^,00^E PO.LTKV Bo^^ A CONCISE AND PRACTICAL Treatise ON THE Management of Farm Poultry BY JACOB BIGGLE ILLUSTRATED What i/its country needs is less hog and hominy arid more chicken and celery. ^^ Philadelpkia WiLmer Atkinson Co. 19 1 3 ESto Copyright, 1895 Copyright, 1913 WiLMER Atkinson Co, KINTH KDITION NINETIETH THOU-SAND RS/i* CONTENTS. PAOB List of Colored Plates 6 Chapter I. Introduction 7 Parts of the Chicken lo Heads and Combs lo Chapter II. The Egg 13 Chapter III. Eggs for Hatching 21 Chapter IV. Hatching the Eggs ,. 27 Chapter V. Chicks with Hens 35 Chapter VI. Chicks with Brooders 43 Chapter VII. Early Broilers 49 Chapter VIII. Hens Expressly for Eggs 57 Chapter IX, The Farmer's Flock 67 Chapter X. The Village Hennery 7j Chapter XI. Breeds of Chickens 81 Chapter XII. Turkeys and Guinea-Fowls 95 Chapter XIII. Ducks 107 Chapter XIV. Geese 119 Chapter XV. Pigeons 127 Chapter XVI. Fattening and Marketing 137 Chapter XVIL Diseases and Enemies 147 Chapter XVIII. New Systhms in Poultry Farming 159 ^J LIST OF COIvORED PLATES. PIvATK I. Barred Plymouth Rocks. PIRATE II. Silver Laced Wyandottes. PLATE IIL Light Brahmas. PLATE IV. Dark Brahmas. PLATE V. Buff Cochins. PLATE VI. Partridge Cochins, PLATE VII. Orpingtons. Plate VIII. single Comb Brown Leghorns. * PLATE IX. Silver Polish and Golden Penciled Haj BURGS. '' PLATE X. Houdans. \ PLi^TE XL Rhode Island Reds. PLATE XII. Indian Games. PLATE XIII. Representative Breeds of Bantams PLATE XIV. Bronze Turkeys. ' PLATE XV. Rouen and Muscovy Ducks PLATE XVI. TcuLOusE and Brown China Geesii Chapter I. PRELIMINARY PARLEY. This little book is intended to help farmers and villagers conduct the poultry business with pleasure and profit. Its teachings are not drawn from the author's inner conscious- ness exclusively, but from practical experience, study and observation. I have been successful in the business myself, not as a fancier, but as a farmer, a fact which I do not attribute to my own ability entirely, but partly to the help derived from the stimulating and restraining influence of my good wife Harriet, and to Martha, the industrious and vigilant spouse of our faithful Tim. A good deal of what I know and have written has really been derived from a diligent perusal of the Farm Journal^ and I confess to having borrowed con- siderably from its pages both in text and illustration. Credit must therefore be given in a comprehensive way to the Poultry Editor of that publication, whose discerning mind and great experience with poultrj- 8 BIGGLK POUIvTRY BOOK. have received the widest recognition by all interested in the poultry industry. I could do nothing better than to draw largely upon him, augmenting his prac- tical information with trimmings from my own obser- vation and experience, and with suggestions from the women folks and from Tim. Great pains have been taken with the illustrations, and those having charge of this feature of the book deserve much praise for the skill, taste and originality displayed. They certainly have done well. The beau- tiful and life-like pictures set off the book in fine style and raise it far above the level of the common- place. The paintings for the colored prints were made from life from birds in the yards of breeders or on exhibition at the poultry shows, by Louis P. Graham, an artist possessing a high order of talent in depicting fowls of all breeds in their correct forms and colors. They are as true to nature and the ideal bird as it is possible to make them. A pound of eggs or a pound of poultry can be raised as cheaply as a pound of beef or mutton. Poultry sells at home for nearly twice the price per pound you get for beef and mutton on the hoof. Eggs sell for more than twice the price per pound on the farm that the city butcher gets for the dressed carcasses of the animals he sells. I have not written this book for the poultry fancier, although that valued person will find man^ points of interest in it, but for the practical farm or village man or woman who raises poultry and eggs for market, whose flock is one of the many sources by PREWMINARY PARLEY. 9 which the income of the farm or village acre is increased with but a trifling money outlay, and with but little extra care and work. As in every other branch of farm production, however, poultry always responds quickly to any extra effort and thought put into it, and there are hundreds of farms to-day where the poultry yard yields more ready cash than any other department. This book is small in measure ; I could have doubled the size easily, but it would have been thinner and not any better, at least so it seems to me, and Harriet agrees. Should this be your verdict, gentle reader, I shall be content. Jacob Biggi k. Elmwood. PARTS OF THE CHICKEN. 1. Comb. 2. Face. 3- Wattles. '^^k\ y^^^k 4- Ear-lobes. wfi 'i J^^^^mm 5- Hackle. Mi' '''m j^^^W/l 6. Breast. i^/.',y^''Cj^^ /^^^^^W/ f 7. Back. y^^r.i[^ h . ^^^^^W[' 1 o Saddle. pr^ Q. lo. Si.: die-feathers. Sickles. ' li^I* '5 11. Tail-covei ts. -s. WIhHP'* ^ _=:^ ^ 12. Main tail feathers. .^^^^=V^s:J^L= ^^^^^^^fes' 13- Wing-bow. ^^^^^^^pM ^^^^^^^ 14. Wing-coverts, forming wing-bar. ^^s^»^ ""^ — 15. Secondaries, wing-bay. 16. Primaries or fli^jht-feathers ; wing-butts 17- Point of breast bone. 20. Shanks or legs. ri;. Thighs. 21. Spur. 19- Hooks. 22. Toes or claws. TYPES OF HEADS AND COMBS. h ^ I. Single comb. 3, Spiked comb. 3. Rose comb. 4. Pea comb. Single comb, female. 5. Cuo comb* 6. I^eaf comix Chapter II. the: egg. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. — Old Proverb. Put all your eggs in otie basket, and watch that basket. — Mark Twain's Version. Careful and critical examination of an egg reveals an arrangement of its contents in a series of layers as seen in the illustration. Referring to the cut, A is the shell ; B is the membrane adhering to the shell ; C is a second mem- brane slightly adhering to B, except at the large end, where the two separate and form D, the air space ; E is the first layer of the white or albuminous part and is in liquid form ; F is the second layer, which is semi- liquid, and G is the inner layer; H, H are the chal- azae, or slightly thickened membranes that unite the white to the membrane enclosing the yolk, M. They form a ligament that binds the parts together, and holds the yolk suspended in the midst of the white or albumen. I, J, K are very fine membranes suiroundiug the yolk ; Iv is the germ, and N is the germ sack or utricle ; a, b, c are separate layers composing the yolk. The germ, L, and germ sack, N, are suspended by the mem- ABCE MFJ IK 14 BIGGI.K POUI.TRY BOOK. branes H, like a mariner's compass, so that the germ always retains its position on top of the yolk. While this germ is present in all eggs alike, it requires the contact of the male element to give it vitality. This contact takes place in the oviduct before the yolk is surrounded by the white, or albumen, and the shell. The yolk is the essential part of the egg, contain- ing as it does the germ, and albuminous and fatty matter and organic salts sufficient to support the germ in its earlier stages of development. The white, which is pure albumen and water, furnishes in the first place a safe and congenial medium for the preserva- tion of the life germ and afterwards contributes its share of nutriment to the developing embryo. The shell is a layer of carbonate of lime deposited so as to give the greatest possible strength, and so ar- ranged as to leave numerous pores through which the water of the egg can escape and the external air can enter. About three-fourths, 74 per cent., of the contents of an egg consist of water, 14 per cent, is albumen, 10.5 per cent, is fat, and 1.5 per cent, is ash. Of the latter the principal part consists of phosphate of lime, the element that enters so largely into the composi- tion of bones. These constituents of an egg furnish every ele- ment, except oxygen, essential to the formation of the living bird. The egg is the beginning of all animal life. In the case of mammals, this egg is hatched and the young animal is nourished and developed for a certain period within the body of the mother before it is cast THE EGG. 15 apon the cold charities of the world. The egg of a bird, or a reptile, is expelled as soon as it is perfectly formed, and the germ of life within it is awakened or destroyed by surrounding conditions. The application of heat, 100 degrees to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, to the egg of the domestic fowl will cause the germ within to begin a process of trans- formation. Within twenty-four hours after incubation begins, an examination will show a zone of small blood vessels formed around this germ. After three days a temporary membrane begins to form inside of the shell membranes. This new membrane serves as lungs to the growing embryo ; into its numerous hair- like vessels the contents of the egg are absorbed and changed into blood. This blood is exposed to the oxygen of the air that enters through the pores of the shell, and thus, purified and vitalized, returns to the centre of life, circulation is established and develop- ment proceeds rapidly until the entire egg is absorbed and transformed into a creature having various organs and a conscious life. The different stages in the process of development above described, may be observed by breaking eggs that have been exposed for different periods to the proper conditions for incubation. The contents should be turned out into a saucer, great care being taken not to rupture the delicate membranes that are forming. A. good hand reading glass will greatly aid in making this examination. As breaking the egg destroys the embryo, this method of examination is useful only to train the eye and judgment of the observer to examine the embryo i6 BIGGLE POUI.TRY BOOK. through the shell. This may be doue by holding the egg between the eye and a strong light. Various con- trivances are used to assist the eye. One of the most simple, is made like a tin horn having a piece of soft leather or rubber over the large end and a hole in it, oval in shape, and a little smaller than the eggs to be tested. Such a tester may be made of tin or card board. To test an egg, grasp it between the thumb and finger of the left hand and holding it large end up against the aperture of the tester look directly through it toward the light. While doing so revolve it slowly to get a view from all sides and to observe the motion of the embryo. Figure i illustrates a tester that any handy person can make. The box is six inches square by eighteen inches high, open at top with a sliding door on one side. This hoMs a lamp. Opposite the lamp flame is a hole cue and a half inches in diameter and around this a washer cut from a rubber boot. Back of the lamp place a piece of looking ,'5«ass, and paint the rest of the box inside a dull black. Have holes at bottom of box to ven- tilate lamp. A fresh egg looks like Figure 2, almost perfectly clear. With a strong light and a thin white-shelled egg the outline of the yolk can be seen. Eggs with thick brown shells are difficult to test. ^' Fig. 2. THE EGG. 17 On the fifth or sixth day of incu- bation, a strong, fertile egg will look like Figure 3. The air-sack is slightly enlarged and from a dark center fine red lines are seen to radiate. There is also a slight cloudiness about this dark spot or germ, and the germ can be seen to move slightly as the egg is revolved. It often happens that the germ begins to develop and dies before the sixth day. In this case the red lines are indistinct, or absent, and in their place is a dark circle enclosing the germ as appears in Figure 4. When the egg is revolved this dead embryo floats aimlessly about in the surround- ing contents. All infertile eggs that were fresh when incubation began, will remain clear up to the sixth day, or even lon- ger, but a stale egg shows a cloudy spot in the center and a large air sack. When opened, the yolk sack is apt to break and the contents to run together, or, as we say, become "addled." All such eggs, as well asthose that contain dead embryos, and all clear or infertile , - n eggs should be removed at this first testing. A second testing of eggs should be made on the tenth day. By this time the air sack has still further en- larged and the growth of the embryo FlG.S. l8 HIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. has SO clouded the egg contents as to render the out- lines indistinct. The appearance of the egg is now shown by Figure 5. After the tenth day the tester is of little use. On the eighteenth day the embryo is nearing the final stages, the yolk upon which it subsists is nearly all absorbed. On the nineteenth and twentieth days it is chipping the shell, and on the twenty-first it emerges, fully developed, into a new and larger world. FOOT NOTES. The shell of an egg is porous and any filth on it will taint the meat. This is a good reason for cleaning eggs as soon as gathered. All stains and dirt should be wiped with a moistcloth, and then allowed to dry. A little vinegar will often remove the most obstinate stain. Sometimes dircy looking eggs are fresher than some that are clean, but buyers will not believe it, and, as they must judge an egg by its outward appearance only, eggs should be made as attractive looking as possible before being sent to market. Eggs are preserved in several ways : By cold storage in a dry atmosphere, at a temperature of 36 to 40 degrees, and by immers- ing in a pickle of lime and salt in clean oak barrels. The pickle is made by slaking two pounds of lime in hot water, and add- ing one pint of salt and four gallons of water. Twenty gallons will cover 150 dozens. Put fresh eggs in the clear pickle until the vessel is nearly full, spread a clean cloth over them and cover this with the settlings of the lime. Water glass (sodium silicate) is a late article mentioned for preserving eggs. This is a syrupy fluid, for sale at all drug stores. To every part of this substance add nine parts of water that has been boiled and allowed to cool before mixing. Thor- oughly stir the solution while it is being mixed and pour it over the eggs, which have already been packed in an earthen or wooden vessel. Keep in a location where the temperature never rises above 60 degrees. Put in no eggs more than a week old as one bad egg w^" snoil the lot. Infertile eggs are best. Chapter III. EGGS FOR HATCHING. To me eggs are like morals — they have no middle ground. If not good, they are ^>afl?.— Harriet. O. W. Holmes is credited with the observation that a child's education should begin one hundred years before it is born. In this witticism the poet and sage ex- presses his appreciation of the law of heredity, that like begets like, a principle is applicable to the raising of fowls as to the training of children. The successful chicken rearer must begin his operations long before the advent of the chickens. Hens that have been stunted by neglect and abuse or debilitated by too frequent intermingling of blood, will not lay eggs containing strong, healthy germs. The breeding birds of both sexes should be of hardy stock, fully matured and in a high state of health. Young pullets forced into early laying by stimu- lating food do not make good breeders. Hens that are over two years old, hens that are over fat, or have been weakened by disease, should never be used to furnish eggs for hatching. Pullets that have reached their full size, and well preserved two-year-old hens mated with a vigorous male, make the best breeders. A good plan is to mate hens with a cockerel from eight 22 HIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. to twelve months old, and to mate pullets with an active cock not over two years old. The exact age when a bird reaches maturity cannot be given, as the different breeds vary greatly in this respect. In order to obtain eggs with germs of strong vitality, the diet of the breeders must receive attention. Eggs are produced from what we may call surplus food, that which is not required for the sustenance of the hen herself. As we have already seen, the egg contains substances that make fat, lean meat or muscle and bones. To reproduce these in eggs the hen must eat and digest substances out of which these are made. Starchy foods contain the necessary oil or fatty matter. These are represented by the grains, especially corn, wheat, buckwheat and barley, and vegetables, espe- cially potatoes and sugar beets. The mineral element that is found in eggs is found also in nearly all foods. Of the grains, oats have the largest percentage, then follow barley, sweet corn, buckwheat and rye wheat and corn in the order named. Wheat, bran, clover hay, linseed and cottonseed meal and buttermilk are all rich in this element. Of the twenty-six per cent, of solids in an egg, fourteen consist of albumen, from which may be seen the absolute necessity of supplying the laying hen with food containing a large proportion of albuminous matter. The alchemy of nature work- ing in the body of the hen cannot elaborate albumen out of starch or fat, nor out of carbonate and phosphate of lime. Food abounding in these will not enable the hen to produce eggs, if it be deficient in what ar^ called albuminoids or nitrogenous elements. While the grains contain these they are not contained in EGGS FOR HATCHING. 2$ sufficient quantity to form a proper diet for egg pro- duction when the grains are fed alone. Resort is had, therefore, to foods rich in albuminoids. Meat-meal, made from lean meat dri_d and ground, is the richest in this respect of all the foods found in the market. After meat-meal, follow in order green cut bone, cottonseed meal, linseed meal, wheat bran, clover hay and milk. The hens when running at large in the warm season of the year supplement the ration of grain supplied them by their keeper with worms, grubs and insects of various kinds, which contain the needful HB FINDS A WORM. albumen. While providing themselves with this they obtain succulent and bulky green food in the form of grass, and gritty particles to grind the whole mass. Along with the needful quantity and variety of food, hens roaming the fields secure the exercise so essential to good health and the production of healthy progeny. Eggs of strong vitality for hatching may be ob- tained even from hens in confinement when the con- ditions noted here are complied with. The same conditions that promote health and in- duce the hens to lay are favorable for giving vigor to the cock also. 24 BIGGIvE POULTRY BOOK. It is difficult to lay down definite rules in regard to the number of hens to be allowed for each male bird. Breeds and individuals of each breed differ in activity and vigor ; but speaking generally, it may be said that for a flock at liberty, one Leghorn male may be allowed for each flock of fifteen to twenty-five females ; one Plymouth Rock male to twelve to four- teen females ; and one Brahma male to six to ten females ; these breeds being taken to represent the small, medium and large fowls. Two males are allowed each pen, alternated weekly. Never have more than one male with the flock at the same time. To be sure that eggs for hatching are fertile, none should be saved for this purpose from a flock until ten days after mating. After mating, though the male be removed, the eggs laid from the third to the tenth day will nearly all be fertile. It follows from this, that in breeding pure-bred fowls, contamination of the blood from the introduction of a strange male need not be feared after the tenth day. Never shake an egg designed for hatching. Wrap eggs kept for hatching in old flannel or woolen cloth, or stand on end in bran and cover with flannel. Avoid a hot, drying atmosphere. Beware of breeding from cocks with crooked breasts, wry tails, long, slender shanks, or any other bodily defect indicating a lack of vigor. Like begets like. Use only the best for stock birds. .3^ I Chaptkr IV. HATCHING THE EGGS. Eggs are close things, but the chicks come out at last. — Chinese Proverb Incubation is the application of the proper amount of heat to the G:g^ under proper conditions. Nature has provided for this by bringing upon hens after lay- ing a certain number of eggs, the brooding fever, which runs its course when its purpose has been fulfilled. In some breeds this broody instinct has been bred out to a great extent. This is true of the smaller, or Spanish breeds generally, yet even these will occa- sionally become broody. Nearly all the medium sized breeds, and the larger ones, too, are persistent sitters. Of all the standard breeds, perhaps the Cochins are by nature the most quiet and gentle, and have the moth- erly instinct the most strongly developed. Whatever may be the breed, it is best, as a rule, to select for sitters and mothers, medium sized hens, and such as are not too fat and clumsy. It is an advantage, also, to have those that are gentle and will not fidget and fight and break their eggs. Wild, squalling hens are a nuisance ; accustom them to being handled, remove them at night to a room apart from the laying hens, let them sit for a da}- or two on nest eggs, and if they promise well, give them as many as they can cover well. 28 ^IGGI^E POULTRY BOOK. No invariable rule can be laid down respecting the number of eggs to be put under a hen. The size of the hen, the size of the eggs and the season of the year will determine the pioper number, which may be from nine to eighteen. The manner of making the nest, a very simple operation, apparently, has much to do with the suc- cess or failure of a hatch. The box in which the nest is made should be so large as not to prevent the hen from turning about freely, and so situated that she cannot be interfered with by other hens. One of the cheapest and most satisfactory nest r- ^ "^ boxes for general purposes is illus- | ||||||jljjj||j||j|||||||i^ trated herewith. It is a large soap box i ||i"M'i ' -' •' with two-thirds of the top removed, \ii__ turned on its side. A box of this kind Fig. i. set on the floor of the laying room or on a shelf with the open side toward the wall but a few feet from it, makes a secluded nesting place. "When a hen becomes broody, the box can be moved near the wall and other hens shut out, and at the proper time she can be carried on her own nest to the hatching-room. A bar- rel laid on its side makes a good outdoor nest. If a new nest must be made it should be of some soft material, broken oat straw or hay, carefully spread out and pressed down, hollowed but slightly, and the edges raised a little to prevent the eggs from rolling out. If the bottom be made too flat the eggs roll away from the hen and she cannot cover them ; if too convex, they roll close together, and when the her enters the nest and steps on them or among then 'hey do not separate or roll away and a fouled nest i^ HATCHING THE EGGS. 29 the result. Whenever eggs are thus smeared or fouled in any manner, they should be carefully washed in warm water and at once replaced under the hen. In selecting eggs for hatching, such as are very large or very small, all having unusually thin, rough or chalky shells, should be discarded. It is a good plan to mark on every egg with pen and ink the date of sitting, and when they are due to hatch, and to make a record of the same in a book kept for the purpose. Always put the eggs under the hen after dark, unless she is known to be perfectly gentle and trustworthy. To save labor it is a common custom to set several hens at one time, and when the chicks hatch to put two or more broods with one mother. About the best food for sitting hens is corn. With corn, water, gravel, charcoal and a place to dust supplied, they will need little else. Their attendant should see that they come off the nest once a day and The modern man-made hatcher, the incubator, is largely used for winter hatching when hens rarely be- come broody, and also for hatch- ing on a larger scale than is con- venient with the natural mother. While the names and makers of these machines are numerous they are divided into two general classes, those warmed by hot air, type of and those warmed ^y radiation hot-air incubator. from a tank of hot water, the heat being supplied in both cases by a lamp flame or a gas jet. 30 BIGGIvE POULTRY BOOK. Mammoth incubators are now built with a capacity of as high as 20,000 eggs at a hatching. They are used mainly on extensive baby-chick farms. Each kind and each make has its friends, and nearly all are fairly successful. An expert having knowl- edge and experience in artificial hatching can make a success of the crudest incuba- tor, while a person ignorant in such matters may fail with the most improved. The running of an incubator TYPE OF ^ with only a few eggs in it at first, HOT-WATER INCUBATOR, to Icam how to manage it and to gain experience, is the part of wisdom for a novice. The directions sent by all manufacturers with their machines should be carefully studied during these experimental hatches. The best location for an incubator is in a room where a mild and fairly uniform temperature can be preserved in spite of changes in the weather. Such a location is afforded by a light, dry and well ventil- ated basement or cellar. The machine should stand on a firm foundation, and where the direct rays of the sun can- not shine upon it. Before filling the trays with eggs run it empty for a day or .^.^p^ op two to see that it is in working home-made incubator. order, and that the heat can be maintained at 102 de- grees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggs for incubator hatching should be fresh, the fresher the better. None should be over ten days old, HATCHING THE KGGS. 3I although they will hatch when much older if carefully preserved under woolen covers, and turned daily. The trays should be crowded at first, since, on testing the eggs on the fifth day, many may be found infertile and will have to be taken out. After an incubator full of eggs has once been started, no additional eggs should be put in until the hatching is completed. This may be accepted as a rule to tie to without giving all the reasons for it here. Eggs to hatch well must lose a part of the water contained in them. This loss occurs by evaporation through the pores of the egg-shell. Under the hen evaporation is checked just at the right time by a slight film of oil from the hen's body that shows itself in the gloss that appears on eggs that have been in the nest for a few days. In the incubator the evapor- ation will continue for the whole period of incubation and be excessive unless checked by supplying a moist atmosphere to the egg trays. Each manufacturer has his own method for furnishing the required moisture, or retaining it by proper ventilation. There is enough moisture in an egg to hatch it, but improper ventilation will drive it out. A reliable thermometer is one of the first essen- tials to success in artificial hatching. The secret of many failures may be traced to thermometers with scales inaccurately marked between the points 100 degrees and 105 degrees, just where accuracy is especially required in hatching eggs. The proper temperature for hatching is considered to be 102 degrees to 103 degrees. This is the tempera- ture, not of the egg chamber, but the temperature of 32 BIGGLK POULTRY BOOK. the Upper surface of a fertile, live egg. The tempera- ture of an infertile egg, or of an egg containing a dead embryo will be lower than that of a live egg lying ad- jacent in the same tray. It is important, therefore, in testing the temperature to place the bulb upon a 1 i ve egg. By the tenth day the animal heat that has been stored in the living embryos in the process of incuba- tion becomes quite a factor in the temperature of the machine. If the operator is not experienced or the machine cannot be trusted to regulate its own tem- perature, the thermometer is apt, about this time, to shoot up to no degrees and the whole incubator full of eggs to be destroyed. From this period to the end less artificial heat is required. In a warm room a large machine containing several hundred eggs will hold its heat for hours at a time without the applica- tion of any external heat whatever. It is thought necessary to give eggs in incubators a daily airing, after the fashion of the hen. This is less essential when the hatching is done in a cold room. In airing eggs it is best to remove them from the machine in the trays and immediately close the doors so as not to lower the inside temperature. While the eggs are being aired they should also be turned. Nearly all machines have devices for doing this, a trayful at a time, or automatically, by a clock- work contrivance, but in small machines it may be done by hand and the relative position of the eggs in the trays changed so as to better insure an equal chance for all. After the nineteenth day they should not be handled, except as the shells are chipped the broken side should be turned up. Chapter V. CARK OF YOUNG CHICKS WITH HENS. Keep all chicks out of the zvet grass in the early morning. It is not the wet feet, but the wet feathers that do the harm. —Tim's Wife. When the chicks begin to break the shell, the importance of a mother-hen with a quiet and gentle disposition becomes apparent. The advice commonly given to let the hen alone until the chicks are all out, is sound only in cases where hens are so wild and pugnacious that handling them will endanger the young, or the attendant is ignorant of the proper thing to do. It is often good policy to take from the nest the chicks that come out first. This leaves more room for those that are to hatch, and when out of the nest they cannot be trampled on. This is especially wise when the mother is heavy, clumsy and fidgety and lacking motherly instinct. When several hens are hatching at the same date, it will often be found prudent, while the chicks are coming out, to transfer all the chicks and eggs from an unruly hen to those that exhibit more hen-sense. All empty shells should be removed from the nest at once. Occasionally a chick is unable to get out after it has chipped the shell. The experienced hand can frequently give aid by carefully breaking thf- shell 36 BIGGLE POUIvTRY BOOK. a little more, or tearing the tough surrounding taem- brane. Caution and experience are needed in the operation. Eggs late in hatching are benefited by putting them for a few minutes in warm water tempered to about 103 degrees. If containing live chicks they will be seen to move in the water. If the chicks are dead they will remain perfectly still. After this warm bath the eggs should be put back at once under the hen without suffering them to become chilled. Never in any case take all the chicks from the nest of a hen that is afterwards to be used as the mother of a brood ; and if the chicks are of several colors, leave at least one of each color in the nest. Attention to these points m411 avoid trouble when the brood is returned to her. Chicks taken from the nest should be put in a basket covered wnth woolen cloth, and placed near a stove. Do not remove from the nest until their down is dry. Such as show unusual weakness may be revived by pouring down their throats a few drops of warm, new milk. Strong chicks need no food for twenty-four hours after hatching. If this time expires before it is con- venient to return them to the hen, they may be fed in a box by a sunny window, and be put in their basket nest again until evening. The hen and her "sample lot" may, in the meanwhile, be fed near the nest. After dark the rest of the brood should be returned to her, and by the next morning mother and chicks are ready for the coop, which should be ready for the brood. In cold w^eather it is best to set coops in an open CHICKS WITH HKNS. 37 shed. They should always be set on a dry, slightly ^evated location, so that they cannot be flooded by a sudden rainfall. Where the soil is at all wet they should be set on a platform made by nailing boards on two pieces of scantling. This platform should be of such a size that the sides of the coop will just fit over it. If allowed to extend outside of the walls the rain from the roof will keep the floor damp. While the styles of coops are as numerous as their makers, the one here illustrated, having roof with double pitch and triangular ends, is as cheap and serviceable as any. To make it, take four pieces of 2 x 3 scantling, cut exactly 33 inches long and halved together at the top at such an angle as to make the base line of the front extend three feet. The coop is made two feet deep, thus giving a floor space of 2 x 3 feet. The roof may be covered by regular siding, or by fillis- tered barn boards cut into lengths of 2 feet 2 inches. The rear wall is boarded up solid, the front half way down, and the lower half is slatted. A loosely fitting door of boards may be hinged to the upper half to cover the slats and keep the brood in the coop when desirable. For summer weather, ventilation should be provided for by raising slightly the lower edges of the two uppermost roof boards, one on each side. Here is shown a folding coop. The sides are hinged by iron pins seen at the dots on the upper front board in the cut. The solid rear end and slatted front are both hinged to the side and fold inward, which permits the sides to come together. When "knocked 38 BIGLilvE: POUI.TRY BOOK. down" a coop occupies but little room when stored under shelter, as all coops should be when not in use. Whatever the style of coop used, the chicks should be fed as soon as they are put into it. This is best done at first on a clean board laid on the floor or just in front of the coop. As to what the first few meals should consist of, there is some difference of opinion even among prac- tical poultry keepers. It is certain, however, that the traditional hard-boiled egg is not essential for the first, or for any other meal. When a hen steals her nest and brings off a brood, she feeds them successfully on weed seeds, insects and sundries until she brings them to the poultry yard and they can get the food fed to the rest of the flock. Bread crumbs, moistened with sweet milk, are acceptable and nourishing for the first meal. Where a limited number of chicks are raised, the commercial chick feed, composed entirely of small grains, or large grains, cracked fine, is a very good bill of fare. Finely cracked wheat, hulled oats and corn make an excel- lent mixture, using equal parts of each by measure- ment. This finely cracked feed should be constantly before the chicks. A person of much experience uses bread crumbs and rolled oats, dry, the first week, and then for two weeks a mixture of equal parts by bulk of bran, middlings and corn meal, with a handful of meat- meal to the quart of the mixture. This is scalded an hour before feeding. If the bowels of the chicks are too costive he adds more bran; if too loose, more middlings. Many make mixtures like the above into a stiff CHICKS WITH HENS. 39 batter with milk and baking powder, bake well and feed it dry. A woman who has been successful in this line gives her recipe for chick-bread as follows : take equal parts of sifted ground oats, corn and wheat, with wheat bran added equal to the whole bulk of ground feed, moisten with skimmed milk, add suffi- cient powder and baice. A little raw lean meat or finely cut raw bone and meat is beneficial. A little only should be given at first ; a piece as big as a grain of corn is sufficient for a chick a few days old. This food is not essential when the grain ration is mixed with milk or dried meat. In feeding chicks, as well as fowls, grass or vege- tables should not be omitted. In the absence of grass in their runs, and in cold weather, chopped onions, let- tuce, cabbage or other succulent vegetables should be supplied. Short clippings from the lawn, fresh, grassy sods, and the sweeping from the barn floor carried to their runs will be relished, and furnish the needed bulky vegetable food and afford healthful exercise. Little chicks should have five or six meals a day until three weeks old. Gritty matter is required by chicks at the very beginning. To supply it, sprinkle coarse sand over the board on which they are first fed. If confined in houses or yards, or in runs where grit is scarce, it should be as carefully supplied as food. It is well to have a small trough or box in a convenient place filled with gravel, broken oyster or clam shells and granu- lated charcoal. The latter is not valuable as grit, but is very useful in correcting disorders of digestion. amps. 40 BIGGI^K POULTRY BOOK. 1^^ WATER VESSElvS. I i^H Water should be given to the chicks from the I i^H start. It is best at all t imes to supply it in fountains JM I^H^ from which they can drink but cannot get in with ^m^Bs their feet. If supplied in open vessels they will foul ^^^■^^ it and contract colds, bowel disease or cramps. Fig. I. A convenient water vessel for chicks may be made from an old fruit can and a flower-pot saucer, Figure i. Cut a notch or punch a hole in the side next to the opened end, have the saucer just a little larger than the can, fill can with water, put on sau:er and invert quickly. When chicks are older, the stone or earthen fountain shown here, Figure 2, holding a ^^G- 2. half-gallon or more, can be substituted. A very convenient fountain is shown in Fig- FiG. 3. ure 3, as the handle enables it to be carried around like a bucket. A tile fountain, preferred by some, is shown in Figure 4. A common wooden bucket, cut down as shown ^ in the cut, makes a first-class water ' ^' vessel, convenient to carry. It should have a board over the top, or be placed under a stool to keep the water cool and tc prevent the chickens from soiling it. Before feeding ground oats and corn to little chicks sift out the oat hulls. It is all right to have coops wind-tight, but all wrong to have them air-tight. Chicks must have ventilation as well as warmth. If insufficient air be admitted, the atmosphere of the coop be- comes not only foul, but damp. As soon as the brood is out of the coop in the morning, turn it up to the sun and air and spread dry earth over the floor. Whitewash the inside often. At midday turn down again. " Sweetness and light " applied to coops ! A strip of wire netting, one-inch mesh, two feet wide and about ten yards long, is "just splendid " for making a tempo- rary yard for a hen and her young brood. Fasy to put up, easy to move, and much better than the old style yard made of foot boards set on edge. To make small runs for little chicks, make the sides of wide boards and cover with wire netting. This is better than making high fences. Old fowls cannot get into these covered runs and the chicks cannot crawl out thi-ough the wire, even if the mesb be wide. Chapter VI. CARK OF YOUNG CHICKS IN BROODERS. Feed young poultry of all kinds early and late and often. — Harriet J The rearing of chicks in I brooders does not differ mater- f /#! :,,u. *^ ially from the ordinary method, SW^^^^^mm except that the intelligent in- J^^J^^^^ stinct exercised by the hen in LAUNCHED IN A COLD Caring for her brood has to be WORLD. exercised by the attendant. Whether the chicks should be removed from the incubator soon after hatching or be left until nearly all are out of the shell, depends a good deal on the construction of the machine, especially of the egg- drawer. On this point the manufacturer should give explicit directions. As a rule, it is advisable to darken any windows that may admit light to the egg-drawer during the hatching process, to remove chicks as their down becomes dry, and all empty shells, but to open the incubator as little as possible. While the chicks are hatching the temperature is apt to rise but should not be allowed to go above 105 degrees. The removal of a basketful of chicks will cause the temperature to drop suddenly, a large amount of animal heat being thus withdrawn. Care must be taken to replace it by a sur- plus from the lamp. If the regulator at this stage fails to act, the chicks and eggs left in the machine may 44 BIGGLK POUI^TRY BOOK. suffer a chill that will prove fatal. The attendant must, therefore, be very watchful at this time. As soon as the chicks are dry there should be a brooder ready into which they may be put to remain for thirty-six hours, where they may learn to eat and run out and into the shelter of their silent mother. The natural mother is just as warm when hovering her brood as when sitting on the eggs. The proper temperature of this first brooder must, therefore, be close to the hatching heat, say 90 to 96 degrees. This should be the heat of the center of brooder around which the chicks hover and from which they can move away when too warm. A brooder shaped like a boxj that has warm corners, or that has a uniform tempera- ture at all parts from which the chicks cannot escape is not safe. In a properly constructed brooder they quickly learn when too warm to move away from the heat just as they do from the body of the hen. They also learn where the source of heat is and will run to it when cold, but for the first two days it may be necessary to occasionally push them under cover to show them the way. Instinct teaches the young bird to eat. The cluck of the mother hen and her pecking at the food calls attention to it and they follow her example. When feeding brooder chicks for the first time, it is only necessary to place them in the light and to drop the food before them in such a manner that their attention will be called to it. ' For the first week the brood should be fed either in or beside the brooder and be confined near the heat BO that they cannot stray away and become chilled. CHICKS WITH BROODERS. 45 Much of the sickness and mortality that befalls brooder chicks is due to chilling while they are very young, or from foul air and dampness in badly constructed brooders. After ten days, the temperature of the brooder may be reduced to 80 or 85 degrees, and still lower in "WO weeks more. As chicks grow they generate more and more heat when they nestle together, and so re- quire less in the brooder. When the weather becomes warm it may be necessary to shut off all heat in the day-time and during warm nights. Manufacturers are prone to rate the capacity of their brooders too high. A brood of fifty is large enough no matter what the capacity of the brooder may be. Broods of one hundred can be handled until a month old, but after this stage is reached such a flock outgrows the largest single brooder or apartment. Much harm is done by the common practice of put- ting large numbers together. Each brood of fifty chicks should have an outside run of not less than one hundred square feet in which to exercise until a month old. After this age they should have free range. There are many kinds of brooders, some warmed by hot air, others by hot water ; some furnish bottom heat, others top heat, and still others diffuse a current of warm air from the center outward. One of the latter is shown in Figure i. Some are built for indoor and others for outdoor use ; a double outdoor brooder is shown in Figure 2. In raising large ^^^- ^• numbers, single brooders in separate buildings are 46 biggIvE; poui Dominiques have rose combs, a neat, trim shape and a gray, black java pullet. hawk-colored plumage. They are the oldest American breed and from a cross of these, with a larger breed, the Plymouth Rocks originated. The second general division is the Asiatic class, which includes Brahmas, Light and Dark ; Cochins — Buff, Partridge, White and Black ; Langshans — Black and White. Light Brahmas, illustrated in colored Plate III, are the largest of all the breeds. They are a modifi- cation, by careful breeding for many years, of the old Brahma Pootras. As now bred they are a noble and attractive fowl and have also great practical merit. As layers they equal, if they do not surpass, any large fowls. For making heavy broilers at eight and ten weeks of age they are among the very best. After they are three months old they do not make first-class dressed poultry until well matured, on account of 84 BIGGI.K POUI^TRY BOOK. their rapid growth, and bony frame. The standard weights for matured birds are twelve pounds for cocks and nine and one-half pounds for hens, but they frequently exceed these figures. Dark Brahmas are shown in colored Plate IV. These are usually a pound lighter in weight than the Light Brahmas, and while they have the Brahma carriage, their shape resembles their Cochin cousins, thus betraying their probable origin in a Ivight Brahma- Cochin cross. There is a marked difference in the plumage of the male and female. When carefully bred to feather a flock of Dark Brahmas presents a very attractive appearance. They have for many years been highly prized for market purposes, espe- cially by those who grow capons. Buff Cochins, colored Plate V, are the old yel- low Shanghais with their stilted legs and long necks reduced by careful breeding. The illustration is a faithful likeness of well-bred Buffs of the present- day type. They have no more neck or length of leg than seems absolutely necessary, their bodies are blocky and covered with an abundance of soft, fluffy plumage of a creamy, golden hue. Their plump form and yellow skin make them popular with market poultrymen. In disposition they are gentle, quiet, even lazy, and are easily restrained. They are only fairly good layers, but are persistent sitters and good mothers. Since their introduction into this country I Buff Cochins have probably been used for crossing jupon the common stock of farmers to a greater extent I than any other single breed. The standard weight of I mature birds of the breed is, for cocks, eleven pounds ; and for hens, eight and one-half pounds. BREEDS OF CHICKENS. 85 The other varieties of Cochins differ only in color. The Partridge Cochins are admirably represented by colored Plate VI, a reproduction from life of supe- rior specimens of the variety. The plumage is very beautiful, being like that of the famous Black-Breasted Red Game, and suggests an origin in a cross of Game and Cochin. Ivangshans are a valuable accession to the Asiatic class, having reached us by way of England, They have a shape and carriage peculiar to themselves. Their plumage is abundant but not so fluffy as that of the Brahmas and Cochins. The plumage of the Blacks is a glossy black, showing a beautiful greenish metallic sheen when viewed in good light. Langshans are considered to be the best layers of their class, hav- ing made excellent records in this line; although their skin is white they are a good market fowl and their meat of superior quality. The third class is the Mediterranean. This cm- braces I^eghorns, of which there are seven varieties — Brown, Rose-Comb Brown, White, Rose-Comb White, Buff, Black, Silver Duck- wmg ; Minorcas — Black, Rose - Comb Black, and White; Andalusians, White - Faced Black Spanish and Anconas. Of these, the Leg- horns are the most widely disseminated and most numerous. The Single- buff leghorns. 86 BlGGIvK POUI.TRY BOOK. Comb Browns are well illustrated by colored Plate VIII, which exhibits, also, the general type of the breed in respect to shape and carriage. They are smaller than any of the American class, sprightly, active, light of wing, early to mature and famous for laying the greatest number of eggs of any of our domestic fowls. Their eggs are of medium size, but large in comparison with the hens that lay them. The brooding propensity has been bred out of the whole class to a great extent, and they are commonly referred to as non-sitters. This is only relatively true, for the best-bred hens among them will occasionally become broody. It is, however, true of all that they 'l||4 cannot be depended jyir on for hatching and ^Hk rearing chicks. ^^ Jm^^m ^l^e Minorcas J|H^|k ^^L^^^P have a general resem- ^^H||HB^^B^^H blance to Leghorns, ^^^^V ^^^^ \yi but have longer, deep- ^H^^ ^B^ ^^ ^^^ heavier bodies. I .,, The weight of a fuU- ' . ■ • " , grown male should be eight pounds, and that BLACK MINORCAS. of a female six and one-half pounds, which is fully a pound heavier than Leghorns commonly reach. Minorca hens are famous for producing large numbers of eggs, and when they have attained the age of two years and over the size of their eggs is quite remarkable. BREEDS OF CHICKENS. Hj The White-Faced Black Spanish are a distinguished looking fowl, and may appro- priately be classed with the Light Brahma as belonging to the aristocracy of the poultry yard. While having the general characteristics of the class, their white face, black, silky-glossed plumage, a body of peculiar shape set well up on long, slender legs gives them an appearance . ... . , - 11 ,1 WHITB-FACED BLACK quite distinct from all others. Spanish. They lay a large, creamy white egg. Andalusians might be called Blue Leghorns. They are a beautiful fowl, but for some reason are not largely bred. The fourth-class is the English breed, the Dork- ings, of which there are three varieties — White, Silver- Gray and Colored. The Dorkings have a character- istic shape, the body long, deep and full, neck and legs short and the whole appearance solid and substan- tial. The standard weight of mature males of the Silver-Gray variety is eight pounds, and of mature females six and one-half pounds. Colored Dorkin;^'s should weigh a pound heavier. These all have white flesh. They are good layers, but are especially prized for their market and table qualities. Colored Plate VII shows two varieties of Orping- tons, of which several varieties classed according to color of plumage have of late years been imported from England. They are good layers and good table 88 BIGGI^E POULTRY BOOK. fowls, and in size compare favorably with our Ply- mouth Rocks. Red caps are also included in this class. A fifth class is the Polish, which embraces eight varieties, namely — White-Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Bearded Golden, Bearded Silver, Bearded White and BufF-Laced. The Silver Polish, and the general ap- pearance of the breed, are seen in colored Plate IX Both fowls and eggs of this breed are rather small and are mostly bred for fancy purposes. They are prolific producers of rather small eggs, wHiTK-cRESTBD BLACK POLISH, and vcry pretty. The sixth class is known as the Dutch, which includes six varieties of Hamburgs — Golden Spangled, Silver Spangled, Golden Penciled, Silver Penciled, White and Black. The Golden Penciled Hamburgs are shown in colored plate IX. Hamburgs, like the Leghorns, are celebrated as egg producers, but their eggs are small, — like the fowls. They have been used with larger fowls, to increase their laying quality. The seventh class embraces the French breeds; Houdans, Crevecoeurs and La Fleche. The Houdans are shown in colored Plate X. They are distin- guished by a large crest, V-shaped combs and plumage of mottled black and white, the black predominating. A full-grown male should weigh seven pounds, and a BRBKDS OF CHICKENS. 89 female six pounds. Houdans are good layers, have compact, well-proportioned bodies, and are superior table and market fowls. The flesh of all the French breeds is white, the bones are small and the meat juicy. lyike the Dorkings, they have five toes on each foot. The Crevecoeurs and La Fleche have black plumage and are larger than the Houdans. For some reason they have not become popular in this country and are not so well known as the latter. The eighth class comprises — Games and Game Bantams, of each of which there are eight varieties. The typical Game shape is well exhibited in the Black- Breasted Red Game Bantam in colored Plate XIII. They all have single, erect combs and wattles, but it is the fashion to cut these appendages off. It is this operation, called "dubbing," that produces their fierce and war-like appearance. Contrary to a com- mon impression the varieties of Games named in the * ' Standard ' ' are seldom ever bred for fighting, but almost wholly for exhibition or practical purposes. Being a hardy race and having a good muscular development about the breast, ;they are used with good effect to cross on com- mon stock, or on other pure - bred flocks. Game hens make the best of mothers, and are very cour- ageous in detending their broods. The ninth class Includes Oriental Games and Bantams whitb cocnm bantams 90 BIGGI^E POUI.TRY BOOK. which also contains Cornish, Indian and White Indian Games ; Black Sumatras, Black-Breasted Red Malays, and Bantams of the last named. The Cornish Indian Games were some 3-cars ago introduced into this country from England, and while they at the time gave promise of becoming a popular market fowl, they for some reason or other, are not much bred here at the present day. Their weight is : cock, nine pounds ; hen, six and a half pounds. See Plate XII. The tenth class comprises Ornamental Bantams, other than Games. The breeds and varieties are numerous, but I illustrate only a few popular favorites in colored Plate XIII. SILVER-LACKD WYANDOTTKS. Bantams are bred mostly as pets for children, but are often profitably kept on city yards and village lots for their eggs and meat. For this service the Seabrights are an old and popular breed. For show BREEDS OF CHICKENS 9I purposes Bantams are bred down as small as possible, matured male specimens weighing only twenty-six to thirty ounces, and even less. The well-fed pullet is an early layer. The swill barrel may become a chicken trap unless provided When the poults are able to nop out of their board pen they are strong enough to follow their mother. But as dampness is particularly injurious until they are ten or twelve weeks old, they should not be let out of the coop in the morning until the dew is off ihe grass, and it is always well to get them under shelter when a shower comes. Eternal vigilance is the price of sound and healthy turkeys at this early stage of their existence. If overtaken in a storm it is sometimes nec- essary to bring the little fellows in the house and dry them by the fire. As soon as they feather out and " shoot the red," as it is said when the red appears in their faces, they take on new vitality and can stand more hardships than chicks. After this time they may be allowed to forage at pleasure. With a suitable range they will be able to gather in the fields and woods the greater part of their living. It is always prudent, however, to feed them twice a day, supplying them a light meal in the morn- ing early and giving them all they will eat when they return at night. By taking care to feed them regu- larly in this manner they may be trained to come home every evening instead of perching on the fences out in the fields, or in the woods. But as *' turkeys will be turkeys" now and then, and remain away from the premises, they should be hunted up the very first time their absence is noticed and driven home and fed. I02 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. If located near neighbors who also have flocks, the young poults should be marked with marking punches in the web of the foot. If the neighbors will agree to have different marks it will be an easy matter, if the birds get together, for each one to pick out his own. In the fall when the harvest fields are gleaned, the grasshopper crop gathered in and insects become scarce, the birds are well-grown and lusty. The corn fields are now their favorite haunts and they are inclined to linger longer around the farm yard, and are eager for anything in the way of eatables their owner has to offer. Thanksgiving comes along about this time and the first installment of the flock should be prepared for market and one of the best of the lot reserved for the farmer's own table. The illustration represents one of the flock the day after Thanks- giving. He is laughing all over his face now ; perhaps Christmas day he will wear a different expression. GUINEA -FOWIvS. The Guinea is closely related to the turkey and was originally brought from Guinea, on the West African coast, where it is still found in a wild state. Their peculiar cry when alarmed will scare hawks and crows in the day-time. At night they are liglil sleepers and when aroused by thieves or other maraii- CUINEA-FOWI.S. I03 ders their noise will arouse the neighborhood. They are great rovers and foragers, destroying many insects and weed seed, but doing little damage to crops. For making a gamey pot-pie no other domestic fowl equals the guinea. They lay many small but rich eggs and have a habit of secreting their nests in the fields and along fences, seldom ever laying near the farm build- ings. In the hennery they are pugnacious and abusive toward other fowls, and their unceasing chatter is annoying to some people. Their good traits over- balance their bad ones and a few should be in every farm-yard. , One male is sufficient for a flock of six to ten females. It is well to set the eggs under a chicken hen. Reared in this way they are more domestic. They will follow the mother-hen, to her great annoy- A FLOCK OF PEARI ■ v-,. ance, until they are full-grown. The young are quite hardy and require no special treatment or care differ- ent from chickens or turkeys. The plumage of the Pearl Guinea, the most common variety, is a groundwork of blue sprinkled with pearl dots of I04 BIGGLE POUI.TRY BOOK. white. The males usually have some white on their breasts, have larger wattles and larger bodies than the females. The Whites differ only in color, and are probably a sport of the Pearl. THE PEA-FOWL. The most gorgeous in plumage of all our domestic birds is a native of Southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago. They are kept for ornamental purposes only, being of no practical value. One pair is enough for a whole neighborhood, as by their shrill cry at night they can awaken everybody within a radius of half a mile. The mother-hen usually steals her nest and brings up her brood without any assistance. Chaptkr XIII. DUCKS. Ducks and rats do not thrive in the same house. — Tina's wife. A duck's appetite is as big as the feed bin. — Tim. The domestic duck is believed to be a descendant of the Wild Mallard, the most common and numerous of the wild species. Ten varieties are recognized in the " Standard of Perfection " — the Pekin, Aylesbury, Rouen, Cayuga, Call, East India, White Crested, Muscovy, Indian Runner. and Blue Swedish. Rouens are regarded as a French breed and appear to be the Mallard domesticated and enlarged by selection and breeding. The pair seen in the fore- ground in colored Plate XV, fairly represent the shape and beautiful plumage in which this variety is clothed. The standard weights of adult birds, male and female, are nine and eight pounds respectively. They are hardy and are prolific layers of large green- ish eggs. The Cayuga is an American variety, jet-black in plumage, supposed to have originated near Lake Cayuga, New York, from a cross of Mallard and the Wild Black, or Buenos Ayres duck. The standf^rd weights for these are eight and seven pounds respec- tively. The Aylesbury is the favorite English variety. io8 BIGGLR POUI.TRY BOOK. The plumage is a pure ' ' dead- white ' ' throughout, the beak a pale flesh -color, and the shanks a light orange. The standard weight is the same as for Rouens. The Muscovy belongs to a different genus from the varieties already described, and is a descendant of A LONG ISLAND DUCK FARM. the wild Musk Duck of South America. There are two varieties, the colored and the white. The latter is shown in the background in colored Plate XV, which well illustrates the peculiar shape and appear- ance of this duck, which differ decidedly from that of DUCKS. TO9 the common varieties. They will breed with other ducks, but the hybrids are mules, or sterile. While kept mostly as curiosities, or for ornamental purposes, the crosses are said to make excellent market poultry. The Pekin is an Asiatic variety having been first imported from Pekin, China, in 1873. The plumage is white with a creamy-yellow shading, the feathers being downy and fluffy like Asiatic chickens. While the "Standard" gives their weights as a pound lighter than Rouens or Aylesburys, they are commonly regarded as a larger duck than either. The introduction of the Pekins to this country gave a new impetus to duck breeding, and many persons have entered into it on an extensive scale. The Indian Runner is nov; largely used as a me- dium-sized market duck. It is claimed to be the greatest layer of the duck family. A matured duck weighs four to five pounds ; drakej five to six — live weight. The young grow rapidly and are easy to raise. In color they are fawn and white. The keeping of ducks for eggs is a profitable part of the duck business, when rightly conducted, and the keeper is within easy access to a city market. During the early spring months duck eggs bring higher prices than hen eggs, and it is at this season that ducks are most prolific. To obtain the best results from eggs the laying ducks should be hatched the latter part of the breeding season, in June and July. The spring-hatched will grow larger and will make better breeding stock, but with proper care these late broods will lay as soon as the severity of winter is over, as soon, in fact, as the early-hatched. no BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. and will not require to be fed during March, April and May. The proper feed for such ducks, to induce early and prolific laying, is well illustrated by the practice of a successful breeder who commonly winters about five hundred. He feeds them on equal parts of boiled turnips, wheat, bran, and corn meal, with a little — say ten per cent. — of ground beef scraps thrown in. This is mixed thoroughly together while the turnips are hot, and constitute the entire feed during the winter and spring. About the first of January or a little later, when they begin to lay, the proportion of bran and meat scraps should be increased. This mess is fed morning and evening, and at noon they have a light meal of dry food composed of equal parts of cracked corn, oats and wheat. Ducks kept expressly for market eggs require no drakes with them, which is one of the points in favor of this part of the business. As soon as the price drops and the egg supply begins to run low the layers should be sent to market. When large numbers are kept, either for laying or breeding, large houses properly constructed are required. The character of these houses will be deter^ mined by the climate and other circumstances. Where the winters are mild and snow seldom tarries long on the ground long open sheds will suffice; but where the winters are long and severe and snow lingers, large, storm-proof houses are :ieeded. While ducks are hardy and can endure more cold and wet weather than chickens, when early laying is the object sought the layers must be shielded from the severity of the weather. James Rankin, in his excellent treatise on DUCKS- III Duck Culture, described the house in which he keeps his breeding ducks through the winter as covering fifteen by two hundred feet floor space, having five-foot posts in the rear and four-foot posts in front, and an uneven double roof, the short slant being in the rear. There is a walk through the rear, three and one-half feet wide. The building is divided every twenty-four feet into pens, in each of which forty ducks are wintered. The partitions are but two feet high. The walk is separated from the pens by lath three inches apart, to allow the birds to feed and drink from troughs placed in the walk. This arrangement enables ONE OF JAMES RANKIN'S DUCK HOUSES. an attendant to feed and water the whole houseful in a few minutes, a wheelbarrow or truck being used for carrying supplies ; it also prevents waste of feed or fouling of the feed or v/ater. Only ten feet of this slat partition along the walk in each pen is used for feed, and four feet is made movable so that the attend- ant can enter with barrow to clean out the pens. The other ten feet along the walk is lined with the nests, which are fifteen inches square, the back and division boards being a foot high and the board next to the pen but four inches, or just high enough to keep the nest material in. This latter consists of cut straw or hay, which is kept dry and clean, thus preventing the eggs from becoming soiled and stain ,.d. With such a 112 BlGGI^E POUI,TRY BOOK. house there should be either joined or situated near- by a feed and cook-room containing bins, a root-cutter and a capacious boiler. The front of the building is one-third glass. From the front the yards extend one hundred feet, making each one twenty-four by one hundred feet. Experience has proved that free range and water are not essential to success in keeping ducks, especially Pekin ducks, for laying or breeding. Ducks as a part of the farm poultry should be kept apart, as much as possible, from the chickens, and away from the barnyard and farm-yard and out of sight of the dooryard. With the chickens they foul the drinking water and the food and their feathers become soiled in the hen-house. In the barnyard they are liable to be trampled by the stock, and they are too filthy to be tolerated in the farm sheds, or on the grass of the lawn. They should have houses, shelters and yards of their own in all cases. These need not be expensive. The houses may be low, and no fence for Pekin ducks need be over two feet high. An excellent shelter for a farm flock is a shed, one-half of which is open and the other half closed. The open half should have a movable slat fence or gate for use when it is desirable to confine the flock. If they have free range it is necessary to confine them to a house or yard for two or three hours after daylight during the laying season, otherwise they will drop their eggs in the fields and meadows, or along the streams, and many will be lost. A convenient form of duck-house is here shown. As ducks are humble-minded creatures tney do not require a lofty building, and therefore one for their DUCKS. H3 accommodation may consist principally of roof. It is a movable house six by ten feet, set on plank run-- ners fifteen inches wide. This structure, set on a well- drained site, bedded with short hay or straw and moved occasionally, will serve as headquarters for a flock of ten to twenty-five. Breeding ducks should be carefully selected for their size and typical shape, and only mature birds should be used. An active yearling drake may be allowed for each five or six ducks. As the drakes are not so pugna- cious as cocks, flocks may contain several of them without danger of their injuring one another. As a general thing it is better to hatch duck eggs under b .ns than under ducks. The period of incuba- tion for duck eggs is twenty-eight days, and the temperature required is the same as for hen eggs. They have strong vitality and are easy to hatch either in the natural way or artificially. Ducklings when hatched are animated balls of down, seldom quiet and never so happy as when eat- ing or dabbling in water. They do not require so much warmth from the mother and do not need to be hovered so much as chicks. Hence, it is safe to put thirty to forty with a single hen. INEore also can be put in a single flock in a brooder than of chicks. While duciclings will take to the water as soon as hatched, they do better if not allowed to swim until they are four weeks old, and should not be allowed to enter ponds or streams until they have their first leathers. Thousands of ducklings die yearly from 114 BIGGLK POUI^TRY BOOK. cramps and convulsions, because they are allowed to enter the water too young or too early in the season while the water is cold. Cold spring water even in Bummer is fatal to them. For the first ten da3'S ducklings, with hens, do best in small yards, like those described for confining young turkeys. The coop should have a board bottom, to prevent the hen mother from scratching earth over her downy brood. All the water they need is enough to drink and to dip their heads into, to wash out their nostrils and eyes. It is difficult for a duck to eat without the fre- quent use of water. A duck- ling will drink about one hun- dred times, more or less, while eating a single meal. The water AN UNNATURAL FAMILY. vcsscls, there- fore, should be close to the feeding trough, but so arranged that they cannot get in them with their feet or dip their heads in deep enough to throw water over their backs. Healthy ducklings have a voracious appetite and will eat whatever is set before them. Dry bread soaked in milk is excellent food for the first two days. In passing it may be said that it is not advisable to give ducklings milk to drink ; it should always be used for mixing their feed. They will get it on their down and in their eyes, and thus not only spoil their goofl BUCKS. 115 looks but injure their health. After the first few meals of bread and milk, equal parts of com meal and wheat bran, wet with milk or water, may be fed. A little fine-ground meat scraps, or meat-meal, should be added. After ten days every other meal may con- sist of cracked corn and wheat. Care should be taken to have all their food crumbly rather than doughy or sticky. At first they should be fed every two hours, but at the end of a week they can get along with four meals a day. Like all other birds they need grit as soon as hatched. To supply this at first it is a good plan to sprinkle a little coarse sand on the feeding board or in their feeding trough. When a little older put the grit in the bottom of the drinking vessel. The yard in which the ducklings are placed should contain short grass, but if it does not, green food in some form must be supplied regularly and bountifully. Lettuce, beet tops, cabbage, green clover, or green corn cut fine, will be greedily devoured. While they are hearty eaters they are, for this reason, rapid growers and will increase in weight about twice as fast as cHickens. They are usually slaughtered when from seven to ten weeks old. In warm weather it is important to have some shelters for ducks and ducklings confined in yards. If the latter contain no trees, vines or bushes, temporary shelter of boards, brush or canvas must be provided. Temporary yards may be made for ducklings by the use of wire netting two feet wdde, stapled loosely to stakes driven into the ground. Such a fence is easily moved by pulling up the stakes with the wire on them and rolling all up together. ii6 biggi^e; poui^try book. The Swan (Cygnus"), first cousin of the duck and the goose, is frequently referred to as the type of grace- ful beauty in outline and motion. There are numer- ous varieties, nearly all of them found in a wild state. Formerly the bird was served at feasts on special occasions, but it is now kept in private and public parks solely for ornamental purposes. DUCK NOTES. Quack ! Quack ! ! Quack ! ! ! Harvest-hatched ducks make good spring layers. Ducklinars will kill rose-bugs, and rose-bugs in large doses mil kill ducklings. Ducks being water-fowl are warm-blooded and like water, but appreciate a dry floor to roost ou. Having a water-tight roof the floor can be kept in proper order with cut straw or leaves and dry earth. The litter should be short. The sex of ducks can easily be distinguished by the quack. The voice of the male is pitched in a high key and that of the female in a low key ; the male has a larger head and thicker neck and when in full feather one of the tail feathers is curled backward. White clover sod does not make a good pasture for duck- lines. Bees like white clover as well as ducklings, and conse quently the three get badly mixed up. The bee stings as he goes down the duckling's throat on a clover head, and the cai eei xii the bee and duckling both come to a sudden termination. SINGLK FILK. Chapter XIV. GEESE. It is a silly goose that conies io a fox's sermon. The goose that has a good gander cackles loudly. — Danish Proverb. In some places on the European continent goose culture is quite an industry with the peasants, who fatten them in large numbers, making it profitable. Farmers who have rough, marshy land may, with a little extra expense and labor, add to their incomes by stocking it with geese. Our domestic goose has descended, it is said, from the wild greylag goose of Northern Europe. The common gray and white geese of the American farm- yard need no description, since they are well known everywhere. The Toulouse, a large, gray variety, has come to us by way of England. Their shape and coloi are seen in the foreground of colored Plate XVI. The difference of the sexes may be plainly seen by observ- ing the head and neck of each bird. The gander has a larger head and thicker neck than the goose. But it will be noted that the abdomen of the latter is heavier and closer to the ground. The standard weight for adult Toulouse is forty pounds per pair. They sometimes attain greater weights than this, but not until three or more years of age. There is a large, white, pure-bred variety called the Embden or Bremen, so named from two towns in Hanover, in northeastern Germany, where they ae I20 BIGGI.E POOI,TRY BOOK. supposed to have originated. The Embden has pure white plumage, prominent blue eyes, a flesh-colored bill and bright orange legs. The weight is about the same as that of the Toulouse. Chinese geese, or swan geese, belong to another species, and are at once recognized by a peculiar knob or protuberance at the base of their bills and by their long, swan-like necks. There are two varie- Ues, the White and the Brown. The latter is shown in the background of colored Plate XVI. The stand- ard weight of these is twenty-eight pounds per pair. African Geese, recognized in the "Standard," belong to the same species and are similar to the Brown China, but heavier. The American wild, or Canada goose, belongs to a different species from either of the above, and will not produce a fertile cross. It has never become thoroughly domesticated and does not breed readily in confinement. Geese are long-lived, and the females may be kept for eight or ten years, but the ganders become pugnacious and less virile after they are three years old. It is best, therefore, to mate old geese with young ganders, allowing one male to two or three females. The geese agree better if selected from the same flock. To avoid in-breeding, select the male from a different flock. Geese incline to go in families and are very jealous of their mates. For this reason, when there is more than one flock or family, it is prudent to have separate sheds for each one, and if possible, separate runs. In northern latitudes it is not well to feed breed- GEESE. ^^^ ing geese too generously in the winter and start them to laying early. Goslings and green grass should appear about the same time. But conditions being right, the earlier goslings hatch the better. About the first of February in the Middle States the forcing may begin, the breeders being fed in a manner similar to that recommended for breeding ducks. During the winter cut hay, ensilage and a little com with refuse vegetables will sustain them, but now they should have nitrogenous food, like bran, shorts and meat scraps fed with cooked vegetables. The goose will lay two litters of twelve to fifteen eggs each. If well fed this number may be increased. The China goose is said to sometimes lay from fifty to sixty in a season. To get the eggs all hatched as soon as possible the first laid may be hatched under hens, allowing each hen to incubate from five to seven eggs. When the goose has finished her first laying and becomes broody she may be confined for a few days and be well fed. When her brooding fever is over she will lay again and may be permitted to hatch and take care of the second litter. The period of incubation is the same as that of ducks, twenty-eight to thirty days. Goslings are hardy, but should, like ducklings, be kept in a pen for two or three weeks and allowed only water enough to drink. Since goslings are regarded as a great delicacy by snapping turtleSv minks and other varmints, it is well to keep them from infested ponds and guarded at night in sheds enclosed with netting. The later hatches, left to run with the mother-goose, will require less attention and 122 biggIvE; poultry book. care, but yet it is advisable to confine the flock in a yard for a week or ten days. When the goslings are to be sold in the Christmas markets, or late in the year for breeders, they will not need to be supplied with food if they have suit- able pasture grounds, except a light meal of grain morning and night. It is best to feed them in this manner to induce them to return home every night. There is a demand for " green goose" in mid- summer and many prepare their early goslings for this market. With this end in view they are fed all EMBDEN GEESE. they will eat until the flight-feathers grow out as far as the root of the tail, then they are enclosed in a pen. This must be in a dry situation where there is no water or mud. A yard fifty feet square with shade in it will hold seventy-five goslings. Treat them gently, since they are timid creatures and will not fatten if roughly handled or frightened. Have a large boiler holding a barrel or more, fill with water and stir in GEESE. 123 the boiling water, meal and twenty-five pounds of meat scraps to the barrel. Mix till as thick as can be stirred. Season with a little salt. Feed all they will eat of this and give only enough water to drink. Furnish gravel and put in the enclosure some rotten wood. In seventeen to twenty days they will be ready to slaughter. They should be in market before the fourth of July. One source of profit from geese is the feathers, which are always in demand at good prices. These are obtained not only from the slaughtered birds but also from the live ones. When done with discretion the practice of plucking is not so cruel as it might at first sight appear. Four times a year is often enough to per- form this operation. Never pick when laying, nor in cold weather, and pick only when the feathers are •* ripe." This ripeness is detected by the experienced eye by the dull, dead color of ihe plumage, and in Pekin ducks by the absence of the yellowish tinge. To test them pluck a few from the breast. If they come easy and are dry at the quill end they are "ripe," if the least bit moist or bloody do not pick any more. In picking, take only a small pinch of feathers m the fingers at a time, and make a quick downward jerk from tail to neck. Remove only a little of the down. Never remove from a live bird the cushion or bolster of coarse feathers along the side, that supports the wing. The goslings may be picked as soon as they are full feathered. An experienced geese breeder thus describes his plan of making the most out of the feather crop : I like my geese to hatch out about the last of April. At that time I pick the ganders of the 124 HIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. flock, the geese having lined their nest with feather& they are not in condition to be plucked. About the first of June the ganders are full feathered again and the geese are ready too, as you will begin to find loose feathers where they stay over night. Then in aboui seven weeks the goslings are ready to be plucked with the old ones. Don't take the feathers off toe bare, as the sun is hot at this season. By the last of September you will get a fine lot of good feathers again. If you keep the geese for the holiday market they are again ready in early November, but if the nights are cold drive them up and give stielter. They will soon feather at this time of year, and at killing time you will get the finest crop of the year. Fasten them up in a stable having plenty of cleao straw under them for half a day before you begin to pluck the feathers, then they will be dry and clean. Take a narrow strip of muslin, tie their feet together, lay them on their backs, tuck their wings under them, let an assistant take hold of the head, and as soon as they are done struggling begin to pluck. There are no disease germs in fresh eggs. Poultry products sell for cash, and can be sold at an)' time. Two important points in favor of the hen business. In long houses, instead of an entry and tramway for carry- ing feed and water have an overhead track and suspend a plat- form car on which to carry buckets and boxes. Will be usefuL also, in cleaning the house, carrying manure out and fresh gravel in.— Tim. The crops of fowls should be empty when sent to market. The best way to secure this condition is not to feed for at least twelve hours before killing. If for any reason the crop be full after killing, make a cut two inches loug through the thick skin on back of the neck, insert the finger in the incision, draw out the crop and cut it off". The mutilation will not be apparent. Chapter XV. PIGEONS FOR MARKET. A bird tn the loft is worth tzvo in the pot-hunter^ s bag. In a ne-'ghborhooa where pigeons fly both peas and peact take wing. — Tim. MT' The old practice of fastening nest- ^^B boxes on the outside of building and j^S^^ allowing the occupants to range at will is ^ '**»A|I jjq|. ^q \^q commenaed However made they present an unsightly appearance, and pigeons at liberty in a community are an intolerable nuisance It is better in every way to have a separate build- ing for pigeons, and to have an outside fly of wire netting connected with it and thus to keep the birds confined at all seasons. This plan is especially recom- mended when any considerable number is kept. The accompanying illustration shows a loft v/ith the breeding-room eight by fly sixteen by sixteen feet that will accommodate twentv to forty pairs. In building it posts are set firmly in the ground, panb inverted over them to keep out rats and mice and the sills nailed to the posts. For larger numbers the house shown on the nexi page illustrates a cheap and practical building. It ip £28 BIGGIvE POULTRY BOOK. eight by thirty-two feet, but may be made any length desired. The front is ten feet high and the rear six feet. The roof, rear and end wall should be wind and rain-proof, but it is well to have a considerable portion of the front open, especially in summer. Netting with ^P' two-inch mesh will confine pigeons, but where the English sparrow abounds one-inch mesh is preferable. The floor of the loft may well be of earth, but should be dry. On most of the large squab farms in this country, the nests are constructed of rough yellow pine boards, twelve inches high, twelve inches deep, and twenty- four inches wide. No strip is nailed on the front of the nest, as it renders cleaning difficult. Instead of regular rows of nests of one pattern, some pigeon breeders prefer to use large soap-boxes, starch-boxes, irregular boxes, nail kegs or anything that will give individuality to the home of each pair. Figure i illustrates how a soap box may be trans- formed into a first-class home for a pair of breeders. ^g^^==-=-^,____^ A division board is placed in the mid- WMi: ~T||||| die and alighting boards at either end. ^Il^i Hi Figure 2 shows a smaller box contain- ^^^~'~^^^^ ing but a single nest, so made that no Fig. 1. alighting board is needed and the roof sloped to prevent perching upon it. Two of these will be needed for each pair and should be placed adjacent. Nail kegs may be sus- pended by wire to beams or rafters and have ^^^- 2- the open end a little higher than the other, or a piece PIGEONS FOR MARKET. I29 of the head of the open end left in, to keep the eggs and squabs from tumbling out. The irregularity in shape and arrangement of nests may shock the fastidious, but will avoid conten- tion and confusion among the birds, which frequently results in the loss of eggs and squabs. For raising squabs for market it has been proved in late years that the com- mon pigeon does not give the uniform, plump, attractive carcass that the market demands, and which is credited to the POUTER. Homer variety. Some advise crosses with Runt and Dragoon, but it is generally conceded among squab growers that the Homer in its purity gives all the requirements of a squab to meet the demands of the most fastidious. It is desirable to have breeders that raise squabs with light skin for they always bring the top price. The color of the skin is not controlled, as is popularly supposed, by the color of the feathers. Parents with white plumage may have dark squabs, and those as black as crows may produce squabs with fair skin. A good plan to stock a loft is to buy enough mated birds to fill it one-fourth full, and raise enough from these to make up the complement, selecting the young from the parents that prove to be prolific, and raise the largest and whitest squabs. As mated birds are not always obtain- able the next best plan is to buy squabs just able to fly. A good time to buy is in June, July and August, when squabs jacobix. are low in price. These birds will pass their moult I30 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. afl"»d Degin to breed in the following winter and spring. Pigeons breed in pairs, and when once mated ier,i.i.in faithful to each other unless the union is broken by death or by the coquetry and intrigue of unmated birds. The latter are sure to make mischief and care should be taken to exclude them, or to remove them from the loft when discovered. It is always best to mate pigeons, that are not known to be already mated, pair by pair, before turning them into the loft. This may be done by placing the couple in a coop or cage alone for two or three days. The novice may attempt to mate two of the same sex. If both be males, the cooing and strutting and fight- ing will make the mistake evident. If both be females, there wnll be no love-making, but may be some quarreling. How to distinguish the sexes frequently puzzles experts. The experienced eye can generally detect the masculine or feminine features of a bird, and will name the sex nine times out of ten. There is no way to get this experience except by long and careful observation. The female is smaller, as a rule, than the male, and has a feminine look about the head and neck, the eyes being milder, the head narrower and the neck more slender than the corresponding parts of the cock. The hen lays two eggs and then both birds assist in hatching them. The hen sits all night and a part cf the day : the cock sits the balance of the time. Both assist in feeding FANTAiL. the squabs. If the hen lay.^ again before the first brood are out of the nest the cock will PIGEONS FOR MARKET. I31 usually take entire charge of the young besides doing his share of incubations. The two eggs will usually tiatch one male and one female. The natural food of pigeons is grain and the seeds of grasses. They are fond of millet, clover seed and peas, and if allowed to fly when these crops are sown will prove very destructive. Hemp seed is to pigeons what candy is to children. A little may be given them on entering the loft to tame them. For a steady diet the following is commend ed : two parts whole corn, two parts wheat and one part buck- wheat, all to be old, sound grain. Screenings to be economical should be purchased for one-fifth the price of good wheat. New grain is not good for the squabs. The corn should be a variety having small grains and should in no case be cracked. In order to supply feed for the very young squabs it is well to keep equal parts of bran and corn meal in self-feeding hoopers always before the breeders. Experience has proved that the old ones feed with greater regularity and fatten their young better when the whole grain is supplied at regular hours, tumbler. three times a day, all they will eat up clean. They will not eat grain that is fouled, if they cart avoid it, and should not be compelled to do so. For side dishes they should have ground oyster shell in a box or barrel lid where they can help them- selves, a lump of rock salt and a bit of salt codfish tacked to the side of the loft by several nails, so they can peck at it, but not tear it down. 132 BIGGI.E PODIATRY BOOK. The floor of the loft should be kept reasonably clean and be strewn occasionally with fresh sand and gt-avel. Red gravel is the best, as it contains iron, the oxide of iron giving it its peculiar color. Pigeons will peck at clay and coal ashes, and also at weeds and grasses. They use these substances, probably, for medicinal purposes, as dogs eat grass and cats eat catnip. Pigeons drink a great deal of water, and it is important that it should be kept clean. Open vessels should never be used in a loft, unless a stream of pure water can be kept running through them. A wire cage like the cut, open at the bottom and closed on top, set over a basin, makes a handy arrange- ment. Stone or earthen self-feeding fountains, such as are used for fowls, are good. A daily bath in summer, and twice a week in winter, is essential to the comfort and health of the flock. Wide, shallow milk pans answer very well for bath tubs. These may be set out in the fly filled with water, and allowed to remain an hour or two and then emptied. An open feed-trough is quite as objectionable as open water vessels. The feed in them becomes foul and much of it is wasted. The self-feeding hopper shown in the accompanying illustration is one of the best that can be found. These hoppers can be made of starch or soap boxes, by any one handy with tools. The lid should be broad enough to cover completely the feed trough at the sides. PIGKONS FOR MARKET. I33 and these troughs should be just broad enough to allow the birds to feed without permitting them to get in with their feet. Pigeon eggs hatch in sixteen or eighteen days. After the first few days the young ones grow with wonderful rapidity, if the parents are supplied with proper food and do their duty. In from four to six weeks the squabs are old enough to kill. Some develop so much more rapidly than others that no fixed date can be given at which it may be said they are of the right age to be in the best condition to sell. When this period is reached the neck feathers have passed the pin-feather stage, and the tail is usually about three inches long, but the bird is still unable to fly. When they begin to fly they are too " hard, " as dealers say, and when the skin of the crop and of the abdominal pouch is thin and transparent and these parts are full and the breast undeveloped, the dealers complain that they are too "soft." It often happens that one of a pair — it is usually the male — is ready for market a week before its mate. By marketing the larger and leaving the smaller one to be nursed by the parents, it will be ready to go with the next lot. Squabs are killed and dressed just like chickens, by bleeding in the mouth and picking dry. They are in the best condition for killing in the morning before the old ones give them their breakfast. After killing and dressing they may be tied in pairs, or in half dozens, and put into cold water, or packed on ice until sent to market. Where breeders are a long distance from market 134 BIGGLK POUI.TRY BOOK. it is better to send squabs in crates alive. In this case they must be old enough to fly, or, at least, old enough to feed themselves. There should be a weekly slaughter on a fixed date in the week. On these occasions every nest should be examined so that no bird that is old enough may be overlooked or get away. A well-managed flock will raise, on an average, five pairs of squabs annually for every pair of birds it contains. It is not safe to baii-e calculations for profit on a greater increase than this, although it is quite possible. Prices vary with the season, rising in the winter and spring and falling in summer. Near the large eastern markets it is safe to reckon on an average of forty cents a pair. This will make the returns from one pair of breeders ^^2.40 a year. During this time the parents and their progeny will consume food worth at least $1.50. This will leave a balance to their credit of ninety cents. The dioppings of a pair of pigeons in confinement are worth ten cents a year, which will make the profit, not counting labor, an even dollar. It is possible to do better than this and possible also to do worse. Chapter XVI. FATTENING AND MARKETING CHICKENS. Well-fattened and cleanly dressed poultry is half sold. The market is never overstocked with strictly fresh eggs. —Tim. It is a waste of time and food to sell any but well- fed, well-conditioned and well-dressed poultry. Sound yellow corn is the best grain for fattening purposes. The more of it fowls can be induced to eat and digest, the quicker they will fatten. Whatever else is fur- nished should be given as a condiment to aid in the assimilation of the corn. Two of the three meals of fattening fowls should consist of corn meal mixed with milk and seasoned with salt. For the noon meal whole corn and wheat with a little vegetable food of some kind and a little meat may be given for a change. Clean water, plent}^ of sharp, gritty gravel and a box of granulated charcoal should be kept before them at all times. Food should not be permitted to lie before them bu^ they should have at each meal all they will eat up clean, and every bird should have a chance and time to get his portion. Fowls will continue to im- prove just as long as they continue to eat with a relish. How long this will be depends much upon the skill of the feeder. From ten to fourteen days is the time usually allowed for fattening chickens. It is difficult to carry on the process longer in coops, but in small 3-ards and under skilful hands it may be prolonged for a 138 BIGGI^E; POUI.TRY BOOK. month. As a rule the operation can be most quickly and economically done in a properly made coop. Figure i illustrates one that is admirably adapted to ^^^!fffTpl^pp'^^^k the purpose. A portion of the Vyivl f 7^~ir^^ P^fe^ front wall is cut away to show ifcJB^'In^^r^^-^^TTH^R, its interior. It is eight feet long, ±'5— Harriet. Wonderful changes have taken place in poultry culture during the past score of years, and there is no telhng where it will end. Bright minds have entered the ranks and have carefully studied methods that have improved upon our ways, as Harriet says, and it is possible now to "grow two eggs where one was grown before." Trap nests started a new era. These devices trap the hen after she enters the nest and it is impossible for her to free herself. Each hen wears a numbered metal band on her leg, and when the attendant releases her from the nest he notes the number and writes it upon the ^'g'g. Each night proper credit is given on a record sheet, and at the end of the year one knows which hens were the best layers, and the eggs of those alone are used for hatching purpose?. In the short time that trap nests have been in practical use, poultrymen have learned that by selecting only the best layers for breeding, it becomes possible to gradually increase the ^^^ record close up to and even beyond 200 eggs per hen per year. The trap nest system was quickly followed by a secret method of judging the laying hen by the i6o BIGGI^K POUI.TRY BOOK. condition of the pelvic bones. The pelvic bones are located at the lower part of the abdomen— in the rear of the fowl — between which the egg passes when it is being laid. It has been demonstrated that if the tip of the fore-finger fits snugly between these bones, the hen is a poor layer. If it requires the tips of the first and second fingers snugly to fill the space between these bones, she is a good layer. If it requires the tips of the first three fingers the hen is an excellent layer. A pullet that has not laid, or has just began laying, will have these bones of the pelvis almost touching. The bones gradually wdden as the fowl continues laying, and at two years of age are much farther apart than at one year old. This method is the central thought of several •widely-advertised "systems," such as the Walter Hogau, the Palmer, and others. Each claims to be A RECENT DEVELOPMENT : BABY CHICKS IN VENTILATED BOXES READY FOR SHIPMENT. NEW SYSTEMS IN POULTRY FARMING. l6l the originator. I am indebted to " Poultry Secrets " (published by Farm Journal) for this information. Several years ago E. W. Philo, of Elmira, New York, began extensively advertising a system capable of producing $200 in six months from twenty hens. The information was sold in book form at |i per copy. The secret of his system is to crowd many in little space, and yet have the stock do well. The key-note is to have small numbers together — a few eggs together in the incubator (just as there are but a few under the hen), a few chicks together in a brooder, a few youngsters together in a colony coop, a few layers in a small house. Now it is this latter part that Harriet does not exactly like, and I must confess that I partly agree with her. She says that a few layers in a small house means too many small houses, and, consequently, too much extra labor. Harriet is of a more wholesale turn of mind, and besides believes in economizing labor so that she may give her flocks the best of care, which cannot be done if she has too many " flocks of six" to feed and water. These Philo houses measure three feet in width, and six feet in length, and although but four feet high to the eaves (five feet to gable) they are two stories ; the upper floor is for roosting and laying, and the ground floor is the scratching shed. Mr. Philo also has ideas about other matters that differ from those of the average poultryman. He turns the eggs in his incubator three times a day, instead of twice as* is generally recommended, and says that this prevents cripples. Mr. Philo was one l62 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. of the first, if not the first, to recommend " fireless brooders." Winter and summer alike he broods his chicks without heat. A regular nest of hay is made in the brooder, and over the top are pads of cotton or ■woolen goods. As the chicks creep in the ne^ts, this covering touches their backs and the animal heat of the chicks keeps them warm. About the same time that Philo was perfecting his system, Edgar Briggs, of New York, began advertising another, the leading attraction being "green feed at 15 cents per bushel." This coming at a time when poultry feed was continually increasing in price, a big denia!]d for the book was at once created. The secret meant simply sprouted oats. Briggs, in his system, says " fireless brooders" are an uncertain quantity, but in this I do not agree with him, for we have a neighbor who has used them for a number of years and claims to have less trouble in raising his chicks than he ever had before. The Grundy method, which sold at ^2 each, made a strong point in its advertising, of telling how to secure feed at "8 cents a bushel." Mr. Grundy cuts up alfalfa hay in one-quarter inch lengths, and each evening pours two gallons of boiling water over an 8-gallon tub of the hay, covering closely and allowing to steam nntil morning. To this, the next mornixig he adds a quart of wheat bran and two quarts each of middlings and corn meal, mixing the whole thoroughly together. The steaming softens the fiber of the hay, and the moisture makes the meal stick to it. This feed, Mr. Grundy says, costs him " from 6 to 15 cents a bushel." The "sprouted" or "processed" oats secret has NEW SYSTEMS IN POUI.TRY FARMING. 163 been known to the poultry world for years, but I think Mr. Briggs should have the credit of having brought it prominently before the poultry public in general. The oats are placed in a water-tight vessel and SPROUTED OR "processed" OATS, A CHEAP SOURCE OF WINTER GREEN FOOD. covered with warm water, and allowed to srand 24 hours, when they are emptied into a box that wilV allow the water to drain off freely. Oats are left in this box and wetted twice a day with warm water until they have sprouted a quarter of an inch long, when they are spread in boxes about i inch deep. The sprinkling is continued until the oats are as large as desired, which is generally 4 or 5 inches in length. The hens will consume roots as well as tops. The next sensation was the Corning System, which my readers will find fully explained in the "Corning Egg-Book" (published by Farm Journal) in which the story is told of a profit of " I6.41 per hen per year." This Corning System is to have large flocks of laying pullets and to keep them continually indoors during the laying season. Only pullets are [64 BIGGI^E; POUI.TRY BOOK. 1,500 rULLKTS LIVE IN THIS LAVING HOUSE," CONTAINING 2,560 SQUARE FEET. kept in the laying houses on this farm. When a fowl completes her first laying season, which, with a Leg- horn, covers about lo months from the time shestaits, she is sold off the place, unless she possesses especially desirable qual- ities, in which event she will be kept a year longer to pro- duce eggs for breeding pur- poses. The Comings feed a very heavy, rich ration, half of it (by weight) being green cut bone. Both layers and breeders receive this large amount of bone, with apparently good results. On the Comings' farm only Single Comb White Leghorns are used, as the eggs are sold in the New York market where a white egg is preferred. The large flock idea is developed from the moment the chicks leave the incubator. One hundred chicks approximately are placed in each hover. Three weeks later they are moved to the nursery pens, which are also located in the brooder house, the chicks in two hovers being combined and placed in one nursery yard. Thus the flock has grown to two hundred. When the pullets are moved to the laying houses, the number is limited only by the capacity of the house. For instance, in one hou-e which is i6o feet by 16 feet, there are 1,500 laying pullets. Leaving the NEW SYSTEMS IN POUIvTRY FARMING. 165 dropping boards out of consideration, this gives each bird a floor space of about 1.7 square feet; but with the dropping boards placed three feet from the floor, giving the fowls free run underneath, this should be considered in the floor space, which brings the amount for each bird up to about 2.33 square feet. From the time the pullets are put into the laying house until warm weather in the spring, they never leave the lay- ing house. The floor is covered with a litter of wheat straw in which the pullets scratch for a portion of their feed. Another recently developed system is in use at the Rancocas Farm, also a New Jersey affair. This farm is claimed to be the larg st egg- producing plant in the world, and from what I saw while on a visit there, I think their claim is about right. "The Million Egg Farm" book (published by Farm Journal) fully tells all about it, but I will mention a few points here that may be of interest. Where the Comings follow in the wake of Mr. Philo and his school in keeping the laying pullets continually indoors, they differ as regards size of flocks— Philo says six head should be the limit, but the Comings run it up to 1,500. But here comes the Rancocas Farm allowing about 500 birds in a single house 14 x 100 feet. Each house (at the time of my visit I saw thirty-six houses, which quartered 18,000 hens) is placed in a 3^ard containing about one and one-half acres, beautifully shaded by pice, oak and maple trees. There are a multitude of "systems" that have suddenly sprung up, the majority of which are l66 BIGGI.E POULTRY BOOK. nothing more or less than catchpenny schemes. What I have given in this chapter are what I believe to be the worthy ones, which teach us lessons worth heeding. These latter-day thoughts and practises show decided improvements. What is most surprising to both Harriet and me is the size of flocks that seems to be the rule. During the past two years we visited a number of large poultry farms besides those we have mentioned, and in each and every case we saw large families — ranging from 50 to 1,500 laying hens or pullets in one common flock. But we have learned that these exceptionally large flocks are practical only with the Mediterranean Class, and not with the heavier breeds. bringing in the eggs on a great p:gg farm. On the large farm of W. R. Curtiss & Co., in New York State, the laying hens are quartered on range in flocks of 1,500 to 2,000 each. There are two rows NEW SYSTEMS IN POUI.TRY FARMING. 167 cf houses used, with the houses placed about two rods apart. Between the rows is a distance of twenty rods. All told, there are two hundred colony houses on the farm. Hopper feeding is becoming popular of late years. Feeding dry mash, however, is not a new idea. I heard of it twenty-five j-ears ago, but no poultryman seemed to think enough of it to adopt it. Opinions, it seems, have changed, and the hopper system (we fed the mash in troughs) is being used generally. The arguments given in favor of the dry mash and whole grain diet are, first, that when the fowls become used to it they will prefer the ground grain dry to that which is either cooked or steamed ; second, it saves labor; third, keeps the fowls in a more healthful condition; fourth, there is better fertility to the eggs. Another benefit claimed is that after the fowls have taken a few mouthfuls they will run to the drinking vessels and secure several swallows of water — then back again to the trough — and so on during the entire meal. It is claimed that more water is con- sumed by dry-fed fowls, and as water enters so largely in the composition of the egg, increased egg pro- duction should be the result. I do not think there is so much danger of overfat hens, and consequently there are less soft-shelled and deformed or ill-shaped eggs, fewer cases of bowel disorders, and less trouble with indigestion, where the feed is given in a dry state. While I have not as yet adopted the perfectly dry mash, I feed it almost dry, using just enough water to make the meals crumbly. But for growing chicks l68 BIGGLE POUI^TRY BOOK. I would have no other feeding. I keep finely cracked grains in little boxes continually before them. It is fun to watch them. They will eat a few mouthfuls, take a swallow of water, and then scamper off for a run. In a few moments they return and repeat the dose. They never gorge themselves, and when they feel a little hungry there is the food right at hand. There has been more or less criticism about the different "systems" in use, and there are no doubt good reasons for some of it. But, after all, I believe there is something to learn from all of them. For instance, I was attracted by an advertisement of a certain "system " which shall be nameless, and invested a dollar in it. In return I received a small, poorly printed leaflet, Harriet said I threw my dollar away, but when I had carefully read its brief contents I could see a really good idea in it. The plan is to have a house of two pens ; one is about three times the size of the other. In the larger pen is quartered the flock of hens ; in the smaller one is the male bird. In the partition between the pens a trap nest is ar- ranged, with two openings. As the hen enters the nest to lay, the trap closes, and after she has finished laying goes out the rear of the nest into the other yard where the male bird is quartered. When night comes the laying hens are all over with the male bird, and they may then be returned to their own side of the house. This is continued daily. In the morning the male is alone in his yard. Of course only a small number of hens, say not more than ten or twelve, should be used in the experiment. I think I can plainly see another advantage in this method. As NEW SYSTEMS IN POUIyTRY FARMING. 169 laying hens should receive more feed than those not laying, in the evening when the grain feed is given an extra quantity can be allowed the hens that are in the run with the male, while those not laying will get only the regular allowance. To a certain extent this should prevent overfat. The trap nest used in this system is made by simply fashioning two light doors, using wire netting ft-'^i 111 J 4J|| x,.^ ''^'^^mK •«' INTERIOR OF A MODERN "LAYING HOUSE." with one-inch mesh; the door through which the hen enters to lay is huug from the top to swing inward, and is pushed open by the hen, closing behind her by its own weight. The door in the rear of the nest, opening out into the cock's yard, is similarly hinged to swing outward. When the hen enters the cock's pen she cannot return. These doors, or gates, are light so as to work easily, and should be the size of the entrance of the nest box. The Nevitt System, in use by Charles M. Nevitt, lyo BIGGI^E POUI.TRY BOOK. of Dallas, Texas, is about as conservative aa affair as any I have come across. Mr. Nevitt secures heavy layers by killing all the sick birds and clearing away all the youngsters that do not grow fast enough. This gives him a solid foundation to work on for heavy egg production. He uses trap nests so as to be able to pick out his best layers, and wastes no time on the poor ones. When the pullets are five months old they are placed in laying houses, and those that fail to commence laying at seven months are discarded. The result is that most of his pullets are laying when only six months old. But he does not use any of these eggs for hatching, following the best practice in this respect. Only eggs from yearlings should be used for incubation. By retaining only such chicks as attain a large size early in life, Mr. Nevitt never has a bird below standard weight — many exceeding it. Rev. Edgar Warren, an experienced poultryman, gives in a recent book some good advice on how to start a poultr}- plant and make it pay, Mr. Warren says there are three things that every man seems to think he can do : Preach the Gospel, edit a news- paper, and run a poultry farm. But he finds if he tackles any one of these jobs that he has a bigger one than he anticipated. He says first there must be experience— the poultry business requires just as careful an apprentice- ship as any other, and the man who is to succeed must know it thoroughly. He must have a little capital to start, must not run in debt, and must =ecure a location that is within easy distance of a good market. A man should move on the farm in the late NEW SYSTEMS in: POUI.TRY FARMING. I71 Fall, say in November, so that he may be well settled before severe cold weather sets in, and be ready to make a good start in the spring. With all of which I agree. As a matter of curious interest, I want to mention a few "secrets" that I have extracted from some of the books, journals, and other documents offered to YOUNG LEGHORNS ON RANGE; THEY WILL GROW UP HARDY AND HEALTHY. me. One was " If a horse-shoe is placed in the bottom of the nest, there will be a good hatch." Another, "To increase egg production, place about a half dozen China eggs in each nest. The hens seeing such a large number of eggs, at once determine to increase the pile, and accordingly add to it." Another, "Al- ways set your hens in the full of the moLn. It means a big hatch." Another, "Hens won't begin to lay until you mate them." Another, "You can tell the sex of an egg by its shape, or rather the condition of its shell." The writer of this says that he selected 172 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. 200 •* rooster" eggs, and when they hatched there was but one pullet in the lot, and he is sure the egg producing it was a fraud. He says the pullet eggs are "smooth on the ends, while the rooster eggs have a zigzag mark or quirl on one end." I have been gathering statistics about the present condition of the poultry business, and when one gets down to black-and-white facts, it is certainly astonish- ing. Reports say that fully 250,000,000 chickens, not counting turkeys, ducks and geese, are consumed as food each year, and I have it on the authority of the Secretary of the United States Department of Agri- culture that our hens lay about 1,666,000,000 dozens of eggs a 3var, bringing in enough money to pay the interest on the nationnl debt. Again I read that the poultry and egg crops com- prise 16.3 per cent of the total animal products of this country, and that the eggs bring annually ^225,000,000 and the poultry crop about ^150,000,000. Again, there are about a dozen agricultural col- leges that teach poultry husbandry; there are fifty poultry papers, and an endless number of poultry books. There are probably more poultry writers than there are for all the other branches of live stock com- bined. Then a look at the incubator business is sur- prising. It is estimated that the average yearly out- put of machines will run up to 24,000. Surely the poultry business can see great promise m the future ! INDEX. A PAGE Age, breeding 21 egg 30 for laying hens 64, 164 Alfalfa 162 Apoplexy 148 B Bone, green cut 164 Breeders, age for 21 confining 24 deformity in 24 mating ai, 24 turkey 97-98 Breeding pens 24 Breeds Si-ga for broilers 51 for village hennery 75-77 Broilers 49 breeds for 51 feeding 53 market for 49 weight of 49 Brooder capacity 45 chicks 43 house 52 temperature - 45 Brooders, style of 45 fireless 16a Broody hens, instinct 27 managing 27-28 selecting 27 Bumble-foot 150 C Canker 149 Capons 139 Cats 156 PAGE Chick coops 37-40 runs 40 Chicken-catcher 157 Chickens, fattening 137 parts of 10 roasting 49 varieties of 82-90 Chicks 35-36 brooder 43 dead in shell 158 feeding 3S-40, 16S helping out of shell 35 removing 36 water vessels for 40 Cholera 151 Cockerels, caponizing 139 sale of 60 Combs frosted 155 types of 10 Condition powder , .758 Coop, fattening 138 Coops, chick 37.40 Corning system 163 Cramp 154 Crop-bound 153 soft or swelled 154 Crows 156 Deformities in cock 34 DiarrhcEa 154 Diphtheria , 153 Diseases '47-I53 apoplexy 148 bumble-foot 150 canker ....149 cholera 151 cramps 154 crop-bound 153 diarrhoea 154 174 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. diphtheria.. 153 dysentery 155 egg-bound 154 fevers 148 frosted comb 155 irosted wattles 155 gapes 150 leg weakness 149 loss of sight 155 oviduct 154 paralysis 148 pip 152 preventing 147 rheumatism 154 roup 152 scaly legs 149 scurvy . 154 soft crop 154 swelled crop 154 vertigo 148 wasting away i.s5 white comb .-- 154 worms 150 Dressing for market 139-14' squab pigeons I33 Dry Mash 167 Ducklings 113-138 careof iH fattening 138 food for 114-115 shelter for 115 yarding "5 Ducks 107-116 feeding "o for eggs 109 hatching eggs "3 houses for 110-113 mating ii3 sex of I'" varieties of 107-109 Dysentery i55 Egg-bound 154 Eggs, age of 30 airing 32 cold bcOrage 18 construction of 13 contents of i4>22 dirty 18 duck 113 PAGE evaT)oration of 31 feeding for 22 fertile 17-18 for hatching 21,24,30 fouled 29 how produced 22 incubation of 15 infertile 17, 31-32 market 59 pickle 18 pieserving 18 pullet 50 selecting 29 shakingan 24 shell 14, 18 shipping 142-143 stale 17 tester, how made 16 testing 16-18 turning 32,161 when fertilized 14, 24 white of 14 yolk of 14 Enemies 155-156 cats 156 crows 156 foxes 156 hawks 156 lice 155 minks 156 opossums 155 rats 155 weasels 156 Farmer's flock 67 culling 68 feeding 71 housing 69-71 improving 69 size of 68, 165 Fattening chickens 137 coop 138 ducklings 138 geese 138 turkeys 138 Feathers, geese 123 turkey 144 Fertility 24, 168 Fevers 148 Fireless brooders 162 PAGE Foods, balanced ration 64 broiler 53 chick 38-40-168 duck no duckling 114-115 egg-making 22, 23, 63, 78 farmer's flock 71 for fertility 62-63 for setting hen 29 gosling 122-123 green 162 on free range 23 pigeon T31 turkey 97, 100 Foxes 1 56 Frosted comb 155 wattles 155 INDEX. 175 PAGE food for setting ... 29 good laying 57-58 hatching 35 "laying type" of 57 marketing 64 overfat 21 setting 28-29 two-year-old 21 Hogan system 160 Homeopathic treatment 148 Hopper feeding 167 Hospital 147 House, brooder 52 duck 1 10-113 for village hennery 76-77 hen 61,69-71 pigeon 127 G Gapes 150 Geese 1 19-124, 138 broody 121 egg-record of 121 fattening 138 feathers of 123 incubaiion of 121,123-124 life of 120 mating 120 vaiieties of 1 19-120 Germs, strong 21-22 Goslings 121 feeding 122.123 marketing 122 picking .123 Guinea fowls 102-104 mating 103 nature of 102-103 young 103 Incubation 15,27-28,30-31 buying e>;gs for 50 goose eggs 121 , 123-124 temperature for 30 time for 49 Incubator location for 30 studying 15 taking chicks from 43 44 Incubators 29 Laying, best age for 64, 164 houses 164-165 Labor on egg farm 64 Leg weakness 149 Lice 155 M Hatching, eggs late in. .... . 36 temperature 31 turkeys 1 00 Hawks 156 Hen farms 60 houses 61, 69-71 Hens, age of laying 64 broody 27 colonizing 60 Mash, dry or wet 167 Mating breeders 21, 24 ducks 113 geese 120 guinea fowls lo; pigeons 1 29-130 Maturity, when reached 22 Minks 156 Molting fowls 157 176 BIGGLE POULTRY BOOK. N Nests, making 28 Oats, sprouted 162 Opossums 155 Overstocking: 67 Oviduct diseases 154 Palmer system 160 Paralysis 148 Pea-fowl 104 Pelvic bones i6d Philo system 161 Pigeons 127-134 dressing squab 133 egg incubation 133 loft for 127 mating 129-130 nests for 128 profit in squab I34 raising squab 129 Pip 152 Pullet eggs 50 Pullets, buying 60 forcing 21 for laying 163 Rats 155 Rheumatism 154 Roasting chickens 49 Roup 152 Runs, chick 40 S Scaly leg 149 Scurvy 154 "Secrets" 171 Sex of ducks 116 Shelter for ducklings 115 Shipping 14T-112 eggs 142-143 PAGE Sight, loss of 155 Sodium Silicate 18 Soft crop 154 Sprouted cats 162 Squab broilers 49 Starting with poultry 170 Swan 116 Swelled crop 154 T Thermometer placing ... Trap nests . . . Turkeys breeding:. .. . 31 32 .159, 169 ..95-102 .97-98 care of young 101 diet of young 100 fattening 98, 138 feathers of 144 food for , 97 hatching 100 marking 144 setting 9q time of laying 98-99 varieties of 95 weights of 95 Varieties, chickens 82-90 ducks 107-109 geese 119-120 turkeys 95 Vertigo 148 Village hennery 75 breeds for 75-77 care of 76,78 house for 76-77 W Wasting away 155 Water glass 18 Water vessels 40 Wattles, frosted 155 Weasels 156 Wet mash 167 White cornb 154 Worms 150 NOV 6 1913 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS iiiiiiHimii 002 840 060 3