PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING BY R..B. SANDO Section I- Book I ^#«##^sr##^««^^stf^^^^# pjrr^^^ -^ . .- ^ Fig. s. Poultry House with Scratching Shed and Roosting Room. Most Desirable when a Shallow Building is Wanted. by having them deep the roosts can be placed far enough from the front so that the sleep- ing fowls will not be bothered by the wind or other elements. The fresh-air type of house has had to overcome considerable adverse pre- 45 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING judice, but It is now coming into quite general use because it has been proved to have a bene- ficial effect upon the winter health and vitality of fowls. The system may seem radical to be- ginners, but fresh air is as invigorating and healthful for fowls as for humans, and people are just coming to a full appreciation of its bene- fits for all sorts of creatures. Fowls are pro- vided with the warmest kind of clothing (feathers) and can withstand a great deal of cold if it Is not accompanied by drafts and dampness. Types of Houses The essential elements in poultry house con- struction do not vary much; among the best houses it is mostly a matter of detail. Where many fowls are kept, it is cheaper and more convenient to have the houses comparatively large, dividing the flocks by partitions rather than separate houses. Yet there are many who prefer the colony plan, which gives each flock a separate house, scattered at intervals over the poultry farm. This gives the fowls an abundance of range, and If disease should break out in one flock it 46 HOUSING AND YARDING can be kept from spreading to the others. While this is perhaps the best way where one has plenty of room, It Is impracticable where Fig. 6. A Good Colony House — 8x12 ft. — on skids for Moving Handily. hundreds of fowls are kept, as the scattered houses make extra work and inconvenience, especially In bad weather. However, people who use long, continuous houses usually find that the shorter ones — say Fig. 7. A House with Passageway on North Side. 47 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING not more than seventy-five to one hundred feet — give vastly superior results to the quite long ones, and then there should be a board parti- tion in the building every twenty or thirty feet to prevent drafts and long currents of air. 40' 1 Fig. 8. Ground Plan of House with Alleyway. Some poultry house plans have a passageway the length of the house in the rear, enabling the attendant to pass quickly through in feed- ing and watering the fowls. However, this extra space is usually of little real value, while there are certain advantages to be gained by passing directly among the fowls. JYARDING PouLTR'a Free range is desirable because it encourages fowls to exercise by ranging after subsistence, yet it is not at all necessary to success. The 48 HOUSING AND YARDING vast majority of fowls are yarded nowadays, for fowls will thrive in almost any place that is kept clean and sanitary. An orchard is an ideal place for poultry, but not everybody is blessed with an orchard. Where fowls must be yarded they should have as large a space as convenient, up to the !— ,c- ! 1^' 1 JROPPINS, Bo. Rr' ^ m: yaRo Fig. 10. A Ground Plan that is O K. fowls deposit rich manure and destroy injur- ious bugs and worms. The poultryman who does not start an orchard in his poultry yards is certainly overlooking an important point. In some localities grape vines thrive well in poultry yards, being trained to posts or to the boundary fences and pruned to bear their fruit high enough so that the fowls can not reach it. Evergreens make excellent wind-breaks and also furnish shade, while the same may be said of arbor vitae, white pine, and Norway spruce. 54. CHAPTER III FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT The Roosts THE roosts should all be on the same level and not more than two or three feet above the floor. By having them level the fowls do not strive for the highest positions, as otherwise always occurs, but distribute them- selves evenly over all the perches. By having them low there is no danger of jars, bruises, or internal injuries to the fowls in jumping or falling off the roost. The best perches are from two to three inches wide, slightly rounded at the upper edges, and one or two inches thick to prevent sagging with the weight of the fowls. The roosts should be clear of the poultry house wall and then ver- min can not spread all over the building but must remain where they can be reached with 55 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING lice-killer. Roosts should also be easily mov- able so that they may be taken outside of the building and scalded and disinfected occasion- ally. The roost illustrated shows a simple and satisfactory type. It has few hiding places Fig. II. A Simple and Satisfactory Roost. for vermin, may be moved about easily, and can be made by anyone with little or no ex- pense. The perches should be about eighteen inches above the floor for medium-sized breeds, lower for heavy or clumsy Asiatics, and higher for the Mediterranean varieties that like 66 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT to perch high. The best space to leave be- tween perches is about sixteen inches. The Nest Boxes The nest boxes should give the laying hen 'plenty of room, but should not be large enough to allow several hens to crowd in at the same time, resulting in broken eggs which may lead to the egg-eating habit. Twelve by four- teen inches is a common size for nest boxes. They may be of any reasonable depth, but if more than six or eight inches it is best partially to cut away one side so that the hens can enter without jumping on eggs previously laid. Soap or other small boxes, such as may be secured of any grocer, cost little and are per- fectly satisfactory. Each one should be sep- arate, and not joined to the others or to the poultry house wall, as this facilitates cleanliness and makes it easier to exterminate vermin. Select a quiet, secluded location for the nests, for the hens prefer to deposit their eggs there, and in a rather dark place they are less likely to disturb the contents of the nest or break eggs. One nest for every three or four hens is sufficient. 57 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING FiGf. 12. A Good Nest made feom a Grocery Box Cost- ing Five Cents. The nesting material commoniy used is ex- celsior; hay and straw are usually too coarse and stiff. Cedar excelsior is best, as it has a tendency to keep down vermin. Remove and burn the old nesting material every few months and replace it with fresh; this keeps the nests clean and kills lice — two important points. Trap-Nests Trap-Nests keep the hen imprisoned when 58 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT she goes on the nest until released by the attendant, who records her leg band num- ber and places the egg to her credit. These nests are the only sure method of picking out the layer from the loafer and of know- ing the exact number of eggs a hen produces in a given time. They often disclose start- ling facts; for instance, some hens in the flock may be laying two hundred or more eggs in a year, while others, seemingly as good, lay only a very few eggs and thus eat up the profits earned by the producers. By selecting the greatest layers and their best daughters each year, and mating them with males from good layers, it is possible wonder- fully to improve the laying qualities of the aver- age flock. A few generations have in some cases almost doubled the egg-yield. It takes a little time to visit the nests four times a day, as should be done, but one who is trying to build up a laying strain will be well repaid for all time and effort spent in this direction. Almost everyone can at least select a few hens and test therti by trap-nesting, and from these hatch the breeding fowls for the improvement of the succeeding year's flock. The best trap-nests are patented, so we can 59 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING not give plans here, but their cost ready-made is so small that it is usually cheaper and better not to try to make them at home. Nest Eggs Nest eggs are not much used nowadays; they are neither necessary nor desirable, unless medi- cated eggs are used for killing lice. These are made of materials which give off an offensive odor that drives vermin out of the nest and from the bodies of the hens that use the nest. Dropping Boards A platform is sometimes put under the perches to catch the droppings from the fowls while they are roosting. It is a great con- venience in a well-kept house, while a neglected house is better without it. If the droppings are removed every morning or two it is much easier to sweep them off the platform into a bucket than it is to shovel them up off the ground, and the house is cleaner afterward. But if the droppings are allowed to accumulate, the boards become saturated with liquid manure, and being necessarily close to the perches, they 60 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT make bad conditions worse by compelling the fowls to breathe impure, foul-smelling air. yiliWI'i'i'""^i'iilQH[" Fig. 13. Dark Nests to go Under Droppings Boards. The droppings platform may be of matched flooring or any similar material that is smooth on one side. It should extend eight or ten inches beyond each side of the roost in order to catch all the droppings from fowls on the outer perches. For a single perch the plat- form should be about twenty inches wide; for two perches, three feet wide. A two-inch strip should be placed arourrd the edge to prevent the droppings from being scattered by the fowls. The height of the droppings platform from the floor depends largely upon whether or not the nests are located under it. At any rate it should not be more than thirty inches above the floor; this makes it easier to sweep off, and the attendant is compelled to breathe less dust and impure air. The perches may be from eight to fifteen inches above the platform; a foot makes a nice height. 61 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Hennery Outfits Hennery outfits are often used to economize house room, but aside from that they have no particular advantage over the simple separate roosts and nests previously described. Such fixtures may be bought reasonably, or the /j*^j ^^iti£3f::::fju^:.^:-^£'C:::-:. i Fig. 14. A Combination Nesting — Roosting Arrange- ment. poultryman may make them himself if he has the time and knack. The fixture illustrated has two perches, each 62 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT thirty-two inches long, and two cross-pieces each fourteen Inches long, with a total roosting ca- pacity of eight or nine average-sized fowls. The droppings platform is a yard square and stands two feet above the floor. The roosts are eight inches higher. Such outfits may be made of any size to meet the requirements of the flock. One, two, or three perches may be used, but it is best to have the fixture comparatively long and narrow; this gives sufficient length In it for the construction of all the nests required by the hens and also conduces to the good health of the fowls while roosting by not packing them in a concentrated mass. With small flocks sometimes a single perch is best, allowing each hen about ten inches space. A fixture five feet long with two perches will accommodate about fifteen medium-sized fowls — more of small breeds, and fewer of large ones ; with three perches it will provide roosting room for at least twenty fowls. Nests should be eleven by fourteen Inches, Inside measurement, and the droppings boards about fourteen Inches above the bottom of the nests to give the hens ample head room while laying. 63 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING All wood used in making the fixture should be as light as possible without making it flimsy; one-fourth or three-eighths inch stuff is best for the nests and partitions between them, for the droppings platform, and for the hinged strip in front which laps down over the tops of nests. The roost may be set loose on the droppings platform so that it can be lifted off, or may be hinged to swing in castings in the rear and hung back against the wall of the house, giving a clear and unobstructed droppings board which may be easily swept off. Food Hoppers and Troughs Food hoppers and troughs can be made Fig. 15. Self-Feeding Hopper. Dotted Line Indicates Sheet of tin Fastened Inside to Force Feed to Front. at home or purchased. If homemade 64 they FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT Cost little or nothing except the labor required, but if the poultryman has no time or liking for manual labor he can buy galvanized iron or tin ones that are more durable and afford bet- ter protection to the feed if used outdoors. Grocers always have small boxes which may Fig. i6. Interior View of Food Hopper. easily be converted into self-feeding hoppers or protected troughs, and the cost is prac- tically nothing. The principle of construction can be readily gathered from the accompanying drawings. They may be made with one hop- per or several, depending on whether the owner prefers to mix his feed or give each kind separately and let the fowls do their own balancing. 65 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Drinking Vessels A crock makes a good drinking vessel, but most people prefer the galvanized iron foun- tains that can be bought at any poultry sup- ply house. These should be of sufficient size to require filling only once or twice a day. However, fresh water must be given at least qnce a day — and in hot weather several times a day — to prevent It from becoming stale and stagnant. In cold weather do not chili the fowls with freezing water; supply it warm, especially for little chicks. Patent fountains are now on the market which keep the water comfortable all day long and avoid freezing even In the coldest weather. These are a great convenience for the busy poultryman and also to the fowls. Vessels should be high enough so that the fowls can not throw dirt and litter into the water. Wall drinking fountains may be bought which hang up on a nail in the wall of the house; or, if the ordinary kind are used, they may be set a few inches above the ground on little shelves or boxes. A cheese box, split in halves around the sides, is excellent for this purpose. m FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT Merits of Incubators The poultry world owes a large debt of grat- itude to the modern incubator and brooder. Without them the present great magnitude of the poultry industry would be an impossibil- ity. Yet their merits are often exaggerated and people are led to invest in them unwisely and unprofitably. The best machines on the market to-day are pretty good hatchers. But it is impossible to improve upon Nature, and the best incubator made is only man's nearest approach to what the hen can do. Hens usually bring forth twelve or thirteen chicks from fifteen eggs, but incubators will scarcely average that well with untested eggs. The beginner must not overlook the fact that incubator reports consider only the fertile eggs, or those that contain living germs at the end of the first week's incubation. One-half of all eggs placed in machines is considered a good average for a year's hatching. The most successful plants seldom count on more than sixty per cent., and hatches of more than ninety per cent, come so infrequently that they delight the most expert operator. 67 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING The thing that spoils high records for In- cubators is the large number of chicks that die -^ Fig. 17. Chick Shelter for Bad Weather. in the shell. For some reason many germs stop developing during the third week of incu- bation, or come up to hatching time lacking the strength to get out of the shell. Nor does the difference between natural and artificial hatching always end with the birth of the chick. In the majority of cases, hen-hatched chicks are hardier and easier to raise than machine- hatched chicks. There are fewer cripples, and, taken generally, they appear fluffier, stronger- 68 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT legged, slightly larger, and less susceptible to bowel disorders. The one real advantage of the Incubator lies in the fact that it may be set whenever one desires, without having to wait upon the fickle fancy of a hen. A poultry keeper entirely de- FiG. i8. Chick Shelter of Another Type. pendent upon hens for hatching is in a bad fix when the hens fail him. Yet, as a rule, hens naturally go broody at the time of year when eggs hatch best and chicks are easiest to raise. 69 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING While very early chicks bring the most money, they are hard to raise successfully, requiring special skill and extra provision in the way of bousing and equipment while the weather is bad. The small breeder who raises less than one hundred chicks a year seldom needs an incu- bator. If he has fowls of a non-setting variety, he should watch his opportunities to get broody hens from the neighbors. Such can usually be bought reasonably, say fifty to seventy-five cents each, for a mongrel hen makes as good a setter as a fine blooded one. The man who raises from one hundred to two hundred chicks a year needs an incubator in about one-half the cases. Where more than two hundred chicks are raised per annum, it is usually best to resort to artificial methods, and where the number goes above three hun- dred or four hundred, I should say machines are quite necessary. Big plants are made pos- sible only by the use of machines. There the greater ease and dispatch with which machines may be used more than offsets the other differ- ences between natural and artificial methods. On most large plants where hens are used their work is complementary to that of machines — 70 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT hatching prizewinning eggs, or the foundation breeding stock, so that artificiality of methods may not result in a lessening of inherent vitality and constitutiontal vigor. Fig. 19. Coop foe Hen with Chicks. The expense of operating an incubator is slight, and the time and labor required are of no great consequence. It requires, on an average, four or five gallons of oil to run a 240-egg machine one hatch, and three or four gallons for a 120-egg machine in moderately cold weather; in warm weather, it takes less. The only care a good machine requires is keep- ing the lamp filled and the wick trimmed, turn- ing the eggs morning and evening, and looking at the thermometer two or three times a day 71 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING to see that the correct heat is being maintained, which is 103 degrees. All this should not con- sume more than fifteen minutes of actual time each day. There is more than one good make of machine on the market, just as there is more than one worthless make. The beginner should consider the experience of those who have tried different machines. Do not pay much attention to testimonials reporting one hundred per cent, hatches, but get a machine that has given satisfaction on the large, suc- cessful poultry farms or on government ex- periment stations. Home-made incubators, as well as cheaply constructed factory-made machines, are to be avoided. The selection of a machine need not be the perplexing problem that some make it, for re- sults with the leading makes do not differ greatly. If the beginner has to learn, unas- sisted, to run his machine, it will matter little which of the popular makes he buys. If a particular machine is being successfully operated in his vicinity by someone who will give him helpful advice occasionally, it is clearly to his advantage to have a machine of that make. 7a FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT Brooders Brooders are used even more generally than incubators. Where the latter are used brooders are an absolute necessity, and even where hens do the hatching it is often economy to raise the chicks in brooders and let the hens return to laying. The brooder is always warm Fig. 20. A Simple a-Shaped Coop. never deserts the chicks, is rat- and weasel- proof, and does not distribute lice to the chicks unless they are brought into it from other sources. Chicks grouped in flocks of fifty to one hundred in brooders may be cared for with a minimum of time and expense. Cheap and home-made brooders are usually unreliable, and I cannot recommend them to be- ginners. The importance of a good brooder becomes evident when one stops to consider the fact that it is the number of chicks raised, rather 73 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING than the number hatched, that makes or mars the profits and pleasures of the business. It is often harder to raise chicks than to hatch them. Fig. 21. A -Shaped Cooi* With Pen 4 ft. Long and Movable Shelter Boards. Sometimes this is because the chicks were im- properly hatched in bad incubators, but even the most lifeful chicks will fail to thrive in poor brooders. A good brooder is considerably more than merely a box with a lamp set inside It and sells for more money. It should be roomy, well- lighted, provide plenty of sunlight and fresh air, and be easy to keep clean and sanitary. These points, together with a good hover, should be insisted upon in buying' either outdoor or indoor brooders. Which style is best depends upon whether or not one has plenty of house room; if he has. Indoor machines will be found less expensive and will last longer. 74 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT FiRELEss Brooders Fireless brooders are all right where one can keep them in a warm room and give them con- siderable attention until the chicks learn to use Fig. 22. The Hover Arkangement for Fireless Brood- ing. them. I cannot recommend them for cold weather use, but they are all right in warm climates and for chicks hatched after March in northern latitudes. The principle of the fire- less brooder is to conserve the animal warmth of the chicks and keep them warm with the heat they generate themselves. Such hovers are very simple in construction, as can be seen from the accompanying sketches. 75 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Many people make them from an old cracker or soap box, but they should be as nearly square Fig. 23. Interior View of Fireless Brooder. as convenient. Simply take any such box, with- out top. Around the sides, about four and one- half inches from the bottom, nail cleats to sup- port the hover frame. These may be adjusted to different heights as the chicks grow. For the top or hover part, make a wooden frame of one by two inch sticks, to fit inside the box snugly. Over the top of this tack several 76 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT thicknesses of heavy woolen cloth or felt. Then perpendicular to this, every four inches nail strips of other cloth or felt, cut in fringes to hang down almost to the floor. The chicks will snuggle around in this and keep warm, spreading apart when too warm. The whole hover arrangement lifts out, leaving simply an open box, very easy to clean. Have a chick exit in one side of the box, four or five inches square. Bone Grinders Bone grinders are an important part of the equipment of every poultryman who can get fresh bones regularly. Green cut bone is con- sidered the best food of its kind, and it is usually cheaper and more satisfactory to buy a bone cutter and grind fresh bones as needed than to buy the prepared meat foods. Green bone cutters (not bone mills, which are for grinding dry bones and are of little practical value) can be bought at a cost of $8 to $io up- wards. There are cheaper machines on the market, but they grind slowly and require ex- cessive time and muscle to operate. 77 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Miscellaneous Equipment In addition to the foregoing appliances and devices, there are numerous others, mostly needed on large plants and not requiring special Fig. 24. Brood Coop for Hen and Chicks With Wire Netting Run. mention here, such as food cookers, feed mixers, grit crushers, brooder house stoves, pipe sys- tems, etc. Hay cutters are not expensive and every poultryman with a good sized flock should have one to cut clover and alfalfa into short lengths for winter feeding. Brood Coops There are a variety of styles of coops suit- able for housing chicks from the time they are hatched until they are ready for permanent quarters in the fall. A number of the simplest 78 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT Fig. 25. A Good Roosting Coop for Growing Chicks. and best coops are illustrated herewith. They require little further explanation, as they can be built most cheaply by making them of a size that best utilizes waste lumber and boxes. The important point is to see that they have tight roofs and dry floors. Fig. 26. Brood Coop for Chicks After Weaning. The brood coop for chicks after weaning may have a front of lath or netting, with burlap 79 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING curtains for bad weather, or made close with tight door and movable window for winter use. They are usually made without floors and of a size easily handled — six to eight feet long, about three feet wide, two to two and one-half feet high in the rear, and three to three and one- half feet high in front. One or two roosts run the length of the coop in the rear, about a foot from the ground. Fig. 27. Weather. Coop with Hood Thrown Back in Pleasant As the chicks grow toward maturity they may be moved to a coop such as is shown in Fig. 27. This is six by eight feet, and six feet high In front. It need not be carefully made if used only for chicks In summer; a tight roof to keep out the rain and wire netting over the 80 FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT window to exclude varmints are the main points. The chick shelters shown in Figs. 17 and 18 are valuable for use with brooder or brood coop while the fowls are small. They give the chicks an outdoor run, yet offer protection from Sun and storm and marauding animals. 81 CHAPTER IV CHOOSING AND BUYING STOCK Classification of Breeds FOR convenience in classification, all breeds are first separated into " classes," the country of their origin or some other peculiarity determining the class in which each belongs. Almost every breed is then sub- divided into a greater or lesser number of varieties, differing only in color of feather. In the following descriptiojis a few terms may need explaining. Where the term " sit- ters " is applied it does not necessarily imply especial persistence but merely the natural in- stinct to reproduce. In the " non-sitting " varieties this trait has been almost eliminated, although an occasional hen may want to sit. All eggs are classed broadly as " white " or " brown," but there are really many inter- CHOOSING AND BUYING mediate shades and tints of color. The Mediterranean breeds seldom depart from their usual white or very light tinted eggs ; but the brown-egg hens often vary from deep brown to light flesh color. This does not necessarily imply impure breeding, but other things being equal the hen whose eggs are truest to type is the most desirable. The American Class The American class contains the leading general-purpose breeds — the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds. All are hardy, good layers of brown eggs, sitters, grain and flavor of flesh excellent, will thrive in con- finement but good foragers if permitted. Plymouth Rocks Plymouth Rocks are of six standard varieties, the only difference being in color. All are of symmetrical proportion, neither blocky or angular in body type. Combs are single and serrated, and medium to small in size; the ear- lobes are red, while the skin, beak, legs, and toes should be a deep yellow color. Standard 83 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING weights for Plymouth Rocks are cock 9>4 pounds, cockerel 8 pounds, hen 73^ pounds, pullet 6y^ pounds. Barred Plymouth Rocks have been the most common variety of poultry in America for years. They are an old farm favorite, yet very difficult to breed to a high excellence in color. The bars on feathers should be narrow and parallel and alternately white and bluish-black in color. The Barred is a good all-round variety. White Plymouth Rocks are equal to the Barred in every economic quality, and are gradually coming to a popularity more nearly equal because they have the superficial advan- tage of color — easier to breed true to standard and no black pinfeathers to show on the dressed carcass. Buff Plymouth Rocks are quite popular, but not so much so as the Barred and White. Their economic qualities are unexcelled, but they have a decided tendency to vary in color from cinnamon brown to lemon buff, or come with white or black feathers in wings and tail — which often results in an uneven looking flock. Columbian, Partridge, and Silver Penciled Plymouth Rocks are comparatively new varie- 84) CHOOSING AND BUYING ties and are bred in small numbers as yet. They are very handsome and practical fowls, but re- quire considerable skill in breeding. Wyandottes Wyandottes, as compared with Plymouth Rocks, are a little shorter bodied, chunkier and blockier, and average a trifle smaller. They have neat rose combs; ear lobes red; beak, skin, and legs a deep yellow. Standard weights are, cock 8j^ pounds, cockerel yj^ pounds, hen 6^ pounds, pullets 5^ pounds. White Wyandottes combine beauty and utility to a marked degree, and rank as one of the half-dozen most popular varieties in America. Buff Wyandottes are an excellent variety, but only fairly popular. Columbian Wyandottes are a comparatively new and fairly popular variety. Being white with black points like the Light Brahma, they dress like a white fowl. Silver Laced, Golden Laced, Silver Penciled, and Golden Penciled or Partridge Wyandottes all are very beautiful fowls, but degenerate quickly in color if neglected. They are not 85 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING widely bred, but have a following large enough to keep them in the public eye. The Black Wyandotte has never attracted much attention. Rhode Island Reds Rhode Island Reds are of a shape and size intermediate between the Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte and rank about the same in practical qualities, which is equivalent to saying that they are excellent fowls. There are two varieties of Reds, differing only in the shape of the comb, the one having a single and the other a rose comb. A novice would probably call the single combed variety — on its looks — a Red Plymouth Rock, and the rose combed variety a RedWyan- dotte. Standard weights are cock 8 J4 pounds, cockerel 7^ pounds, hen 6^ pounds, pullet 5 pounds. The Buckeye, the American Dominique, and the Black and the Mottled Javas are other American varieties that are not without certain merit but are rarely bred. The Mediterranean Class Next to the American class in popularity 86 CHOOSING AND BUYING comes the Mediterranean class, comprising varieties which are all non-sitters, noted for their heavy laying of white eggs, their trimly built bodies, and extreme alertness. Leghorns Leghorns are of seven varieties, though only two have a broad popularity — the Single Comb Brown and the Single Comb White. Of the two the White seems to be the most popular in the East, while they are pretty evenly balanced in other sections of the country. The Single Comb Buff Leghorn was popular for a while, but has since gone backward. The rose combed varieties of the colors mentioned have never approached the single combed varieties in popularity, though Rose Comb White and Brown Leghorns are to be found all over the country. Black Leghorns are not often seen, and the Silver Duckwing variety is still more rare. The Leghorns' chief claim to attention is their laying propensity. They lay better under average or indifferent care, except in early win- ter, than any fowls not of their class; and, ex- cept when frost is severe enough to affect their 87 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING large combs, they are reasonably hardy. Aver- age Leghorns are too small to be of much value as market poultry, though they have nice yellow skin and legs. Certain breeders have special- ized on improving their size and then they make a very fair broiler, for while they never get big, they make their first pound of growth compara- tively rapidly and feather out quickly. Leg- horns have no standard weights, the larger fowls being given the preference. Black Minorcas Black Minorcas are the next breed in this class in popularity, though far behind the lead- ing Leghorn varieties in this respect. Ordi- nary Minorcas as found distributed over the country do not differ materially from Leghorns, except that they are longer-bodied and have larger combs, wattles, and ear lobes. Typical Black Minorcas, as bred in the sections where they are most popular, are medium large fowls, sometimes as large as Plymouth Rocks, are good layers of exceptionally large white eggs, and are good table fowls for home use, though their white skin and dark legs are against them in most markets. There are both single and 88 CHOOSING AND BUYING rose combed varieties, the former being the more common. Andalusians and Anconas Andalusians and Anconas do not differ greatly from Leghorns, except in color. The Andalusian is a trifle more on the Minorca type ; the Ancona on the Leghorn type. The Anda- lusian is a slaty-blue in color, and very difficult to breed to standard requirements. The An- cona is a mixed (speckled) black and white fowl. Both have their admirers, especially among fanciers, and they may be rated as fowls for the fanciers and amateur rather than for commercial poultry breeding, although the An- cona variety, especially, has lately been attract- ing more attention for utility purposes. Black Spanish Black Spanish are practically extinct, except in the hands of a few fanciers who prize them as novelties. Hamburgs and Polish Hamburgs and Polish are of the same gen- eral type as Leghorns. Varieties of both 89 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING breeds were popular before the introduction of the Leghorns, but since then they have gone backward, being less hardy, more difficult to keep and rear, and lacking the yellow legs and skin which American markets prefer. They are beautiful and fairly useful fowls, however, and many fanciers still give them considerable attention for exhibiting at shows. Most Hamburgs are too small to be of real practical value, though a few breeders maintain good size along with heavy laying traits. Polish fowls, though small, are usually plump and meaty, and good layers. Their large crests are a characteristic admired by fanciers, but make them susceptible to colds and roup when exposed to wet weather. The Asiatic Class The Asiatic Class, once of considerable econ- omic importance, has been almost crowded out by the general-purpose breeds in the American class. All three of the Asiatic varieties — Brahmas, Cochins and Langshans — are large fowls, too large for general market demands, and those who keep them for commercial pur- poses supply special markets. All Asiatic fowls 90 CHOOSING AND BUYING have the advantage of extreme hardiness and, being quiet and docile, they give satisfaction in crowded quarters where an energetic fowl would be a nuisance. In some Cases this is more than offset by the objection to their foot and leg feathering, which is against them for marketing, or wherever the soil is heavy and there is much wet weather. Such fowls must be provided with houses where the floors are dry and littered with material that will quickly absorb the water in the foot feathers after they have been out on wet ground. With judicious management the Asiatics are good layers, but the average poultry keeper can- not get the results from them that he can from the American varieties. -Erahmas Brahmas are of two varieties, Light and Dark. Their low pea combs and heavily feathered bodies and shanks enable them to withstand exceedingly cold weather. They lay a large brown egg, and are rather persistent sit- ters ; color of skin and legs yellow. Light Brahmas are especially good as a roast- ing fowl. They are the largest of chickens, 91 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING and as It takes them so long to attain full size they remain soft-meated much longer than fowls of the smaller breeds. Standard weights are, cock 12 pounds, cockerel lo pounds, hen 9J^ pounds, pullet 9 pounds. Dark Brahmas are similar to the Light variety, except in color which is a combination of white, gray, and black penciling, giving a beautiful steel-gray effect when bred to perfec- tion. However, standard weights are a pound lighter all around than those of Light Brahmas, and they are rarely bred. Cochins Cochins are hardy and stand confinement well, being of a lazy disposition; fair layers of brown eggs, persistent sitters. Have single combs, serrated, and small to medium in size; legs and skin yellow; bodies and shanks feath- ered still more heavily than Brahmas. There are four varieties of Cochins — Buff, Partridge, White, and Black. The latter two are rarely bred. The Buffs are the leading variety, and they are not really common. Standard weights are, cock 1 1 pounds, cockerel 9 pounds, hen 8^ pounds, puliet 7 pounds. 92 CHOOSING AND BUYING Langs HANS Langshans are the smallest of the Asiatic breeds and the best layers under ordinary man- agement. But their color (black — the white variety having never become popular) Is against them for market poultry, especially since they have white skin. They are all right for home consumption or for dirty or smoky locations where the plumage of a light-colored fowl would soon be ruined. Standard weights are, cock lO pounds, cockerel 8 pounds, hen 7 pounds, pullet 6 pounds. The English Class The English class contains the Dorkings, Red Caps, and Orpingtons — all three of dis- tinctly different types, the Orpington being the only one of Importance in America. Dorkings Dorkings are an English production of great antiquity, chiefly noted for their excellent table quality. They are found on rhany Canadian farms, but are rare in the States. 93 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Red Caps Red Caps are a fowl of the Hamburg class bred to a larger size, and are not at all com- mon in America. Orpingtons Orpingtons are an English translation of the general-purpose type of fowl which prevails in the American class. They are similar in re- gard to egg production and type, only the Orpington is a trifle more " beefy," with a long, round body and a very full breast development. Orpingtons meet the demand of English mar- kets for a white-skinned fowl with flesh colored legs, but the yellow skin and legs of the native American varieties are more popular in this country. However, this is a superficial differ- ence which may be of no moment if one is rais- ing fowls merely for home use or for an in- different or unappreciative market. There are three well established varieties of Orpingtons — the White, Buff, and Black, named in order of American popularity. The Spangled and Jubilee varieties have never made 94 CHOOSING AND BUYING much headway here. In each of the popular varieties there are single and rose combed sub- varieties, the former being the more common. Standard weights are, cock lo pounds, cockerel 8>^ pounds, hen 8 pounds, pullet 7 pounds. The French Class The French class contains three breeds rec- ognized in the American Standard of Perfec- tion — the Houdans, Le Fleche, and Creve- ccEurs. The latter two are seldom seen here. Houdans Houdans are larger than Leghorns and lay white eggs almost as prolifically, but they are not quite so hardy a fowl. In color Houdans are a mottled black and white, have five toes, and are crested but not so heavily as Polish. They are of first-class table quality, but in mar- keting their white skin and dark legs are against them. Standard weights are, cock 7 pounds, cockerel 6 pounds, hen 6 pounds, pullet 5 pounds. The Game Class The Game class contains three distinct types 95 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING of fowls — the Pit Game, the Exhibition Game, and the Indian Game. Pit Games Pit Games are the original game fowl, hav- ing been bred for centuries in England. They have some economic value so far as productiv- ity and table qualities go, but they cannot be classed for general-purposes with the breeds of the American class. They are truly " game " — pugnacious and quarrelsome — which quali- ties are destructive to comfortable and profit- able work with poultry on the average farm and practical plant. Exhibition Games Exhibition Games are a type of long legged, long necked, exaggerated Pit game, having a place in the exhibition room and in the yards of certain fanciers, but not suitable anywhere else. Cornish Indian Games CornisK Indian Games are larger and meatier than either of the other two, and so 96 CHOOSING AND BUYING much less pugnacious that there has been a recent tendency to drop the " game " part of their name and call them simply Cornish Fowls. They are good foragers, hardy, mature early, fair layers of tinted eggs, more or less inclined to broodlness, good as table fowls, dressing with very little waste on account of their full breasts and egg-shaped bodies. Standard weights are, cock 9 pounds, cockerel 7J4 pounds, hen 6^2 pounds, pullet 5J4 pounds. The Bantam Class The Bantam class is not of great practical value, being bred mostly for ornamental pur- poses or playthings for children, as the fowls become very tame and like to be petted. Ban- tams are too small for practical table use, and are only fair layers of very small eggs, yet they will furnish eggs and some meat for a small family so situated that they could not keep a large fowl, for Bantams may be housed in a drygoods box and kept on a lawn or in a garden where a larger fowl would be a nuisance. There are twenty-five or more varieties of Bantams, most of them being miniature repro- ductions of a large breed. The Buff Cochin 97 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Bantams are the most popular variety of Ban- tams in America. The Light and Dark Brahma varieties are also good. The eight varieties of the Game Bantams are more or less common and valuable, along with the Seabright Bantams of which there are two varieties, the Golden and Silver. Merits of Different Breeds There is a wide field of choice for the man selecting a breed of fowls nowadays. Differ- ent combinations of size, shape, and color have been propagated and perfected in almost infinite variety. Any pure breed is good, only some are better for certain purposes than others. Specific detail on this point Is given in the pre- ceding breed descriptions, so that no one need go astray. We have not illustrated the different breeds, because pictures of all sorts of fowls can be seen in any poultry magazine or catalog, and it is better for a man to see live fowls of a certain variety before buying that kind anyway. He can do this at any good poultry show — seeing fowls in almost endless variety and in their most attractive condition, 98 CHOOSING AND BUYING While the Mediterranean breeds are the heaviest layers, and therefore best for the egg specialist or anyone who demands a white egg, the general-purpose breeds — as exemplified in the American class — are best adapted to the needs of the average poultry keeper. This is proved by the fact that nine-tenths of the people who keep poultry in America keep fowls of a general-purpose type. Which of the many varieties of this type of fowl is best depends largely upon individual circumstances. Ordi- narily the beginner should choose one of the most popular varieties, unless for some special reason another kind is to be preferred, although lesser known. The differences between the general-purpose varieties are mostly superficial, and any one of these varieties may be substituted for another in any case where superficial differences are im- material. That is to say, the productiveness and real v/orth of the different fowls of this class are much the same, except such differences as color of feathers and skin and legs. In this country people generally prefer yellow-skinned poultry and will buy more readily and often pay a premium to get that kind. Therefore it is to the advantage of a market poultry grower to 99 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING keep that kind of fowl, meaning easier sales and better profits, with no difference in cost of pro- duction. But if he is growing fowls only for his own table, and has no prejudice in the matter of color of skin, it will make no difference whether his stock is yellow skinned or white skinned. The color of plumage can be considered in much the same light : A white or buff fowl in the pin- feather stage dresses so much easier and cleaner looking than the others that most large plants prefer them; but for home consumption, or small scale production, this matter may not be of serious importance. So far we have considered mainly the econ- omic aspects of the various breeds. Most people who keep poultry want to get, if possible, at least something in the way of financial re- turns as well as pleasure from their hobby; but there are others who are interested only in the pleasure or fancy side of the thing, and if the tendency Is for growers of poultry for economic purposes to concentrate on a few varieties, the tendency among fanciers is quite opposite; they prefer to give their tastes and inclinations for color and general make-up free rein, and for the sake of oddity prefer new or comparatively 100 CHOOSING AND BUYING obscure varieties, providing they have more or less beauty and merit. Other things being equal, the variety that best suits one's tastes should be selected, as that one will get the best care and attention. It is often worth a great deal to have fowls that readily appeal to one's affections, for their care will then be easy and spontaneous, where it would otherwise be tedious and comparative drudgery. Mating Breeding Fowls The intelligent and systematic mating of the breeders is a very important matter where eggs are wanted for hatching. The male bird should be allowed to run with the females in the breeding pen at least two weeks before eggs are set. In selecting the breeders, discard every fowl that is not of rugged health, or that is deficient in size, shape, or color. Do not let sentiment play a part, for quality is always better than quantity. A perfectly sound male at the head of the breeding pen is very essential; if possible, have the male of even a little better quality than the females. 101 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING It is usual to mate young cockerels to old hens, and old cocks to young pullets. Pullets and cockerels should not be mated together, unless very early-hatched and well matured, but young stock of the one sex should be bal- anced by seasoned maturity in the opposite sex. This insures stronger fertility in the eggs, al- though fowls of the same age may be mated together if both sexes are well matured, being at least a year old. The best results are usually secured when one male is mated with not more than eight to twelve females of the Asiatic and American classes, and twelve to eighteen of the Mediter- ranean class. Sometimes good results are secured when one male looks after a greater number of hens than this, but not unless he is an exceptionally vigorous fellow. Hovsr Many Breeds to Keep One variety is enough for the average poul- try keeper to try to handle. It is absurd to start out with several breeds to test their rela- tive merits, for then no one variety is mastered sufficiently to get the best out of it. After suc- ceeding with one kind of fowl, the beginner may safely add others if he chooses, but there are 103 CHOOSING AND BUYING many advantages in having a reputation as a specialty breeder of one variety. Beginners often think it advisable to keep two varieties of different classes and tj^es to meet different demands or serve different purposes. But the truth is that the special adaptabilities of the different breeds to different purposes are as much theoretical as real, and in time the poultryman realizes that the few practical ad- vantages of keeping two types of fowls are about offset by the disadvantages in having to maintain two separate stocks and In adapting the accommodations to the different habits of the fowls. If the variety first chosen should begin to lose Its charm, do not be In too big a hurry to change; remember that no variety is perfect In every respect, but they all have special qualities which handsomely reward the men who can best develop them. Pure Breeds Are Best There is no argument regarding the superior- ity of pure-bred poultry over scrubs and mon- grels. The latter kind are never tolerated on a really progressive plant. Standard breeds 103 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING are not alone for fanciers to exhibit, but every poultryman who wants to get the most profit and pleasure from his fowls must have stock of fairly good breeding. While it cannot be said that success with poultry can be achieved only with thoroughbred fowls — for success depends upon other things quite as much as on the kind of fowls kept — yet it is always true that good stock is one of the greatest of aids to maximum profit and satisfaction and the beginner should avoid scrub birds of no special breeding. Standard-bred poultry means a more attrac- tive flock, because all fowls are uniform in size, type, and color; it means more eggs and larger size in the fowls, because purity of blood has come only through generations of careful selec- tion; it means more money when fowls are sold in market, because they are uniform in type and market characteristics, adding attractiveness; it means quicker and more uniform growth in the chicks, and, last but not least, it means healthier, hardier stock. Pure breeds require no more feed or atten- tion than common stock, and the only difference in cost is in the original investment, which is small compared with the advantages to be de- rived. 104 CHOOSING AND BUYING Starting with Pure Breeds There are three good ways to begin with pure breeds — (i) by buying mature stock; (2) by buying eggs for hatching; (3) by buying newly- hatched chicks. All three methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and people get all kinds of results — good, bad, and indifferent — from each. In brief it may be said that in buying stock the risk of total loss, as well as the possibility of getting fine stock very cheap, is less than in buying eggs or chicks. When one buys stock he secures for his money something tangible and real ; when he buys eggs or chicks he secures greater possibilities for his money than the stock, but these may or may not develop. Perhaps the best way is to divide the amount of money available for the purpose, buy a few fowls, and invest the rest in eggs or chicks. As a rule it is best to buy of a nearby poultryman, for that saves transportation charges, fowls will not need to become acclimated, eggs will have less chance to be broken and chicks to be chilled, while on the road. 105 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Buying Stock Buying stock is the method of starting usually considered most successful, but it is not always so. It requires a heavier original outlay, but one knows just what he is getting and takes no chances on the hatchability of eggs or disease and accident while raising the chicks. Three to five dollars apiece will buy very fair breeding stock — good enough for an experimental start, except that one may spend two or three times that amount for an extra pair of exhibition quality if he has the means and wants to learn the exhibition game immediately. While it al- ways pays to get as good stock as one can well afford, yet beginners who invest in very high priced stock cannot derive the utmost out of it simply because they are not qualified to exhibit judiciously, mate, and breed from them. The best time to buy fowls is in the summer and fall. Prices are lower then and there Is a larger selection to choose from. Besides, this gives time to study the fowls, to learn how best to feed and manage them, by the time eggs are desired for hatching. It takes time for fowls to become accustomed to new surroundings and 106 CHOOSING AND BUYING rations, and people who wait until spring to buy are often disappointed because the hens do not lay readily or the eggs do not hatch well. Buying Eggs Buying eggs is the cheapest and often the best plan where the start is to be made in late winter or early spring, that is, during the natural hatch- ing season. One feels then that he is learning the business in all its detail, starting at the very foundation; yet on the other hand this gives greater opportunity for failure to creep in. However, there is always the attractive chance of getting a good hatch and a lot of good chicks at a cost far below what fowls of the same quality could be bought for at maturity. The common prices are $i to $3 per setting for eggs from utility to medium exhibition stock, $3 to $5 per setting from good exhibition stock, and $8 to $15 per setting from celebrated prize- winners. There has been a recent tendency to boom prices on eggs for hatching to figures much higher than these, but results from such eggs are seldom enough better than from medium-priced eggs to justify the extra expendi- ture. 107 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Buying Baby Chicks Buying baby chicks is much like buying eggs, except that the uncertainty of hatching is elimi- nated. The chicks are shipped before their thrift and quality are apparent, and results at the end of the season are usually only a little better than with eggs. This little, however, is an inducement to many to try chicks rather than eggs, especially if it would be a bother for them to set hens or incubator. Shipped as soon as possible after hatching, the chicks need no food for two or three days, which generally allows ample time for shipping, but upon arrival they need prompt and careful attention to give them the right kind of a start. Prices on baby chicks are usually about twice as much as for eggs from the same quality stock, the most common prices being from twenty-five to seventy-five cents each. 108 CHAPTER V FOODS AND FEEDING PROPER feeding is one of the most impor- tant factors in poultry keeping. Yet there are not many absolute rules govern- ing feeding that can be laid down for the guid- ance of the novice, and this is one of the phases of poultry keeping where results depend largely upon the good or bad judgment of the attend- ant. There should be no guess-work in feed- ing, but one should adopt the method that he finds most economical and satisfactory for his peculiar conditions. Practical knowledge and skill, enough for ordinary use, can be acquired without the ex- penditure of a great amount of time and study. A simple, common sense understanding of the needs of an animal organism and plain knowl- edge of the properties of the staple poultry foods are enough for the average poultryman to know. There is nothing about poultry feed- 109 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING ing too deep or too hard for anyone of ordi- nary intelligence who gives the subject a little careful attention and notes the effects of his feeding on his fowls. The latter is the impor- tant point. Almost anyone can follow a good formula and get fair results, but to get the utmost pos- sible out of a flock of fowls one must have a judgment trained to observe, closely and with- out conscious effort, their individual physical ap- pearances, to note the very beginning of a de- parture from normal thrift, and to decide almost instinctively how to preserve or restore the health of the fowls. Hence, expert feed- ing is a fine art in which skill is not mechanical, but comes through practice. To excel as a feeder of poultry a man must have more than a book knowledge of the properties of foods and the principles of feeding, but the basic facts which follow are important, for they make the foundation upon which the beginner's practice must be built. Food Elements All food stuffs contain, in greater or lesser degree, three main elements which are essential 110 FOODS AND FEEDING in the feeding of live stock and poultry. They are protein, carbohydrates (including fat), and ash. Protein is the nourishing matter, supplying material for bone, muscle, blood, feathers, and eggs. A food is valuable in proportion to the amount of protein it contains. This element has no substitute, and rations deficient in it are always unsatisfactory. Foods that are unusu- ally rich in protein are often called nitrogenous foods. Carbohydrate elements, principally starches, form the bulk of the dry matter in nearly all foods and are the principal sources of heat and energy. Surplus amounts are stored up in the body as fat, to be drawn upon later for extra heat or energy. Ash and fiber are the subordinate food ele- ments, consisting of lime, husks, and other mineral and waste matters, mostly indigestible. All ordinary foods contain a sufficient amount of these substances, and they scarcely need be considered in formulating practical rations. How TO Balance Rations A " balanced " ration is one with protein and 111 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING carbohydrates combined in proper proportion to supply fully the needs of the fowls but with- out excess of either element. A ration is too " wide " when it contains an excessive propor- tion of carbohydrates, making the fowls too fat; It is too "narrow" when rich in protein and deficient In carbohydrates. In the latter case, the over supply of protein will to a cer- tain extent take the place of the lacking carbo- hydrates; but this is not advisable because it Is a hardship on the kidneys and liver of the fowl to dissipate the excessive amount of nitrogen, and it Is more expensive to furnish protein than the needed carbonaceous food. So, for both physical and economic reasons, the ration should always be a little wide, rather than a little narrow. The best ration for laying hens is generally regarded as 1:5; that is, one part of protein to five parts of carbohydrates. A great deal depends, however, upon circumstances — the breed, the physical condition of the fowls, the time of year, etc. While the proportion should be kept as nearly correct as possible, a slight variation is not usually serious because fowls are more or less able to adapt different foods to their special requirements. 112 FOODS AND FEEDING Successful breeders who do not use the ratio of 1 :5 usually choose one a trifle wider, say 1 :5 J^ or 1 :6. About the only exception to this is where the fowls are of a large and sluggish variety, when the ratio might well be narrowed to i:4j^. The smaller and more active the fowl the wider its ration may be, for energy burns up carbon. All fowls need a wider ration in winter than in summer, because it is harder to maintain bodily warmth then. Growing chicks and hens that are producing heavily of eggs should have rations rich in protein. Stock being specially fattened may have the widest ration of all, say i :8. Food Values The nutritive ratio of a food or ration ex- presses the proportion of digestible elements of protein to carbohydrates, determined by chemical analyses. While nutritive ratios are prone to vary In different sections of the coun- try and with different brands and varieties of the same food stuff, those presented herewith are as accurate as any that could be given for general use. 113 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING GRAIN FEEDS Wheat 1:7 Buckwheat 1:7.4 Wheat Middlings 1:5 Sunflower Seed 1:6 Wheat Bran 1:4 Millet Seed 1:5 Indian Corn 1:10 Kaflir Corn 1:9 Gluten Meal 1:1.5 Peas and Beans 1:3 Oats 1:6 Hemp Seed 1:5 Oat Meal 1:5.7 Linseed Meal 1:1.5 Barley 1:8 Malt Sprouts 1:2.5 Rye 1:5.7 Rice 1:11 VEGETABLES, ETC. Green Grass 1:7 Turnips 1:8 Green Clover or Alfalfa. . 1:5 Potatoes 1:12 Dried Clover or Alfalfa. . 1:3 Red Beets 1:5 Mangel Wurzels 1:5 Lettuce & Cabbages ... 1:2 ANIMAL FOODS AND MILK Beef Scraps 1:0.8 Fresh-cut Bone 1:1.2 Dried Blood 1:1 Whole Milk 1:4 Animal Meal 1:0.5 Skim-and Butter-MiUs. 1:2 Systems of Feeding There are two main systems of feeding poul- try, (i) mash and (2) dry feed. Each has many successful followers and which is best often depends upon individual circumstances. Most people get best results from a judicious blending of the two systems, as indicated later, and that is the plan I use and recommend. To the fowls it will make little difference which system is used if it is used properly. Method and regularity in feeding are all important, and whatever be the system adopted it should 114. FOODS AND FEEDING be followed closely and changed only for some very good reason. A common mistake of the novice is to make frequent and radical changes in his rations and in his time and method of feeding — a sure way to bring about digestive troubles and ultimately destroy the usefulness of such fowls as are not killed outright. The Mash System The mash system involves the feeding of a wet, scalded, or cooked mash once a day, dry grains also being fed once or twice. Most successful poultrymen use mashes more or less, for they have certain advantages. Chief of these may be mentioned, first, fowls enjoy a mash more than dry grains because moistening and cooking increases palatability. Small potatoes and other waste vegetables and table scraps may be added to the mash with economy. Bulky foods, such as hay and bran, which fowls sometimes do not relish separately, may be mixed in the mash and the fowls will eat all of it to get the richer portion. Lastly, the mash makes a good gauge of the condition of the flock, for if it is not eaten eagerly it is clear that the fowls are overfed or that the 115 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING other food contains too large a proportion of some substance prominent In the mash. However, the mash has certain disadvan- tages which prevent a good many poultrymen from adopting it. For one thing, fowls can fill up quickly on soft food, without taking exercise ; hence, it has a tendency to make them greedy and lazy, which is bad where they must be kept confined, or with a variety naturally sluggish. Sometimes, too, mashes have a tend- ency to produce indigestion or looseness of the bowels, especially In the hands of a beginner. To avoid this, they should be fed in a crumbly state rather than wet or sloppy, while sour or moldy mashes must never be fed. In compounding the mash be careful that It is not too concentrated, containing an excess of the richest food elements, such as meals and meat preparations; or that It is not too light and bulky, composed mostly of hay or bran which fill the crop without supplying sufficient nourish- ment. A good mash is naturally somewhat forcing. Hence, its use will add to the profits of the broiler grower whose chicks must be brought quickly to marketable size, or to the profits of the egg-farmer who wants all the eggs he can 116 FOODS AND FEEDING get when prices are highest. Fowls that are being forced for heavy egg-production and which will be discarded after their first or sec- ond laying season may be fed a mash every day — or even two mashes a day — during the sea- son of highest prices for eggs. Breeders who are more solicitous for the constitution of their fowls, wanting them to remain profitable for two or three years, especially where hatchabil- ity of the egg is a factor, should feed no more than four or five mashes a week, and per- haps fewer would be better in the majority of cases. The Dry-Feed System The dry-feed system is less bothersome than mashes and probably is safer for the beginner. It does not contain the possibilities for quick growth and heavy egg-production that may be obtained by the skillful feeding of mashes, but on the other hand there are not the possibilities for trouble which may become serious in inex- perienced hands. Dry-feeding is especially advisable where it is inconvenient or bothersome to make and feed a wet mash, or where the mash would likely .117 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING be badly prepared or ill-balanced, or on an extremely cold day when a wet mash would freeze quickly, or for a flock that is affected with mild chronic diarrhoea. Dry-feeding has none of the forcing effects of mashes; hence, while chicks may not grow so fast on dry feed as on mashes, the growth will be more natural and better from a breeding standpoint. In the same way, hens fed a daily mash will probably lay more eggs than those that get nothing but dry grains and seeds, but the eggs usually produce larger hatches and stronger chicks from flocks that get mashes comparatively infrequently. In dry-feeding remember that when all hard grains are fed the fowls get no extra bulk in them and of course no succulence as in a mash that is made properly bulky; hence, unusual provision must be made for bulky and succulent food — especially green food — and hay or grass and vegetables must be supplied reg- ularly. The usual method of dry-feeding is to scatter all grains and seeds in a litter of straw or chaff. This makes the fowls scratch and hunt to get their food, keeps them busy and con- tented, and adds to their physical well being. 118 FOODS AND FEEDING In cold weather it also prevents them from standing around and becoming chilled. The Dry-Mash The dry-mash has made hopper-feeding popular with certain dry-feeders. The dry- mash contains the same general constituents as the wet mash, but instead of being moistened and fed in troughs at stated intervals it is placed dry in self-feeding hoppers and kept be- fore the fowls all the time. This plan is all right for young stock be- cause they can scarcely eat too much for good growth, but it is not suitable for general use with mature fowls. The only exception is where the fowls have their liberty; then it is all right to hopper-feed because the substances the fowls can pick up by foraging will attract them more than the mash anyway and thus they will have incentive to exercise. But in confinement fowls are liable to become lazy and overfat on the hopper system. Light, bulky foods, like bran or cut clover, may be safely kept before fowls all of the time, but except in the instance cited the richer foods should be avoided. People who cannot be present to feed their 119 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING fowls regularly two or three times a day often resort to hopper-feeding with more- or less suc- cess. But the fowls kept must be of a rather active variety and should have at least one meal each day that they will have to work for. Commercial Feeds There are on the market many brands of prepared poultry feeds made to cover all phases of poultry feeding. The feed for little chickens is called Chick Feed; after that comes the Developing Food for youngsters four weeks to four months of age; for broilers there is a supplementary Fattening Food; and for mature fowls there are the Scratch Feeds and the Dry-Mash Feeds, which furnish com- plete and well-balanced rations. If the novice buys a reliable brand, contain- ing good quality food compounded by an ex- pert, it relieves him of all the uncertainty and most of the bother connected with amateur feeding. These feeds usually cost a little more than it would to buy the same bulk of staple grains and mix the feed one's self; hence, the experienced breeder usually formulates his own rations, but until he gets a little personal experi- 120 FOODS AND FEEDING ence the tyro can often afford to pay a few cents extra on the hundred pound bag and be sure he is feeding right. Variety in Feeding A variety of foods is almost as important as properly balanced rations. It is neither good policy nor economy to confine one's, feeding to one or two staple grains the year round. At least three different grains should appear in the rations, and a combination using a greater number is desirable. Almost any ration may be used, so long as the correct proportion is maintained. It is a good plan to have several different combina- tion, changing the bill of fare each day, as a properly varied diet stimulates the appetite and general health of the flock. The ration should always show a proper nutritive ratio, and in computing it one must not forget to consider the other foods — animal and vegetable — for they are almost as important as grain. Corn, wheat, and oats are the three staple grain feeds for poultry, and many breeders ob- tain satisfactory results by feeding equal parts of these three grains. This surely is a simple 121 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING ration, and if greens and meat are included it makes a fairly well balanced diet, although for summer feeding or Asiatic fowls it might often be well to reduce the proportion of corn. Sample Rations One of the most common rations is this : Morning — Mash of corn meal, bran, and beef scrap. Noon — Wheat or barley, and oats or millet. Evening — Cracked corn. Greens or vegetables are supplied freely, and grit and shells kept always before the fowls. Morning and evening are full feeds — the fowls being given all they want. The noon feed is light, say half as much as the evening feed of grain. If one prefers to feed the mash in the evening, simply transpose the morning and evening meals as above stated. Two good mashes, for feeding on alternate days, are measured by bulk as follows : ( i ) equal parts of cracked corn, ground oats, wheat bran, and middlings; (2) two parts bran, one part corn meal, one part ground oats, three parts beef scrap, three parts cut clover. A good dry-mash mixture is made, by weight, 122 FOODS AND FEEDING of six parts middlings, six parts corn meal, three bran, one part oil meal, one part alfalfa meal, five parts beef scrap. Preparing the Mash The mash is sometimes cooked, sometimes scalded (half-cooked), and usually merely moistened. There is no particular difference, except that wet, uncooked food sours quickly. Cooked food remains sweet much longer and is therefore preferable when enough for several feeds is to be prepared at one time. Most mashes probably are not prepared until feed- ing time, but a good way is to mix the mash thoroughly, in a pail or tub, with boiling hot water; cover with a heavy blanket to preserve heat and aroma, and then let stand several hours before feeding. Soft food should always be fed in clean troughs to avoid contamination and waste. Clean the troughs after each meal and scald them out every week or two. Troughs should be long and narrow, and several small troughs are better than one large one, because every flock contains a few domineering hens which will intimidate others and prevent them from 123 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING getting their full share when the food is all at one place. How Often to Feed It is mostly a choice between two times a day and three times a day. Busy people have been known to do fairly well by feeding only once a day and making that a heavy meal, but success in such cases must come in spite of the method rather than because of it. Most practical poultrymen feed three times a day in winter and twice a day in summer. When fowls have to be confined on account of bad weather, three meals a day serve to break the monotony and keep them better contented than two meals, even though the noon feed is nothing but green stuff or vegetables. Fowls should not be fed too frequently, but just often enough to avoid the kind of idleness that may lead them to contract such vices as egg-eating or feather-pulling. In the summer, when they can enjoy outdoor life, this consideration is not important and two feeds a day will suffice. How Much to Feed There is no stated quantity of food that is 124. FOODS AND FEEDING always best for a certain number of fowls. A great deal depends upon the size of the fowl, the quality of the feed, and the severity of the climate or the time of year. Most beginners who take a pride in their fowls show their affection by feeding them too much. There is also such a thing as not feed- ing enough, and underfeeding is as bad as over- feeding, with the added danger of being more difficult to detect. Fowls should be well fed, yet not overfed. In this, both kind and amount of food are factors. So long as a chick is growing, or a hen is laying eggs, it is hard to overfeed them; but when they are making neither growth nor product, the feeder must be cautious. The novice should handle his fowls as often as convenient, feeling of the breastbone and between the thighs, to see if they are lean or fat. The common rule for a full feed of mash is : All the fowls will eat up clean and quickly, say in fifteen or twenty minutes. Feeding more is not only liable to gorge the fowls, but results in waste which should be promptly thrown away, for soured or contaminated food is un- healthy and unsanitary. Neglect of this point 125 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING is one of the chief dangers of the mash in care- less or inexperienced hands. When grain is fed in litter, a quart makes a full feed for a dozen average fowls. If the litter is made sufficiently deep — say half a foot — the fowls will not overeat because that means extra work to dig out the grains. Feeding Hours Morning, evening, and where three meals a day are fed, noon, are the common feeding hours. The exact time of feeding does not matter so much as seeing that the fowls get their meals regularly at the accustomed time. The appetite of a properly fed Hock is as ac- curate as clock-work and should not be disap- pointed. Fowls should be fed as early in the morning as suits the attendant's convenience, and in the evening long enough before twilight so that they can see to gather a full meal. Some people feed the mash in the morning, and some in the evening. A few use it at noon, but that is not best; vegetables or cut bone, or a light grain feed, is better then. Whether to feed the mash morning or evening depends mostly upon the convenience of the attendant. 126 FOODS AND FEEDING So far as the fowls are concerned, it is possible to advance an objection to mash at either time. In the morning it gives the fowls a quick meal without exercise and conduces to habits of idle- ness ; fed in the evening, the mash is quickly as- similated and the fowls' digestive organs be- come empty before morning. Exercise and Feeding Exercise and feeding go hand in hand. Fowls must have a certain amount of exercise to thrive, and the best inducement to make them take it is a reward of food. The general pro- vision is to litter the poultry house floor with straw, hay, leaves, cut corn stalks, or any similar material that will make the fowls scratch to get the grain thrown in it. The best depth for the litter is four, to six inches. Fowls are sometimes exercised by hanging cabbage or beets just out of their reach so that they must jump for every mouthful they get. In some cases this is all right, but on hard floors it may cause the fowls to have corns or bruises, or internally injure heavy hens that may be carrying a lot of partly developed eggs. Fowls also exercise by wallowing in dust, and 127 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING there is no way that gives them more pleasure and benefit. Provide them with a dust bath in a sunny spot of the house or yard and give the fowls a chance to put variety in their exercise. Condiments and Tonics There is little food value in most of the powders on the market. If the fowls are out of condition, the best of the patent condiments will help to stimulate their digestive organs and restore their thrift. They may also serve to correct the novice's faults in feeding; but healthy fowls should not have much of such treatment, and usually are better off without it, unless being temporarily forced for growth or eggs. A pinch of salt added to the mash occasion- ally makes it more palatable and supplies a need of the fowls for mineral matter that is often neglected. A little linseed meal in the mash every week or ten days is also good, and it may be fed every few days to moulting fowls or youngsters growing feathers. Red pepper, mustard, and similar substances often have a slight tonic effect, but if used at all they should be fed in small quantities and not too often. 128 FOODS AND FEEDING Green and Vegetable Foods Green and vegetable foods occupy an impor- tant place in poultry feeding. Fresh, tender grass and the new blades of growing grain are greatly relished by fowls. Lawn clippings have considerable value, while all the varieties of clover and alfalfa are excellent and may be stored away and cured for winter feeding. The material should be cut up fine and steamed when used, feeding it separately in troughs or as a foundation for the mash. Clover and alfalfa are highly nitrogenous, rich in lime which conduces to good egg shells, and being bulky as well as nutritious they give a good proportion to the mash and aid in the digestion of the grain. Where alfalfa or clover is sold baled, a com- mon practice of poultrymen is to throw a bale in the corner of the poultry house, the wires remaining fast, and allow the hens to help themselves at will. Finely cut clover or alfalfa prepared especially for poultry feeding may be bought in sacks of almost any poultry supply house at small cost, and almost all successful poultrymen make use of such material. 129 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Of the vegetable foods, cabbage is probably best, with mangel wurzels a good second. Lettuce, turnips, beets, carrots, apples, etc., all are excellent. Potatoes are starchy and good for fattening. Onions are nourishing and have a tonic effect, but if used freely are liable to impart a strong flavor to the eggs. Vegetables may be fed raw, whole, or chopped in pieces; or they may be cooked and added to the mash. Almost any kind of grass, vegetables, bulbs, or tubers that the fowls will eat are good for them. Meat Foods Meat foods are necessary to take the place in the ration of the bugs, worms, and insects which fowls delight in when they have liberty. It always pays to provide this feature, for without it fowls cannot yield maximum returns. Green cut bone is probably best and is usaully given the preference where it can be obtained regularly and at a reasonable cost. Perhaps no other one feed that poultrymen use has a more pronounced favorable influence upon the health and thrift of the fowls, or is 130 FOODS AND FEEDING better liked by them, or can be fed with greater economy. There are also commercial preparations known as ground beef scraps, animal meal, dried blood, and bone meal, ranking in value in about the order named. They have all waste and grease properly extracted by boiling, and have the advantage over fresh bone of keeping for an indefinite length of time. There are many different brands of these feeds, varying in price and feeding value, and one is usually saf- est in buying a well established brand, which should not cost over $2.75 or $3 per hundred pound bag. One ounce per fowl every other day makes a full feed of any kind of meat or bone prepara- tion. More than this makes the ration too concentrated and is liable to produce bowel de- rangements. Grit, or its equivalent, the hen must have in her gizzard or she cannot properly grind and digest her food. Fowls have no teeth, but grind their food in the gizzard. Where they have a good range they will often be able to pick up enough sharp sand and gravel to suffice, but in confinement and bad weather grit must be provided. 131 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Shell seems indispensable to laying hens. Ground oyster shell is most commonly used, which contains carbonate of lime for making egg shells. Oyster shells also furnish grit, but not enough to suffice, as they are soluble. Charcoal is an extremely valuable bowel corrective and blood purifier. In granulated form it is kept constantly in boxes or hoppers before the fowls by most poultrymen. It may also be had in powdered form and mixed in the mash. Wheat is the best all-round grain for poultry. Perhaps the majority of successful poultrymen make it their main feed. Screenings have not the feeding value of wheat and should not be used unless the fowls seem to relish them and they can be bought cheap. Bran and mid- dlings are ground wheat separated into parts, the former being the exterior and the latter the Interior of the grain. Bran, being light and bulky, not heating or fattening. Is good for summer use, or for free hopper feeding, or as a foundation for the mash. Middlings (shorts) are relished by most fowls and usually have a place In mash feeding. Corn is the grain best liked by poultry, but if much of it is fed it becomes too heating and 13a FOODS AND FEEDING fattening and the grains are so large that fowls get too much of their ration without exercise. Cracked corn may be fed more freely than whole corn because the fowls have to work harder to get it in litter. At usual prices it is the most economical grain feed and should con- stitute the major part of the grain ration in winter. Feed it in the evening rather than morning. Corn meal and corn chop, especi- ally the latter, are almost invariably used as the basis of the mash. Oats are a well balanced poultry food, but sometimes they are not relished on account of their coarse, indigestible husk. They make a good summer feed for mature fowls, or a light midday meal. The pointed hulls will not dam- age the fowls' crops if a good quality of oats is used and not fed to excess. Variety may be added to the ration by giving an occasional feed of steamed or boiled oats instead of the regular mash. Ground oats are excellent for mixing the mash, and rolled oats and pin-head oat meal are often used for little chickens. Buckwheat is good for fattening, or for variety by occasionally substituting it for corn or wheat. Barley, compared with wheat, contains a PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING little more bone and muscle forming food — also more fiber and husk. Rye ranks between barley and corn. It Is less fibrous than barley — a little more fattening. Fowls often do not like it, but It may be used occasionally If cheap. Beans and peas are rich In nitrogenous materials. In Europe they are used for poultry more commonly than here. They may be fed whole, or ground and mixed in the mash. Millet seed Is nutritious and on account of Its smallness Induces fowls to scratch. Most poultrymen use it more or less, depending on price. Kaffir Corn has a feeding value midway be- tween corn and oats. Poultrymen who live where it can be easily secured would do well to use it rather freely. Rice makes a palatable and good chicken feed, especially for young stock, where It can be procured reasonably. Sunflower seeds, fed In small amount, tend to keep the fowls' feathers smooth and oily and are especially valuable during the moulting period. There are a number of other feeds that are good for variety or may be secured cheaply In 134 FOODS AND FEEDING certain sections. Among these may be men- tioned sorghum seed, broom corn seed, hemp seed, linseed meal, cotton seed meal, waste bread, broken crackers, etc. Fowls must be supplied liberally with good water. So large a proportion of their diet con- sists of concentrated foods that an abundance of liquid is necessary to keep the digestive organs working freely. Besides, laying hens require a great deal of water for the manufac- ture of eggs. Milk — sweet, sour, or clabber — may be given as a drink, or mixed with the mash. It is a valuable and nutritious food and may be used with economy wherever it can be bought at a low price. As a drink, however, milk is but a partial substitute for water, which must always be supplied. 135 CHAPTER VI HATCHING AND RAISING CHICKENS Saving Eggs for Hatching THE first requisite to successful hatching is good eggs. These cannot be laid by weak, scrubby stock, and it is of para- mount importance that the breeding fowls be thoroughly healthy, of rugged constitution, and properly housed and fed. Any fowl that has ever been seriously ill with a contagious disease should not be bred from. Eggs intended for incubation should be gathered several times a day during cold weather, or often enough to prevent chilling. The sooner they are set after being laid the better; strong germs may sometimes be held for two or three weeks, but ten days is usually the limit for maximum results. Keep them at a temperature of forty-five to sixty-five degrees, and turn them half over every few days to pre- 136 HATCHING CHICKENS vent the yolk from settling to one side. Wash all dirty eggs before setting. Discard all ill- shaped and all very large or very small eggs, also those having chalky shells, as they are too porous and not properly finished. Buying Eggs for Hatching If you have to buy eggs for hatching, be sure they are carefully selected and perfectly fresh and fertile. Eggs secured at the grocery or picked up promiscuously over the country seldom give satisfactory results. Secure them of a reputable poultry breeder, or produce them yourself if possible, and then you will know what you are getting. Hatching With Hens The first thing is to make sure that the hen is really sincere in her apparent desire to in- cubate. Young pullets are seldom depend- able, while hens that are very large or overfat are usually clumsy. If it is desirable for the hen to sit in a different location, move hen, nest box and all, after dark before the good eggs are given her. Test every hen by letting her 137 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING sit on spoiled eggs for a few days. If she stays on the job all right, without being nervous or fidgety, she Is then ready to commence hatch- ing in earnest. Fifteen eggs are enough for any hen to cover, and during very cold weather or with very small hens, better results are often secured If no more than eleven or thirteen eggs are allowed to each one. At the same time the eggs are given the hen, she should be treated to a good dusting with a reliable brand of Insect powder. This is important, for a hen cannot sit with comfort, or hatch with success, If her body Is constantly tortured by a host of blood- sucking lice. It Is also well to dust the hen again a few days before hatching time, so that the chicks will not contract lice Immediately upon hatching. Do not use lard or grease, as It will penetrate the egg shells and kill the germs. Do not set a hen where she will be open to all the light, or to disturbing Influences, such as other hens crowding in to lay. The three great things for sitting hens, so far as environ- ment is concerned, are — quiet, warmth, and subdued light. The nest should be large enough so that the hen may occasionally change her position, but If too large the eggs will roll 138 HATCHING CHICKENS around and become chilled or broken. Excel- sior makes the best nesting material; straw and hay are too stiff. If possible, have food and water in front of the nests all the time, then the hens may come off to eat and drink whenever it suits them best. Also have a box of dust or dry earth convenient for them to wallow in. That serves to break the tiresome monotony of sitting, provides needed exercises, and tends to keep down vermin. It is unnecessary to sprinkle the eggs and " fuss " with the hen In the various ways some- times recommended, unless the season happens to be an exceptionally dry one or the location of the nest is unnatural in some way. As long as things seem to be going favorably, let the old hen alone ; she knows her business. Of course if an egg should chance to get broken, clean the nesting material and the soiled eggs immedi- ately, so that conditions in the nest will not be- come foul and unhealthful. As many hens as possible should be set at one time, for in this way the infertile eggs can be tested out at the end of the first week and the remaining good ones divided up among the number of hens necessary to cover them, send- 139 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING ing the other hens back to laying again or re- setting them. Operating an Incubator It is always best for the beginner to follow closely the instructions sent along with the machine he is using, because different makes of machines and different climatic conditions necessitate different methods of operation, and the manufacturer of your machine ought to know better than anyone else how best to oper- ate it. There are, however, a few general principles that hold good with every machine and every condition of environment. First, make sure that your thermometer is correct. New ther- mometers are sometimes imperfect, and old ones will occasionally vary, so test them occas- ionally alongside a physician's thermometer. The incubator must set level, or the distri- bution of heat and ventilation to different parts of the hatching chamber will be unequal. Use a good grade of oil — something that tests 150 degrees or higher — and avoid undesirable soot, fumes, and gas. The eggs do not need turning until the third day; after that turn twice a day until the eigh- 140 HATCHING CHICKENS teenth day, then stop. Too high a temperature will hasten the hatch, while too low a tempera- ture will prolong it. At the conclusion of each hatch, thoroughly clean and disinfect the egg chamber. Remove all smoke and soot from the heater and scour the burner. The location is not vital with a good machine. , A specially constructed incubator cellar is expensive and unnecessary where only a few machines are used. A common cellar is all right if it is dry and well ventilated, but a damp, musty one is bad. Any room in an ordi- nary dwelling house will do. Hatching Time Problems The chicks should begin to pip the shells on the twentieth day and all be out by the end of the twenty-first day. Hatches abnormally early or late usually have less thrift. The more nearly simultaneously a hatch comes ofE and the quicker it cleans up, the better. As a rule it does not pay to help chicks out of their shells. If they haven't the vitality to get out, they haven't the vitality to live, or, per- chance surviving, to make profitable growth. Besides, it is always more or less harmful for 141 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING the attendant to interfere at hatching time. If the hen is disturbed she is likely to step on chicks that would otherwise thrive. With an incubator, a frequent opening of the door allows the cold outside air to blow in over the weak, wet chicks, chilling them and drying out the moisture that is essential then. How- ever, it is usually well to open the incubator when the hatch Is about two-thirds over, remov- ing the empty egg shells, putting the dry chicks down in the nursery drawer, and seeing that no empty egg shells have slipped over pipped eggs to suffocate the enclosed chicks. Crippled or deformed chicks should be killed promptly. It Is usually a waste of time to try to raise such chicks, and even if they live they are more bother than they are worth. Amateurs are prone to hesitate at this point, but good business policy demands its observ- ance. Do not be in a hurry to remove chicks from the incubator or from the nest; give them time to dry off and gain strength. Then when they are moved be careful that they do not get chilled; put them in a deep basket and cover with warm cloths or burlap. The brooder lamp should be started, or a good coop pro- 142 HATCHING CHICKENS vided for mother hen and brood, a day or two before the chicks hatch, so that everything will be ready for them. Feeding Chicks Just before hatching, the chick absorbs the remnant of the yolk of the egg which Nature provides to support life for the first few days. Hence, chicks do not require feeding until they are forty-eight to sixty hours old. The exact time varies somewhat, depending upon the variety and precocity of the chicks; but in al- most every case chicks are the better for ab- sence of food during the first forty-eight hours. Water and grit and charcoal should be placed before the chicks along with their first meal, and then kept constantly before them ever after. Do not neglect this point, for it is vital. No Infallible formula for chick feeding can be prescribed, but there is less variance of methods than with old fowls. The dry-feed system obtains most largely, that is, the feeding of seeds and cracked grains. For this purpose, the following makes an excellent mixture, all parts being by weight: 143 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Cracked wheat 15 parts Pinhead oats (granulated oat meal) 10 parts Cracked corn (meal sifted out) 15 parts Fine cracked peas 3 parts Broken rice 3 parts Millet seed 2 parts If more convenient, almost any of the com- mercial grain mixtures for feeding chicks may be substituted for the above mixture. Where only a few chicks are being raised, the prepared feeds are probably as cheap as the mixture given, and it is often more convenient to buy them ready mixed than to buy different small grains and mix them at home. Many people feed their chicks nothing but one of these grain mixtures, except to supply green food and meat scraps. Others feed largely of the above mixture, but for variety once a day they give a feed like this : Infertile eggs are boiled half an hour and rubbed to- gether with about six times their bulk of rolled oats, the eggs having been run through an ordi- nary meat chopper. When the chicks reach the age of three or four weeks, the rolled oats and egg mixture is gradually displaced by a mixture with the following composition, by weight: 14.4 HATCHING CHICKENS Wheat bran 2 parts Commeal 4 parts Middlings or " red dog " flour 2 parts Linseed meal 1 part Screened beef scraps 2 parts This mixture is moistened with enough water to make it crumbly, but never sloppy, and fed in pans or troughs. These must be kept clean, and no more food given at a time than the chicks will eat up clean. Young chicks like moist mash better than dry feed, and will eat more of it because they can digest and assimilate more. This is a point that it often pays to take advantage of at the time when chicks are most susceptible to rapid growth. But their development must be mod- erate for the first two or three weeks at least, and at all ages the digestive organs must be kept in normal condition by the partial use of hard feed, and the gizzard must not be de- prived of its legitimate work and allowed to become weak by disuse. Another dry-feed method is something like this : First, give the chicks water, pinhead or steel-cut oatmeal, and fine chick grit. This pin- head oatmeal constitutes the sole feed of the chicks for the first week. After that half oat- meal and half cracked wheat are used for a 145 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING week. Then finely cracked corn and cracked wheat are used and the oatmeal is no longer fed. Oatmeal and the broken rice and cracked peas previously mentioned may seem a little ex- pensive, but chicks do not consume large quan- tities of them and one should not try to econ- omize in raising young poultry by restricting the quantity or quality of feed which will pro- duce the best results. Do not try to substitute rolled oats for oatmeal, as the rolled oats are cooked in preparing them for market and form a soggy mass, when fed alone, as soon as they get in the chick's crop. When the chicks are three weeks old, a little sweet beef scrap is put before them and they are gradually allowed to become accustomed to helping themselves to it. By the time the chicks are four weeks old, whole wheat and cracked corn in the proportion of one part corn to two parts wheat, constitutes the main grain feed, and the beef scrap is placed in a protected trough where the chicks can help themselves. During all this time tender green stuff is given in as large quantities as the chicks will eat. Lawn clippings, cut clover, lettuce leaves, onion tops, radish or mustard leaves, rape or 146 HATCHING CHICKENS any similar tender green stuff, is good for grow- ing chicks and there is no danger of feeding too much. The grain is fed two or three times a day, in such quantity as the chicks will eat clean within half an hour. Besides this, a dry mix- ture of equal parts of corn meal, coarse wheat middlings, and linseed oilmeal is kept In a pro- tected trough where the chicks can eat between meals. For the first two weeks some care must be taken that the chicks do not overeat. After that time they can safely be permitted to help themselves, but food should not be allowed to He uneaten on the ground from one meal to another. The object is to keep the appetite good, but never let the chicks get hungry enough to prevent constant growth. Never feed dry grain on a bare surface; scatter it in a litter several Inches deep, for chicks that do not get sufficient exercise are susceptible to leg weakness, bowel diseases, and other ills. Chaff from the haymow floor makes an excellent litter for lltde chicks, as It is fine and they like the minute hay seed It contains. Wheat screenings may be fed occasionally if they can be bought cheaply, but always remem- 14.7 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING ber that wheat contains far more nourishment. Milk, if obtainable, may well be used occasion- ally after chicks are ten days or two weeks old, but be careful to avoid soiled, bedaubed plum- age on the chicks and unclean conditions in feeding milk. Grit is the only teeth chicks have, and with- out a constant supply of it they cannot properly grind and digest their food. Sharp sand will serve for the first few days, but after that some coarser material must be provided. Charcoal is of great assistance in avoiding the bowel disorders so common with young chickens. Keep some setting around where the chicks may pick at it at all times, but re- member that when exposed to the air it gradu- ally loses its valuable properties by absorbing the impurities from the atmosphere. The General Care of Chicks Cleanliness is essential with chicks. Filth in brooder, coop, or yard lowers vitality and invites disease. Keep the floor of the brooder or coop lightly covered with sand, hay chaff, or similar material, and sweep this out together with the droppings and accumulated filth every morning or two. If the coops are crowded, 148 HATCHING CHICKENS they should be cleaned every day. Disinfect them every week or two. Do not hatch more chicks than you can pro- perly attend to. When the first downy balls of life arrive it is a temptation to want lots of them ; but most people who raise a limited num- ber of chickens lead busy lives, and after the first burst of enthusiasm passes away they find that for lack of time, or room, or inclination, the chicks must suffer. And since a close ob- servance of every detail is necessary for suc- cess, a few chicks well cared for are better prop- erty than twice that number half cared for. Don't put too many chicks together in one lot; large broods are unnatural, and crowding or other evils will surely bring disaster. Fif- teen to twenty chicks are as many as one hen can well brood, while the biggest individual brooder made should not contain more than one hundred chicks. Most machines give better results when they contain no more than sixty chicks, and forty or fifty is often better. Lice and mites often cause loss. Hen- hatched chicks are sure to be more or less lousy, while incubator-hatched chicks are seldom free from the pests for any length of time. The only sure way of keeping them under control is 149 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING to begin fighting them as soon as the chicks are hatched, and then keep on fighting indefinitely. Brooder Temperatures Correct temperature in the brooder is impor- tant; chilling produces bowel and other dis- orders, while overheating gives hot-house chicks lacking in the necessary vitality and stamina. Most experienced poultrymen regulate the brooder temperature more by observing the chicks than a thermometer. When the chicks spread out on the floor of the brooder and soon go contentedly to sleep, the temperature is all right; if too cold, they bunch up and crowd closely together; if too warm, they scatter apart, spread out their wings, and breathe rapidly. Ninety-five to one hundred degrees is the best temperature to maintain under the hover for the first day or two. At the end of the first week, the temperature should not exceed ninety degrees; at the end of the third week, eighty degrees. It is economy and also adds to the hardiness of the chicks to wean them away from artificial heat as rapidly as possible. A 150 HATCHING CHICKENS bunch of growing youngsters always possess considerable bodily warmth of their own. Weaning the Chicks The time to wean chicks from the mother hen, or from brooder heat, depends somewhat upon the breed, the weather, the location, and the shelter and care that will be provided for them. The little fellows should be sufficiently well feathered to insure protection from sud- ren climatic changes or any other unfavorable condition that may arise. The Mediterranean varieties are usually pretty well feathered at the age of six weeks; the Asiatic varieties usually require twelve or more weeks, while the American varieties are midway between the two extremes. As soon as the chicks are weaned they should be taught to roost, for then the general condi- tions of cleanliness and health are better and the chicks get more pure air when roosting than when huddled together in a pile on the floor. There will be no danger of causing crooked breast bones, providing the perches are made wide enough — say four or five inches — until the shape of the chicks' bones has become 151 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING fixed. Place the perches only a few inches above the floor until the chicks begin to use them, then gradually raise them above the droppings and foul air near the floor. Separate the sexes as soon as the cockerels begin to crow or assert masculine traits, for otherwise the contentment and development of the pullets will be interfered with. The cock- erels themselves will grow faster In celibacy, for then they will eat more and not waste their energies. Feeding Half-Grown Chicks The most successful method of feeding pul- lets is perhaps the most simple. Separate pro- tected troughs or self-feeding hoppers are kept filled with cracked corn, wheat, oats, beef scrap, cracked bone, oyster shell and grit, one kind of feed in a trough, where the pullets can help themselves whenever they desire. Fresh Fig. 28. A Protected Feed Trough. 152 HATCHING CHICKENS water is kept constantly before them. There are no regular hours for feeding, but care should be taken that the troughs never become empty. In another trough give the pullets free access to the following mixture, by weight : Wheat bran 1 part Cornmeal 2 parts Middlings 1 part Beef scrap. 1 part This method saves labor in feeding, and the chicks do not hang around the troughs and overeat, but help themselves to a little at a time, then go off to hunt insects and come back when hunger suggests. Chicks allowed to choose for themselves eat about the same quantity of beef scrap that experience has proved is best for them. The method of feeding the cockerels should be practically the same as with pullets, except where they are to be sold for food a different Fig. 29. A simple. Satisfactory Feed Trough. method may well be used toward the last to finish them for market. Special fattening pays, because plump soft-fleshed cockerels bring 153 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING a better price than those picked up indiscrimi- nately. The grain mixture commonly used is as follows : Cornmeal 100 pounds Wheat middlings 100 pounds Meatmeal 40 pounds This should be fed twice a day as a porridge thick enough to drop, but not to run, from a spoon. Maturing Pullets It is a delight to watch young pullets grow and develop in symmetry, take on attractive new feathers, and begin to show a reddening "'^%' ] , -< ii ,l_r}A« Fig. 30. Coops made of Piano Boxes. 154 HATCHING CHICKENS of combs and wattles. Good care is especially- important at this time, for in addition to de- veloping her own bodily characteristics of bones, muscles, feathers, etc., the pullet has also to turn part of her energies toward the proper development of the internal reproduc- tive organs, the ovaries. It is at this time that the germs of the eggs are being formed, and it is important that each of these shall contain all the hereditary quality and life power necessary for the production of a new chick with the ability to thrive and ma- ture and in turn reproduce its kind. This Is the work of Nature, and is not a machine pro- cess; It is life development, deliberately done with a definite purpose. Stimulating foods and condiments to hasten egg-production should not be used, for to force the develop- ment of the reproductive organs is unnatural, unhealthy, and unwise. Provide the pullets with plenty of room as they grow, and remember that good ventila- tion is necessary for sound constitutions. Keep the coops clean, supply fresh water fre- quently, fight lice and mites, and plow or spade up the runs every week or two if they are not sowed to grass; a hard, baked surface tends 155 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING to stunt the chicks' growth, besides making an unattractive and unpleasant ranging place. Remember, too, that damp or foul air, raw winds, unpalatable food, and filthy water, all tend to delay, interrupt, or prevent egg-pro- duction. Give the pullets plenty of animal food, green stuff, and exercise. Of grains or dry-mash, let them eat what they want, when they want it, and as much as they want, from hoppers or troughs. If a proper variety of foods is at hand, they will select the ones they need most. Early laying is a trait most poultrymen seek in their pullets, but if premature it dwarfs their size. Leghorns and other Mediterranean varieties often lay at the early age of four or five months. The American breeds usually require a month or two longer, and the Asia- tics are still slower. The first few eggs from a pullet are always undersized and sometimes imperfectly formed, but ordinarily a little time will correct all that; if it does not, dispose of the fowl. Caponizing Cockerels Capons are castrated male birds — that is, 156 HATCHING CHICKENS their generative sexual organs have been re- moved. The operation is usually performed before the cokerels begin to crow, say at the age of two to four months. As a result, the cockerels lose their fighting proclivities, be- come quiet and peaceable, and have even been known to successfully brood motherless chicks. Caponizing makes birds become a pound or two heavier than they otherwise would, and the growth of tender, delicate chicken flesh is continued, instead of the fowl growing into hard, stringy, muscle-flesh. Consequently, capons usually sell for two or three times the price of cocks of the same age, which makes the process of caponizing profitable work. By an expert, the operation can be per- formed quickly and with scarcely any pain to the fowl. It is simply a matter of making a little incision between the first and second ribs on each side of the fowl, and removing the testicle lying there with a pair of tweezers. A little practice and steady nerve will make almost any one proficient at the work. Good operators seldom lose more than two to five per cent of the fowls, and these die by bleed- ing in a few minutes which leaves them per- fectly good for table use. A set of instru- 167 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING ments can be purchased for $2 or $3 of poultry supply houses, and full directions for use ac- company each outfit. 158 CHAPTER VII POULTRY DISEASES THERE is not often much gained by doc- toring fowls. They are naturally healthy, and disease is nearly always the result of neglect or carelessness. Fowls that are well housed and given wholesome food and pure water, with plenty of exercise in fresh air and sunshine, rarely need doctoring. A sick chicken is a very diiEcult thing for most people to handle successfully, and in treating fowls it is indeed true that " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Once a chicken becomes seriously ill, especially if the disease is contagious, the safest cure is the hatchet. In such cases do not kill the sick fowl where healthy specimens can get at the blood or excrement, and the dead carcass should always be burned rather than buried. But if the fowl is valuable, or the disease only mild, it would be foolish not to attempt a 159 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING cure. Quickly remove the fowl to a separate coop to prevent contagion, and then give the entire premises a general clean-up. Burn the litter and disinfect everything around the house and runs with a strong solution of crude carbolic acid or other disinfectant. Put a few drops of some good antiseptic in the drinking water and dust air-slaked lime over and under the perches, in the nest boxes, and over the floor. Then watch the remainder of the flock, and if any of them show symptoms of trouble remove them, too, from the main flock, feed lightly on a ration composed mostly of green food, administer a remedy, and be guided fur- ther by the persistency of the attack. Medi- cines and drugs prepared for human beings can often be used to advantage for fowls, as the effect is the same, but the dose should of course be lessened for fowls. Roup Roup deserves first place as a contagious and destructive poultry disease. It is especially prevalent during the fall and winter months, caused mostly by drafts and dampness, over- crowding, filth, etc. Roup is a contagious 160 POULTRY DISEASES catarrhal disease, characterized by running at the eyes and nostrils, puffed eyes and swollen head, or cheesy mucous in mouth and throat. It is a difficult disease to cure, and perhaps one of the easiest and best methods is to use one of the advertised roup cures. Another good way is to give two treatments a day of hydrogen peroxide, diluted one half, forcing it well back in the throat and in each nostril with an atomizer or small syringe. Also warm a very dilute solution of permanga- nate of potash and hold the fowl's head sub- merged in this for a few seconds each morning and evening. If the eyes are closed or smeared with a sticky fluid, bathe them with salt water, a half teaspoonful of salt in a pint of water. Another good head lotion is com- posed of one part spirits of turpentine to six parts glycerine; apply with a bit of absorbent cotton twisted about the end of a toothpick, or use the end of a stiff feather. Canker Canker consists of yellowish ulcers or cheesy growths in the fowl's mouth or throat. Burnt alum or a little aristol should be applied to 161 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING each sore place several times a day. Spray the throat well each morning with fifty per cent hydrogen peroxide and swab it out each even- ing with a five per cent solution of creolin or zenoleum. Common Colds Common colds are often acquired by fowls during inclement weather, even when they are well managed. The symptoms are water run- ning out of nostrils and eyes, accompanied by more or less coughing and sneezing. There is no foul odor present, as is always the case with roup. Colds are not difiicult to cure, but they must be taken early. Remove the cause if possible, air the house daily, and do not al- low the fowls to be exposed to cold winds or rains. One of the best remedies is a teaspoon- ful of aconite in a quart of drinking water, no other drink being allowed. Twenty drops of spirits of camphor dissolved in sugar and put in a pint of drinking water is also good. Bronchitis Bronchitis is a simple cold accompanied by 162 POULTRY DISEASES wheezing or rattling in the throat. It may be caused by drafts, dampness, overcrowding, or dusty and filthy houses, in which the fowls are compelled to breathe irritating vapors and dust. Give the fowl three drops of syrup of ipecac twice a day and make it inhale the steam from a quart of boiling water in which has been placed a teaspoonful each of carbolic acid and camphor. Cholera Cholera of a genuine nature fortunately is comparatively rare among fowls. Where it does exist there is not much to be done, for it puts an end to a flock in short order. When- ever cholera is suspected, or there are serious bowel derangements which might lead to cholera, the ailing fowls should be quickly isolated and the whole premises disinfected and made sanitary. Bov(^EL Disorders Bowel disorders, due to indigestion or im- proper feeding, are comparatively common among flocks in unskilled hands. Charcoal is 163 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING about as good a preventive as there is and should be fed liberally. For looseness of the bowels, place one dram of hydrochloric acid in each quart of drinking water, or sustitute one- eighth of an ounce of sulpho-carbolate of zinc. Constipation is usually caused by lack of ex- ercise and green food. Correct conditions and give castor oil, castoria, or any convenient laxative. Bumble-Foot Bumble-foot results in an abscess or corn on the bottom of the fowl's foot, usually caused by a jar or bruise in jumping from a high perch upon a hard floor. If taken early, a few applications of tincture of Iodine will usually effect a cure. If the fowl is lame, open the growth by making an X-shaped incision, wash out all the matter with warm water con- taining a little carbolic acid, bathe the wound daily with hydrogen peroxide, and bandage after applying some healing lotion such as car- bolated vaseline. Scaly Legs Scaly legs are caused by minute parasites which burrow beneath the scales of the fowl's 164i POULTRY DISEASES legs. Make a saturate solution of naphtha- lene flakes in kerosene and dip the fowl's legs in this every day or two until the crusts come off. Rub the liquid well in with a stiff bristle brush. Gapes Gapes is a parasitic disease of young chickens caused by worms in the windpipe. Letting the chicks out in the damp or wet, or ranging over old tainted soil, or eating infected bugs and worms, all may be contributing causes of the disease. The symptoms are frequent gaping and sneezing, accompanied by weakness and drooping wings. Give the coops a good washing with hot whitewash, sprinkle the yards with air-slaked lime, and plow under. Ex- tracting the worms from the windpipe with a horse hair is sometimes practiced, but it is a tedious method and only gives temporary re- lief. A small quantity of spirits of camphor in the drinking water is a good preventive, while one of the most common remedies is to dip a feather in turpentine and twist it around in the chick's windpipe several times a day. 165 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING Cases of long standing are hard to cure, and where chicks are bothered with gapes year after year the ground should be given a rest from fowls for a season or two, in the meantime giving the soil frequent applications of lime or strong salt water. Diarrhoea Among Chicks Diarrhoea among chicks may be brought on by breeding from debilitated stock, errors in incubation, faulty brooder conditions, chilling, bad feed and management. First find the cause and remove it. Give the chicks boiled milk to drink instead of water and add a little grated cinnamon. Feed charcoal freely. In bad cases, use some reliable bowel regulator for either fowls or humans. Liver Diseases Liver diseases usually come from overfeed- ing or lack of exercise. The symptoms are loss of appetite, yellow diarrhoea, extreme thirstiness, slow and labored breathing, and general listlessness. In its early stages the ailment may be cured by the use of some good liver pill. 166 POULTRY DISEASES Leg Weakness Leg weakness is more or less common among brooder chicks, being caused by insufficient ex- ercise, overfeeding, or lack of bone-forming material in the ration. The bird's gait is un- steady and it wants to squat most of the time, as the hocks are weak. Provide a fresh range, feed no forcing foods, but make the birds scratch for all they get to eat. Oviduct Disorders Oviduct disorders, such as soft-shelled eggs, double eggs, " break down behind," etc., usually come from overfatness or rations de- ficient in lime and shell-forming materials. If the hens are fat, cut down the ration and give more green stuff; otherwise, supply crushed oyster shells and feed freely of bran and clover to provide lime. Vices Vices, such as egg-eating and feather-pulling, results from overcrowding, insufficient exercise, 167 PEACTICAL POIJLTRY KEEPING or lack of animal food in the ration. In an egg-eating flock, use darkened nests and let the hens partake of a few eggs well treated with cayenne pepper. As a final resort, trim the upper bill of each egg-eater back to the pink, but not so it bleeds. To stop feather-pulling, segregate the hens that are most persistent at it and feed quantities of meat and green food with salt in the ration each day. General Remedies For general lack of thrift or partial loss of appetite, use a little tincture of iron in the drinking water. For all germ diseases of throat or bowels, a pink solution of per- manganate of potash is excellent. For all swellings or bruises, tincture of iodine will usually give relief. For frosted comb or wat- tles, use carbolated vaseline to which have been added a little glycerine and spirits of turpen- tine. Vermin Vermin, while not strictly a disease, may well be considered under this classification, for 168 POULTRY DISEASES their bloodsucking habits lower the fowls' vitality and make them susceptible to disease, if, indeed, the lice themselves are not sufficiently destructive. Fowls are rarely ever wholly free of vermin, and while a few of them may do no particular harm their multiplication must be frequently checked, especially in warm weather when they thrive wonderfully. Be- ginners often have trouble in detecting the pests, but they are almost always present, and every successful poultryman finds that he has to make occasional raids upon the increase of the parasites. There are two main kinds of chicken ver- min — (i) body lice, which may be detected traveling around over the fowl's skin, especi- ally on the neck or under the wings and among the fluffy feathers around the vent; and (2) the red mites or lice which infest the roosts and nests and other fixtures, hiding in cracks and crevices during the day and coming forth at night to seek their prey. Body Lice Dust baths for the fowls to wallow in when- ever they wish is one way of checking body 169 PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING lice. The hens wallow and fluff their feathers in the dust, and the pores in the louse's body, through which it breathes, are closed thereby and death takes place from suffocation. Be- sides, the dust bath cleanses the fowl's body from impurities and provides healthful and en- joyable exercise. Where lice are numerous, it takes a quicker method than wallowing to exterminate them. Use a reliable brand of insect powder, making sure that it is strong and fresh, treating each fowl individually and working the powder well down among the feathers of the skin. Pay special attention to the fluffy feathers around and under the vent, under the wings and thighs, and about the head and neck. Little chickens are often bothered with the large gray head lice. These may be destroyed by greasing the head and throat with lard or sweet oil and using a louse powder elsewhere. Among young chickens, lice cause dumpishness, drooping wings, indifference to food, etc. Mites Mites are small and grayish in color, except when filled with blood, when they vary from 170 POULTRY DISEASES red to black. A good indication of their pres- ence is their excrement — little grayish patches, like fly specks, on the roosts and adjacent parts which they traverse. Liberal applications of common kerosene will kill these parasites, painting or spraying the oil on every spot where the vermin could possibly find lodging. Hot whitewash is also used with good re- sults by many, while one of the best treatments consists in using one of the commercial liquid lice-killing preparations, because their fumes are as fatal as the liquid itself. Chloro- naphtholeum and sulpho-naphthol in water are other good liquid exterminators and are not expensive. In using any of these liquids, apply with a small spray pump, or paint with a brush or broom, as Is most convenient. THE END 171 INDEX American Class, The... 83 Andalusians and An- conas 89 Asiatic Class, The 90 B Baby Chicks, Buying... 108 Bantam Class, The 97 Black Spanish 89 Bone Grinders 7y Bowel Disorders 163 Brahmas 91 Branches of Poultry Keeping 16 Bronchitis 162 Brood Coops 78 Brooders 73 Brooder Temperatures. .150 Breeds, Classification of 82 Breeds, Merits of Dif- ferent 98 Breeds, How Many to Keep 102 Bumble-Foot 164 Buying Eggs for Hatch- ing 137 C Canker 161 Capital Required 2y Caponizing Cockerels ... 156 Chicks, General Care of. 148 Cholera 163 Cochins 92 'Colds, Common 162 Commercial Feeders. . . . 120 Condiments and Tonics. 128 Cornish Indian Games.. 96 D Diarrhoea Among Chicks.i66 Doctoring Fowls 159 Dorkings 93 Drinks 135 Drinking Vessels 66 Dropping Boards 60 Dry-Feed System, The. 117 Dry-Mash, The 119 E Eggs, Buying 107 English Class, The 93 Equipment, Miscella- neous 78 Exercise and Feeding. . .127 Exhibition Games 107 F Family Flock, The 24 Fancy Poultry Keeping 18 Feeding Chicks 143 Feeding Half -grown Chicks 152 Feeding Hours 126 Feed, How Often to. . . .124 Feed, How Much to 124 INDEX Fences 52 Fireless Brooders 75 Floors 39 Food Elements no Food Hoppers and Troughs 64 Foods and Feeding 109 Food Values 113 French Class, The 95 Game Class, The 95 Gapes 165 Green and Vegetable Foods 129 H Hamburgs 89 Hatching With Hens... 137 Hatching Time Prob- lems 141 Hennery Outfits 62 Houdans 95 House Construction, Principles of 36 House Foundations 38 Incubators, Merits of.. 67 Invalid Poultry Keepers 33 Meat Foods 130 Mediterranean Class, The 86 Minorcas, Black 88 Miscellaneous Foods 131 Mites 170 N Nest Boxes, The 57 Nest Eggs 60 O Operating an Incubator.140 Opportunities With Poultry 21 Orpingtons 94 Oviduct Disorders 167 Pit Games 96 Plymouth Rocks 83 Polish 89 Poultry as a Business . . 26 Preparing the Mash 123 Principles of Poultry Keeping 14 Pullets, Maturing 154 Pure Breeds Are Best. 103 Q Qualifications for Suc- cess 34 R Langshans 93 Leghorns 87 Leg Weakness 167 Lice, Body 169 Liver Diseases 166 M Rations, How to Bal- ance Ill Mash System, The 115 Rations, Sample 122 Mating Breeding Fowrls.ioi Red Caps 94 ii INDEX Remedies, General 168 Rhode Island Reds 86 Roofs 41 Roosting Quarters 42 Roosts, The 55 Roup 160 Rudimentary Facts 13 S Saving Eggs for Hatch- ing 136 Scaly Legs 164 Secrets and Systems ... 30 Side-Line Poultry Keep- ing 2S Shading the Yards 53 Start Small Always .... 29 Starting With Pure Breeds 105 Stock, Buying 106 Systems of Feeding. .. .114 Trap-Nests 58 Types of Houses 46 V Variety in Feeding 121 Ventilators 43 Vermin 168 Vices 167 W Walls 40 Weaning the Chicks; ... 151 Women Poultry Keepers 32 Wyandottes 85 Y Yarding Poultry 48 in ©-U-T*I-N-e HANDBOOKS ^ Each book deals with a separate subject and deals with it thoroughly. If you want to know anything about Airedales an Q U T ' l N Q HANDBOOK gives you all you want. If it's Apple Growing, another U T ' l N G HANDBOOK meets your need. The Fisherman, the Camper, the Poultry-raiser, the Automobilist, the Horseman, all varieties of outdoor enthusi- asts, will find separate volumes for their separate interests. There is no waste space. ^ The series is based on the plan of one sub- ject to a book and each book complete. The authors are experts. Each book has been specially prepared for this series and all are published in uniform style, flexible cloth binding, selling at the fixed price of seventy cents per copy. C| Two hundred titles are projected. The series covers all phases of outdoor life, from bee-keeping to big game shooting. Among the books noV ready are those described on the following pages. OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY OUTING MAGAZINE VotChtins 0-H-TI-N-S HANDBOOKS 141-145 WEST 36th ST NEW YORK 122 S. MICHIGAN AVE. CHICAGO Outing Handbooks THE AIREDALE. By Williams Haynes. The book opens with a short chapter on the origin and development of the Airedale, as a dis- tinctive breed. The author then takes up the problems of type as bear- ing on the selection of the dog, breeding, training and use. The book is designed for the non-professional dog fancier, who wishes common sense advice which does not involve elaborate preparation or expenditure. Chapters are included on the care of the dog in the kennel and simple remedies for ordinary diseases. "A splendid book on the breed and should be in the hands of every onvner of an Airedale 'whether no'vice or breeder." — The Kennel Re'vieiu. ' 'It ought to be read and studied by every Airedale oiuner and admirer." — HoivardKeeler, Airedale Farm Kennels. APPLE GROWING. By M. C. Burritt. Mr. Burritt takes up the question of the profit in apple growing, the various kinds best suited to different parts of the country and different conditions of soil, topography, and so on. He discusses also the most approved methods of planning a new orchard and takes up in detail the problems connected with the cultivation, fertilization, and pruning. The book contains chap- ters on the restoration of old orchards, the care of the trees, their pro- tection against various insect-enemies and blight, and the most approved method of harvesting, handling and storing the fruit. THE AUTOMOBILE— It» Selection, Care and Use. By Robert Sloss. This is a plain, practical discussion of the things that every man needs to know if he is to buy the right car and get the most out of it. The various details of operation and care are given in simple, intelligent terms. From it the car owner can easily learn the mechanism of his motor and the art of locating motor trouble, as well as how to use his car for the greatest pleasure. A chapter is included on building garages. "It is the one book dealing luith autos, that giues reliable information." — The Grand Rapids {Mich.) Herald. BACKWOODS SURGERY AND MEDICINE. By Charles S. Moody, M.D. A handy book for the prudent lover of the woods who doesn't expect to be ill but believes in being on the safe side. Common- sense methods for the treatment of the ordinary wounds and accidents are described — setting a broken limb, reducing a dislocation, caring for burns, cuts, etc. Practical remedies for camp diseases are recommended, as well as the ordinary indications of the most probable ailments. In eludes a list of the necessary medical and surgical supplies. The manager of a mine in Nome, Alaska, nurites as fol- lonvs: "/ ha've been on the trail for years (tivelve in the Klondike and Alaska) and have alivays avanled just such a book as Dr. Moody's "Backiuoods Surgery and Mediane." Outing Handbooks CAMP COOKERY. By Horace Kephart. "The less a man carries in his pack, the more he must carry in his head," says Mr. Kep- hart. This book tells what a man should carry in both pack and head. Every step is traced — the selection of provisions and utensils, with the kind and quantity of each, the preparation of game, the building of fires the cooking of every conceivable kind of food that the camp outfit or woods, fields, or streams may provide — even to the making of desserts. Every receipt is the result of hard practice and long experience. Every recipe has been carefully tested. It is the book for the man who wants to dine well and wholesomely, but in true wilderness fashion with- out reliance on grocery stores or elaborate camp outfits. It is, adapted equally well to the trips of every length and to all conditions of climate, season or country; the best possible companion for one who wants to travel light and live well. The chapter headings tell their own story. Provisions — Utensils — Fires — Dressing and Keeping Game and Fish — Meat — Game— Fish and Shell Fish — Cured Meats, etc.— Eggs — Bread- stuffs and Cereals — Vegetables — Soups — Beverages and Desserts. '^Scores of neiv hints may he obtained by the housekeeper as luelt as the camper from Camp Cookery." — Portland Oregonian. "I am inclined to think that the advice contained in Mr. Kephart's book is to be relied on. 1 had to stop reading his receipts for cooking luild foiul — they made me hungry. ' ' — Neiu Tori Herald. "The most useful and valuable book to the camper yet published." — Grand %,apids Herald. "Camp Cookery is destined to be in the kit of every tent diveller in the country." — Edivin Markham in the San Francisco Examiner . CAMPS AND CABINS. By Oliver Kemp. A working guide for the man who wants to know how to make a temporary shelter in the woods against the storm or cold. This describes the making of lean-tos, brush shelters, snow shelters, the utilization of the canoe, and so forth. Practically the only tools required are a stout knife or a pocket axe, and Mr. Kemp shows how one may make shift even without these imple- ments. More elaborate camps and log cabins, also, are described and detailed plans reproduced. Illustrated with drawings by the author. EXERCISE AND HEALTH. By Dr. Woods Hutchinson. Dr. Hutchinson takes the common-sense view that the greatest problem in exercise for most of us is to get enough of the right kind. The greatest error in exercise is not to take enough, and the greatest danger in ath- letics is in giving them up. The Chapter heads are illuminating. Errors in Exercise— Exercise and the Heart — Muscle Maketh Man — The Danger of Stoppinj Athletics — Exercise that Rests. It is written in a direct Outing Handbokis matter-of-fact manner with an avoidance of medical terms, and a strong emphasis on the rational, all-round manner of living that is best calcu- lated to bring a man to a ripe old age with little illness or consciousness of body weakness. ' '// contains good physiology as well as good common sense, •written by an acute observer and a logical reasoner, •who has the courage of his con'victions and is a master of English style."— D. A. Sargent, M. T)., Sargent School for Physical Education. "One of the most recdable books ever nuritten on physi- cal exercise."— Luther H. Gulick, M. D., Department of Child Hygiene, Russell Sage toundaiion. "A little book for the busy mannvritten in brilliant style." —Kansas City Star. THE FINE ART OF FISHING. By Samuel G. Camp. Com- bines the pleasure of catching fish with the gratification of following the sport in the most approved manner. The suggestions offered are help- ful to beginner and expert anglers. The range of fish and fishing condi- tions covered is wide and includes such subjects as "Casting Fine and Far Off," "Strip-Casting for Bass," "Fishing For Mountain Trout" and "Autumn Fishing for Lake Trout." The book is pervaded with a spirit of love for the streamside and the out-doors generally which the genuine angler will appreciate. A companion book to "Fishing Kits and Equipment." The advice on outfitting so capably given in that book is supplemented in this later work by equally valuable information on how to use the equipment. "Ifill encourage the beginner and give pleasure to the expert fisherman." — N. Y. Sun. "A vein of catching enthusiasm rnns through every chapter." — Scientific American. FISHING KITS AND EQUIPMENT. By Samuel G. Camp. A complete guide to the angler buying a new outfit. Every detail of fish- ing kit of the freshwater angler is described, from rodtip to creel and clothing. Special emphasis is laid on outfitting for fly fishing, but full in- struction is also given to the man who wants to catch pickerel, pike, muskellunge, lake-trout, bass and other fresh-water game fishes. Prices are quoted for all articles recommended and the approved method of selecting and testing the various rods, lines, leaders, etc., is described. "A complete guide to the angler buying a ne=w outfit." — Peoria Herald. "The man advised by Mr. Campvuill catch his fish." — Seattle P. I. "Even the seasoned angler luill read this hook luith profit." — Chicago Tribune. Outing Handbooks THE HORSE — Its Breeeding, Care and Use. By David Buffum. Mr. Buffum takes up the common, every-day problems of the ordinary horse-user, such as feeding, shoeing, simple home remedies, breaking and the cure for various equine vices. An important chapter is that tracing the influx of Arabian blood into the English and Ameri- can horses and its value and limitations. Chapters are included on draft-horses, carriage horses, and the development of the two-minute trot- ter. It is distinctly a sensible book for the sensible man who wishes to know how he can improve his horses and his horsemanship at the same time. "/ am recommending it to our students as a useful refer- ence book for both the practical farmer and the student." — T. R.Arkell, Animal Husbandman, S . H. Agricultural Experiment Station. "Has a great deal of .merit from a practical standpoint and is valuable for referenceivork.'' — Prof.E.L. Jordon, Professor of Animal Industry , Louisiana State University. MAKING AND KEEPING SOIL. By David Buffum. This deals with the various kinds of soil and their adaptibility to different crops, common sense tests as to the use of soils, and also the common sense methods of cultivation and fertilization in order to restore worn- out soil and keep it at its highest productivity under constant use. THE MOTOR BOAT— Its Selection, Care and Use. By H. W. Slauson. The intending purchaser of a motor boat is advised as to the type of boat best suited to his particular needs, the power required for the desired speeds, and the equipment necessary for the varying uses. The care of the engine receives special attention and chapters are in- cluded on the use of the boat in camping and cruising expeditions, its care through the winter, and its efficiency in the summer. NAVIGATION FOR THE AMATEUR. By Capt. E. T. Mor- ton. A short treatise on the simpler methods of finding position at sea by the observation of the sun's altitude and the use of the sextant and chronometer. It is arranged especially for yachtsmen and amateurs who wish to know the simpler formulae for the necessary navigation involved in takin" a boat anywhere off shore. Illustrated with dra\vings. Outing Handbooks OUTDOOR SIGNALLING. By Elbert Wells. Mr. Wells has perfected a method of signalling by means of wig-wag, light, smoke, or whistle which is as simple as it is effective. The fundamental principle can b§ learnt in ten minutes and its application is far easier than that of any other code now in use. It permits also the use of cipher and can be adapted to almost any imaginable conditions of weather, light, or topography. "/ find it to he the simplest and most practical book on signalling pubiishedy — Frank H. Schrenk, Director of Camp "Belgrade. "One of the finest things of the kindl have ever seen. I believe my seven year old boy can learn to use this system, and I inoiu that nve luill find it very useful here in our "Boy Scout ivork." — Lyman G. Haskell, Physical Direc- tor, r. 3f. C. A., Jacksonville, Fla. PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING. ByR.B.Sando. The chap- ters outlined in this book are poultry keeping and keepers, housing and yarding, fixtures and equipment, choosing and buying stock, foods and feed- ing, hatching and raising chicks. Inbreeding, caponizing, etc., What to do at different seasons, The merits of "secrets and systems". The truth about common poultry fallacies and get-rich-quick schemes. Poultry parasites and diseases. A complete list of the breeds and subjects is attached. It is in effect a comprehensive manual for the instruction of the man who de- sires to begin poultry raising on a large or small scale and to avoid the ordinary mistakes to which the beginner is prone. All the statements are based on the authors own experience and special care has been taken to avoid sensationalism or exaggeration. PROFITABLE BREEDS OF POULTRY. By Arthur S. Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler has chapters on some of the best known gen- eral purpose birds such as Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- dottes. Mediterraneans, Orpingtons, and Cornish, describmg the pecu- liarities and possibilities of each. There are additional chapters on the method of handling a poultry farm on a small scale with some instruc- tions as to housing the birds, and so forth, and also a chapter on the market side of poultry growing. RIFLES AND RIFLE SHOOTING. By Charles Askins. Part I describes the various makes and mechanisms taking up such points as range and adaptibility of the various caUbers, the relative merits of lever, bolt and pump action, the claims of the automatic, and so forth. Part II deals with rifle shooting, giving full instruction for target practice, snap shooting, and wing shooting. Outing Handbooks SCOTTISH AND IRISH TERRIERS. By Williams Haynes. This is a companion book to The Airedale and deals with the origin of the breeds, the standard types, appproved methods of breeding, kennel- ing, training, care and so forth, with chapters on showing and also on the ordinary diseases and simple remedies. SPORTING FIREAIRMS. By Horace Kephart. This book is devided into two parts, Part I dealing with the Rifle and Part II with the Shotgun. Mr. Kephart goes at some length into the questions of range, trajectory and killing power of the different types of rifles and charges and also has chapters on rifle mechanisms, sights, barrels, and so forth. In the part dealing with shotguns he takes up the question of range, the effectiveness of various loads, suitability of the different types of boring, the testing of the shotguns by pattern, and so forth. TRACKS AND TRACKING. By Josef Brunner. After twenty years of patient study and practical experience, Mr. Brunner can, from his intimate knowledge, speak with authority on this subject. "Tracks and Tracking" shows how to follow intelligently even the most intricate animal or bird tracks. It teaches how to interpret tracks of wild game and decipher the many tell-tale signs of the chase that would otherwise pass unnoticed. It proves how it is possible to tell from the footprints the name, sex, speed, direction, whether and how wounded, and many other things about wild animals and birds. All material has been gath- ered first hand; the drawings and half-tones from photographs form an important part of the work, as the author has made faithful pictures of the tracks and signs of the game followed. The list is : The White-Tailed or Virginia Deer — The Fan-Tailed Deer — The Mule-Deer — The Wapiti or Elk — The Moose — The Mountain Sheep— The Antelope — The Bear — The Cougar — The Lynx — The Domestic Cat — The Wolf — The Coyote — The Fox — The Jack Rabbit — The Varying Hare — The Cottontail Rabbit— The Squirrel — The Marten and the Black-Footed Ferret — The Otter — The Mink — The Ermine — The Beaver — The Badger — The Porcupine — The Skunk — Feathered Game — Upland Birds — Waterfowl — Predatory Birds — This book is invaluable to the novice as well as the experienced hunter. "This book studied carefully, ivill enable the reader to become as luell versed in tracking lore as he could by years of actual experience." — Leiuislon Journal. Outing Handbookj WING AND TRAP-SHOOTING. By Charles Askins. The only practical manual in existance dealing with the modern gun. It contains a full discussion of the various methods, such as snap-shooting, swing and half-swing, discusses the flight of birds with reference to the gunner's problem of lead and range and makes special application of the Various points to the different birds commonly shot in this country. A chapter is included on trap shooting and the book closes with a forceful and common-sense presentation of the etiquette of the field. ' 'It is dificult to understand hoiv anyone luho takes a de- light in hunting can afford to be luithout this valuable book." — Chamber of Commerce Bulletin, Portland, Ore. "This book ivitl proiie an invaluable manual to the true sportsman, luhether he be a tyro or expert." —Book Nevjs Monthly. "Its closing chapter on field etiquette deserves careful reading." — N. Y. Times. THE YACHTSMAN'S HANDBOOK. By Commander C. S. Stanworth, U. S. N. and Others. Deals with the practical handling of sail boats, with some light on the operation of the gasoline motor. It includes such subjects as handling ground tackle, handling lines and taking soundings, and use of the lead line; handling sails, engine troubles that may be avoided, care of the gasolene motor and yachting etiquette.