A. »■ MAHN ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges OF Agriculture and Home Economics AT Cornell University THE GIFT OF Paul Pomeroy Ives 2d IN MEMORY OF Paul Pomeroy Ives Cornell University Library SF 488.G7B12 Guide to success in poultry Iteeping, sho 3 1924 003 093 337 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003093337 GUIDE TO SUCCESS POULTRY KEEPING, SHOWING HOW TO MAKE POULTEY PAY nr SUMMEE AND WINTEE; WITH MAJTT NEW Am) VALUABLE HINTS. AND 200 GOLDEN RULEa " G. W. BACON, r.E.G.S. LONDON : G. W, BACON & CO., LIMITED, 127, STKAND. PREFACE. Although there are many Poultry Books already in the market, the Author believing there was still a want for a concise Handbook, arranged on a convenient plan for ready reference, has undertaken the present " Guide TO Poultry KEEPmo." He has had many years of practical experience in breeding and rearing almost every variety, with the highest degree of success ; and this work is mainly the result of that experience — many items being the result of repeated and careful experiments. t Facility of reference has been promoted by side headings throughout, and the value of the work is specially enhanced by an "Appendix" containing a con- cise summary of the essential requisites of success, and by the " Golden Rules Index," in which is incorporated, within a half a dozen pages, some 200 Valuable Hints and Bules; an occasiona] reference to either of which IV PBEFAOK. will enable the amateur to ascertain at a glance whether or not he is overlooking some of the essential elements of success. The Aathor is indebted to various authorities which are acknowledged elsewhere ; but more especially to the Practical Poultry Keeper, and to the Illustrated Book of Poultry, published by Messrs. Cassell, Patter, & Galpin, and edited by Mr. L. Wright, the celebrated breeder and exhibitor — the latter being one of the most com- prehensive and valuable works on the subject extant, and one which no breeder of poultry ou a large scale should be without CONTENTS. OHAPTEB PAOB I. —Will Fowls Pay ? 1 II. — Early Hatching — Selection and Renewal of Stock . 9 III. — Houses, Sheds, Runs, Coops, &o 17 IV. — Food and Drink 31 V. — Beebdinq — Laying — Sitting— Fattening Fowls — Pke- SEBViNG Eggs 42 VI.— Preparations for Hatching — Nests— Selection of Eggs — Age — Numbers — Sex — Fertility .... 51 VII. — Theory of Incubation 60 VIII. — Rearing of Chickens 71 IX. — Diseases of Poultry 82 X. — Description of Breeds 89 Appendix 108 The Golden Rules Index . 118 ILLUSTRATIONS. PASE Poultry Farm Frontispiece Hen with Chicks i . 60 Cochins . 90 ■Crahmas . 92 Dorkings . 94 Game 96 Hamburghs . 98 Bantams . 100 Orpingtons . . 104 Plymouth Rocr . * » ice' HOW TO SUCCEED w POULTRY KEEPING. CHAPTER I. WILL FOWLS PAY ? Causes of Failure— Non-Observance of Insthuc- TioNS — An Interest in the Work — How the French Manage — Testimony of Mr. L. Wright, Mr. Piper, Miss Harriet Martineau, and Mrs. Ferguson Blair. Causes of Failure. — The successful and profitable keeping and rearing of Poultry, either for home use or for market, and especially where they cannot have their liberty, depends whoUy upon good management, and upon strict compliance with numerous essential though simple requisites, any of which being omitted, only partial sac- cess at most can be attained. Some give due attention to many of these requisites, and, for the want of necessary facihties, thought, or infor- mation, omit others. For instance, one complies with all essentials except a warm dry house, yet wonders why his fowls do not lay La winter; while another builds a good house but with a northern aspect, or omits ventilation and cleanliness, or perhaps has the ventilation so arranged that the fowls are compelled to roost in a constant draught; and he cannot imagine why they have colds, roup, &c. 2 CAUSES OF FAILURE. The house of another has no windows, and the owner, ignorant of the great benefit of the sun's rays, wonders why his fowls seem to prefer being almost frozen to death out of doors rather than resort to a warm (but dark) house in daytime. Another overcrowds, which with want of cleanliness, is a most frequent cause of disease and faihin>. Another so overfeeds his fowls that they get too fat, cease laying, and become diseased ; while another omits to provide the natural requirements which fowls obtain for themselves when at liberty. Another neglects the supply of clean fresh water, and complains that his chickens are afflicted with the gapes. Another is unable to hatch more than three chickens out of a dozen eggs, simply because the nests are not made on the ground. Another hatches chickens so late in the season that they produce nothing till a whole summer, autumn, and winter's expense has been incurred in feeding them. Each one of the above either fails entirely or only attains to a limited degree of success ; and each in his turn comes to the erroneous conclusion that fowls do not pay. But we confidently assert that the simple rules laid down in this treatise will, if properly observed, not only insure unfailing success, but that fowls, even when con- fined, can thus be made to pay better, in proportion to their cost, than any other class of domestic animals ; and that the so-called " bad luck " we so frequently hear of, is simply bad management. Another frequent cause of fowls not paying is found among people who think they can afiford to buy but little if any grain for them, and who do not take the trouble to ascertain how cheaper foods can be prepared, but are con- tent to depend upon the scraps from their table. The secret of failure in such cases is that too many fowls are kept, and a small amount of food has to be divided amongst a dozen or twenty, which is barely sufficient to afford them subsistence ; the result is that very few eggs are produced, and in winter none at all, whereas if only half-a-dozen young birds of some choice breed were the sole stock, the amount of food would be ample, and a plentiful supply of eggs, summer and winter, would be the result. AN INTEREST IN THE WORK. 3 Kon-observance of Instructions. — Authors and writers on poultry-keeping often complain that their instruc- tions are not carried out, that they are therefore obliged to be dogmatical, that many read their books but neglect to comply with the rules laid down, acting as though the reading of a book on poiiltry were all that is necessary to success : and that then it is asserted that " fowls won't pay." When questioned as to this or that suspected neg- lect, they admit it at once, and confess that although they have perhaps read in different books of the importance of the matter, they have inadvertently overlooked it. No doubt, much of this non-observance of rules may be attributed to the fact that the essential points, though simple and easily attended to, are so scattered throughout the various poultry books, without means of easy refer- ence, that the readers are, to some extent, excusable for the state of affairs which the authors complain of We have endeavoured to meet this difficulty by the special arrangement of this Manual for ready reference ; by the addition of an "Appendix" containing a complete summary of the entire contents of the work; and by the "Golden Rules Index," and we hope the amateur who finds himself "unlucky" with his poultry will glance through this " Appendix " and see whether or not he is overlooking some of the indispensable elements of success, before he declares that "poultry-keeping does not pay." An Interest in the Work, — One great element of suc- cess is undoubtedly a real interest in the work — a love for it — on the part of the owner or attendant. We should hardly expect to find success where this quality was wanting; in fact, we would advise no one to attempt to make confined fowls pay who has not sufficient love for the work to induce him to put into practice the well- known rules for their general management. We may judge of the interest which various authors take in their poultry yards by the following quotations. One writer says: "I confess myself perfectly at home among my feathered pets, and I am sure the feeling is mutual." Another writes : " Perhaps there are few among us who oaimot remember the first egg laid by the first pet hen, the pleasure with which the first promising caw-caw and triumphant concluding cackle wera listened to. On such B i 4 AN INTEREST IN THE WORK. occasions, which is in the greater bustle of delight, the hen or the young amateur?" Another tells us : "Fowls cost thought, care, diligence, and perseverance. We can ascer- tain the price of their food, but the great vnterest and omuseTnent these creatures are to their owners it is certainly less easy to calculate." Miss Fairhurst, of Woodlands, Ormskirk, in a contribu- tion she furnished Mr. L. Wright, for his valuable " Illus- trated Book of Poultry," says: — "White Dorkings are certainly my favourite breed, and I look upon them as quite amongst the aristocracy of fowls. The elegance of their carriage, the gloss and purity of their plumage, and a certain indescribable something in the way they advance to meet those in whom they have confidence, seems at once to say, 'I belong to the upper rank;' and their dress of pure white satin, with its red coral ornaments, is a regal court suit in which they are fit for presentation to their sovereign any day, on tha grassy banks of whose mansion no more lovely ornament could be placed. They are equally to be desired for the country villa, wherever a green run can be secured in front of the garden, pro- tected by wire or a sunk fence, so that they can be seen along with the flowers, giving life and beauty to the scene. Their natural disposition seems more tame than that of other fowls, and they soon learn to eat from the hand ; indeed, I wish any lady would notice, as I have often done, the peculiar grace and dignity with which a white Dorking pullet will advance towards her to be fed from her hand. They are of all things essentiaUy fit to be considered as ' ladies' pets.' " " The Illustrated Farmers' and Gardeners' Almanack " speaks thus : — " Trouble is a word that enters not into the vocabulary of the lover of the feathered tribe. No ! far from being troubles, none but those who have experi- enced it can conceive the pleasure attending the per- formance of these varied and delightful duties — that, for example, for selecting a faithfol and tried mother hen — of watching her day by day as she fulfils patiently her apparently wearisome task of waiting for the first appearance of a chick, of counting them one by one as they emerge from the shell, and finally, of see- HOW THB FBBNCH ICANAQE. 6 iag a large healthy brood gathering around her, eagerly looking up for the corn and crumbs she with so much pleasure scatters around them. Verily, such an excite- ment — 80 pleasing, so intense, and yet so healthful — throws in the background that to be obtained from the theatre or the card-table, and renders those who delight in it independent of those excitable amusements." Elizabeth Watts, Authoress of Warne & Go's. Poultry Book, after an interesting description of her first experience with a few fowls, says ; " They throve well and produced well ; and looking back to that time, with the aid of the experience of after years, I attribute the success with them to very simple causes. First, the number of fowls was not too great for the space allotted to them ; second, the earth was clean and pure; third, we did not buy food lavishly, but used it with due economy ; fourth, the new pets were a delight to us and we attended to them ourselves regularly and well. How the French Manage. — The French have a faculty of making fowls pay better than we do. They have re- duced the business to a science, and their success is cele- brated. One secret of this is the attention they pay to the choice of breeds. They know which mature, or become fit for market, at the least cost, which are the best layers, &c., and no others are kept. They consequently realise a handsome income. The cheapness of poultry in France compared with England may be illustrated by a quotation from Bonington Mowbray, who says : " In France poultry form an important part of the live stock of the farmer, and the poultry yards supply more ani/mal food to the great mass of the com/munitythan the hutchers' shops." How the French make Fowls Pay. — Mr. Edwards, in his pamphlet with the above title, says : " The Fxench are pre-eminently celebrated for their poultry, both as to quality and quantity. The principles adopted by them are — early hatcMng, early killirig, liberal feeding, stimulating food, both for fattening and egg-producing. They keep only the best breeds, celebrated either as egg-layers or for quick growth to maturity. They keep their stock always young, and, by liberal feeding with stimulating food, both flesh 6 TESTIMONY OF and eggs are produced with the regularity of machinery, risk of disease beinjg prevented by the rapidity with which they fatten and realise, keeping up a constant succession. It is only from want of proper knowledge of their manage- ment that eggs and poultry are the rich man's delicacy, rather than what they should be — food for the million. I say, want of knowledge alone, because no great trouble, and far less expense, is involved in making them a source of profit instead of loss." Neglected fowls are often falling ill. A man who expects a good return of flesh and eggs from fowls insuflSciently fed and cared for, is like a miller expecting to get meal from a mill to which he does not supply grain. Testimony of Poultry Authorities. — Mr. L. Wright, in his valuable work, "The Illustrated Book of Poultry," says: "Any account fairly kept, and with judicious management, wiU prove conclusively that those who beUeve poultry cannot be made remunerative, do a grievous wrong to the most profitable and productive of any live stock in the world." * * * '^jje various products of poultry, properly managed, form the cheapest animal food which can he procured. * * * It is true that many persons cannot, if they would, keep fowls ; but many others can, and hence we regard it as both a worthy and a practicable object to spread, as widely as possible, the better knowledge of a creature which seems expressly adapted by Providence to supply the very best animal food for a young famiily which Nature has provided. * * * Jt g^g gratified us to see the steady increase in the number of fowl-houses which appear in small town yards or gardens of late years, and stiU more to ascertain, as we have often done, the generally satisfactory results when sotmd directions have been fairly attended to ; though there is still much room for progress in this respect, and there might be a far more general enjoyment of tiie luxury of a fresh egg at half the present price of stale. Mr. Piper, in his excellent book on poultry, says: "Although fowls are so commonly kept, the proportion to the population is still very small, and the number of those who rear and manage them properly still smaller ; chiefly POCTLTHT AUTHORITIES. 7 because most pwople keep them without system or order, and have not given the slightest attention to the subject. Nevertheless, it costs no more trouble, and much less expense, to keep fowls successfully and profitably." Miss Harriet Martineau says : " It becomes an interest- ing wonder every year why the rural cottagers of the United Kingdom do not rear fowls almost universally, seeing how little the cost would be, and how great the demand. We import many millions of eggs annually. Why should we import any 1 Wherever there is a cottage family living on potatoes or better fare, and grass growing anywhere near them, it would be worth while to nail up a little pent-house, and make nests of clean straw, and go in for a speculation in eggs and chickens. Seeds, worms, and insects go a great way in feeding poultry in such places, and then there are the small and refuse potatoes from the heap, and the outside cabbage leaves, and the scraps of all sorts. Very small purchases of broken rice (which is extremely cheap), inferior grain, and mixed meal, would do all else that is necessary. It is understood that the keeping of poultry is largely on the increase in the country generally, and even among cottagers, but the prevailmg idea is of competition as to races and specimens for the poultry yard, rather than of meeting the demand for eggs, and fowls for the table." Mrs. Ferguson Blair, authoress of " The Henwife," and a most successful breeder and exhibitor of poultry, says : " I began to breed poultry for amusement only, then for exhibition, and, lastly, was glad to take the trouble to make it pay, and do not like my poultry yard less because it is not a loss. It is impossible to imagine any occupa- tion more suited to a lady living in the country than that of poultry rearing. If she has any superfluous affection to bestow, let it be on her chicken-kind, and it will be re- turned cent, per cent. Are you a lover of nature ? — come with me and view, with delighted gaze, her chosen dyes. Are you a utilitarian ? — rejoice in such an increase of the people's food. Are you a philanthropist ? — ^be grateful that yours has been the privilege to afford a possible pleasure to the poor man, to whom so many are impossibh. Such we often find fond of poultry— no mean judges, 8 TESTIMONT OP POULTRY ATJTHORITIES. and frequently successftil in exhibition. A poor mans pleasure in victory is, at least, as great as that of his richer brother. Let him, then, have the field whereon to fight for it. Encourage village poultry shows, not only by your patronage, but also by your presence. A taste for such may save many from dissipation and much evil. No man can win poultry honours and haunt the taproom too." CHAPTER II. EARLY HATCHING, SELECTION AND RENEWAL OF STOCK. Benefits of Early Hatching Illustrated — Selection OF Stock — How to Distinguish Young Fowls WHEN Purchasing — Cochins Preferable for Early Sitters — Bints respecting Stock for Rearing Chickens — Renewal of Stock — ^Win- ter Layers — Hints on the Improvement of Ordinary Stock — Hints on Buyinpi Eggs for Sitting — Classification of Different Breeds — comki.nation of useful qualities — advantages OF THE Non-Flying Breeds. The two greatest items affecting the question of making fowls pay are : — Early hatching for the renewal of stock, and THE selection of BREEDS, as will be seen by the following hints on these points, / Early Hatching contributes more to success than might at first seem possible. Let us take an illustration. A and B both begin poultry-keeping by purchasing a few Cochin pullets, say in August. Those purchased by A have been hatched early, and begin laying in October and, with good management and warm housing, continue to lay the greater part of the winter, when eggs are dea/rest, and now, that the early sitting time has arrived his, pullets axe not only ready to sit, but being twelve months old, and their eggs being the second or third batch, they are quite as suitable for rearing chickens from as the eggs of adult fowls. These early chickens, in their turn, will, of course, begin laying in October, and thus pullets will mature each autumn for replacing the older stock. 10 SELECTION OF STOCK. B, on the other hand, has purchased chickens hatched in May. They are the same breed, and recei^^e the same care, as A's, but having been hatched too late for laying in autumn they probably do not begin till February or March, thus incurring three or four months' more feeding before they produce any return ; and when they do begii, it is at a season of the year when eggs are cheap. The proper hatching time has now arrived, but B has no sitters ; and even if some of the pullets have begun to lay in time to sit, their eggs are not suitable ; for the first eggs of any pullet — no matter how promising the birds may be — will seldom produce strong, healthy chickens. B, therefore, is unable to get out of his difficulty for another twelve months, unless, having by dear experience learned the value of early pullets, he purchases some, and thus secures layers for the following winter, and early sitters for the spring. The advantages of early hatching, it will thus be seen, are manifold. First, winter layers are secured. Second, the pullets begin to produce a return when six months old, instead of nine months. Third, early pullets are ready to sit just when most wanted. Fourth, they attain an age au the next early sitting time which makes their own eggs suitable for hatching. Fifth, early hatched chickens fetch higher prices in the market. To these may be added a sixth advantage, which the exhibitor prizes more than the other five combined, viz., his chickens mature in time for the summer and autumn shows. Selection of Stock, — We shall give some general hints as to the selecting and replacing of fowls for stock purposes, leaving the fuller description of the different breeds for exhibition, &c., to a subsequent chapter. Yovmg fowls can be recognised by the legs being smooth and neW; the comb and wattles soft and fresh ; whilst I'ld 0UC8 will have hard, drier, aud more scnrfy combs, and horny shanks, with louger and sharper spurs. On be- ginning, none but young fowls, under twelve, months old, should be purchased. // rearing chickens be desired, cocks must be kept, one for every eight or ten hens. If it be the intention to WINTBR LATIKQ. 11 rear chickens from the home eggs, care should he taken that the cock be procured from a separate yard from the hens, or at least that one be selected which is not related to the hens, or degenerate stock must be the result. Of course, if it be the intention to rear chickens from other than the home eggs, this latter precaution will be un- necessary. For stock purposes a cock should be one year old if he is to be mated with hens and two years old if with pullets ; those older than two years are not always to be depended on. A few Cochins, or other large birds crossed with them, should always be kept on account of their inclination for sitting, so that the hints already given for hatching early spring chickens can always be acted upon, this being, as we have said, one of the great secrets of success. (Full direc- tions as to hatching and rearing will be fouud in a sub- sequent chapter.) The propensity of Cochins to sit is more pronounced than that of any other variety, but though most reliable sitters, they sometimes prove undesirable mothers, because their natural clumsiness may result in the young chickens being trodden upon and killed. It is for this reason we say, "other large birds crossed with them." Cochin- Wyandottes or Cochin-Dorkings are excel- lent crosses for this purpose, as they produce large heavily feathered birds, capable of well covering their eggs, but, being less clumsy, are free from the g,bove objection to Cochins. We may, however, add that the natural clumsi- ness referred to in Cochins is often in consequence of their being too fat through being overfed during the sitting, or before. If a supply of eggs be the only object, cocks need not be kept, for, in spite of the opinions of some authorities to the contrary, we have always found hens lay quite as well without the company of a male bird as with it. Non- sitting breeds, such as Houdaus, Minorcas, Leghorns, &c., should always be selected when chickens are not to be reared, the great trouble and annoyance of the breaking off of sitters will thus be saved. Improvement of ordinary Stock. — Although pure breeds, selected in accordance with the owner's require- ments, will always pay better in the long run, yet where 12 IMPROVEMENT great economy in the original outlay is to be studied, and the ordinary barn-door fowls, or mongrels, are chosen, large- sized ones should be selected, and a cook of sv/perior breed should always be procured — ^provided, of course, that chickens are to be reared from the home eggs. The com- paratively small outlay in securing such will be manifold repaid in the end, since the superior qualities of the male bird will be imparted to the chickens of all the hens with which he is mated. The breed of cocks thus to be chosen will depend much upon the object sought. For instance, if table chickens be specially required, either for home use or for market a Dorking cock will be preferable. If superior laying qualities are specially desired in the pullets to be reared, the keeping of a Hamburgh cock will go a great way towards effecting that end ; and if the hens are pretty stout and heavy, the chickens will retain enough plumpness to make them fair table fowls. A Houdan cock would impart great hardiness, superior laying, great compactness, and excellent table qualities, It not unfrequently hap- pens that the qualities of a stock of fowls are very much deteriorated through a cock of weakly constitution, or otherwise defective, being kept. Pure breeds, as we have said, being by far more profit- able than any mongrels, an economical plan, where time can be allowed, ^ is to procure eggs from well-known breeders, and have them hatched by ordinary barn-door fowls. The profit as well as pleasure of any poultry yard, large or small, town or country, may thus be greatly increased; and our unqualified advice to every one keep- ing mongrels would be to begin again de novo — either to buy eggs for sitting, and rear early spring pullets enough tn rr^lace the entire stock of layers the first autumn, oi adopt a still more economical plan : buy a few sittings of eggs at first, and let the pullets therefrom replace a part of the old stock the first year, and hatch enough from the eggs of these pullets the next year to replace the remainder. If a right beginning is thus made, i.e., if pure- bred pullets are hatched early, and so cared for that they begin laying; the following autumn, their next spring's eggs, as previously mentioned, wiU be suitable for hatch- OF STOCK. 13 ing — many breeders believe, quite as well as those from fowls two years old; and our own experience tends to confirm the belief. If, however, the beginning has been made too late for the new breeds of pullets to begin laying in autumn or winter, and the requisite number of a new stock has not been obtained, we would advise the purchase of more eggs the next spring for sitting, rather than to hatch theyoung pullets' eggsj for certainly, after instituting the new rdgvme, degeneracy in any form should be guaxded against We may here add that a male bird for mating with these pullets must be procured, by exchange or purchase, from a different yard from that where the eggs have been obtained, otherwise degeneracy in the progeny may be the result, the probability being that cockerels hatched from the eggs which have been bought would be related to the pullets of the same brood. In rearing chick- ens for exhibition, however, the selection of a suitable male bird for mating is not so simple, as we have explained in another chapter. / In huyiTig eggs for hadicking, unless bought of expe^ rienced breeders of reputation, it will be well, when practicable, to see that the suggestions in chapter v. respecting the selection are followed. Num erous advertise- ments by parties prepared to supply choice eggs at from 4s. 6d. to 25s. per dozen can always be seen in the " Journal of Horticulture," or the " Exchange and Mart" The former price will purchase eggs of almost any breed, qiiite good enough for rearing stock birds ; the latter price being for eggs from prize birds. We have often succeeded in hatching and rearing an average of nine out of thirteen^ .eggs which have come long distances by railway. ^ Renewal of Stock. — ^The age at which hens become anprofitable as layers is two-and-a-half years, i.e., at the end of their second summer's laying. The best time for killing them is in the early autumn, before moulting time, or a good plan is to kill them at any time when they begin to sit after the first of August A hen is generally in a better condition for killing at this time, as she eats more voraciously for the few weeks before sitting than at any otitier time. Valuable stock, however, may be kept a vear or two longer. Coduns, Brahmas, Hamburghs, and 14 RENEWAL OF STOCK. some other breeds, will often continue to lay through a great part of the winter, up to the third or fourth year. A hen which has shewn superior qualities as a sitter aad mother may also be kept a year or two longer for that purpose, much difference in this respect being found in hens of the same breed; but, as a rule, all hens become actually unprofitable at two-and-a-half years, and unless the item of profit be altogether ignored, they mmt be hilled at thai age. If kept longer, they also become too tough for eating. It is a good plan to arrange matters so that one-third of the stock will arrive at this age every autumn, the same number of pullets supplying their place. Another method, and probably the most economical one for making a beginning with pure breeds, is always within reach of parties residing near London. At Stevens' auction rooms, King Street, Goyent Garden, a sale of many hundreds of choice fowls of every breed takes place once or twice a month throughout the year. Here pullets, of almost any desirable breed suitable for stock birds, may be purchased at froni four shillings to eight shillings each; choice birds, with exhibition qualities, of course bringing much higher prices. Surplus stock may also be readily disposed of at these sales. Tlie test Breeds for general stock purposes must depend upon the conditions under which the birds are to be housed and kept, and the extent of range at their disposal ; but the Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Dorking, or Indian- Game can be relied upon under almost any circumstances to thrive and amply repay for trouble and attention bestowed upon them. If a single choice were necessary, we should rely upon the first, but either of the breeds mentioned will afford their owner sources of pleasure and profit, which he could not possibly derive from mongrel or cross-bied fowls ; and this is true of almost any of the pure breeds kept distinct. The rearer of them can often obtain a high price for eggs for sitting, and also for his surplus stock for breeding from, the qualities of the selections named being well known, and more generally preferred than others. They attain a large size for table use or for market in five or six months, are excellent winter layers, and thus afford CLASSIFICATION OF BREEDS. 15 an important source of income at a time when eggs are dearest. Dorkings being so celebrated for the quality of their meat, some may prefer them to obher breeds, but they are far from being so hardy as the breeds just named. They require a dry soil, a wide range, and high fences. They degenerate and decrease in size by interbreeding more quickly than any other breeds, and they are not good winter layers. The hardier breeds should certainly be chosen by those who are inexperienced in keeping fowls. Classification of Breeds. — We are indebted to a gentleman, who is an extensive breeder and exhibitor, for the following very useful classification of the special qualities of the different breeds. The order in which the classes are named indicates, under most circumstances, the comparative value of each : — 1. The best layers are : — Minorcas, leghorns. Ham- burghs, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Houdaiis. 2. For meat, the best are :— Dorkings, Indian-Game, Houdans, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Brahmas, Cochins, Malays, and Wyandottes. 3. For size and weight: — Cochins, Brahmas, Dorkings, Orpingtons, Malays, Indian-Game. 4. The most hardy breeds are : — Brahmas, Cochins, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, Houdans, Indian- Game, Wyandottes. 5. The best sitters and mothers are: — Dorkings, Silkies, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Langshans ; while as sitters only, Brahmas and Cochins stand pre-eminent. For corribinafAoH of useful qualities generally, the same writer recommends, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Ply- month ^ocks, as the most profitable where a few chickens are to be reared in a comparatively small space (avoiding both non-sitting and those requiring to sit too often). Where more space is at command, so that the breeding and laying stock can be divided, Minorcas are recom- mended as the most profitable single breed. The same selections will also be found best suited to these require- ments where a wide range is available, or for the run of a farm, Minorcas having the preference over every single breed where no chickens are to be reared, Orpingtons 16 QUALITIES OF DIFFERENT BREEDS. where many chickens are an object, and Plymouth Rocks where a few chickens are desirable. Dorkings are not recommended for limited space, except where market poultry is the object, when they are invaluable. The heavy breeds of fowls, such as Cochins and Brahmas, possess a decided advantage over all others in one important respect, which must not be overlooked, viz., their inability to fly to any considerable height. It is desirable to give fowls as much liberty as possible, and yet to keep them from their owners' and neighbours' gardens. A wire fence, 3 feet high, will securely enclose either of these breeds, and prevent them from disturbing the gardens, roosting on carriages, &c. — advantages which, under some circumstances, will alone justify the selection of these breeds in preference to all others. Winter Laying'. — Winter laying depends largely upon warmth, which is secured by heavy plumage and plump build, as well as by warm housing. It therefore becomes a matter of importance, where winter laying is a special object, to select large plump fowls, with full and heavy plumage. There will be found a decided difference in the quantity of plumage in different hens of the same breed, especially in cross-bred fowls, which often vary so much from each other in many respects. It is, no doubt, partly owing to these peculiarities in Cochins and Brahmas, that their superior qualities as winter layers may be attri- buted. 17 CHAPTER III. THE POULTRY-HOUSE. Construction and Position of the House— Aspect— Ai^ Indoor Fowl House for Winter — Ventila- tion — Light — The Roof — The Floor — Movable Shelf — The Perch — The Nests — A Turf House — Cleanliness and Sanitary Arrangements — Avoiding Vermin — Grass Runs, &c. Construction and Position of the House.— A warm, light, clean, and dry house, in which the birds may roost, lay their eggs, and take shelter in cold or windy weather, is indispensable to success in poultry- keeping. It may be built of brick — a four-inch wall — or of inch boards. The former will be less liable to ver- min, as well as much warmer. If the house is built of wood, one or more of the sides — ^towards the colder quarters — may be covered outside with felt-roofing. The cost of the felt is about Id. per square foot. It should be tarred over at least once a year. Want of protection from rain ; dampness, cold winds, and impure air, are the principal sources of disease and death in the poultry-yard. If economy of space is necessary, a house four fee^ square, and five or six feet in height, with a covered shed, the same height, and double the size, adjoining, will, if kept clean, as hereafter directed, answer for six or eight fowls. Of course, a larger-sized shed^the larger the better — is preferable, if space can be afforded ; but, for the house, the small size has the advantage of warmth, and need only be increased beyond these dimensions in pro- portion to the increase of the number of fowls. Where a large number are kept, it is much better to have several small houses (detached, if practicable), rather than one large one. fowls thrive better in email a 18 ASPECT OF HOUSES. companies, and the separate houses will be found useful for keeping different breeds apart, rearing chickens, &c. Aspect. — The house should front the south or south- east, if possible. Without the advantage of sunshine, fowls do not thrive, and it is impossible to rear healthy chickens. If the house can admit the rays of the early morning sun at all seasons, it will be a great advantage. If a southern aspect is not practicable, greater care will be needed in constructing a warm and dry house. Exposing fowls to dampness is the cause of roup and other diseases 1.— House fronting the north, admitting sun's rays through top. A fowl-house should never be built against a brick wall and facing the north. In a crowded city, where space IS valuable, it is no doubt convenient sometimes to build the house fronting the north across the back end of a narrow garden; but when so built it will hardly be pos- sible to avoid roup and other diseases amongst the fowls and certainly impossible to rear healthy chickens We have known nine out of ten chickews to droop and die from no other cause than having their house thus situated, and the mother of the brood being shut in a house where the sun's ray never entered. When the dwelling faces the north, and the garden is the same width as the house-which is so frequently the case in towns-the better plan is to build the fowl-. house across the bach garden, faehu, the south, and as /ar from the hack wall an ^o^^Me, in order to have SECURING SUNSHINE. 19 the advantage of the sun. The access to the fowl-house by the attendant may then be from the side next to the dwelling, while the entrance for the fowls is on the oppo- site side. If the space between the fowl-house and the back wall can be spared as a yard- for the fowls, it will be much better than having them closely confined ; and grass could be preserved in the space if the fowls were only allowed access to it for an hour every day. The moving of the house from the back wall to the position across the yard so as to face the south, we have known to result in perfect success, where all had pre- viously been a failure. When, however, it is found impracticable to build with a southern aspect, the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 will be found very serviceable. The cut represents a laying- house at one end, and a sitting-house at the other, with a wired run between them projecting a few feet further out than the houses, whereby the sun's rays may be admitted through the top of the run. If a shelf two feet wide be placed at A A the fowls will soon discover that they can gain access to the sun's rays much earlier in the day upon this shelf than they can upon the ground, and they will invariably resort to it This shelf should be protected from draughts by a board placed at " B," and also at each end. This board should be limed-whitened on the inside so as to reflect the sun on to the shelf. This arrangement will be found useful in all cases where fowls are confined in a house facing any direction except south, where of course it would not be required. The windows C C if large will require to be covered over in the hottest days of summer, or the house will become too hot If the house can have the advantage of being built against a warm stable or other out-house, it will be very desirable, but we would not advise sacrificing a southern aspect for the sake of it An indoor Fowl-house for winter use. — Where there is a stable or other building available for the purpose, the following plan will be found to promote, in a high degree, both winter laying and the thriving of early broods : — For half a dozen fowls a movable box or coop (about three feet square and three feet high) is to be con- O 2 20 SECURING SUNSHINE — ^VElfTILATION. structed, one side of -which is to be of glass. A window the full size of the coop must be placed in the soutK side of the stable, close to the floor. The coop, having no bottom, is to be set in the stable with the glazed side to the window and a few inches from it. The floor of the stable where the coop is to stand should be covered with dry earth, an inch or two in depth. The entrance to the coop will, of course, be from the stable, and it may he left open for ventilation, as the fowls wiU soon discover the advantages of their sunny home and will constantly resort to it. Another advantage of this plan is, that the coop can be readily made warmer in extreme weather, by placing straw or some other covering over it. Where economy is specially necessary, an ordinary packing case, with an old window-sash for the side to be glazed, will serve for a coop. If a building is so situated that a window placed as described would be shaded by a wall, the same plan will be equally serviceable if arranged in a loft. It should be born in mind when constructing poultry- houses, that in the shortest days the sun rises to so low an altitude that a house or wall will cast a shadow, even at midday, a distance of nearly four times its own height. This difiSculty in securing the admission of the sun's rays can be overcome in many cases by building the poultry-house a good height and placing a wide shelf a few feet from the ground on a level with a south window. The fowls will soon learn to resort to the shelf in order to enjoy the rays of the sun : or the plan shown in Fig. 1 may be adopted. Ventilation must receive due attention. Fowls, more than any other animals, require pure air. The aperture by which they enter the fowl-house, will admit sufficient air; and there must be an opening, say eight inches square, near the top of the house, in the side next to the covered shed, or a hole eighteen inches square, covered with per- forated zinc, to prevent draughts. The aperture in the door by which they enter should have a flap turning upwards and outwards, which should be provided with an opening down the centre three inches wide. This flap may then be closed in very cold or windy weather, pro. vided the house be cleaa, aod not too crowded, When LIGHT — ROOFS. 21 the fowls are allowed their liberty at daylight, which is always specially desirable, this flap may be closed at aight to keep out cats, weasels, &c. ; but yet the fowls will, by their efforts to escape through the narrow opening, open it themselves sufficiently to come out in the morning. If any are slow in learning to get out in this manner, a cord may be fastened to the flap and passed through a small hole in the door, and a weight attached to the opposite end of the cord to balance the weight of the flap, so that when once raised it will remain open. (See Fig. 2.) A wire netting, upon a frame the same size as the door or window, will be found very useful for admitting the sun or ventilating the house in the daytime. It may be movable so as to be placed in front of the opened door, or hung in the same way as the door. Light is indispensable; fowls, like birds of the air, require the light and openness of the skies, and will not thrive without it. The house should be well lighted with a glass window, or the fowls will suffer any extreme of cold rather than resort to it in the daytime, except for laying, and thus one valuable use of the house will be lost. This shunning of a warm house in the daytime, in winter, where fowls have their liberty, has been noticed, and wondered at, the owner not suspecting the cause, but when informed of it, and a window has been put into the house, the fowls have afterwards resorted to it constantly in bad weather. The window should be in the south or east side. The Boof of the house should project six inches beyond the front, and either a gutter should be made or a board should extend across the front, at the bottom, to prevent the droppings from splashing in. Board roofs should be covered with felt roofing, to secure warmth in winter and, to ensure their being perfectly waterproof They should be tarred over once a year, and sprinkled with sand. A house with a roof of slate or tile should have a ceiling, or it will be too hot in summer and too cold in winter ; or a felt lining naUed underneath on the rafters will answer the purpose. The roof must in all cases be proof agavnst l-eakage, or failure is pretty sure to be the result. 22 PLOOE& The Floor for both the house and shed should be of gravel, firmly packed. A layer of chalk or burnt brick- earth, well rammed down, and the gravel placed upon, it, will be an improvement, the object being to secure free- dom from dampness. The floor will thus be several inches above the level of the ground outside, whereby additional dryness will be secured. The whole floor should slope slightly towards the front. When the gravel has become firmly packed and smooth, a layer of dry sifted mould with a httle sand, ashes, or fine gravel mixed with it, should be strewn upon the ground to the depth of two inches. This plan should also be adopted when fowls have their liberty, a retreat from the rain, where it is perfectly dry under foot being indispensable, and a want of it a frequent source of disease. A fine rake passed over the dry earth daily wiU quickly and effectually remove the excrement, which is more valuable for garden purposes than any other uianure. A board floor should under no circumstances be used ; it harbours vermin and absorbs filth without the power of deodorising it. It is also unyielding to the feet of fowls, and causes swelled feet and joints. Those who have .-such fioors in use, and cannot well dispense with them, should at least keep them strewn with sand and dry earth two inches in depth. A brick floor is too damp ; a con- crete floor, upon dry and firm foundation, is as good a one as can