly of 
 screened cracked corn and whole- wheat. > 
 
44 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 MAINE STATION FEED FOR BREEDING STOCK. 
 
 Early in the morning for each 100 hens four quarts of whole corn 
 is scattered on the litter, which is 6 to 8 inches deep on the floor. 
 This is not mixed into the litter, for the straw is dry and light, and 
 enough of the grain is hidden so the birds commence scratching for it 
 almost immediately. At 10 o'clock they are fed in the same way 
 two quarts of wheat and two quarts of oats. This is all the regular 
 feeding that is done. 
 
 Besides the dry whole grain a dry mash is kept always before 
 the birds composed of : Parts by 
 
 weight. 
 
 Wheat bran 2 
 
 Corn meal 1 
 
 Middlings 1 
 
 Gluten meal or brewers' grains 1 
 
 Linseed meal 1 
 
 Beef scrap 1 
 
 AN ALL AROUND FEED. 
 
 A good feed for breeding stock is made as follows : 
 
 Cracked corn, 30 pounds ; whole wheat, 30 pounds ; oats, 10 
 
 pounds ; clover or alfalfa, fine cut, 10 pounds ; beef scraps or meal, 10 
 
 pounds ; grit, 4 pounds ; oyster shells, 4 pounds ; charcoal, 2 pounds. 
 Fed as a dry mash in feed hoppers. Green feed should be given 
 
 in addition. If the flock seems to get too lazy or fat, close the hopper 
 
 and feed grain in litter for a week.' 
 
 A QUICK GROWING RATION. 
 
 After the chicks are six weeks old and have been fed one of the 
 rations recommended in another place, the following ration may be 
 fed them in hoppers: 
 
 Five parts wheat, 4 parts cracked corn, 3 parts of a mash com- 
 posed of 45 pounds corn meal, 10 pounds kaf&r corn, 10 pounds 
 ground oats, 5 per cent beef scrap with 1 pound grit and granulated 
 bone. Keep this before them all the time and allow them range and 
 your pullets will be laying in five months from hatching. They 
 will also develop thrift and size. 
 
 A VERY STIMULATING FEED. 
 
 An excellent ration is made by mixing 100 pounds corn chop, 
 100 pounds of bran, 100 pounds of shorts, 100 pounds alfalfa meal, 50 
 pounds oil meal, 50 pounds meat meal and mix in this a pint of salt 
 and two pounds of cayenne pepper. Keep this in your feed hopper 
 at all times. About a half hour before sunset feed your chickens all 
 the whole corn they will eat. Be sure they eat it all up clean. 
 
 . This feed is very high in egg-producing nlaterial and will prove 
 a fine tonic to start a flock laying. If it causes bowel trouble take 
 the mash away for a few days, feeding corn- and wheat only. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 45 
 
 FATTENING FEEDS. 
 
 A much heralded fattening feed is made of equal parts clover or 
 alfalfa meal, corn meal or wheat middlings, and bran. The best 
 proportion, perhaps, is one-third each alfalfa meal, corn meal and 
 wheat bran. The mixture is scalded well with hot water and stirred 
 up thoroughly and let stand until cool for feeding. It is claimed 
 that an addition of 10 per cent tallow will increase the value of this 
 as a fattening food. 
 
 The Maine station fattening receipt consists of 100 pounds corn 
 meal, 100 pounds wheat middlings, 40 pounds meat meal. This is 
 fed in a mash condition, just thick enough to run off a spoon. If wet 
 with skimmed milk it will be much better than when wet up with 
 water. 
 
 Here's another fattening mixture for young stock especially: 
 Equal parts corn meal, ground oats, and wheat middlings, with a 
 little linseed meal. Feed all the whole corn they will eat once a day. 
 
 Experiments have shown that the greatest gain in fattening is 
 made by young stock from 3 to 4 months old. 
 
 Fatten young cockerels and sell at this age. 
 
 Old hens may be fattened for market on either of the above feeds. 
 
 CRATE AND PEN FATTENING. 
 
 In the crate method a few fowls are confined in crates and fed 
 from a trough. A crate 6 feet long, 18 inches high and 18 or 20 
 inches wide is suitable and is large enough for a dozen birds. Some- 
 times such a crate is divided into two or three compartments, 4 to 6 
 birds being placed in each compartment. But little room for the 
 birds to move about is desirable, for the less exercise a bird obtains 
 the more readily does it fatten. The top, back and ends of the 
 crates should be solid if they are to be placed outdoors, but if they 
 are to be in a building they may be built of laths or slats. These 
 slats should be 2 inches apart in front, so as to permit the birds to 
 eat from the troughs which are hung just outside the coop. The 
 slats of the bottom of the coop should be about I'inch apart to permit 
 the droppings to fall through. In indoor feeding the crates should 
 be placed in a dark room, and just before feeding enough light 
 should be admitted to allow the birds to see to eat. They are usually 
 fed three times a day, and are permitted to eat for half an hour 
 at a time, when the room is again darkened and the uneaten feed 
 removed. 
 
 It is claimed that crate or coop fattened poultry is more tender 
 than that fattened in a small house or allowed to range, but experi- 
 ments have demonstrated that chickens fattened in a small house 
 will make greater gain than those fattened in crates. 
 
 Twenty-five fowls may be fattened in a room 10x12 feet and 
 will make greater gain in two weeks than those fed in crates. 
 
 Grit and plenty of water are kept before fattening fowls all 
 the time. 
 
Preparation for Exhibition 
 
 HOW TO CATCH AND CARRY POULTRY. 
 
 Two methods are practiced by fanciers in taking poultry out of 
 exhibition coops and both are good. The writer prefers the first one. 
 
 Reach in with your right hand, placing it on top of back and 
 wings of the bird; press down carefully, yet firmly and gently until 
 the bird begins to give from the pressure, then take hold of the legs 
 with the left hand, grasping the wings with the right hand. The 
 thumb and forefinger should go around the right wing of the bird, 
 while the remaining fingers grasp the left wing if an attempt' is made 
 to spread them. Remove the bird head foremost from the coop. 
 
 Some, however, practice the opposite and remove the bird tail 
 first. Never attempt to bring the bird out sideways. 
 
 In returning the bird to the coop always return it taU first and 
 it will not make an attempt to get loose before you get it will inside 
 the coop. By handling a bird this way, holding it firmly, there is 
 the least liability of damage to the plumage. 
 
 Another method is to catch the bird by the feet first with the 
 left hand, allowing the bird to rest on the forearm and the right hand 
 can be used if necessary to hold the wing or to open the door. In the 
 first method you open the door with your right hand and hold it up 
 with your left until you get the bird to giving from the pressure of 
 your right hand. In handling wild birds it is necessary to work 
 slowly and with caution, but with a few handlings the average bird 
 submits and can be handled quickly and easily. 
 
 In carrying any kind of poultry carry them by the feet with the 
 head up, allowing the body to rest on the forearm and the head under 
 the arm and next to your side. Never carry poultry feet up and head 
 hanging down. Also, if you carry a bird by the feet with its head out 
 in front of you, it will be likely to become frightened and attempt to 
 get loose, but with the head under the arm it will submit quietly. 
 
 TAKING OR PITTING? 
 
 In the realm of poultry exhibitions and in the opinion of fanciers 
 there is a dispute about where legitimate fitting a bird for exhibition 
 ends and where disreputable faking begins. 
 
 The Standard describes faking by naming quite a number of 
 things, and then closes with the following definition that may be 
 taken as general: "Any self-evident attempt on the part of an 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 47 
 
 exhibitor to deceive the judge and thus obtain an unfair advantage 
 in competition." 
 
 It sounds like this would be general and sweeping enough to 
 cover and settle all disputes, but still it is a fact known among all 
 well-posted poultrymen that many of the leading exhibitors do 
 things that they would not want the judge or their competitors to 
 know. They will defend some of these by word of mouth and pen. 
 It is not intended to say who is right or wrong in these disputed 
 questions of just where fitting quits and faking begins, but to give 
 the facts and let the reader judge for himself. 
 
 The question separates itself into three distinct divisions and 
 will be treated in this manner. 
 
 First, the unobjectionable or admittedly proper fitting. 
 
 Second, the debatable or questionable things ; call them ' ' fitting ' ' 
 ,or "faking," as you prefer. 
 
 Third, the straight-out faking. 
 
 PROPER FITTING. 
 
 Considering the divisions given in the former chapter as named, 
 some of the methods of fitting that are pretty generally recognized as 
 ■all right, and that you may do with a good conscience, will be de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Cleaning Legs and Toes. — ^AU birds that you are going to enter 
 in the show room should have legs and toes carefully washed and 
 cleaned a few days before taking them to the show. Use strong soap 
 suds, rubbing the feet and legs with a stiff -bristled tooth brush. Get 
 all dirt out from under the scales, even if you have to take a tooth- 
 pick and clean the scales one at a time. If there is scaley or knotty 
 formation on the feet you may have to first grease them carefully, 
 removing the knots and then washing next day. After carefully 
 washing and cleaning thoroughly, rub with a little sweet oil, in which 
 has been dropped one or two drops of carbolic acid. Of course, 
 after washing for the show you will have to keep the birds out of 
 the dirt by keeping in a clean coop or your work will all have to be 
 done over again. 
 
 Polishing Beak and Toe Nails. — In some breeds the appearance 
 of the bird may be very much improved by carefully polishing beak, 
 as well as toe nails. This is true in Barred Rocks and breeds that 
 are inclined to show dark spots on beak. Frequently the objection- 
 able discoloration can be polished off without injury to the bird. 
 Care must be taken not to polish to the quick, so as to injure the 
 bird and make the beak bleed. 
 
 Oiling Oomb, Etc. — The comb, wattles and face can be heightened 
 in color by using a little glycerine and sweet oil. Alcohol may also 
 be used. This should be used only a short time before judging, as it 
 brightens up the comb, wattle, etc., very much. After rubbing either 
 
48 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 on, take a cloth and carefully clean off all the fluid, leaving comb, 
 etc., bright. 
 
 Preventing Comb from Falling Over. — Frequently birds taken 
 from an outdoor life into a warm show room, especially where they 
 have been well cared for, the combs of the high single comb breeds 
 will be inclined, after a few days, to slightly fall over and thus ma- 
 terially injure the appearance of the bird, and even hurt its value in 
 the eyes of the judge. This may frequently be remedied by washing 
 the comb a few times in alum water and bathing in cold water. 
 
 Training Birds to Pose. — It is important that your birds be gentle 
 and easily handled when you take them to the show room. About 
 two or three weeks before you take them to the show they should be 
 kept in exhibition coops, so they will not be excited by being confined. 
 They should be handled a few minutes at least every day. Begin 
 handling them at ijight, as you will find them much more docile at ■ 
 night than in day time. Take the bird out some night when you 
 have only a moderately good light and stand it on a barrel or box, 
 talking to it and handling it all the time. Eaise its head up gently 
 by touching point of the beak, then press it back down, move the 
 bird slightly a few times, all the time keeping your other hand 
 moving on the back, wings and tail. If the bird is excited, handle 
 it only a short time, trying again the next night. 
 
 In taking the bird out of the coop, carrying it or placing it back 
 into the coop it is important that you follow the directions for proper 
 handling given in another chapter. 
 
 After you get the bird so it will stand quietly in the night, try 
 it in the day time. Then begin teaching the bird to pose in the ideal 
 station illustrated in the Standard. You can train the bird to raise 
 or lower different parts of its body, so as to " even up, ' ' so far as you 
 can, any deficiency that natiire has made along this line. A few 
 hours ' work for three or four days will do wonders in. teaching your 
 bird to present a pretty picture to the judge. 
 
 The Straw Method of Washing Fowls. — Some fanciers clean their 
 birds' plumage by what is known as the straw system. That is, fom" 
 or five weeks before the bird is wanted for the show, he is confined 
 in a house with a board floor or large exhibition coop, with from 12 
 to 18 inches of straw all over it. This straw should be the very 
 cleanest and absolutely free from dust. By keeping the birds in this 
 straw and changing it every three or four days, according to the size 
 of room and number of birds in it, so as to keep it fresh and clean, 
 the plumage will of itself become clean and take on a very brilliant 
 polish. This method is considered very tedious by the majority of 
 fanciers and the most of them wash their birds with water. 
 
 Polishing Plumage. — Many fanciers wash even the dark and 
 parti-colored birds, as they claim it gets the dirt out of the feathers 
 and improves the appearance. The dark breeds, such as Brown 
 Leghorns, Barred Rocks and Buff varieties, , are very much improved 
 in appearance of color by polishing the feathers just a few hours 
 
TRICKS OF THE I^OULTRY ' TRADE. 49 
 
 before they are exhibited — better still, just before the judge examines 
 them. An old silk handkerchief, as soft as possible, is the best thing 
 to polish them with. Take the handkerchief in the hand and rub 
 the feathers downwards towards the base of the tail. Care must be 
 exercised not to break the web of the feathers. 
 
 How to Wash and Blue for the Show Room. — "The first thing 
 necessary is to prepare a kitchen for the work and start a good brisk 
 fire in a wood stove. Warm plenty of clean rain water and set three 
 good sized tubs in position around and close to the stove. One needs 
 a good assistant, and no better can be found than a good patient 
 woman. First, have all the birds ready, so that no inconvenience will 
 be caused by having to go to the hen houses for the specimens just 
 when they are wanted. 
 
 "Tub No. X should be filled half full of water, luke warm, as 
 near blood heat as possible, or a little warmer will not hurt. Put the 
 bird gently into the water, holding it there either by the feet or by 
 the sides of the body. If the bird has never before been washed it 
 will not know what to make of it at first. 
 
 Just then the operator will have to exercise that highest of all 
 virtues — ^patience. Take it easy for awhile ; hold the bird down in 
 the water, partly immersed, and in a while begin applying water 
 with a good sized sponge. With this rub the feathers with the web 
 as they lay ; never rub against the lay of the feathers. The best 
 way to hold a bird in the water is, when seated on a chair close to 
 the tub, to face the birds towards you and wash away from you. 
 After applying water with the sponge for awhile, then begin using 
 the soap. Use best castile soap. 
 
 ' ' Continue rubbing with the sponge and applying the soap, turn- 
 ing the feathers over and over, and getting at the entire surface of 
 every feather if you can. By so doing, you will get all the dirt out 
 of the feathers and the next step is to get out the soap. 
 
 "Tub No. 2 should be in waiting, half full of clean, luke warm 
 water, as before. Here the bird is put, as in tub No. 1, and washed 
 thoroughly, so as to get out all the soap. After rubbing with sponge 
 and using clean water freely, take a dipper and keep pouring the 
 water out of the tub over the bird, letting it fall with a little force 
 from about a foot above the bird. This will part the feathers and 
 cleanse them from the soap. Do this all over the bird. If you do 
 it right, one tub of this kind of work will be enough. 
 
 "Tub No. 3 should also be handy, and in it some cold water with 
 just as much bluing as the good wife uses for bluing the white clothes. 
 Into this the bird is put as before and rinsed with the cold bluing 
 water. The water should be just cold enough to be chilly. The reason 
 for this cold shower is for the same purpose that men take them after 
 taking a plunge in a warm bath — it prevents catching cold. After 
 going through' these three operations the bird is ready for drying, 
 which is not by any means the least important part of the work. 
 
 "After taking the bird from tub No.. 3 put the bird on a board 
 
50 TRICKS 0? THE POULTBY TRADE. 
 
 placed on top of the tub and by means of the hands squeeze all the 
 water out of its feathers you possibly can. Remove the bird then 
 to the top of a box, or a chair, placed very close to a good brisk fire, 
 and begin toweling it with warm, dry towels, so as to absorb all the 
 moisture out of the feathers that you can. 
 
 ' ' Now the bird is ready for drying. Keep it before a brisk wood 
 fire, but not so near as to curl the feathers, or you will spoil them so 
 that they cannot be remedied. With a strong palm fan let the assist- 
 ant begin the drying, first fanning one side and then the other. This 
 part of the work is gone on with until the bird is thoroughly dried. 
 The fire needs to be brisk, the bird kept turned around, and the fan 
 going all the time, and it is surprising how soon the feathers will dry 
 and open up so nice and fluffy. The fluff, the back and under the 
 wings will be longest in drying. Holding a wing up with one hand, 
 and fanning with the other, will soon make wonderful changes. If 
 the work has been successful thus far little difficulty will be expe- 
 rienced in getting the birds dry and putting on the finishing touches. 
 
 "It is a difficult job to get the feathers wet and soapy, and a 
 difficult one to get the soap out again. But if, on drying, it has been 
 found that the feathers are sticky and do not open nicely, which will 
 riot be the case if the work has been done right in the first place, put 
 in order again another fresh lot of clean, warm rain water, and rinse 
 over again as before and proceed with the bleaching and drying 
 again. ' ' 
 
 THE DEBATABLE OR QUESTIONABLE THINGS. 
 
 The things here given are many of them disputed among fanciers 
 and they are not run for you to practice, but are given so that you 
 may know and detect many of these if used by your competitor or 
 used on birds sold to you. 
 
 Pulling Out Black Feathers from White, Buff or Parti-Colored 
 Birds. — Very frequently breeders of white breeds, especially where 
 there are just a few dark feathers, or feathers with specks on them on 
 back, body and fluff, where not disqualification, are removed and some 
 even remove them where they are disqualifications. In White Wy- 
 andottes, White Eocks, White Leghorns, etc., and Buffs of these 
 breeds, it is considered good fitting to pick out the feathers on body, 
 back and fluff that have gray specks in them. Of course, primaries 
 and secondaries in wings cannot be removed without detection. 
 This may not be according to the views of some, but if you will visit 
 the yards of many of the leading fanciers you will see this work 
 going on. In one show room a winter or so ago, an exhibitor in 
 White Wyandottes put in an entire afternoon pulling out gray 
 feathers he missed seeing at home. His action was not criticised by 
 the several hundred exhibitors passing in and out around him, 
 where the work was going on. In Barred Rocks removing black 
 feathers or very badly barred feathers on back, body or fluff is fre- 
 
TitlCKS Of "the POULTRY TRADE. 51 
 
 qtiently done by f aneier^ -who are ccdisidered thfevery best. In fact, 
 yoii'wiil frt'quently hear a fancier state that he lost out by simply 
 missing a black f eathel* bri his bird. ' 
 
 Burning Off Defects. — Taking a cigar or match and burning off 
 the ■vy;hite end of Barred, Rock feathers, especially on back and breast, 
 is sometimes practiced. It is a treatment that takes a good deal of 
 time, especially if there are many feathers with this defect. It also 
 requires considerable care, but it can be detected, as the burnt off 
 feathers will not end so smoothly or velvety as the natural feathers. 
 A microscope will frequently reveal this defect, although after treat- 
 ing a feather this way the burnt portion is rubbed carefully between 
 the .fingers to remove the charred part. "White feathers, or where 
 there is just a little gray, are frequently treated in this manner in 
 black, buff or parti-colored birds. If the defect is very deep in the 
 feather, of course, it cannot be treated without detection, and can 
 be detected by the microscope showing the bluiit, burnt-off feathers. 
 
 Treating Defective Tails. — Tails that are slightly wry and some 
 even wry enough to be disqualified, are sometimes treated by tying a 
 weight to the tail so as to remedy the defect. Squirrel tails are also 
 lowered by weighting them down and sometimes the feathers are 
 even dampened with hot water and bent down to proper shape. 
 The dampening and bending process is looked on with more disfavor, 
 than the other even. 
 
 Making a Spike. — In rose comb varieties, where there is no 
 spike, and the absence of spike is a disqualification, an attempt to 
 remedy the trouble is sometimes made by cutting around the base of 
 the spike with a sharp knife and press the spike out until it extends 
 beyond the base of the head. This is a very difficult operation and 
 very hard to successfully perform. It is much harder to perform in 
 old fowls than young ones and the younger they are treated for this 
 trouble, the more likely of success and the treatment not being de- 
 tected. This is so questionable an act that it ought to be rated 
 under faking, but some very good fanciers practice it and defend the 
 process. 
 
 Bleaching By Means of Chemicals. — In white varieties quite a 
 few fanciers practice what is known as bleaching or "peroxiding." 
 There are two methods of bleaching white birds, or taking the sap, as 
 some call it, out of the feathers. Those who practice this method, 
 say it is no more changing the natural color than is using a little 
 bluing to whiten white birds. On the other hand, those who oppose 
 the method claim that it gives the feathers a dead white effect that 
 is not natural, while bluing gives the natural effect. Bleaching can 
 be detected often by the lack of luster ia the plumage of the fowls. 
 The white does not seem to have the same rich effect as when blued. 
 Below we give the method usually practiced. 
 
 Wash your bird through two waters, as described in another 
 place, but do ^ot use any bluing. Dry the bird w6ll. After well 
 dried, take perbxide of hydrogen and wash any sappy or brassy 
 
52 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 feathers you find on back, wings, neck, hackle and tail. Take the 
 pure peroxide, using a soft tooth brush to rub the peroxide into the 
 feathers that show "off" color. Be careful to get the weathers well 
 wet. After making sure every brassy or sappy feather has been 
 touched with perixode, place the bird in a coop with plenty of straw 
 in the bottom to dry and bleach. The coop should be in a moderately 
 warm room and tjie bird not too near the fire. After the bird is 
 well dried, take prepared chalk and polish carefully the outside 
 feathers to give them a silky gloss. A bird should be "peroxided" 
 about two weeks before taken to the show room. 
 
 If all the sap is not taken out, peroxide again after waiting a day. 
 
 A small amount of ammonia may be added with good effect to the 
 process. Not over one per cent should be used and care taken not to 
 get the mixture into the eyes or too much on the flesh. If the flesh is 
 irritated and reddened, the bird should be washed in warm water 
 even if the "peroxiding" has to be repeated in a few days. 
 
 STRAIGHT-OUT FAKING. 
 
 The Standard of Perfection names as faking, besides the general 
 description given, the following : 
 
 Removing, or attempting to remove, foreign color in face or ear 
 lobes when it is a disqualification. 
 
 Removing one or more side sprigs, or trimming a comb in any 
 manner, except the dubbing of Games. 
 
 Artificial coloring of any feather. 
 
 Splicing feathers. 
 
 Injury to plumage of any fowl entered by another exhibitor. 
 
 Plugging up holes on legs of smooth-legged varieties where 
 feathers or stubs disqualify. 
 
 Staining of legs. 
 
 Under this head may be classed also the following not named 
 in the Standard : 
 
 Entering December hatched hens or cocks at shows the fall 
 following as hatched in that year. 
 
 Entering birds over a year old as less than a year old. 
 
 Doctoring Ear Lobes. — A common test used among poultry judges 
 to tell if white in ear lobes is permanent is to rub the ear lobes and 
 then turn the bird with the head down for half a minute or more. 
 If the rush of blood to the head- removes the white in ear lobes the 
 bird is counted all right and not subject to disqualification for the 
 defect. Some fanciers burn out white in ear lobes where it is objec- 
 tionable with a weak solution of lunar caustic. This is generally 
 very easily detected, as it leaves a scar showing where the caustic 
 has been used. 
 
 Frequently an attempt is made to remove red from white lobes 
 in the Mediterraneans, etc., but this is very difficult to perform. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 53 
 
 The lobes are sonietimes burned with caustic, but this generally 
 makes a bad matter worse. 
 
 Birds out of condition are more likely to show off color in lobes 
 than those well fed and cared for. A stimulating tonic, even a few 
 drops of whiskey or some pepper for a few days, will help the color 
 of red lobes that are too pale. Confinement in warm show rooms will 
 often cause birds to lose in color of lobes. This can be improved by 
 rubbing red lobes in a little alcohol a short time before the judging. 
 
 Side Sprigs. — One of the greatest temptations to fake a new 
 fancier has is when he has a "or acker- jack" bird in all other respects 
 except a small side sprig. He feels that he can take a razor and clip 
 off the offending sprig very easily, and if done a few weeks before 
 the show" the injury will heal up. Or he has a bird with too many 
 points in comb and he clips out one. 
 
 This species of faking is more objectionable, perhaps, when a 
 side sprig is removed, as that is disqualification, than where the point 
 is cut out of a comb, as that is simply increasing the bird's score. 
 
 Trimming a comb is very easily detected, as the part where the 
 cutting is done shows smoother and does not' have the fine, granu- 
 lated effect that the other parts have. Various methods have been 
 tried to produce this granulated effect, but none is very successful. 
 Some of them may be mentioned as burning with lunar caustic after 
 the cut; greasing with salty grease, etc. Judges are very strict on 
 the question of trimmed combs and disqualify promptly for^ evidence 
 of it. Usually the only evidence needed is the doctored comb. 
 
 Artificial Coloring. — Artificial coloring of the feathers is a very 
 rare fake, as it can usually be detected very easily. This is resorted 
 to in wing and tail feathers more often than anywhere else. It is 
 not often attempted at all, as the slightest difference in shade of 
 coloring is easily detected by the naked eye and thus puts the bird in 
 the disqualified .class and its owner in disgrace. A famous case of 
 coloring plumage is the one where R. I. Reds were colored with 
 diamond dyes and exhibited at the Jamestown Exposition. The 
 faking was very plain and the birds were thrown out. Their owner 
 was also expelled from the R. I. Red Club for this faking. 
 
 Splicing Feathers. — This is attempted very rarely and then only 
 in main tail feather and in wing primaries and secondaries. The 
 object, of course, is to put in a good colored feather out of some 
 other bird, removing the bad feather from the bird doctored. This 
 species of faking can be detected very easily, the only thing being 
 that a clever piece of splicing might not be noticed, but a close ex- 
 amination of the wing and main tail feathers readily reveals it. The 
 spliced feathers are usually fastened in with fine wire or glue. 
 
 Injury to Plumage of Another's Birds.-^Of all methods of faking 
 this is the most disreputable. This charge is occasionally heard 
 around the show room: "Somebody broke two feathers out of my 
 best birds' wings." Or you hear the wail: "Somebody has pulled 
 out one of the sickle feathers from my best male." 
 
 This occasionally may be the work of a rival exhibitor, but fre- 
 
SI *glCfi:S OF THE POtrtTiiY TiiADE. 
 
 quently' these feathers were broken while being shipped and the 
 feathers were lost en route and no one has been guilty ■ of such dis- 
 reptuable conduet as injuring another's birds. ' 
 
 Stubs, Etc., on Legs. — The Standard describes as faking "plug- 
 ging up the holes of smooth-legged varieties where feathers or stubs 
 disqualify." The inference is that the owner of the bird has removed 
 the stubs and sought to fill up the holes Avith beeswax or soap, they 
 being the most commonly used, and about the color of the average 
 fowl's legs. Stubs or feathers can sometimes be removed from the 
 leg and the fake not detected, but generally, if the judge has a sharp 
 eye, he will see the holes left. Some breeders remove the stubs just 
 a few days before bringing the birds to the show and then with a 
 sharp knife trim around the scales on the legs so that the holes are 
 not quite so conspicuous. Faking by removing the stubs or feathers 
 on the legs is too commonly practiced and frankness compels the 
 acknowledgement that it is not looked on with as much disfavor as 
 it perhaps should be. This is largely because there is a big school 
 of fanciers who believe that feathers on legs should not be a dis- 
 qualification, but should simply be entitled to a cut. These claim 
 that there is no harm to remove these little disqualifications and their 
 conscience apparently backs them up in the removal. 
 
 Many a fancier has, as he thought, removed all stubs only to have 
 his clever work discovered in the show room and his bird put out 
 of the winnings. No doubt he was correct in thinking he had all 
 stubs out when he started with the bird to the show, but feathers on 
 the feet seem to grow remarkably fast and four dayS' are enough to 
 develop a nice showing stub. It is claimed by some that small down 
 will grow on an extra vigorous bird in two days. 
 
 Staining Legs. — This is seldom resorted to, even by the most 
 reckless fancier. It is seldom necessary, in fact, the average bird, 
 with even worse than the average pair of legs, can have the color 
 very much brought to its legs by washing them carefully in soft 
 water and soap, then greasing them with sweet oil or vaseline. 
 Applying these remedies is not counted as staining. A case of stain- 
 ing, unless very carefully performed, can generally be detected by 
 careful examination, as the stain is not worked in under the scales 
 thoroughly. Also the legs are usually stained too dark. 
 
 Misrepresenting Age of Birds. — Frequently an exhibitor enters 
 a bird hatched in January or February at a show the next fall or 
 early winter as a hen. lit Buff varieties and other varieties that are 
 liable to fade with age, this, of course, is reprehensible, as the young 
 bird holds its color better. This is very hard to detect. However, 
 the information given in another chapter about telling the age of 
 fowls will prove helpful. Occasionally this order is reversed and 
 an old bird entered as a young one, especially December hatched 
 cocks being entered as cockerels. 
 
 This deception is hard to detect positively, although fanciers 
 frequently draw pretty accurate conclusions, even despite the owner's 
 protest as to age of his bird. 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 CURING SOME BAD HABITS. 
 
 Breaking Hens from Setting. — One of the most persistent habits 
 to break, especially in the late spring, is that of setting hens when 
 you do not want them to set. The most important thing in breaking 
 a setting hen is to get started early. After a hen has set a few days 
 she is much harder to break than if taken off the nest the first day. 
 There is also a great difference in individual hens of the same breed. 
 The Mediterranean classes, including the Leghorns, Minorcas, Ham- 
 burgs, etc., are non-setters. Occasionally one will set and prove 
 a good mother. However, they are considered unreliable, as they 
 will set a few days and then leave the nest for no apparent cause. 
 The Asiatic classes, Brahmas, Cochins and Langshans are more per- 
 sistent than the American classes — Wyandottes, E. I. Reds, Plymouth 
 Rocks, etc. Cochins are perhaps the most persistent of the breeds. 
 
 Setting hens lose weight continually while setting and also while 
 you are trying to break them. If you wish to cull out setting hens, 
 as soon as they have quit laying, the first day they go to setting catch 
 them up and take them to market. 
 
 What will succeed in breaking one hen will often fail with 
 another, but the average hen will yield to some of the following 
 methods. "We give the methods in the order of their preference. 
 
 Have a coop with slated bottom suspended so it will swing easily. 
 It can be hung from the roof in one of the houses having it high 
 enough so it can be reached easily, and also so the confined hen can 
 see the other hens at liberty. Put the setting hens in here that you 
 wish to break, giving them plenty of feed and water. Give this coop 
 a push every time you pass near it. " Usually two or three days ' con- 
 finement here will break them. 
 
 Another method is to confine the setting hens in a small dark pen, 
 feeding them nothing. In this method put them in at night. An- 
 other method, put the setting hens in &, small coop with no nest in it, 
 feeding them plenty of corn and water. About five days is required 
 by these methods. Another method is to place them in pens with 
 several male birds only. Vigorous, active males are required and only 
 put one hen at a time in the yard. This method depends very much 
 on the number and vigor of the males in the yard. 
 
 The old method of "ducking" in water is not a very effective one. 
 However, it will work on many hens if after the "ducking" they are 
 put up in a coop and kept there for a few days, but the confining 
 would doubtless break them anyway. 
 
 Some poultrymen tie a red rag by a string a foot or two long to 
 the tail of the setting hen and then turn her out to run her fright 
 and setting off. 
 
 Egg Eating Hens. — It is a saying among poultrymen that an 
 egg eating hen is worse than useless, as she will not only eat her 
 own eggs, but also watch an opportunity to devour the products of 
 other hens in the flock. Thqy are usually started at this bad habit 
 by breaking an egg, either soft shelled or because the nest has 
 
56 TRICKS OF THE POUtTRY TRADE. 
 
 not sufficient nesting material in the bottom of it. When they once 
 taste a broken egg they will soon learn to break the egg of their 
 own accord. One trouble, too, is that egg eaters are usually to be 
 found in small runs, without grass, and too often they are not 
 given enough nitrogenous feed. One remedy is to feed more nourish- 
 ing feed, more meat scraps, green bone, etc. Plenty of cabbage, let- 
 tuce, green alfalfa, etc., should also be fed. Cut down the corn and 
 kaffir corn and increase the meat and vegetables. Dark, nests are 
 also a good preventative of egg eating. The nests, to break egg eat- 
 ing, should be as dark as possible, with just a few rays of light enter- 
 ing at a slit at the back, and, of course, some light coming in where 
 the hen must enter. The nest should be entirely covered and the 
 opening where the hen enters faced towards the wall. Not being 
 able to see the eggs while in this kind of a nest, the egg eater will 
 leave frequently without breaking the eggs. A remedy for egg 
 eating is a mixture of cayenne pepper and hard boiled egg, putting 
 this in an egg shell. Another remedy is to keep a number of porcelain 
 eggs lying loose in the nests, houses and yard. Gather the real eggs 
 promptly, so that the hens will get tired of picking at the porcelain 
 eggs and soon decide there is no use to bother. The point of the beak 
 is sometimes trimmed to make it sore and prevent pecking at the eggs. 
 It is important to keep the hens busy. Bones with some meat on 
 them furnish meat food and keep the hens busy. 
 
 Feather Eating Fowls. — This trouble is more often seen among 
 fowls that are in too close confinement with plenty of time on their 
 hands and fed too much of some one food and not enough variety. 
 Fowls on the range where they can select plenty of variety and 
 keep busy taking exercise, are seldom bothered with this trouble. 
 The first thing is to see if your fowls are fed a ration well balanced 
 that does not want in some important food elements, as nitrogen, 
 green feed, or even fat-forming feed, as corn, etc. Feeding on any 
 one thing exclusively long will lead to this trouble. Get your birds to 
 work early in the morning scratching for grain feed. Keep plenty 
 of scratching feed to satisfy them and also to tire them well digging. 
 Be sure to feed them plenty of cabbage, alfalfa meal-^— or, what is bet- 
 ter, alfalfa — lettuce, beets, 'turnips or other vegetables. Flower 'of 
 sulphur is said to be a good remedy and three teaspoonfuls to every 
 25 fowls fed three times a week is about right in proportion. This 
 should be fed them in the mash, and discontinued if it causes scouring. 
 In the places where the feathers have been picked off, and the feathers 
 near — usually on the neck or head — apply lard, in which has been 
 dropped a few drops of carbolic acid and some bitter aloes. Five 
 cents worth of bitter aloes will make up several tablespoonfuls of 
 lard. If the places where the feathers have been picked off are raw 
 or bleeding, put on some carbolated vaseline. The beaks of any 
 hens known to be feather eaters should be trimmed on one side, so 
 as to make the beak slightly tender and thus discourage pulling and 
 picking at feathers. 
 
 Preventing Cockerels Fighting. — Young cockerels raised together 
 are not inclined to be "scrappy," but if kept in different pens for 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE, 57 
 
 a few weeks, or in different colony houses, when put together in a 
 bunch again, will frequently do considerable*fighting. Also when 
 taken off to shows they are more disposed to fight when brought back 
 home. This can largely be prevented by placing the birds together 
 in a darkened room for a day before turning them out. The room 
 or pen should not be entirely dark, but just dark enough so they can 
 get an indistinct view of each other. Another good way is to place 
 an older and stronger bird with them, who will knock the combatant.' 
 apart and soon break them of the desire to scrap. 
 
 Preventing Flying. — If one wing only is clipped, trimming the 
 main flight feathers about 21/2 inches, the birds are unable to fly o ^er 
 a fence. If both wings are trimmed, the fowls can still fly some. 
 Trimmed wings will not grow out as they will where the feathers 
 are pulled out. If you trim off a wing the bird will not do to enter 
 in the show room. One way to prevent flying over fences is to 
 fasten a bent wire on one wing in such a manner so that the wing 
 cannot be straightened out. Fowls are not near so apt to fly over a 
 fence where they cannot gauge' the height. This is why a wire fence 
 will turn fowls better than a board fence of the same height. A small 
 wire stretched five or six inches above a board fence will prevent 
 fowls flying over it. 
 
 A GOOD ROOST LOUSE PAINT. 
 
 By painting roosts, walls, etc., of poultry houses with the liquid 
 louse killer given below, the fumes will tend to keep down the rapid 
 increase of insect pests. 
 
 The fumes are strong and the fowls may not like to go inside 
 the building. Do not close doors or windows, as the fumes will hurt 
 the flock if you do. The paint should be put on in the morning, clos- 
 ing all doors and windows for half a day, keeping the fowls out of the 
 house. Open all doors and windows in the afternoon so the house 
 may be aired out by night. 
 
 One gallon crude kerosene oil; % pound crude carbolic acid; % 
 pound carbon disulphide or bisulphide; 1 gill pine tar. 
 
 Stir the tar in last and in small quantities. Common kerosene 
 oil may be used, also reflned carbolic acid, but these refined articles 
 are more costly and not so effective. The pine tar is largely to 
 make the mixture stay on well. The carbon disulphide is very power- 
 ful and care must be exercised not to inhale its fumes while mixing. 
 
 The mixture should be kept in a stone or glass vessel and stopped 
 up air tight or it will soon evaporate and lose its strength. 
 
 POPULAR ENGLISH REMEDY FOR ROUP. 
 
 The following is said to be the recipe for making "Vale's roup 
 pills, a popular English remedy: Hydrastin, 2 grains; sulphate of 
 iron (dried) and sulphate of copper, 3 grains of each; powdered 
 capsicum, 12 grains ; oil of copaiba, 20 drops ; Venetian turpentine and 
 calcined magnesia, of each enough to make 24 pills. Dose for adult 
 fowl, one or two pills night and morning. 
 
58 T2ICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 DETECTING AND CURING DISEASES. 
 
 Sick fowls show usually pale combs, wattles, etc., and are slug- 
 gish and not inclined to eat. Each disease also has special symptoms. 
 As soon as any sign of sickness is noted the effected birds should be 
 removed from the flock to a dry, warm place. Usually treatment 
 does not pay and unless the birds are valuable it pays to kill for roup, 
 tuberculosis, cholera, etc., after the birds develop a clear case. Pre- 
 vention emphatically beats treatment with fowls. 
 
 Bumblefoot. — This is an abscess on the bottom of the foot caused 
 by a bruise received probably by the fowl in jumping from a high 
 roost. The treatment is to lance the abscess, remove the pus and then 
 wash the wound thoroughly with a solution made of carbolic acid one 
 part and warm water five parts. 
 
 Chicken-Pox or Sore-Head. — It is caused by an organism which is 
 very contagious, the infection of which is usually from outside sources. 
 The disease appears as small yellow, ulcers about the beak, nostrils, 
 eyes and other parts of the head, hence the common name of "sore- 
 head." Wash all affected parts with carbolic soap suds and then 
 apply vaseline to soften the sores. 
 
 Chicken Cholera. — This is a contagious disease of the bowels and 
 may be observed by the characteristic green, frothy nature of the 
 droppings. Treatment is generally useless. Kill all infected birds, 
 burn or deeply bury, and disinfect the quarters thoroughly. Potas- 
 sium permanganate or copperas in the drinking water of the well 
 birds is a wise precaution. 
 
 Colds. — "While these may not in themselves have much effect on 
 the fowl, they often lead to something more serious and ought never 
 to be neglected. Take equal parts of cayenne pepper, ginger and 
 mustard, mix with lard Or butter until a stiff paste is obtained. Roll 
 these mixtures into little pellets and give to the affected bird by 
 opening the mouth and dropping it down the throat. A single treat- 
 ment will generally effect a cure. If not, repeat the dose later on. 
 
 Gapes. — In chicks this disease frequently destroys large numbers 
 and is caused by tremadote worms in the windpipe. The trouble can 
 be very easily identified, as the worms in the windpipe cause the 
 bird considerable difficulty in breathing, causing it to open its mouth 
 and gape, hence the name. Keep the fowls on fresh ground and do 
 not allow their quarters to become filthy. A good remedy for the 
 disease is to shut the affected fowls in a limited space and cause them 
 to breathe air into which fine slacked lime is occasionally dusted. 
 
 Limber Neck. — As the name indicates, this disease is character- 
 ized by the limp condition of the neck. The fowl loses all control of 
 the neck muscles and the head rests on the ground. It is caused 
 by the fowls eating decayed flesh in which ptomaine has developed. 
 Treatment is rarely successful. The most effective and best treat- 
 ment is to prevent it by being careful not to leave any decayed flesh 
 where the fowls will have access to it. 
 
 Roup. — This term is used to apply to a number of diseases affect- 
 ing the throat. What is now generally recognized as roup is diph- 
 theria or diphtheritic roup. And that which is ordinarily called roup 
 
TRICKS QFyTHE POtH(TBY TgAPE. 59 
 
 which does not seriously .affeetthe throat,'!is jnflaenza or heavy cold. 
 Make a swab of cotton and tie it on the end of a stick and swab the 
 mouth with hydrogen peroxide. For the mild form wash sores and 
 discharges from the nostrils with a two' per cent solution of carbolic 
 acid, and give some stimulant, such as ginger or rSd pepper, in the 
 food. ' i ,1 
 
 Tuberculosis. — This is sometimes called "going, light," as the 
 birds lose in weight. The birds with this disease stand around or 
 "mope" about. Feed soft food and an abundance of fresh meat. 
 Also give all the chopped onion and green food they will eat. 
 
 Scaley Legs. — This disease is caused by a small parasite on the 
 feet and legs of the fowls. If not treatefl, the Ifegs' will soon become 
 very much roughened, enlarged and knotty arid the natural color 
 ruined. The legs of the affected fowls should be first carefully 
 washed in warm water suds so as, to clean off all the rough outside 
 formation, but care should be taken not to break through and cause 
 the feet and legs to bleed. After washing and drying thoroughly, rub 
 carefully with a mixture composed of the following in these propor- 
 tions : Five parts kerosene oil, one part crude carbolic acid, one part 
 sulphur. It will take two applications three days apart to effect a 
 cure. Boosts, houses, nests, etc., should be well sprayed or painted 
 with some good disinfectant. 
 
 Leg Weakness. — There are several things that cause a bird or 
 chick to get weak in its legs. It affects young chicks and is often 
 due to too strong feed. It is also caused by damp and crowded 
 quarters and too many in a brooder. It is more noticeable in damp 
 weather and cold, raw spring than in warmer weather. The first 
 thing to do is to remove the cause. Give the affected fowls healthier 
 surroundings and reduce the amount of both meat meal or scrap if 
 you have been feeding them pretty heavily. If the affected ones have 
 not already had plenty of exercise make them scratch and dig for 
 what they eat. Here is an English remedy that is said to be a cure 
 for it. The dose is for grown fowls: Give pills composed of phos- 
 phate of lime 5 grains, sulphate of iron 1 grain, sulphate of quinine % 
 grain, strychnine 1-16 grain. This quantity will make a dozen pills. 
 Dose, one pill each day. For chicks give the amount of one pill to 
 five chicks a month old. Feed in a soft mash. 
 
 WEIGHT OP POULTRY FEED. 
 
 Frequently it is desired to weigh up feed rather than measure 
 it. Below are the average weights of the most commonly used 
 poultry feeds : 1 quart middlings, 1 poi^md ; 1 quart shorts, 1 pound ; 
 1 quart bran, % pound ; 1 quart alfalfa meal, % pound ; 1 quart rolled 
 barley, IVz pounds ; 1 quart wneat, 2 pounds ; 1 quart corn, 2 pounds ; 
 1 quart laeef scraps, 1% pounds; 1 quart beef or blood meal, 1% 
 pounds, 1 quart oyster shell, crushed, 3 pounds; 1 quart limestone 
 grit, 3 pounds ; 1 quart millet seed, 1% pounds ; 1 quart unshelled oats^ 
 1 pound ; 1 quart charcoal, crushed, % pound, and 1 quart kaffir corn, 
 1% pounds. 
 
60 TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS. 
 
 "Preserved eggs may be substituted for fresh ones in many eases 
 with profit. They may be scrambled and used in omelets; also for 
 baking various cakes which do not require beaten whites. As a 
 rule they are the equivalent of fresh eggs in any food where the 
 yolk is broken ; but only when specially preserved and when kept 
 not too long are they suitable to serve fried. 
 
 ' ' The preserving material seals up the pores in the shell and thus 
 prevents the entrance of bacteria and air, as well as evaporation and 
 consequent shrinkage of the egg contents. The old method of greas- 
 ing the shell to make eggs keep better depended on this fact. Such 
 eggs cannot be boiled because the impervious shells do not permit 
 the escape of the enclosed air,. which expands when heated and bursts 
 open the egg. By serving the commoner purposes the preserved egg 
 economizes the fresh egg, for which there is an ever-increasing 
 demand. ' ' 
 
 Dry Packing Method. — To keep eggs a short time only the 
 usual methods of packing are sufficient. For this purpose they are 
 embedded 'in some fine material, such as dry bran, oats, sawdust or 
 salt. Care must be taken that the packing material is perfectly dry 
 and free from must. There is always danger of losing the eggs by 
 the growth of mould on the inside of the shell. A better way is said 
 to be the use of egg shelves. These are arranged in a cool, dry place 
 and are provided with holes so that the eggs may be stood on end 
 Handled in this way, eggs are said to keep better than when packed. 
 Preserving in some solution is, however, a much safer method for 
 general use." 
 
 General Precautions. — Attention should be paid to the following : 
 
 1. That eggs perfectly fresh only be used, not over two days old. 
 
 2. That the eggs should throughout the whole period of preserva- 
 tion be completely immersed. 
 
 3. Better results can be had by using eggs from hens separated 
 from the male birds. 
 
 Although not necessary to the preservation of the eggs in a 
 sound condition, a temperatui"e of 40 degrees F. will materially 
 assist toward retaining good flavor, or rather in arresting that 
 "stale" flavor so often characteristic of packed eggs. 
 
 Lime Water Method. — The solubility of lime at ordinary temper- 
 ature is 1 part in 700 parts of water. Such a solution is termed 
 saturated lime water. In pounds and gallons, tliis^ means 1 poimd of 
 lime is sufficient to saturate 700 gallons of Water. However, owing 
 to impurities in commercial lime, it is well to use more than is called 
 for in this statement. It may not, however, be necessary if good, 
 freshly burned quicklime can be obtained, to employ as mucli as was 
 at first recommended, namely, 2 to 3 pounds to 5 gallons of water, 
 With sneh lime as is here referred to,' 6ne could rest assured that 
 1 pound to 5 gallons (50 pounds) would be ample, and that the re- 
 sulting lime water would be thoroughly saturated. The method of 
 
TRICKS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 61 
 
 preparation is simply to slake the lime with a small quantity of water 
 and then stir the milk of lime so formed into 5 gallons of water. 
 Aflter this mixture has been well stirred for a few hours it is 
 allowed to settle. The supernatant liquid, which is now "saturated" 
 lime water, is drawn off and poured over the eggs, previously placed 
 in a crock or water tight barrel. 
 
 As exposure to air tends to precipitate the lime (as carbonate) 
 and thus weaken the solution, the vessel containing the eggs should 
 be kept covered. The air may be excluded by a covering of sweet 
 oil, or by sacking upon which a paste of lime has been spread. If 
 after a' time there is any noticeable precipitation of the lime, that 
 lime water should be drawn or siphoned off and replaced with a 
 further quantity of newly prepared. 
 
 Lime water preserved eggs will keep well and are serviceable 
 for all purposes excepting to fry, the yolkg not holding up well 
 and the eggs being apt to become mussy. There is a great tendency 
 for the white to become watery, but this does not render the egg 
 unwholesome. They are just as serviceable for baking and for 
 other purposes as fresh eggs, excepting that the whites cannot be 
 beaten. Lime water is regarded as the- best preservative! 
 
 Water Glass or Sodium Silicate Method. — This is diluted with 
 from 10 to 20 parts of water, but even greater dilutions will serve 
 when the eggs are to be kept a short time only. The stronger the 
 water glass solution, the less apt the yolks are to break when fried. 
 On the whole, solutions two to five per cent (two pounds to five gal- 
 lons of water) have given better results than stronger solutions. 
 
 These suggestions as to preserving eggs are taken from bulletins 
 issued by the Arizona and Ottawa (Can.) experiment stations. 
 
 AN EOG TONIC. 
 
 Four ounces of soda (common baking soda), one ounce of pow- 
 dered charcoal and one ounce each of the following: Carbonate of 
 iron, mandrake, ginger, pulverized gentian root, flour of sulphur and 
 black antimony. In feeding add one teaspoonful of this to every 
 quart of mash feed given. When the fowls are doing well, once a 
 week is often enough to give this tonic. 
 
 PACKING EGGS FOR SHIPMENT. 
 How to Pack Eggs for Shipping. — I find that the egg buyers 
 would rather pay a little more express and be sure of getting their 
 eggs sound than to have them packed too light and receive broken 
 eggs. I pad the bottom and side of a half bushel market basket well 
 with excelsior, wrap each egg carefully in a piece of paper 6x9 inches, 
 then wrap the egg and paper in a bundle of excelsior. I press them 
 down firmly so that they will not jar and I then pack plenty of 
 excelsior and sew down a cloth on top of the basket good and tight. 
 I have had very few complaints about hatches and scarcely any about 
 
fi2 TRICiCS 0? THE POIJIi;TBY JRADE. 
 
 brokeii.eggs.i-i l,put a postalcard in ea^h ba'sk.et asking my customers 
 to rep.ort-.broken,eggSj,ba,dhatcJieis, etc. — H.,A. Sibley, Lawrence, Kan. 
 Another Way.^-The necessary articles are a basket, excelsior and 
 egg box with fillers and some sbeet cotton. Cut your cotton sheets, 
 makinig them about 6 inches square. Take your egg and place about 
 the center of one edge of the cotton, roll in cotton, then fold the ends 
 down on opposite sides. Then place in filler, little end down, so on 
 until you have your setting in box. Then place top on and tie with 
 good small cord. Here one of the important parts comes; to insure 
 your eggs from being changed while on route. Take a picture of 
 some of your birds or some of your note heads and glue over knot in 
 cord, I use photo of one of my birds, thus you have them sealed, 
 for they can't be opened without destroying the seal, and the would- 
 be robber hasn't the necessary seal to replace. Then take your 
 basket, I use the peck size ordinary split basket, all grocery handle 
 them, but you can get them cheaper by ordering — about 35 cents 
 a dozen. Put ia excelsior so that when the box is placed in it has a 
 good shield from jars or any outside knock. Place box in, see that 
 there is excelsior on the sides and ends and about three-fourths inch 
 on top. Then make a, thin wooden top to fit top of basket, tie on 
 tight and you have completed your part of contract in first class 
 order.— N. P. Todd, Rhinehart, Mo. 
 
 HANDY POULTRY CATCHING HOOK. 
 
 There is no use calling the dog, 
 the children and several neighbors 
 when you want to catch a chicken 
 and then having a big hurrah, race 
 and scare for all the poultry on the 
 place. By using a catching hook you 
 can slip the hook over the leg of the 
 fowl you want to catch, draw it 
 p'S'Tpo^Try Catcher. ^1|^ gently towards you, and create no 
 
 disturbance among the other mem- 
 bers of the fiock. At the same time you will save much useless worry 
 to yourself. It is well known among poultry breeders that fright 
 decreases the egg yield and should be avoided if possible. 
 
 The catching hook here illustrated is the invention of R. C. 
 Lawry of Cornell Poultry Station. The hook is made of a six foot 
 piece of No. 10 steel wire and a broom handle. The hook is so bent 
 that it is larger where the shank of the fowl is held than at the 
 opening. Thus the fowl is not injured when caught and cannot easily 
 get away. The wire is less conspicuous than the wooden end which 
 attracts the fowl's attention when you slip the hook over the shank. 
 The wire may be braced by wrapping it with No. 8 steel wire for the 
 last two feet next to the handle and fastening this wrapping to the 
 handle. At least two feet of the wire next to the hook should be 
 unwrapped wire. You will note that the point of the hook is bent 
 back so as to prevent injury to the fowl. 
 
TRIClCS OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 63 
 
 RECIPES AND REMEDIES 
 
 WHITE WASH GOOD AS PAINT. 
 
 All poultry buildings, nests, roosts, feed hoppers, eto., should 
 De painted at the beginning of each year. The paint permanently 
 fills all cracks, crevices and rough places where lice and mites would 
 hide. It renders the surface smooth, so that disinfectants and lice 
 killers sprayed or painted on the nests, feed hoppers, etc., are not 
 absorbed by unpainted wood. Thus-paint is cheaper than unpainted 
 wood, to say nothing of the looks and longer services of painted 
 material. It is best to paint with a cheap barn or house paint mixed 
 with oil, but if you do not feel that you can afford it, what is known 
 as "government whitewash" will. last nearly as well as paint and 
 looks good also. 
 
 This whitewash, used by the government for lighthouses, etc., is 
 made as follows: Slake in boiling water one-half bushel of lime. 
 Strain so as to remove all sediment. Add two pounds of sulphate of 
 zinc, one pound of common salt and one-half pound whiting, thor- 
 oughly dissolved. Mix to proper consistency with skim milk, if pos- 
 sible, and do not use water. Stir in thoroughly a half pint of liquid 
 glue and apply the wash while hot. It may be colored if desired by 
 using yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, lamp black, etc. 
 
 POWERFUL DISINFECTANT AND LOUSE KILLER. 
 
 There is no use paying from $1.50 to $3.00 a gallon for disin- 
 fectant and louse killer when you can prepare your own for a few 
 cents a gallon. The one given below will not only kill all germs, but 
 will also keep down mites and if sprayed on the poultry in the 
 morning will keep down scaley leg and lice. It should not be 
 sprayed on the poultry oftener than every other week. Commercial 
 cresol, the basis of this louse killer, sells for 25 to 30 cents a pound. 
 The cresol should be handled with great care and if it gets on the 
 hands or skin should be washed off immediately with clean water, 
 as it burns. The mixture is prepared in the following manner: 
 
 Measure out 4 quarts of raw linseed oil in a 4 or 5 gallon 
 stone crock; then weigh out in a dish 1% pounds of commercial 
 potassium hydrocide or caustic potash, which may be obtained from 
 any druggist at a cost of from 10 to 15 cents a pound. Dissolve this 
 caustic potash in one pint of water; let it stand for at least three 
 hours until the potash is completely dissolved and the solution is 
 cold ; then add the cold potash solution very slowly to the linseed oil, 
 stirring constantly. Not less than five minutes should be taken for 
 the adding of this solution of potash to the oil. For five hours 
 after mixing the oil and potash mixture (soap) should be stirred 
 thoroughly about once every hour and then left standing for ten or 
 twelve hours. By the expiration of that time saponification should 
 be complete; The soap should then be stirred and broken up into 
 small pieces and 514 quarts of commercial cresol should be added. 
 
64 TRICES OF THE POULTRY TRADE. 
 
 The soap will slowly dissolve in this cresol. It may take ' wo days 
 for complete solution to be effected. The length of time taken in 
 dissolving will depend on the condition of the soap, which in turn 
 varies with different lots of linseed oil. "When the soap is all dis- 
 solved, the solution, which is liquor cresolis eompositus or cresol soap, 
 is -then ready to use. The cresol soap will mix in any proportin 
 with water and yield a clear solution. Three or four tablespoonfuls of 
 the cresol soap to each gallon of water will make a satisfactory solu- 
 tion. This solution may be applied through any kind of spray pump 
 or with a brush. Being a clear, watery fluid, it can be used in any 
 spray pump without difficulty. For disinfecting brooders or in- 
 cubators which there is reason to believe have been particularly liable 
 to infection with germs of white diarrhea or other diseases, the 
 cresol may be used in double the strength given above and applied 
 with a scrub brush in addition to the spray. 
 
 DOUGLASS MIXTURE. 
 
 The Douglass Mixture was extensively used by poultry men 
 years ago as a tonic and astringent, but its- value was severely critir 
 cised by several writers and the mixture lost repute. 
 
 The Douglass Mixture is made and used as follows : Sulphate of 
 iron, 1/4 pound; sulphuric acid (pure), % ounce; water, 1 gallon. 
 
 Place the sulphate of iron and the acid in a strong earthenware 
 pot ; pour on the water and stir well with a stick. Cover the mixture 
 with a wooden cover and leave for a day. Then run it off into bottles 
 and cork well and ^eal. Dose — A teaspoonful to each half pjnt of 
 drinking water, or in similar proportions in the water used for mix- 
 ing the food, every third or fourth day. The drinking vessel and 
 others for holding the mixture should not be metal. , 
 
 The following formula is more satisfactory : Sulphate of iron, i/4 
 pound ; aromatic sulphuric acid, 4 ounces, and 1 gallon of water. Mix 
 and use as advised. The aromatic sulphuric acid is a solution of the 
 acid in alcohol, with tincture of ginger and spirits of cinnamon added, 
 and is preferable for internal use. — F. C. Hare. 
 
 MAKING A GOOD LICE KILLER. 
 
 A good liquid lice killer is made by dissolving in ordinary kero- 
 sene all the crude naphthaline flakes it will take up. The solution is 
 an excellent disinfectant for use about the poultry houses, as well 
 as a lice killer. Painted on the dropping boards and roost?, it will 
 destroy and prevent red mites, and will also kill disease germs and 
 seeds of worms and other parasites. 
 
 A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TONIC. 
 
 This tonic may be given with excellent results to fowls moping 
 and not doing well. It is also good to feed during moult: Linseed 
 meal, 4% pounds ; powdered nux vomica, 1 ounce ; powdered ginger, 
 2 ounces; cayenne pepper, 2 ounces. Give a teaspoonful to each ten 
 hens morning and night in mash for two days, then miss a day. 
 
Poultry Culture 
 
 What Is It? 
 
 A good common sense, progressive, 
 "chicken" paper — not all fuss and 
 feathers — fcut ' has every day items 
 written in a terse practical way by 
 people who are actually raising chick- 
 ens. Good, solid, experience is given 
 on the methods of feeding — what, 
 when and how — to get the best re- 
 sults iit eggs and chickensr-straight 
 talks on the faults as well as the 
 merits of the , different breeds — how 
 to handle the young chicks to raise 
 the greatest number — description of, 
 and cures for, the diseases of all 
 fowls — how to keep down lice and 
 mites — suggestions ; about building 
 plain and substantial houses at the 
 least cost — all this and much more 
 you get in Poultry Culture. It gives 
 the information . i;ight at the very 
 time you need it — seasonable and 
 fresh. It gives facts showing how 
 others are making money from their 
 flocks. You can too if you will only 
 follow the plain methods given by 
 practical chicken people in Poultry 
 Culture. It has inforniatioji about 
 selectitig for the Shows, mating to 
 produce fine fowls, preparing for ex- 
 hibition, news of the poultry shows, 
 and much other valuable matter for 
 every breeder of thoroughbred fowls. 
 
 Poultry Culture is a large journal 
 of 32 to 60 pages printed nicely on 
 fine book paper with handsome illus- 
 trations of the various kinds of 
 fowls, buildings, incubators, brooders, 
 fixtures and everything about the 
 chicken bus^ess. It's complete in 
 every detail. 
 
 Send 50 cents for a full year's sub- 
 scription and receive a free copy of 
 this book to 
 
 POULTRY CULTURE, Topeka, Kans.