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How TO RAISE POULTRY | 


ON A 


Py Pel Gre Aa) By 


SHOWING 


PLANS OF BUILDINGS, LAY-OUT OF RUNS, 
METHODS OF FEEDING AND TAKING 
NECESSARY CARE OF FOWLS 


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1880. i 


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The interest taken in the subject to which this book 
is devoted is now rapidly on the increase, especially 
here in our own country where many enthusiasts stand 
ready with capital, but are restrained for the time by 
unfortunate precedents, waiting only for some one to 
take the successful initiative, when they will embark 
at once in. the undertaking. The difficulties attending the 
starting and running of a large establishment, are nu- 
merous, and not to be lightly put aside, but are 
only to be overcome by persistent and studied effort, 
backed by energy and determination. We submit the 
following plan of a poultry farm, not indeed, as one 
perfect in all its appointments, but as one that at least 
lays some claim to merit, and that if properly carried 
out, cannot but render a fair return for the capital and 


labor employed. 


od 


COPYRIGHT, 1880, BY H. H. STODDARD. 


BW 1) RAL POULT RY 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 
he 


The signal failure, some years ago of the large es- 
tablishment under the direction of Mr. Geyelin, at Brom- 
ley, England, hushed temporarily the discussion of the 
subject of poultry keeping on a large scale, and gave 
rise to distrust as to the feasibility of such an under- 
taking, even among its most sanguine advocates. At this 
distant day, one in looking over Mr. Geyelin’s treatise, 
entitled ‘“‘Poultry Breeding in a Commercial point cf 
view,’ if he has had any experience whatever in the 
keeping of fowls, cannot but note the absurdities— 
coupled as they are with much that is really valuable 
and original—that stare at one on every page; the evi- 
dent result of regarding the subject with the aid of 
theory alone, without that real and thorough knowledge 
of fowls which is indispensable to success in keeping 
them in large numbers, The failure of this establishment, - 
made on a basis so fundamentally wrong, and only to 
be likened to that of the “house built upon the sand,” is 


6 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


not to be in the least considered as a discouragement to 
further efforts in this direction, but rather as an incen- 
tive, inasmuch as it is a wonder that it kept up the 
semblance of prosperity the little while it did. It simply 
stands as a warning to after enterprises to shun the 
artificiality which proved its ruin, 


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 


No business can prosper unless pursued intelligently 
and energetically, and, the least ofall... this:.. To . this 
calling a man’s whole time must be given, and that de- 
votedly. He cannot sit down in his cushioned office, 
and give orders to others, expecting every little detail, 
so inseparable from poultry keeping, to be properly at- 
tended to by hired help, without further trouble on his 
own part. He, himself, must be up and doing, and keep- 
ing others doing, superintending and directing not only 
in the daily routine of duties, but seeing to it that 
everything additional is promptly performed that would 
in any way contribute to the comfort and welfare of his 
fowls. In fact, in this business, more directly perhaps 
than in any other, does success depend on the man at 
the head of affairs; for with a fair amount of capital 
to start with, the result, barring everything not to be 
foreseen, rests virtually with him. His adaptability, or 
not, to the position, indicates in a great measure the 
future of the enterprise, for, in the plan chosen, the 
arrangement and construction of the various buildings, 
the general system of labor adopted, and numerous other 
things incident to such an establishment, the character of 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 7 


the man will unmistakably be evinced if he is at all 
original. 

It is scarcely needful to say that a person who con- 
siders fowls as something beneath his notice, and the 
care of them as unbecoming, and lowering to the dig- 
nity of a man, would not be the proper one to run a 
poultry farm, even if he could be induced to do so. 

No book or treatise can be substituted for that real 
thorough knowledge of fowls that is absolutely necessary 
to success, and which can be obtained only through ex- 
perience. Books, when they give expression to the ex- 
perience of others, are, as such, really valuable, and will 
render efficient assistance in connection with practical 
experience—but will not without it. In comparison to 
the skill and experience required to keep such an estab- 
lishment working successfully in all its departments, and 
its stock vigorous and free from disease, that demanded 
by an ordinary yard is insignificant. In the starting of 
so large an undertaking, one must begin at the founda- 
tion and work it up slowly into a perfect structure, year 
by year, keeping pace with it the while, in the increase 
of experience resulting from this growth; for it is safe 
to say that no one could start such an establishment 
complete in all its appointments, and under full headway 
from the very beginning; without previous experience to 
somewhere near the same extent, and succeed. 

The many and various wants of fowls are synonymous 
with necessities—and no better word can be used in ex-_ 
pressing them, nor a better meaning understood in sup- 
plying them. Any one want left unsupplied will be sure 


8 HOW TO RAISHK POULTRY 


to be heard from unfavorably in one way or another. To 
keep fowls in a natural and profitable condition, self- 
imposed exercise is required, and this is only obtained 
by giving them an extensive range, wherein there are 
shrubbery, grass and plowed ground to engage their at- 
tention, and favor their instincts, and not by confinement 
in small enclosures where there is no living thing, save 
the fowls themselves, and no incentive to action unless 
it be to gain their freedom, and for that purpose keep 
travelling back and forth along the fence to find some 
opening for their escape. Close confinement soon tells 
on the spirit and vigor of the most robust fowls; and 
after the first novelty of their surroundings wears off, 
the birds stand around seemingly tired and weary of the 
monotonous life they are forced to lead, and as if they 
cared not how soon night closed down upon them, and 
gave excuse for indulging their drowsy inclinations. 

It is not sufficient to have runs large; they must al- 
‘so be frequently stirred by the plow, and should be 
changed yearly to avoid the possibility of becoming 
tainted. The herding together of fowls in large flocks 
is productive of much evil, both in its direct opposition 
to the instincts of the birds, they being accustomed in 
their wild state to roam around in small flocks, general- 
ly under the leadership of a single cock, and also in 
the increased liability to disease in such an _ unnatural 
mob, and is by all means to be avoided. 


GROUND PLAN. 


The establishment here described, is, in all its ap- 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 9 


pointments arranged on a scale that will accommodate 
3,000 laying fowls, and the chickens that are required to 
be raised yearly for their renewal; although the-plan is 
susceptible of contraction or extension to any desired size. 
Let it be borne in mind, however, that with the increase 
of number of fowls on a poultry farm, the risk of en- 
gendering disease is proportionately increased. | 

In this plan detached houses are employed, to avoid 
the evil results arising from the gathering together of 
a very large number of fowls under one roof, and also 
the ill-shaped and inconvenient runs that such a central- 
izing system would necessitate. Only enough concentra- 
tion is employed in the several houses as will render 
pecuniarily feasible the artificial warming of them at a 
low temperature, barely sufficient to make them comfort- 
able during cold weather, while there is not enough to 
increase the liability to disease, the buildings being roomy 
and kept thoroughly ventilated, as would be the case if 
the flocks were all allotted rooms in one large general 
poultry house for that purpose. These houses are located 
and arranged so that their yards, enclosed by movable 
fence, may be placed on either side of them as desired, 
thus giving them an annual change of runs, and leaving 
the land free for cultivation on the one side or the other 
every year alternately. By cultivation, all possibility of 
the ground becoming tainted is done away with, and at 
the same time the manure dropped by the fowls aside 
from that within the house, is employed to great advan- 
tage in the growing of crops. Ready access is given to 
all the houses from the side under cultivation, without 


- 
10 IIOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


any hindrance from fences or gates, as these are all re- 


moved to the opposite side to form runs on the land 


FIG. I. GROUND PLAN. 


The diagram represents the poultry farm proper, ex- 
clusive of the breeding yards and houses, nursery, barn, 
and all other necessary buildings. The houses are repre- 
sented by the black oblong figures, several of which are 


*. ON A LARGE SCALE. 11 


marked A A, and are arranged three in a row, running 
east and west, consequently facing the south. Of these 
rows there are five placed 20 rods apart. To each of 
these houses, placed distant from one another 32 rods in 
a row, are connected four runs of half an acre each, these 
corresponding to the four apartments inside each house. 
The flocks to which these large rooms with their attach- 
ed runs are allotted, consist of fifty fowls each. The 
heavy black lines which enclose the whole diagram, and 
also those running from one house to another east and 
west in the rows, are to represent stationary fences. The 
boundary fence is picketed its whole height, simply hav- 
ing a base-board for a rest to the ends of the pickets; 
while those between the houses are boarded up three feet 
from the ground, and pickets above that, the boarding to 
afford protection from the sweeping north winds during 
cold weather. The fine lines running both parallel with 
and also at right angles to the rows of houses, and di- 
agonally across from one house to another, represent the 
movable fence as employed to divide the land between 
two rows of houses into runs for the same. Between 
each two rows there are twelve acres of land, and this 
is cut up by the movable fence into twenty-four uniform 
triangular yards of half a acre each, four of these radi- 
ating from each one of the six adjacent houses. Since 
these runs are located first on one side of their houses, 
and then on the other, alternately yearly, the runs con- 
nected with and lying between rows No. 2 and 3, as 
illustrated in the diagram, and as they are for conven- 
lence supposed to be located this year, will be placed 


12 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


on the opposite sides of those houses next year, on the 
open land that is under cultivation this year, and will 
there be met by the runs connected with rows No. 1 
and 4, as they are transferred also to fresh ground; 
while the land occupied as runs this year will be vaca- 
ted and placed under cultivation next. 

These alternate strips of cultivated land intervening, 
as they of course do between the strips of land occu- 
pied by runs, in a measure isolate the fowls in each one 
of these latter, thus lessening in no small degree the 
risk of disease attending the gathering together of such 
a large number of fowls. When the runs belonging to 
row No. 5, are changed next year to the opposite or 
northern side of the houses, they will reach. to the line 
or boundary fence situated ten rods off, as does row 
No. 1, this year on the south. Thus they will contain 
their regular quantity of, half an acre each, only differ- 
ing from the others in that they are not met by runs 
still further on. 

There must of necessity be a strip only half the 
width of that between two rows of buildings along the 
outside of the first and last rows, however far the plan 
may be extended, to supply room for the runs to those 
rows every other year, and will of course be cultivated 
in turn. The dotted lines that run parallel with the 
rows close along by the houses, and on both sides of 
them, are to indicate the location of roads. ‘These are 
traveled by a horse and cart for the distribution of food, 
water, and dry earth, the collection of eggs, the removal 


of manure, and for the performance of any other work 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 13 


in connection with the houses requiring the use of a 
cart. These roads are permanent, and are kept well 
rounded up; but only those skirting the strips of land 
that are under cultivation are used, as they give access 
to all the houses, the latter having doors on both sides, 
so being entered equally as well from the road, which- 
ever side the cultivated land necessitates its being. These 
branch roads all start out from the main road BB, which 
leads from the cooking and store buildings, and the course 
that is taken in going the rounds on them at feeding 
time is indicated in the diagram by arrows. When cold 
weather approaches in the fall, and the crops have been 
removed from the cultivated land, the yards are all placed 
on the south side of the rows to give the fowls a pro- 
tection on the north, in the shape of their respective 
houses, and also the stationary fences; these latter af- 
fording a warm exposure for- basking. In the winter, 
when the runs are thus placed, the cart in making its 
trips, goes up on the north side of each row, and turn- 
ing short about, returns to the main road, instead of 
going up on the north side of one, and then crossing 
over at the end, and returning: along the south side of 
the next, as is the order in summer. 

Along part of the north side of No. 1, and the south 
side of row No. 2, between the wagon path and the 
fence, small dots will be perceived; these, as a sample 
only, point out the location of chicken coops during late 
spring and early summer. 

The road is used to facilitate feeding the broods, just 
as with the older fowls, It would be difficult to find a 


14 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


spot more to the liking of chickens, or one that would 
contribute in a greater degree, other things being favor- 
able, to their general thrift than this Here they have 
free range over the fresh cultivated ground, among the 
corn, roots, potatoes, or whatever crops be grown, to 
forage for worms and insects, all of which are very ben- 
eficial to chickens, as they supply them with their natu- 
ral food, and also serve to screen them from the heat of 
the sun. This plan of cooping the hens and their chicks, 
not only furnishes the latter with their much-needed in- 
sect food, but also in a great measure frees the growing 


crops of these, their enemies. 


BUILDING FOR LAYING STOCK. 


There are several essential elements that should enter 
into the construction of every fowl house. Beyond these 
the smaller details and arrangements are dictated by con- 
venience, economy and ingenuity. Aside from roof and 
walls, proof against rain and wind, the building should 
be so constructed that it can be adjusted to suit the 
season. In summer the whole house should be thrown 
wide open to give a free circulation of air, in imita- 
tion of trees, the favorite resort of fowls for roosting 
in warm weather. On an ordinary farm, barring the 
trouble that 1s always experienced in inducing fowls ac- 
customed to roosting in the open air, to enter their 
house on the approach of cold weather, no better roost- 
ing place than this which is theirs in a state of nature 
can be furnished them during this season. But on a 
poultry farm nature cannot be so literally followed of 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 15 


course in this respect, but can only be imitated as closely 
as possible. Too much air cannot be given fowls during 
summer; even draughts, that at all other seasons are to 
be so carefully guarded against, add much to their com- 
fort then, if not too direct and strong while on their 
roosts. How many poultry houses there are in which 
due provision is made for comfort during cold weather 
but none whatever for hot, by this turning of indoors 
into out, but in which instead the air is close, almost 
stifling, during the heated season, and from which a 
fowl will instinctively take leave if it has any other re- 
sort to which it can go for roosting. 

A house that is properly arranged in this respect is 
quite a rarity, and is the exception and not the rule. 
With cold weather the house should be tightly closed, 
provision always being made for free and thorough ven- 
tilation. For the farmer or village dweller who does not 
strive to induce winter laying to any great extent, but 
only enough to supply his own wants in that direction, 
a poultry house well and carefully built is all that is 
required, fowls, feed and care being favorable. Not so 
with the large market breeder. He should aim to stimu- 
late laying among a certain portion of his flocks during 
cold weather to an extent that is only natural in the 
shooting spring, and so take advantage of the alluring 
and highly profitable prices that rule at this season of 
the year; and for this, aside from other requirements, a 
uniformly warm house is necessary. 

Provision should be made in a large spacious house 


by artificial means for the continuation within doors of 


16 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


an artificial spring, since fowls exposed to the full sever- 
ity of the weather, are at once, and in most cases ef- 
fectually, checked in their preparations for laying. This 
perpetual spring should not be brought about by means 
that will interfere in the least with perfect ventilation, 
as by crowding a large flock of fowls into a close 
building, and retaining the heat generated by their bodies, 


raise the temperature within to the desired height. This 


FIG, 2, LAYING HOUSE, 


would not do. Heat would be there, but it would be 
accompanied by the greatest enemy to success: close 
and foul air, Glass cannot be relied upon to give 
the steady and uniform warmth that is demanded by 
a large establishment to insure a favorable yield of 
eggs, as during winter the sun is frequently hidden 
for days together, thus rendering the glass for the time 
being of no avail, as far as heating is concerned. This 
is also the case during nights. For the small family 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 17 


flock, the requirements considered, no better, more con- 
venient, or less troublesome mode of providing warmth, 
to quite an extent, can be employed, when the -glass is 
properly located. When in addition to a large and well 
exposed surface of glass, the house has also its walls 
bricked or stoned up and embanked on the outside with 
earth, or when the house itself is lowered in the ground, 
it being’ walled up and carefully drained, the most per- 
fect winter house is obtained, excepting one warmed 
at a moderate temperature by fire. 

In this case the earth renders assistance in warming, 
and that quite uniformly, while the bricks or stones 
composing the walls gather heat during sunny days and 
gradually radiate it through the night. Ventilation from 
the bottom is not so easily obtained in an under-ground 
house as in one that is located on the surface and 
banked up, as from the floor of the latter a small box- 
tunnel can be carried horizontally to the outer air, so 
giving escape to the heavier gases that will not ascend 
to find an opening. The latter style of house, provided 
it be properly arranged, would be well adapted to fill 
the requirements of a poultry farm, if it were not for 
the large original outlay that the masoned walls and the 
throwing up of heavy embankments of dirt against the 
same would incur. With a frame house warmed by a 
stove the original cost is much less. To be sure the 
money, the interest of which is required to produce this 
heat, will just about equalize the two in that respect, 
still it is not capital invested, as is the other, and so is 
uncalled for; it is taken from the profits of the estab- 


2 


18 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


lishment, and is simply a requirement on the debtor’s 
side, the same as feed, labor, etc. When this was taken 
into consideration, and the fact that such a house could 
be more perfectly thrown open in the summer, and also 
more thoroughly ventilated at all seasons (in this greatly 
assisted by the stove in winter), as located on the sur- 
face of the ground it can be readily opened at bottom 
as well as top, and that it would be more easily accessi- 
ble than a house banked up or one lowered in the 
ground, it was adapted as the style of building for the 
general laying and breeding stocks and for the nursery. 

Fig. 2 illustrates the exterior of the house for the 
general laying stock, and is one filling the stations rep- 
resented by A A, in the diagram, Fig. 1, page 10. In this 
house provision has to be made, it will be remembered, 
for four flocks, and that in such a way that the several 
rooms can be opened on either side, in conformity to 
the location of their runs, which alternate yearly from 
one side to the other. To this end the house, which is 
20 X 53 feet is, after deducting five feet for a hall or 
passage way running directly across the center of the 
building, divided up crosswise into four apartments of 
12 X 20 feet each, two on each side of the hall. This 
hall, opening out both sides.of the building through wide 
doors, the one being used next the road travelled, and 
‘consequently the cultivated land, is to facilitate caring 
for, and feeding the fowls, and gives space for the stove 
and fuel required by the same during cold weather. 

The house is built seven feet high at the eaves, in- 


clusive of sills and plates, to allow of a flooring over-. 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 19 


head for a second story. This latter is to afford ample 
room, and give some chance for exercise indoors during 
unpleasant weather, when the fowls prefer to- remain 
within. This loft is also partitioned off into four large 
rooms and a hall, corresponding and connected with the 
ones immediately below. By this arrangement each fowl 
is give about ten square feet of surface. This allowance 
of room, in comparison to most poultry houses, is very 
large, may be thought by many rather extravagant, still 
it is no more than is required by fowls in winter for 
their comfort and welfare. 

The frame of this building is what is termed “balloon,” 
by carpenters — that is—it is put up without the aid of 
mortices and tenons, being simply squared and _ spiked 
together. The siding is of dressed pine, boarded up and 
down, and battened. Shingles are employed as roofing, 
as they are considered the cheapest and best  cov- 
ering all things considered. The rafters have a pitch of 
about eight and a quarter inches to the foot, or in 
other words, there is a rise of seven feet from the 
plates to the peak. The peculiarity of the roof, the 
long ridge windows, are formed by extending the north 
rafters, after that they have met those on the south in 
the proper piace, two feet further on, and then by stud- 
ding perpendicularly from their extreme ends down to 
the corresponding front rafters. The sheathing and shin- 
gling are carried up the north rafters to their extremities, 
while on the south ones the roofing ascends only to the 
base of the upright studs that reach to the ends of the 
overhanging north rafters. It will be seen that no extra 


20 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


roofing is required to obtain these windows, as the raf- 
ters on either side being of the same pitch form two 
equal sides of a triangle, the perpendicular window front 
forming the third. The expense of studding and casing 
is no more for these windows than for any other, while 
In comparison to other roof windows, the advantages 
gained are not inconsiderable. They perform the double 
office of window and ventilator. In the former capacity 
they thoroughly light the upper loft without the objec- 
tion of leakage which is always attached to glass in the 
roof, unless much pains is taken to render it water tight 
-by painting and tinning, or by cementing. As ventilators 
they are capable of perfect adjustment to all seasons of 
the year, in cold weather being merely placed ajar, while 
in hot weather they are thrown wide open. Also these 
windows are comperatively exempt from injury by. hail, 
whereas, if lying flat on the roof, they could not escape 
without more or less damage from such a storm. This, 
though a matter of too little consequence to be thought 
about in the construction of a small family poultry house, 
assumes much importance when large buildings are mul- 
tiplied on a poultry farm. These windowst 8 inches x 6 
feet, are hinged on their upper sides, and in opening 
are shoved out at the bottom. A flat narrow strip of 
iron, 18 inches long, one end of which is fastened to 
the lower part of the sash, serves to keep the windows 
where placed, by slipping one of the several holes 
punched at short stages along its whole length, so as to 
regulate the opening, over a peg projecting from the 


windowsill. 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 21 


The front or south side of the house is glazed, save 
the space occupied by the five doors, one opening into 
each of the four rooms and the centre one into the hall 
or passage way. The former are to afford direct com- 
munication between each room, and its respective run 
the alternate years when situated on that side, and for 
convenience of removing manure and for introducing dry 
earth, when the opposite side is obstructed by yards. 
On the north side, not seen in the illustration, are five 
doors corresponding, and directly opposite to those on 
the south, to be used for the same purpose. The glazed 
front is divided into twelve windows, 3 feet x 6 feet each; 
three of these windows, and the accompanying door 
forming the front to each room. Both the upper and 
lower sash slide, and are kept where desired, by small 
drop catches (no springs), such as are frequently seen 
on car windows. A_ small window 2 x 24 feet that 
slides sideways, opens into each of the lower rooms on 
the north side. These windows are intended mainly for 
the better airing of the house in summer. The windows, 
3 feet square, in the gable ends, one in each, are 
hinged on the side, and open outwards. When opened 
they are hooked fast to prevent slamming. These win- 
dows in warm weather, by the draft that they create 
through the loft, add much to its comfort. Frames of 
coarse wire netting on the inside, serve to protect the 
windows from breakage, and in summer when the latter 
are open to prevent fowls from flying through. 

In the interior of the house, both up stairs and 


down, the several rooms and the halls are partitioned off 


22 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


by light slat work; the strips that are used for this pur- 
pose being two and one-half inches wide, by one-half an 
inch thick. Wire netting, though much prettier, and less 
obstructive to light, is far too expensive to be used thus 
freely, in such large, and so many houses. The doors, 
above stairs, and below, through these partitions, leading 
from the hall into the two adjacent rooms on either side, 
and from them into the end apartments, are directly in 
the centre of them, and are likewise of slat work. An 
open stairway two feet wide leads from the lower hall to 
the upper one. The fowls in each set of rooms, com- 
posed of one each above and below, have their own 
stairway or ladder. These ladders eighteen inches wide, 
to allow of fowls passing one another on them, starting 
below from small platforms two feet high, close along 
side the partitions, ascend gradually to the upper floor. 
The roosts are arranged in the loft under the south 
slope of the roof. They consist, in each room, of a 
frame work formed by spiking, eighteen inches apart, 
three 3 x 4 scantlings, slightly rounded on top, and 
eleven and one-half feet long, on to side or end pieces 
of the same, five feet long, the back ends of these lat- 
ter being fastened to the rafters at a point two feet 
from the floor, by heavy strap hinges, and their front 
ends resting on cleats fastened to the side partitions the 
same distance from the floor. When in cleaning the 
floor, or doing any other work in which the roosts are 
in the way, the latter are lifted against the roof, and 
hooked fast. To assist in removing manure from, and 


introducing fresh earth into the loft, there is a hatchway 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 23 


in the floor of the upper hall, through which loaded bas- 
kets are raised and lowered by means of a small tackle 
fastened to a pair of rafters overhead. i 

The nests, which are on the first floor, are arranged 
three tiers high, eight in a tier, against the north side 
of each room. Each nest is twelve inches deep, and 
thirteen inches wide, in height twelve inches. Those em- 
ployed in the houses occupied by the sitting breeds, will 
be illustrated, and explained hereafter, in connection with 
incubation. Small trap doors for the use of the fowls, 
and which the artist has failed to represent, are in the 
bottom part of the larger doors on both sides of the 
house. The building rests upon a foundation not only 
well sunken in the ground, beyond the reach of the frost, 
but also raised several inches above its surface, so allow- 
ing the ground within the house to be raised above that 
without, for the sake of dryness. Cement forms the 
flooring below, but is kept covered with a coating of 
dry earth three inches or four inches thick. Eave troughs 
are employed on these and all other buildings on the 
farm, nor is any hen house complete without them, nor 
has its owner done what he could for the comfort of 
his fowls, till he has provided them. The exterior of 
the houses are kept well painted. This is true economy 


with all buildings. 


BUILDINGS FOR BREEDING STOCK. 


To make substantial and gratifying progress in the 
breeding of stock, or to retain desirable qualities once 
gained, careful selection and proper mating for the objects 


in view must be observed. 


24 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


As fowls, from the shortness of their generations, are 
susceptible of much improvement and transformation in 
both useful and ornamental qualities in a comparatively 
brief period, so are they liable to degeneracy quite as fast 
when neglected and the requisite precaution withdrawn. 
Were the eggs selected from the general laying stock, 
the eggs themselves being the only indicator of the 
character of the embryo chick within, doubtful indeed 
would be the product and seldom satisfactory. Penning 
has to be resorted to to attain the desired ends with the 
greatest certainty and the least trouble. 

In this yarding of the breeding stock, from six to 
“nine hens are allowed to a single cock, the number 
varying with breed, age, and vigor. To each pen is 
allotted a room 6 XxX 11 feet in the breeding house, 
illustrated in frontispiece. Provision is made in connec- 
tion with this house, as well as with those for general 
layers, for transfer of runs. More important, if possible, 
is this change with the breeding stock than with the 
laying, as unexceptional care in keeping healthy the for- 
mer, concerns also the latter—their product. Heretofore 
no house, divided up for several breeding stocks, has 
passed under my observation in which provision was 
made for the changing of the runs connected with it, at 
the option of its owner, so compelling the restriction of 
the fowls to one side year in and year out. To be 
forced to enclose breeding stock—your best and finest— 
in a fenced run is, at the best, unsatisfactory, and so 
every opportunity should be embraced that will improve 
and ease their condition. This ability to change runs is 


ON A LARGH SCALE. 25 


furnished in the accompanying plan of house; at the 
same time a passage-way, so indispensable for the proper, 
expeditious, and comfortable caring for the fowls is em- 
ployed, and that too without the sacrifice of an inch of 
ground-surface. This hall or passage-way, running along 
the back side of the building, is elevated—as will be 
seen by referring to illustration—two feet from the floor, 
thus spanning across each room, leaving its entire surface 
unintruded on, and giving exit to the fowls, when so 
wished, on the back as well as front side. The width 
of said hall is two feet six inches, and height from its 
flooring, which consists of one and one half inch hem- 
lock plank, to the plate or eaves six feet. Its front, the 
side next the fowls, is enclosed by  slat-work, through 
which slat doors open into each pen or room. The par- 
titions dividing the house up transversely into eight equal 
sized rooms are of similar slat-work, above the _ base 
boards which are two feet high, to prevent the fighting 
of neighboring cocks. The dimensions of house are 
48 xX 11 feet on the ground, 5 feet high at front eaves, 
8 feet high at back eaves—z feet below flooring of hall, 
-and 6 feet above—and 94 feet at ridge or peak. The 
siding is of dressed pine, battened. The roof is shingled 
and its summit capped with an extended ventilator run- 
ning the whole length of the ridge. The windows in 
front, one opposite each pen, extend from the ground to 
the plates and are movable in each sash. Here let me 
mention that the glass employed in the several buildings 
is not of the first quality, but such as is termed 


“blistered’’. or “wavy,” and can be procured much 


26 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


cheaper than, while answering the purpose equally as well 
as perfect glass. In each gable end a large glass window 
is located; these in summer greatly assist in airing. 
Three shutter windows open into the back of the pass- 
age-way and are solely for ventilation. The heater occu- 
pies one of the middle rooms, into which room _ doors 
open on either side from without. The  nests,—light, 
detached boxes, fourteen inches square, in height the 
same, are placed on the floor facing. the sides of the 
room. A_ single scantling, rounded on _ top, constitutes 
the roosts in each apartment. It is placed two feet 
from the ground and a foot from, and parallel to, the 
partition. Underneath each roost, and six inches removed 
from it, is fastened a broad board as a drop for the 
manure. The small hen doors both in front and rear, 
sliding up and down in groves, are raised and lowered 
by means of cord and pulley from the hall. The whole 
house is well though cheaply built. The runs, eight in 
all, of one-eighth of an acre each, enclosed with movable 
fence, radiate from the building on the one side or the 
other as the case may be. Of these breeding houses, 
there are four, all located in a row. And these and-° 
their runs, subject to road, cultivation, etc., are as the 
houses and runs for layers. The stationary fence running 
east and west between the adjoining houses is on a 
direct line with the center of the doors opening at the 
ends into the passage-ways. The last or end lengths of 
this fence being movable, the rails resting in slots, veer 
off to one side or the other of the door as the culti- 


vated land necessitates, in this way, by proper adjust- 


ON A LARGE SCALE. ay 


ment, giving free access to the door on whichever side 
desired. 


SELECTION OF BREEDS. 


The excellency of the fowls with which a_ poultry 
farm is stocked, is a matter of great moment. In fact, 
where buildings, range, food, etc., are provided in con- 
formity with their health, comfort, and nature, success 
quite centers on the quality of the birds. A poor or 
indifferent layer will barely produce eggs to balance her 
keeping, while the extra three or four dozens resulting 
from a superior hen constitute the profits; the quantity 
of food consumed by the two being equal, care being 
the same, and nature not being violated by overcrowding, 
comparison between two individual hens, bad and good, 
is also a safe comparison when the number is multiplied. 

In selecting breeds with a view to stocking a poultry 


farm, ““ sitters”. and. 


non-sitters’’ should be pretty evenly 
balanced. If, however, early chickens are not desired, 
the “non-sitting” persuasion may predominate slightly. 
Of the “‘sitters,’” Brahmas, both Dark and Light, Dom- 
iniques, and Plymouth Rocks, are to be preferred. The 
quiet, contented disposition, great winter-laying qualities, 
and exceeding hardiness both as adults and _ chickens 
recommend the Brahma in the strongest terms to the 
poultry farmer. The Dominique, a fowl which from its 
general dissemination throughout the country, is looked 
upon by many as only a higher order of dunghill, but 
which was really imported in the early history of our 
country as a distinct breed, from continental Europe, 


28 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


possesses many valuable qualities, not the least of which 
is surprising hardiness; owing doubtless to their long 
and thorough acclimatization. The ideal market and 
table fowl in this country is undoubtedly the justly popu- 
lar Plymouth Rock. Owing to the excessive sitting pro- 
pensities of the Cochins, these fowls are not just the thing 
for a poultry farm, and the Dorking, so popular and 
common in England, is not suitable for our climate—at 
least does not sustain the reputation with us that is 
universally conceded to it at home, while the Game 
fowl is rendered entirely valueless for our purpose by 
its pugnacious disposition. Our choice among “non-sit- 
ters’’ is unhesitatingly Leghorns, white or brown, and 
Houdans. The latter are an excellent table fowl—matur- 
ing early, as do also the Leghorns, while both aré 
superior layers. Of the other “non-sitting’’ breeds none 
are so well adapted to the wants of the poulterer, as 
all seem more or less predisposed to colds and roup; 
while even the Houdans and Leghorns are not absolutely 
free from its visitations. 

But however prolific layers, of whatever breed, may be 
the occupants of well regulated yards, judicious and 
studied feeding is requisite to the full employment of 


their powers, 


INCUBATION. 


The contingencies attending chickenhood through all 
its stages, from first conception till full maturity, are too 
numerous and multiform to allow of any blunders of 


either omission or commission in care during a single 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 29 


period. The old adage, warning you not to count your 
chickens “before they are hatched,’ might with fitness 
be stretched to “until they are grown.” With the selec- 
tion and mating of the breeding stock the work begins. 
Vigor here is of paramount importance, for however 
perfect a chicken may be in all other respects, without 
a good constitution it is a failure. Careful conformity in 
the number of fowls composing a breeding-pen is to be 
sought as to the season; winter and early-spring not ad- 
mitting of more than half the number of hens with a 
cock that would later in the season be none too many ; 
also, as to breed, size, and age, and not unfrequently, 
individual “crinks and cranks,” especially in the cock. 
Such things being nicely weighed, and the care and sur- 
roundings of the fowls being such as to promote health, 
the eggs will, almost without exception, prove fertile, and 
thus the first difficulty to be encountered in chicken- 
rearing successfully overcome. 

During incubation, risk is run, especially on a poul- 
try farm, unless perfect system is employed. The con- ° 
struction and location of the nests so as to afford 
complete protection to the inmates from intrusion is 
indispensable. Were no especial provision made for sitting, 
eggs simply being placed under the broody hen in the 
ordinary nests, the result would be most discouraging,— 
a decided failure. Each nest thus set would become 
public property forthwith. A hen wishing to lay would 
take extra trouble to crowd in with one sitting and 
deposit her egg. No other spot would quite suit her 
fancy. Also, one becoming broody would instantly be- 


30 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


take herself to the nest of a sitter, and without stopping 
to ask whether she would like to go “snooks,” step in 
and claim half. The occupant remonstrating, a scuffle 
would ensue, resulting in the breakage of at least two 
or three eggs, and in a final compromise. Nor could a 
legitimate sitter leave her nest without unfailingly finding 
it appropriated on her return. “Confusion worse con- 
founded”’ would reign. This lesson experience has taught 
indelibly. 

There are several ways of isolating sitting hens, any one 
of which is far preferable to no protection, still among 
which there is a decided choice. One, that of removing 
broody hens from the laying houses, and allotting to 
each one a small pen or room, three or four feet square, 
in which is placed the nest, also dust-bath, water, and 
feed-fountain, in a large sitting-house, though answering 
the purpose as far as seclusion is concerned, has its 
drawbacks. In the first place, this necessitates the re- 
moval of the hens from their accustomed nests,—-an 
operation to be avoided, when it may be as easily as not, 
though when the fowls in question are Asiatics, and the 
attendant quite gentle and well-versed in their care, it is 
quite generally accompanied with success. Also, the hens 
thus placed seldom take the necessary exercise, rarely 
leaving their nests, while the greatest objection is that of 
the extensive additional buildings needed. Another plan 
is that of confining hens closely to their nests, and 
daily removing them by hand to small feeding-pens, and 
after allowing them sufficient time for eating and dust- 
ing, return them again. This involves much labor, and 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 31 


unless the hens be exceedingly quiet and docile, risk 
also. Still a third system might be employed. Let the 
hens be removed to a sitting-house and placed. on nests 
arranged along the sides, each hen being confined to her 
nest by means of a frame of wire netting fitting over 
its entrance. Feeding time at hand, remove the frames 
from the front of a few nests at a time, and after the 
inmates have returned, replace the frames and remove 
others, going through the same process till all be cared 
for. While this latter is to be preferred to either of the 
above, it still has its weak points. The objects being 
to shun the expense of extra buildings and the removal 
of hens from their wonted nests, while also caring for 
them with the least possible handling, and expenditure of 
time and labor, the following plan is deemed prefer- 
able to either of the foregoing, and the one best 
meeting these ends, 

The nests as illustrated in the Fig. 3, are those 
employed in all the laying-houses occupied by the “‘sit- 
ting’’ breeds, and can be easily converted into sitting- 
nests as wanted,—one or more. These nests consist of 
a single row three tiers high, and are open on both 
sides, having no stationary backs, but instead, a small 
frame of wire netting buttoned over one opening of 
each nest, and constituting a movable back. They are 
located on the ground or lower floor, one set of course, 
to each apartment, a little back of the center of the 
room, and extending across it, with the exception of a 
space of two feet, left as a connection between the two 
parts of the room. Each nest is fifteen inches square,— 


32 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


in height eighteen inches,—five of which is for earth 
under the nests. Of these nests there are twenty-four, — 
eight in a tier,—three tiers. The front or face strips 
that run along both sides of each tier, holding in the 
earth and straw, are six inches high, and are fastened to 
every alternate partition-board by screws, so that, the 
sitting season being over, they can easily be removed to 
facilitate cleaning out the nests. Also, alighting boards, 
eight inches wide, pass along both sides. In the pas- 
sageway, left between the end of the nest-frame and side 
of the room, a slat door is hung, which is closed across 
the passage when the sitters are being fed. Likewise, 
the space above the nests, between them and the ceil- 
ing, is slatted, so that when the door is closed, a com- 
plete partition is formed across the room. it will be 
observed that the top or cover of the third tier of nests 
has a double pitch, from the ridge of which the slat- 
work ascends. This pitch is to prevent fowls from em- 
ploying it as a roost. 

On the approach of the sitting-sedson, the nests, that 
during the rest of the year open in the row, first one 
on one side, and the next on the other, alternately, are 
all made to face the south by the transfer of all the 
wire frames to the north side. As soon as a hen be- 
comes broody, her nest having been duly prepared by 
placing in the bottom several inches of fresh earth 
formed into a very slight hollow, on which is spread a 
light covering of soft mashed straw, or better still, leaves, 
and eggs placed within, a second frame of netting is 
buttoned on the front or south side of the nest. The 


ON A LARGE SCALE. BS 


hen is thus completely enclosed on ser chosen nest, 
while all intrusion on the part of other fowls, also, 
from the fineness of the wire mesh, of rats and_ weasels, 
is rendered impossible. From what has been already 
said it is scarcely necessary to state that all hens are 
thus treated on being set. 
iy lat llth 

: i of 

i iba lh 

tl ly Min, 
Ia, 


; aT ') 


FIG. 3. NESTS. 


Feeding time for the sitters. having arrived, the at- 
tendant passes to the north side of the nests through 
the door left at the end of the tier, closing it after 
him, thus effectually shutting out from. the north side of 
apartment the laying hens. Then food and water being 
provided, he removes the wire frames on that side from 
the nests of half a dozen sitters,—never more at once 
and they well scattered about in point of location,—and 


3 


34 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


withdrawing, leaves these to their eating and dusting, 
while he, in turn, steps into each of the other apart- 
ments of the building, going through the same process, 
and then on to the next building, performing the opera- 
tion as in the previous one, and so on. At the end of 
fifteen minutes, or thereabouts, he again makes his ap- 
pearance at the starting point, shutting into their several 
nests the sitters let -out, and giving liberty to as many 
more. Thus, replacing the wire frames and removing 
others he goes through all the apartments of the several 
houses in strict order, till all the hens have received his 
attention. When the feeding has been accomplished, the 
hens being securely confined to their nests, the door in 
each apartment,— the closure of which forms these tem- 
porized feeding-rooms,—is again thrown open, and the 
general flock once more placed in full possession of their 
room. 

In almost every instance, the hens will have all re- 
turned to their nests at the expiration of the fifteen 
minutes, but occasionally a loiterer will be met with who 
has, to be, picked up. and (retumed ‘by hand. In ‘this 
operation great gentleness must be employed, and the 
fowl simply placed onthe alighting board in front of 
her nest, she herself entering. With systematic care, little 
trouble need be experienced in the working of this plan, 
the hens, with but few exceptions, returning each to her 
own nest. As a sure index for the attendant as to the 
belongings of each hen, they have marked on them with 
paint, on being set, small figures corresponding to others 


placed over their nests, the number of the figure indi- 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 35 


cating the nest in the row, while the color of the paint 
points out the tier, three different colors being employed 
for three tiers. The earth placed under each nest occu- 
pied by a sitter is moistened twice a week from the 
spout of a watering-pot (the sprinkler removed), passed 
close around the outside of the nest. This mode of 
managing the sitting department is one that is eminently 
adapted to a family fowl-house as well as one on a 
poultry farm, and if properly carried out, the eggs being 
well fertilized, will insure success in this, to many, most 
difficult stage of chicken-bearing,—incubation. 


REARING. 


Each year, from the chicken runs, must be sent forth 
pullets numbering half the laying fowls, to fill the va- 
cancy caused by the older half—two years past—taking 
their way market-ward, if the best results are to be at- 
tained. : 

The country over, mismanagement and neglect, in a 
greater or less degree, is too commonly the portion of 
chickenhood. The result,—a dwarfed, as compared with 
what proper food and care would make it, and unprofit- 
able growth. To mention the more prominent causes 
conducing to growth failure, will be to indicate the con- 
ditions of success. A common custom, that of taking 
the chickens from the hen as fast as hatched and _ plac- 
ing them by the fire, is the first matter calling for cen- 
sure. To be sure, there are occasional cases when it be- 
comes necessary for the safety of the chickens to remove 
them, owing to much irregularity in hatching, or some 


36 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


other exceptional circumstance, of which many appear in 
poultry keeping, but otherwise they should be left un- 
disturbed. 

At this stage they require quiet and the strength- 
giving warmth of the hen. For the same reason, if all 
are doing well, the mother and her brood should not be 
hurried from the nest, but allowed to remain twelve or 
fifteen hours, only care being taken to remove cast-off 
shells. To prevent restlessness on the part of the hen, a 
feeding of corn, also drink, should be given her on the 
nest. The chicks, however, require and should receive 
no feed till removed. 

Again, too frequently, the diet of chickens, and all 
young poultry in fact, consists solely of fine corn meal ; 
and this repeated, feeding after feeding, and continued 
from the very first meal till growth carries them to a 
point where whole corn can be consumed, when the lat- 
ter is substituted. Many, from false ideas of economy, 
delude themselves into the belief that corn (meal and 
grain), and corn alone, constitutes the cheapest poultry 
food for both chickens and adults, because, weight con- 
sidered, its market price is the lowest. They are far 
astray, however. Such persons do not take the result 
into consideration. If they did, they would arrive at a 
different conclusion, as chickens analyze the grain fully as 
well, practically, as would the chemist. In nitrogenous 
matter, an element that enters so largely into the com- 
position of bone and muscle in the growing chick and 
the egg of the laying hen, corn is deficient—its value as 
food consisting rather in its fattening qualities. Owing to 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 37 


the oil it contains, it is heating in its nature, and con- 
sequently, though desirable in cold weather, is to be 
avoided in warm. Nevertheless, no variety of grain, how- 
ever well embodying the requisites of chicken food, can 
be solely employed to the greatest profit. The diet needs 
to be an extended and varied one. MHard-boiled egg, 
constituting the feed for the first day or two, should be 
succeeded by an admixture of coarse corn meal, oat meal 
and wheat bran. Wheat middlings and ground buckwheat 
ought also -at times to figure in the diet, taking the 
place of some of the other grains. A crumbly state is 
the only proper one in which to give soft feed, it being 
mixed to that consistency by scalding water, better still, 
milk, if obtainable, and given during spring, while yet 
warm. An excess of moisture in food, aside from all 
other objections, has a tendency to cause diarrhoea. 

As soon as chickens can readily appropriate the small- 
er grains, they should receive a small portion daily, the 
quantity being steadily increased, until at length, the soft 
food is entirely supplanted. All the different varieties of 
grain, including corn “cracked,” may be fed to advan- 
tage)’ and’*'should. be, ‘to, a .certain: ‘extent, to affords 
change. 

But the demands on us, when we would thus assume 
nature’s office of provider, are not all to be met by 
grain. An equivalent has to be given for insect food as 
well. This is best furnished in the form of refuse meat 
or liver chopped fine. Also, green food should, unfail- 
ingly, be supplied. This, in the absence of a grass plot, 
which is greatly to be preferred, must be provided by 


38 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


the introduction of finely-chopped grass into their soft 
feed, or by the use of cabbage, if early in the season. 
Water is, of course, needed,—pure and frequently re- 
newed. Milk, however, abounding as it does in growth 
material, is greatly to be preferred to water as a drink, 
and for the first few weeks at least, if reasonably ob- 
tainable, should be employed as such. In the case of 
the larger breeds, ground bone mixed in their feed will 
be found of great assistance in growth, correcting any 
tendency to leg weakness. Though all requisite food be 
provided, with the mode of giving it practiced by many, 
its otherwise good effects would be nullified. Three 
times a day, regardless of age and in overdoses, is no 
proper way of feeding chickens, though it zs the common 
one. In quantity it ought to be only as much as will 
be readily eaten up at the time, and should be given 
early and late and frequently through the day. Let none 
be suffered to lie around, as in that case it speedily 
sours, and the chickens refuse to eat, and also from its 
constant presence their appetites are dulled. As the 
chickens grow older, the feedings need not be so fre- 
quent. 

Instead of being allowed the liberty to drag _ her 
brood through the drenching morning grass, the hen 
should be constantly confined to her coop,—when the 
chickens will take what exercise they wish and no more. 
The style of coop matters little so long as it is rain- 
proof, roomy, and comfortable, and can be closed at 
night to exclude vermin. Perhaps the ordinary tent coop 
is the best, supplemented by a movable bottom and a 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 39 


night door, hinged on its upper edge. The bottom, used 
only at nignt and during wet weather, needs cleaning 
daily, and the whole coop ought to be occasionally moved 
its width on to fresh ground. When the hen deserts her 
brood, a short bit of joist with upper edges slightly 
rounded off may be placed on the floor of the coop 
and will provide the chickens with a roost. Sun is in- 
dispensable in all animal growth, and especially so in 
poultry, but in the height of summer, shade is no less 
important. I have in my mind at least two instances 
where young broods perished from heat when confined, 
through carelessness, under the direct rays of the sun, 
without chance of escape. I need not carry this further, 
only to remark that when restricted to her coop, the 
hen is of course, helpless to procure aught for herself 
or brood, and consequently, when neglected, both old 
and young invariably suffer,—likewise the pocket of their 
owner. If viewed in this latter light more generally, 
poultry would doubtless be better cared for, as there 
are those who calloused to anything like commiseration 
for brute wrongs, feel the same with surprising acuteness 
when made aware of them wa their pocket-books. On a 
poultry farm, system must be employed in the caring for, 
feeding, and housing of the chickens as well as_ the 
adult birds. 

For early chickens extra provision has to made in 
the matter of housing, ordinary coops being insufficient 
for the season. An illustration of such a house is un- 
necessary,—its construction being simple. It is sixteen 
feet in width, while in length it must conform to the 


40 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


number of broods to be housed. Two feet is the height 
at the eaves; the roof having a double pitch, eight feet 
at the ridge. The whole south slope is glazed with 
‘with hot-house sash, Inside there are no stationary fix- 
tures, but the whole room is open and clear. The floor 
is of earth; while, as a protection against rats, there 
projects outward from the bottom of the foundation 
underneath the ground a single layer of brick, twenty 
inches wide. Around or under this, rats seldom burrow. 
Earth is sought as a flooring for chickens owing to its 
unquestionable superiority over either cement pavements, 
or wood. No coops are employed within the house, but, 
instead, wired pens. These are arranged in two rows, one 
on either side of a long centre passage two feet wide. 
Each pen or run for a hen and brood is in width two 
feet, and extending from the passage to one side, is 
consequently seven feet long. To go to work to form 
these pens out of the open room, two sizes of frames 
of wire netting are required, the mesh the same in both, 
one half inch, to prevent the chickens passing through,— 
one size two by seven feet, the other two by ten feet. 
‘Of the former, two are needed to each pen, one as a 
‘cover, the other as a side or partition, while of the 
latter only one is needed to every five pens, as it forms 
‘their ends next the passage. These last-named, or passage 
frames, have double cleats placed across them on the in- 
side, every two feet in distance, as has also the correspond- 
ing side of the building, so that the partition frames 
have to be simply slipped down between these grooves, 
and every alternate one hooked fast at both ends, and 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 41 


the pens are complete, cxcepting covers, which are hooked 
on. Small wire hooks are the ones used. Several shov- 
elfuls of sifted coal ashes or of fine earth are thrown 
into each pen, and a drinking vessel hooked into the 
mesh, when all is ready for occupation, Cleanliness must, 
of course be observed, and thorough ventilation. The 
season over, but a few moments are required to remove 
the frames, when the building is free for some other 
purpose. Besides the heat from the sun, the rays of 
which, owing to the lowness of the eaves and height of 
the peak, penetrate every corner of the house, the pipe 
coming from the cooking stove in the adjoining room, 
carried the whole length of the building, is adding to 
its warmth. ! 

Owing to the molding influences of the centuries of 
domestication through which fowls have passed up to the 
present, primitive nature has, in many particulars, given 
away to one more modern and more in consonance with 
the change time through man, has wrought. Especially 
is this the case in matter of food, and by as much as 
present prolificness exceeds normal, or present size origi- 
nal, by so much must the quantity and quality of it 
now, surpass that of which nature was the purveyor. 
Over-feeding, however, is one of the most frequent causes 
of failure, especially among novices, a majority of 
whom “want their fowls to have all they can eat,” 
thinking that, in thus acting, they are treating them 
most kindly. The egg organs always suffer when hens 
are fed to repletion, and not unfrequently does this fat- 
tening lead to the irretrievable loss of the egg-producing 


42 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


powers. Appetite is the only gauge, and when enough 
feed is never given to quite satisfy it, prejudicial fatten- 
ing will be avoided. 

In our manner of feeding we might imitate nature, 
with undoubted advantage. In its daily wanderings the 
wild bird gathers its food, a mouthful here and another 
there,—its crop seldom filled to repletion, yet as seldom 
entirely empty. Constant exercise is thereby obtained 
and a variety of food partaken of, slowly and at al 
hours of the day. In a great measure, the beneficial 
results accruing from this can be secured to _ poultry 
under restriction at the present day. It is but a simple 
job, by means of one of the larger hand-drills, to bury 
daily their allowance of grain five or six inches under 
ground, the right quantity having been ascertained be- 
forehand by feeding on the surface as a trial. Any drill 
now manufactured, has to have its foot or plow set 
lower, its hopper much enlarged and its feeding appara- 
tus set to its full capacity. One simpler and _ better 
adapted to this feeding purpose might easily be con- 
structed. The first few times of feeding, some difficulty will 
be experienced in running the drill to the depth men- 
tioned, but if one spot be set apart as a feeding-ground 
and that high and dry, owing to the combined agencies 
of drill and fowls’ feet in scratching, it will soon be- 
come perfectly mellow. These ends of exercise and 
slow feeding have to be sought differently in winter, as, 
of course, drilling is no longer possible. Happily for 
the carrying out of this style of feeding corn (that 
owing to its fattening and heating tendencies ought not 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 43 


to be fed to any extent, during the warmer portion of 
the year), in cold weather should figure quite prominently 
in the diet, and then being fed on the ear, meets these 
wants to a degree. By building a small wire-slatted 
rack with cover, along one side of the coop, elevated from 
the floor high enough to cause the fowls to stretch 
some, if not to hop up, to reach the ears of corn placed 
within, still more exercise would be compelled, and to 
advantage. Grain, other than corn, must at this season, 
be fed on the floor or else on the ground without, 
when the weather will permit. This enforced exercise 
and slow and prolonged feeding, aside from its di- 
rect beneficial results, which are by no means _ small, 
of necessity, makes employment incumbent upon the 
fowl, and the dulness and indifference that frequently 
possesses them, when fed at stated meals, is at once 
broken up and with it a fruitful cause of diseases, feath- 
er-eating, egg-eating, etc. With fowls, as with more pre- 
tentious beings, “idleness is the mother of mischief.” 

Of course, only grain can be given in the above 
mentioned way, and as soft food has been proven to be 
of great value in poultry feeding, under certain restric- 
tions of time and manner of bestowing, it should be 
recognized in the diet. Morning is the proper time for 
feeding it, as cooked or scalded meal affords nutriment 
sooner than hard grain; and the manner by throwing 
it while yet warm—#in winter quite so—on clean, 
hard ground, in favorable weather; otherwise, within 
doors, in a trough. As in chicken-feeding, it should be 
mixed quite dry, and for the same reasons. All the 


44. HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


several varieties of meal should be embraced im this 
diet; but two or three, however, being employed to- 
gether. Corn meal should figure in it much more exten- 
sively in cold weather than in warm,—and wheat bran, 
the value of which, as an egg-stimulator, is not generally 
appreciated, ought to find place in the mixture, the year 
round. 

As a light noon-day meal in winter, small potatoes, 
boiled and mashed up with bran or buckwheat meal, 
and fed warm, are excellent. During the tillable portions 
of the year no distinctive noon meal should be given, 
as the evening feed of grain ought then to be consider- 
ably increased so as to partially make up for a second 
meal, and drilled in very early in the afternoon, when 
the fowls will be engaged in unearthing it until night- 
fall. A fair amount of seasoning, both of pepper and salt, 
ought to;-.enter,, into...all..the., soft,. food,, and in cold 
weather the amount of the former can be considerably 
increased, with benefit. The hard grain fare should be 
a changing one,—all the various cereals having their turn. 
Several varieties may be drilled in together, but never 
in surface feeding would I employ more than one, as a 
number only causes continual contention and _ rushing 
among the fowls, they always having a preference for one 
variety over another. Wheat, if obtainable at anything 
approaching a reasonable price, forms one of the very 
cheapest of foods, though in winter, doubtless, to 
buckwheat is to be given the choice. The great 
avidity with which fowls consume broken oyster shells 
and other calcareous matter, of which they have been 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 45 


deprived for some time, shows their necessity for this 
material. The demand for animal food has to be met 
by cheap refuse meat, and cleanings from fish-markets, 
and if in the vicinity of milkmen, ‘ bob-calves” will fur- 
nish a supply. An establishment, located near the sea 
shore, could resort to menhaden and other inferior fish, 
that are caught in large quantities. As a general thing, 
all flesh ought to be boiled before being fed. A supply 
of green food is easily obtained, where there is an 
annual change of runs, for each season after the coops 
have been removed from the cultivated land it is seeded 
down with a heavy coating of grass-seed and a light 
one of wheat, and so when occupied the following sping 
for runs, first the wheat and after that the grass furnish 
“greens.” Cabbages and sugar beets have to be resorted 
to in winter. Fowls appreciate pure water more than is 
imagined, and a supply should be kept constantly before 
them. 

But little trouble need be apprehended from lice, if 
only proper precautionary measures: be taken. To this 
end, all padding with mats, straw, and other materials, 
must be foregone, and all arrangements within the house 
be made as simple as possible. Let the whole interior 
of the house be thoroughly whitewashed several times 
during the year—done so by “sloshing”’ the wash into 
every cranny and crevice till full. The nests must be 
kept clean and a small allowance of sulphur left in the 
bottom of each. Avoid any considerable deposit of ma- 
nure; and a large, deep, dusting-bath—consisting of dried 
earth, finely sifted ashes, and a small quantity of sulphur— 


46 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


being provided the fowls, lice may almost be defied. 
Carbolic acid is also of assistance — likewise occasional 
fumigations. 

As a change of surrcundings proves the most effect- 
ive way of breaking up a sitter, a run with an open 
shed, provided only with roosts, should be set apart on 
a poultry farm for the reception and care of all such 
cases. During the season when this state of things exists, 
the wagon with a crate placed on it, should make datly 
rounds, and all hens broodily inclined, that are not 
wanted as sitters, ought, after having the number of their 
flock marked on them with paint, to be crated and re- 
moved to said run, where they remain till recovered, 
when they are restored to their proper flocks. The secret 
of breaking broodiness is to take it in hand on its first 
appearance. For the completion of comfort, shade is 
quite a necessity during the warmer weather in immediate 
proximity to the houses—in fact overshadowing it—and 
this is best secured in deciduous trees, as in winter their 
naked branches offer no obstacles to the sun’s rays. Ever- 
greens should be located more removed from the _ build- 
ing and will act as wind-breaks at the latter season. 
Dependence has to be placed on young fowls, however, 
to reap the full results of the most favorable circum- 
stances; and for a constant supply of winter eggs, early 
hatched pullets are a stze gua mon, though in the 
case of Brahmas, hens, when hatched, early, often make 
fair returns. By at least a limited variety of breeds 
and a succession of broods, there is little difficulty in 
securing eggs during every month in the year. 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 47 


MISCELLANEOUS BUILDINGS. 

The buildings immediately occupied by the fowls do 
not complete the outfit of a proper establishment, Others 
are needed. Of these, one of the most essential is a 
granary. The fluctuations in the grain market, and the 
great advance in prices from the cargo purchase—as it 
passes through the hands of the burdensome middlemen 
up to the retailer; and less, although still appreciable, 
to the average wholesale dealer—are to interest the poul- 
try ‘farmer. He cannot, under average circumstances, 
grow his own grain, and so, being thrown on the market, 
he becomes a large purchaser. Reason dictates that a 
small dealer would not be resorted to for this supply, 
but instead, one would evade, as far as practicable, these 
expensive go-betweens, and approach nearer the producer. 
Here, at the East, grain would be bought by the car- 
load, brought from the great West, while in sections 
more remote from large centres, the farmers would gladly 
furnish any quantity direct. More than this, to make 
the best purchases, the market must be watched, and its 
depressions taken advantage of. By purchasing thus largely 
and, as near as possible, directly, and that, too, at the 
right time, a great saving would follow. To realize this, 
though, the granary at home must be commodious and 
well appointed,—roomy, to give storage to large quan- 
tities at once; properly arranged, to preserve the same 
from heating. 

Circumstances would regulate the size, but a two-story 
building would, doubtless, be the most desirable form. If 


ground could be had favorable for a drive-way, such 
A 


48 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


should lead to the upper story. This failing, the next 
best means of elevating the grain would be by tackles, 
with the ropes attached to a platform, capable of hold- 
ing several bags at a trip, and worked by a horse, in 
like manner as a_ hay-fork. -The real feature of such a 
building, however, should be the arrangements for the 
thorough airing of its contents. To this, other consider- 
ations should be quite subordinate, perhaps properly re- 
serving vermin-proof arrangements. 

Satisfactory ventilation, I imagine, will result from the 
adoption of a plan similar to the following: Let a pas- 
sage-way of at least six feet in width traverse the two 
stories, through the center, lengthwise. Along either side 
of these arrange the bins, extending back to the siding. 
The front of these, facing the passage, should consist of 
loose boards, slid between cleats, the backs of the 
bins to be ceiled up on the inside of the upright joists, 
as usual. These uprights, however, to which are nailed 
the ceiling within, and the clapboads without, are not to 
be the customary 3 xX 4 joists, but instead, two-inch 
plank, ten inches wide, set crosswise. This vacancy of 
ten inches, formed between siding and ceiling, is to com- 
municate with the outer air through ample openings, 
guarded by. fine wire mesh, at the bottom next the sill, 
and above, directly under the eaves. To bring in con- 
tact with the grain the air thus circulating against the 
back of the bins, the latter protected the while from 
rain and snow, let tin pipes, of the size of ordinary 
water leaders, thickly perforated with small holes, pass 
directly through the bins from this sheltered air passage 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 49 


to the front side, where they open out into the room. 
These pipes should be well scattered throughout the 
mass of grain, the required number being easily, ascer- 
tained by experimenting. When the grain is being re- 
moved, these pipes should be taken out as fast as the 
grain lowers to their level, so as not to interfere. 

For unshelled corn, the end or corner bins had best 
be reserved, as by the slatting of both the rear of these 
bins, in place of the ceiling, and likewise the portion of 
the ends of the building coming in contact with the 
corn, the needed air would find admittance. Other and 
ampie provisions for a free and direct circulation of air 
throughout the building are supposed to be provided. 

Further buildings, as barn, workshop, an office or 
general resorting room, a cook-room, previously mentioned 
as profitably adjoining early chicken houses to aid in 
heating the. latter, and more or less shedding for the 
storing of coops and implements, must follow. The de- 
tails of these are not of such great importance, yet 
time spent beforehand in careful planning with view to 
economy of construction and after labor in their spheres 
of operation, would never be regretted. The last named 
—-shedding—is equally as important as the others, and 
will prove itself continually useful. An excess of early 
chickens, beyond the regular accommodations, would here 
find comfortable quarters, and if the usual bounds be 
overstepped and more hens than common are wished to 
be set, by the proper employment of a few lengths of 
movable fence, suitable provision for these also could be 
made here. A good cellar would be indispensable for 


50° HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


the storing of a winter supply of potatoes and roots, 
and would be properly located under the barn. 

The little heating that may be admissible in the lay- 
ing houses, and only then in the coldest of winter, and 
in our northern clime, can easily be obtained from a 
small coal stove. Again let me say—if resorted to at 
all—the stove must be run at a very low temperature, 
scarcely perceptible. A greater heat will prove disastrous. 
To equalize the temperature throughout the building, let 
the stove be encircled by a  sheet-iron heat-collector, 
contracting into a pipe which is carried toward one end 
of the house, while the smoke-pipe is run oppositely. 
This draws from the centre to the extremes. 


DRY EARTH.—CULTIVATION. 


I cannot recognize, in poultry farming, the necessity 
or economy of gathering and housing for after use the 
large quantities of dry earth that have been advocated. 
The advantages of dry earth as a deodorizer are beyond 
dispute, and to have this material on hand in abundance 
would be highly desirable, but for the obtaining and 
‘sheltering of it after the manner proposed. This would 
be performed in summer, when wages are at harvest 
prices, and when whatever labor was regularly employed 
on a poultry farm would have extra work in the way of 
cultivation to do,—and the difficulties attending the hous- 
ing it in proper condition, perfectly free from moisture, 
would be incalculably greater than that of hay or grain. 
Again, the item of suitable shelter for it, when thus 
gathered, adds something to the expense that might bet- 


ON A LARGE SCALP. 51 


ter be incurred in additional improvement of the fowl- 
houses. 

It would be preferable, to my thinking, to “remove 
semi-weekly the droppings from under the roosts—they 
having daily had a few handfuls of plaster scattered over 
them—and the rest of the house floor, to cover afresh, 
with light soil, twice a year—spring. and fall—to the 
depth of, say three inches, the dirt being drawn directly 
from a bank. Earth, ordinarily moist, when thus spread 
on a floor, under a tight roof and freely exposed to the 
sun through ample windows, dries perfectly in a few 
days, and though taken from a dirt-bank—and so largely 
sub-soil—it will be found sufficiently absorbent for all 
practical purposes. By running over this daily with a 
fine-tooth steel rake, and depositing the rakings under 
the roosts, much manure that would otherwise become 
incorporated with the dirt will be removed, when the lat- 
ter will be found to answer its purpose well for the six 
months. When this dirt is removed to give place to a 
fresh supply, it is naturally added to the compost heap. 

In this manure we have a telling item on the credit 
side quite generally ignored. The producing power of 
properly-treated hen-manure can probably, with safety, be 
placed at half that of the average quality of guano. 
Thus loosely estimated, it is a very strong fertilizer; and 
when from the equivalent of one and a half to two 
bushels of grain annually consumed by each fowl, an al- 
most like quantity of productive power is found in the 
excrement, the amount of plant food can be roughly ap- 
proximated. 


52 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY 


The disposition of this to the best advantage is to 
be dictated by circumstances. If an acre of land to each 
one hundred fowls is cultivated yearly, and all the ma- 
nure resulting from that number is applied to it, a sys- 
tem of truck-farming had best follow, perhaps. In case 
much less land was devoted to this purpose, gardening 
would make the most satisfactory return, while, if no land 
is to be spared, the manure must be marketed as well 
as it can be, which seldom is justly remunerative. If, 
on the other hand, the land is not limited, the manure 
would, most likely, be devoted to the growing of ordi- 
nary farm crops. 

It is important that the soil to be given to poultry 
keeping be of a rather light nature,—sandy loam being 
about the aim. Such would be the best for cultivation 
as well as for the fowls, while a lighter soil would be 
correspondingly objectionable for either. : 


LOCATION. 


The location as to the country in general is not of 
such vital importance as it may at first seem, though it 
is important. Labor varies but little the country over. 
The cost of production and the market value of the 
product bear about the same proportion the one to the 
other. At the same time as the great markets are lo- 
cated mainly in the Eastern and Middle States these 
sections afford the advantage of freshness in marketing, 
which condition always commands a liberal advance over 
more distantly-shipped eggs or fowls. Climate has its 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 53 


influence too, the more so -when winter eggs or early 
chickens are especially sought. 

A near market, where one can deliver his -produce 
personally, is certainly desirable on several accounts, not 
the least of which is the avoidance of packing and 
shipping. Running on a regular route and distributing 
eggs as one would milk, as recommended by Mr. H. H. 
Stoddard in his book entitled “An Lgg Farm,” is prob- 
ably the most profitable mode of disposing of them, 
though could the custom of a good hotel or two be 
obtained at a slight discount, such would on the whole, 
be more satisfactory. In the absence of a sufficient home 
market, a railroad communication has, of course, to be 
resorted to for reaching a larger one. 

In the matter of market, England is much better off 
than we are. Hers is guaranteed beyond a shade of 
doubt, as the annual importation of eggs into that 
country from the Continent—mainly France—is in amount 
marvelous. The small number of farms, considering her 
population, has limited her home production of eggs and 
poultry. With us it is not so. Ours is largely an agri- 
cultural country, and the rural population bears a _ very 
different proportion to the urban here from what it does 
in Great Britain. An adjunct, as a matter of course, to 
every farm is a flock of fowls, consequently the country 
is full of poultry, and this, however indifferent, has, in 
times past, met the pressing demands of the market, 
and doubtless will continue to do so, after a manner, for 
some time to come. 

The fact that all these farms pour into the market, 


54 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


year after year, their surplus eggs and fowls, ignorant of 
the cost of production—and in many cases at little or 
no cost—should be carefully regarded by the poultry 
farmer, and his course shaped accordingly. Fall : and 
winter is evidently As time, as is spring and summer 
the general farmer’s. Let him run his establishment with 
a view to covering these seasons, and he need have no 
fears as to serious competition from the productions of 
ordinary farms. Nor do I think the profits of the un- 
dertaking will ever permanently be lowered beyond a 
justly remunerative point, through the competition of 
poultry breeders. The law of supply and demand will 
surely make no exception of poultry breeders. It would 
be strange if it had not its fluctuations as have other 
enterprises, and if it should not at times descend below 
what is to be considered fairly profitable. What business 
does not experience these changes? In every calling 
they are to be met and weathered. A few, by dint of 
steadiness, perseverance, and keen business insight, make 
their vocation a success; others in less degree still 
make a living by it, while yet others—and many—fail. 
So, I ween, it will be with poultry keeping. 

This is also important, that the supply of a nice 
article of food alwavs creates a demand. This, for in- 
stance, was the case with asparagus and tomatoes. And 
in these, even the appetite itself was to be formed. A 
case more parallel may be found in the history of peach, 
grape, and strawberry raising. The appetite already ex- 
isted, but people were unaccustomed to the use of them 
as at present. When fresh eggs become attainable by the 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 55 


masses, there will be quadruple the number used in the 


large towns. 


PROFITS. 


In attempting to make estimates as to what would be 
a likely return for such an investment as this, several 
things are to be considered. The yield of a hen, and 
the market value of her product, are contingent on 
many circumstances. It should be safe to count on ten 
dozen eggs per hen—appreciably less than this would 
indicate disarrangement somewhere — and for my own 
part, I could not feel that all had been done that might 
be, as well as not, until the average should reach full 
twelve, at least. It would not require such an _ over- 
straining on the part of fowl or keeper to reach this 
latter figure. Simply wholesome care and judicious selec- 
tion. Price is a delicate thing to touch on, it varies so 
with seasons and location. Taking for granted that the 
majority of the eggs are laid in the course of the fall 
and winter months, when prices range high, and suppos- 
ing the market to be from Philadelphia eastward, and 
eggs well sold, could not thirty cents per dozen be had? 
I think so; or very close to it. 

Then, chickens are to be considered in addition. The 
two-year old hens on going to market, provided they are 
of fair size, and good condition, will amply repay for 
raising a number of early pullets to the laying age, 
while the turning off cockerels as broilers at twelve 
weeks old will leave something of a margin over their 
rearing, if sold at from $1.25 to $2.00 a pair, from 


56 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


the last of May till early in July. Allowing twenty-five 
cents to be this margin on each bird, there would be 
half that sum to be credited to every hen when half of 
the layers are recruited yearly. Again, manure has to be 
added, which, at the lowest computaion, should be placed 
at twenty-five cents per capita. 

Turning to the running expenses, feed demands first 
attention. The equivalent of one bushel and a half of 
grain, for average-sized fowls, will be found not far 
amiss. Larger birds will require a trifle more; smaller 
ones, in degree, less. This supply should not cause an 
outlay of over $1.25, at most, and that to include vege- 
table food in winter. 

From sixty to sixty-five cents a fowl ought to cover 
all outlay in the way of labor (cost of chicken care was 
included above when spoken of). With proper conven- 
iences, one man, going to work systematically, should, it 
seems to me, be able to attend to from eight hundred 
to twelve hundred .fowls in a fitting manner, nor be 
crowded for sufficient time. The fental of land can 
easily be got at. Interest and wear and tear on build- 
ings is another—and not small—item on the debit side. 

I feel that the common estimate on housing fowls, 
conveniently and comfortably, their grain and the neces- 
sary stock and implements, as well as the building of 
coops, is .decidedly too low,—I know it is. It is certain 
that nothing can be constructed for less than about $2.00 
for every adult bird, including fixtures for raising chick- 
ens, to keep the number of grown birds good, and also 
the necessary adjuncts in the shape of storage for grain, © 


- ON A LARGE SCALE. 87 


etc., and all appliances needed as auxiliaries. A few mo- 
ments of figuring will convince any one of this. 

Summing all up, I would not encourage -one with 
hopes of higher profit than $1.00 a hen per annum, 
though there are possibilities of considerable more. I have 
known the above amount to be doubled, yes, trebled. 
There are hundreds of instances, well proven, where 
$2.00 to $3.00, and even more, have been realized as a 
net average per head yearly. 

The plan described in the early pages is only one of 
many that may be satisfactorily made use of. 

There are various plans, differing in minor points, 
which are practicable for keeping fowls by wholesale, for 
market purposes, and the one described need not be in- 
sisted on so far as minor details are concerned. 

Its aims, however, should be those of every plan: sys- 
tematic arrangement of buildings without and within; the 
avoidance of crowding many fowls in one building, the 
rooms being at the same time well lighted and com- 
pletely protected against the elements; adequate arrange- 
ments for the protection of sitters; and spacious yards, 
yet well defined by means of fence, for laying and 
breeding stock. 


RECAPITULATION. 


It will be useful, at the close of this treatise, to 
glance again over what has been said, and recall the va- 
rious details of the system proposed. 

It has been seen that up to this time poultry breed- 
ing on a large scale has failed in England, and from 


58 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


causes only too apparent. They were too artificial, and 
too regardless of the real nature of the fowls to deserve 
SUCCESS, 

It was shown, also, that one must not enter into the 
business with expectations of pecuniary returns beyond a 
fair percentage, and that the extravagant reports of the 
immense profits sometimes realized, if not inaccurate, 
must be exceptional, as the profits in this business, as in 
others, must eventually fall to a level. 

Among the elements of success, it was pointed out 
that the man himself must be of the right sort, must 
have a real and not a passing love for the work, must 
attend to the infinitude of detail himself, and must 
acquire experience before making a very large venture in 
the business. Intelligence, knowledge, devotion, and the 
most assiduous care, are all needed to insure success. 

Even such a man as this would find it necessary to 
adopt the most rigid system. 

The great guide in his work was mentioned, a strict 
regard for nature and the avoidance of artificiality; only 
by knowing the natural habits and constitutional necessities 
of the animals can the breeder succeed. Some of the 
most prominent features in the character of fowls men- 
tioned were their love for freedom and range. Confine- 
ment tends greatly to the destruction of the spirit and 
vigor of even the most robust among them. 

Coming to the subject of houses, it was remarked 
that however individual ingenuity might vary the general 
plan, certain main principles should be kept in view in 


the construction of every building. They should be 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 59 


built with reference to the climate, and not merely to that 
of any one season, but to the changes of climate, which 
in the Northern States are great. The house should be 
well ventilated at all seasons, cool in summer and warm 
in winter. It was also noted that the large market 
breeder, requiring, as he does, an early production of 
€ggs, must pay more attention to heat in winter than 
the ordinary farmer. 

To produce this winter warmth, objection was not 
made to the ordinary expedients of glass and earth-banks, 
but it was pointed out that glass, as a means of giving 
warmth, fails in cloudy days, while earth-banks involved 
the expense of a stone or brick foundation, with careful 
drainage, and, moreover, made the house less easily ac- 
cessible. In view of these inconveniences, a preference 
was expressed for heating by means of a stove, as being 
of less expense, and as assisting in ventilation,. while the 
inconveniences mentioned are avoided. 

The extra land between the houses, for cultivation, 
might be located elsewhere, and the yards of every row 
of buildings reach on one side to the next. Then,as 
fowls always soil the ground most immediately about 
their houses, the taint lessening in degree as the distance 
increases, they can be shut off from _ their present runs 
on the one side, and simultaneously all the rows of 
houses be opened on the opposite, letting the fowls out 
into the rear end of what was just before the runs to 
the neighboring row of buildings. Thus the compara- 
tively fresh end of the runs adjoining their connected 
houses can be used. This change should be made year- 


60 HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


ly. The rear or further end of the runs just as they 
are about to reach the opposite row of buildings should 
be cut across by a movable fence, to afford a_ free 
driveway to the houses. Such a fence would need to be 
changed annually from one end of the yard to the other, 
according as the fowls are let out into the latter, this 
fence always cutting their connection with the houses that 
have just evacuated the runs, and restoring it to the 
neighboring ones. The side-fence of the runs should be 
stationary. 

The importance of the proper selection of a breed of 
fowls was commented upon, as being fully as essential to 
success as any other point, the extra produce of the 
better hen being the source of the profit. It was claimed 
that “blooded breeds’ were the proper breeds for the 
purpose, for the following reasons. Because the breeders 
have turned their attention to the development of the 
useful qualities, especially in the breeds of fowls of larger 
size. Their prolificness has been indirectly increased in 
consequence of the general care they have received, al- 
though it has not been feasible in many cases to work 
directly for this result. The blooded breeds also em- 
brace strains having the valuable trait of non-sitting, 
something very valuable in breeding on a large scale. 
The most quiet, less nervous fowls are found among the 
pure breeds. The most beautiful fowls occur here, es- 
pecially among the smaller kinds, which are bred to or- 
namental qualities. Finally, thorough-bred poultry can be 
best depended upon to surely transmit whatever useful 


qualities they may possess. 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 61 


In choosing among the breeds, it was recommended 
that sitters and non-sitters should be pretty evenly bal- 
anced, although the latter might be in the majority if 
early chickens are not desired. Of the sitters, the quiet, 
hardy, winter-laying Brahmas, the hardy Dominique, and 
the fine-fleshed Plymouth Rock were chosen; the quarrel- 
some Game, the oft-sitting Cochin, and the perhaps not 
yet acclimated Dorking being objected to. Among the 
non-sitters, the white and brown Leghorns, and the Hou- 
dans were preferred, as being fine meated, maturing 
early, and not so liable to colds and roup as the other 
non-sitters. The depressing influences of domestication 
with fowls, as of civilization with men, must be met 
and counteracted by the practice of the two chief princi- 
ples, selection of the fittest for, and extra care of, parent 
stock, 

While table qualities have received more or less direct 
attention in all our larger breeds of poultry—in some, 
size and symmetry being paramount—the production of 
eggs has not been directly or intentionally increased by 
breeders, in either the large or small varieties, and this 
is, to a very great extent, necessarily so. To breed di- 
rectly with a view to increasing the yield of eggs in 
hens, as has been done that of milk in cows, is really 
unfeasible. The production of eggs and milk are widely 
different offices. The laying of an egg is the act of 
parturition with a hen—the egg containing the chicken 
to be—while the milk yielded by a cow is but the food 
for the maintenance of her offspring. In a state of 
nature the number of eggs laid by a hen were gauged 


62 _ HOW TO RAISE POULTRY 


by her ability to brood them, while the cow only gave a 
quantity commensurate with the demands of the calf. Man 
by domestication has placed these functions subservient 
to his wants, and now we see the hen producing her 
ten dozens of eggs during the year, while the flow of 
milk in the cow has been greatly increased and prolonged. 
By the careful selection of a few fowls, and the keep- 
ing of a pedigree of the same, as also an account of 
the eggs laid by them, and from their product selecting 
others, those proving themselves the best layers, prolificacy 
might perhaps be increased, but when fresh blood should 
be demanded —and it cannot be introduced too often— 
unless a number of yards were run, or others were 
acting in concert from whom fowls could be_ procured 
that had gone through the same process, the labor would 
be lost. The great difficulty attending all attempts at direct 
increase of egg production would be want of external 
guides, whereas in the case of the cow there are many 
points—such as milk veins, udder, escutcheon, fineness of 
head, horns and tail, color of skin, etc.—when in per- 
fection, all collectively indicating abundance or richness 
of milk. All that can be done practically toward devel- 
oping prolificness is to select vigorous, square-built birds, 
avoid all “in and in breeding,’ house comfortably and 
dryly, and feed forcingly but carefully. But while, as 
seen, man has done and can do little directly for the 
furtherance of egg production in blooded fowls, still pro- 
lificness is possessed by many breeds in a great degree, 
resulting, doubtless from the combined influence of feed, 
extra care, favorable surrounding circumstances, climate, 


ON A LARGE SCALE. 63 


change of climate, etc. The known winter laying quality 
is not the result of breeding in the Brahma and Cochin, 
still in this particular how they surpass all other fowls! 
The acknowledged egg-producing powers of the Spanish, 
Leghorn, Hamburg, Poland, Game, and the French breeds, 
owe nothing directly to the breeders’ skill. Before 
ever an Asiatic had left the confines of the Orient, or 
ever a poultry exhibition had gathered together the feath- 
ered tribe in competition, the “Dutch every day layers,” 
and the ‘everlasting layers,’ implying Hamburgs and 
Spanish were household words. Such popularity in the 
absence of any “poultry-mania,’” and while the poultry 
fancy was still in its infancy, in fact before the subject 
of poultry improvement had fully obtained a _ foothold, 
could not but have a practical foundation. 

“Improved versus common fowls,’ the much agitated 
question, here propounds itself. To form an _ analogy 
between other blooded stock and poultry as to the prac- 
tical results attained—though a comparison of means can- 
not be closely made—ought, in connection with the con- 
stant demonstration of the fact by experience, to be 
convincing proof of the superiority of the latter over 
““dung-hill”’ stock. 

In the first place, the power of uniform transmission 
of useful qualities (bad as well, if possessed), that is 
the characteristic of everything thorough-bred, is fully 
possessed by improved poultry. Now as to the useful 
qualities. Those characterizing the several breeds of cat- 
tle, sheep, and swine, also the horse, whatever they may 
be, are almost entirely the direct result of breeding— 


64 HOW TO RAISH POULTRY. 


climate and other molding influences playing but an 
insignificant role in their formation. Color excepted 
almost every point considered standard in the judging 
and breeding of thoroughbred farm stock, tends more or 
less directly to utility and is in a great measure an 
index of it. In comparing with blooded stock the useful 
properties of blooded fowls, the products of the latter, 
flesh and eggs, have of necessity to be divided, as they 
are in the main the results of the workings of different 
agents. For the superior table qualities possessed by 
many of our varieties, we are to a great extent indebted 
to breeders. This is especially the case with Bronze 
Turkeys, Toulouse and Embden Geese, Rouen, Aylesbury, 
and Cayuga Ducks, the English Dorking, the Houdan, 
Creve Coeur, La Fléche, and Plymouth Rock. To what 
the <Asiatics owe their size it is impossible to say, 
though since imported they have been brought more 
thoroughly within the bounds of symmetry, and their 
weight somewhat increased. In the smaller breeds orna- 
mental qualities have been the all-absorbing aim of fan- 
ciers, and quite properly so. No finer field for the cul- 
tivation and enjoyment of the beautiful is presented in 
the whole order of creation, nor one more nearly within 
the reach of all, than poultry, both land and water; 
and that busy, active America may in this respect take 
a lesson from her slower and more philosophical sister 
England, whose people from the highest to the lowest 
possess and gratify a taste for the beautiful in nature, is 
greatly to be desired. 


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