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Book

Bet: It’s
Profitable and Patriotic

1918

Illinois Farmers’ Institute,
Springfield, Illinois

[Printed by authority of the Siate of Illinois.]

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155

EVERYBODY CAN HELP WIN
THE WAR WITH
POULTRY

Bo Sri
DEC 23 191g

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MORE POULTRY NEEDED

More meat is needed for the boys at the front.
This must come from America. France and
England can not produce it. Every effort is
being made to grow more e¢attle, hogs and
sheep, but at best this increase will he slow.
Poultry can be produced more rapidly, and can
be used to conserve other meat supplies, thereby
releasing more beef and pork for army needs.
It can also be produced as economically as any
other form of meat, and town people as well

as farmers can aid in this patriotic work.

MORE EGGS, TOO

More poultry not only means more meat, but
more eggs. And eggs are also a good meat
substitute. The more eggs people eat, the less
meat is required, and there will be more beef

-and pork for the soldiers.

EASY TO. PRODUCE

There are no secrets about poultry raising
which can not readily be mastered by anyone
who will give it study and attention. Men and
women, boys and girls, can all raise poultry if
they will apply ordinary intelligence to the job.
Poultry requires a small investment; can be
handled on a limited amount of ground; is
profitable, and provides a quick means of meet-

ing the present food emergency.

Begin NOW—Feed Yourself

“ONE HUNDRED HENS ON
EVERY FARM”

Is the slogan of the
UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION

If you can not keep 100 hens, keep as many
as you can. Every additional chick will help.
This is the most practical and effective way
in which people living in town or city can add
to our food production.

PRACTICAL POULTRY
POINTERS

Poultry raising is profitable. It is especially
profitable in war time. Markets demand poul-
try and eggs at good prices, and they supply
wholesome and economical food for the home
table. Every family should raise its own
poultry. It is profitable, and right now it is
PATRIOTIC. ;

Choice of Breed

A general-purpose breed, such as the Plymouth
Rock, Orpington, Wyandotte or Rhode Island
Red, is the best for table use. The hens are
good setters and good mothers, and will give
plenty of eggs for family use. The lighter
weight egg-breeds, such as the Leghorns and
Anconas, are more economical producers where
eggs are chiefly desired.

Number to Keep

Keep as many hens as space and feed supply
will permit. On the farm, where free range is
available, 100 hens may be handled successfully.
On small town lots, 10 to 25 are usually enough.
Twenty square feet is the minimum amount of
space to allow each bird. Better keep a small-
sized flock well, than a larger number in quar-
ters which are cramped and too small for best
results.

0

Houses and Yards

A comfortable house is essential. It need not
be expensive. It must have a good roof, a dry
floor, and be free from draft. A satisfactory
house for a small flock can be made from piano
boxes. Oftentimes an old shed, or other small
building, can be remodeled for poultry. Build-
ing paper can be used to keep out the wind,
and prepared roofing will stop the leaks. |

Good ventilation must be provided. Allow
plenty of fresh air and sunlight. Face the
house to the. south, if possible. An open-front
house with burlap or canvas curtain is cheap
and satisfactory. <A floor space of 3 square
feet per bird is about right. <A dirt floor is
sufficient if it will keep dry. It must be high
enough to prevent dampness at all times. A
board floor should never be laid on the ground.
Raise it 10 or 12 inches, with free air space
below, which will serve to preserve the wood
- and give protection from rats. Arrange roosts,
with dropping boards, in rear of house, about
20 inches above the floor. The roosts should be
set on the same level and about 6 or 8 inches

above the dropping boards, 15 inches apart, and
with an allowance of 10 inches of roost space
per bird. Nest boxes may be nailed to the side
of the house and save floor space. Make the
nests 12 inches square and 6 inches deep, and
keep the straw, or other material used in them,
always clean. The floor of the house should be
well covered with clean litter of straw or dry
leaves. Suitable yards may be made by the use
of common chicken fencing, and arranged to
suit individual convenience. |

~]

Hatching the Chicks

Hatch the chicks early. Early hatched
pullets will produce more winter eggs. Hot
weather retards the growth of young chicks.
Late hatched chicks are more susceptible to
disease and require more care in raising. If
hens are used for hatching see that they set
where they will not be disturbed. Arrange the
nests low, and provide fresh food and water
each day.

Set uniform size eggs and be sure they are
fertile. Test out all infertile eggs at the end
of one week of incubation. Cook these eggs
and feed them to the baby chicks.

Care of the Chicks

The first two weeks is the important period
of the chick’s life. They must be kept warm
and free from lice. If hatched in an incubator
transfer to warm brooder. Anoint top of head
with lard or olive oil to prevent head lice.
Give no solid feed for the first 36 or 48 hours.
Dry bread crumbs or corn-meal mash makes
good early feed. Oatmeal or finely-cracked corn

may also be used. Corn bread, or Johnny cake,
is a good chick feed. It may be made by mix-
ing corn meal with a little salt, baking soda
and sour milk to make a stiff batter. Sour
milk is excellent for both young and old fowls.

Feed the chicks several times a day, all they
will clean up, on clean grass or boards, but do
not over-feed. A variety of grain feed may be
used as the chicks learn to eat it. Supply whole
corn for the mother hen. Clean, fresh drinking

A Young Patriot and His: Flock

Too!

water is essential at ail times. Keep it in a
clean dish, where chicks will not get into the
water with their feet. Don’t let the young
~chicks run in the wet grass, or range with the
hen until two or three weeks old. Provide
plenty of shade for young chicks, as the hot
sun retards growth. See that the chicks are
safe from rats and other enemies at night.

Selecting the Layers

Special attention needs to be given to the
selection of the layers. There are good and
- poor producers in every flock, and the poor ones
should be weeded out and replaced by more
profitable individuals. Select the pullets show-
ing early maturity and vigor. Good constitu-
tion is essential to profitable egg production.
Hens that are most active are likely to be the
best layers. They have full-sized red combs,

with smooth skin and a large abdomen. Late
moulting hens are the best layers. Select the
most likely pullets to renew the laying flock.
But this does not necessarily mean the elimina-
tion of all the yearling hens, especially when
it is so important to increase poultry and egg
supplies. Hens that molt late and appear in
good condition may be held over, and will likely
preve profitable layers. The accommodation of
both pullets and hens, where space permits,
will assure larger laying fiocks, and is desirable
under present conditions. Do not sacrifice a
hen or pullet that will produce eggs during the
winter if you can help it. Eggs from hens
are usually better for hatching than those from .
pullets. Hens produce more vigorous chicks,
usually.

10

Swat the Rooster

Do not allow the male birds to run with the
flock after the hatching season is over. The
pullets will develop faster and the hens do
better without the rooster. More eggs will be
produced and of a better quality, as infertile
eges always keep fresh longer. Keep only male
birds which are actually needed for breeding.
Eat, or sell, the others in early fall, as they
consume feed which might better be used for
pullets. See that all surplus young cockerels
are marketed as broilers and roasters. Or,
better still, caponize the surplus cockerels and
sell them the following March or April, when
they should weigh 10 or 12 pounds each. A few
days ago a southern [Illinois man sold his ¢ca-
pons at 48 cents per pound. This will save

grain, prevent great loss of eggs, and contribute
to the market meat supply.

Feeding the Flock

There is no one best feed, or combination of
feeds, for all conditions. The ration should be -
economical and supply the. nutrients required
for egg production. A mixture of the common
grains is good, but should be supplemented with
other feed, as grain alone is too fattening.
Plenty of protein is needed. Supply this in the
form of skimmed milk, buttermilk, or beef
scrap. Milk may be used either sweet or sour.
Table scraps make good feed and should be
utilized to best advantage. Feed in trough, or
on a board. The grain ration is best scattered
in the litter of the scratching pen, where the
hens will be compelled to exercise in finding
it. Cracked corn, wheat and oats, equal parts,

11

offer a satisfactory grain ration. A dry mash,
composed of equal parts corn meal, wheat-bran
middlings and beef scrap, finely ground, in a
self-feeding hopper, is also desirable. Green-cut
bone may be substituted for the beef scrap, but
care should be taken to use it only when fresh.
Vegetables and roots are excellent for the lay-
ing flock, as is also green feed, such as oats
sprouts, cut alfalfa, lawn clippings, ete. Plenty
of grit should always be supplied in the form
of gravel and cracked oyster or clam shells.
Fresh, clean water is essential and should be
available for the flock at all times.

Lice and Mites

Keep poultry entirely free from lice. A lousy
fowl can not do well. Always provide the hens
with a good dust bath, as this will help mate-
rially in preventing the presence of lice. The
use of some good insect powder, such as com-
mercial sodium fliuorid, is advisable. Dust a
little into the feathers on the head, neck, breast,
thighs and tail. The treatment should be
thorough, and applied to all fowls, for if one
is missed it will be the means of reinfection for
the fiock. One pound of commercial sodium
fiuorid, when properly applied, will treat ap-
proximately 100 hens.

Mites are often more harmful than lice. They
infest the house during the day and attack the
birds at night. Thorough spraying with a good
‘commercial insecticide, such as a coal-tar prod-
uct, or crude petroleum, will rid the premises
of them. Be sure the spray reaches every part .
of the roosts, dropping boards and nests. All
cracks and crevices must be given special atten-
tion, aS here is where most of the mites harbor
during the day. This treatment must be thor-
ough and should be applied as often as needed
to make sure of results.

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13

-Preserving Eggs

When eggs are plentiful, it is well to pre-
serve some for winter use. This can be accom-
plished by the use of the water-glass method.
April and May is the best time for preserving
eggs. Use those which are strictly fresh, the
same day as laid, if possible. They should be
clean. It is better not to wash them. Badly
soiled eggs should not be used for preserving.
Fresh eggs properly preserved will keep in ex-
cellent condition for 8 or 10 months.

Water-glass, or sodium silicate, is a pale yel-
low, odorous liquid, obtainable at most drug
stores for about 30 cents per quart. One quart
of water-glass to 9 quarts of water that has
been boiled and cooled, will be sufficient for
preserving 15 dozen eggs. Use a thoroughly-
cleaned 5-gallon jar for the solution. Heat a
quantity of water to the boiling point, allow
to cool, and measure out 9 quarts into jar.
Add 1 quart of water-glass, stirring the mixture
thoroughly, and the solution is ready for the
eggs. These may be placed in the solution at
once, or added from time to time as produced.
At least 2 inches of the solution should cover
the eggs at all times. Keep the jar in a
cool, dry place, and cover well with waxed
paper to prevent evaporation.

Limewater may also be used for preserving
eggs. While slightly less expensive, it is not
considered as satisfactory as the water-glass
‘method. The limewater solution is made by

14

dissolving 2 or 3 pounds of unsiacked lime in
5 gallons of water that has been previously
boiled and cooled. The eggs may be placed
in the solution as soon as the lime settles and
the liquid is clear.

The preserved eggs may be used as needed
for table and cooking. In boiling eggs pre-
served in water-glass, a small hole should be
made in the shell with a pin at the large end
before placing in water, in order to allow the
escape of air to prevent cracking.

15

FREE POULTRY INFORMA-
TION FOR EVERYBODY

Iilinois Farmers’ Institute, Springfield, Illinois:

“Poultry Helps in War Time.”

“Lectures on Poultry Husbandry.” (Circular
No. .3.)

“Profit and Loss on Farm Poultry.” (Vol. 21,
Annual Report.)

“Raising Chickens vs. Poultry Culture.”
(Vol. 19, Annual Report.)
. “Practical Poultry Culture.” (Vol. 20, Annual
- Report.)

“Profitable Poultry.” (Vol. 20, Annual Re-
port.)

“Poultry as a Woman’s Job.” (Dept. of H. S.
Yearbook 1917.)

-U. 8S. Department of Agriculture, Washing-
Ten, 1: C.: .

“Standard Varieties of Chickens.” (Farmers’
Bulletin NO. 51.)

“Poultry Management.’ (Farmers’ Bulletin
No. 287.)
“Hints to Poultry Raisers.” (Farmers’

Bulletin No. 528.)
= pack-Yard Poultry Keeping.” (Farmers’
Bulletin No. 889.) :
“Poultry House Construction.” (Farmers’
Bulletin No. 574.)
: “Capon and Caponizing.” (Farmers’ Bulletin
No. 452.)

“Important Poultry Diseases.” (Farmers’
Bulletin No. 530.)
“Mites and Lice on Poultry.” (Farmers’

Bulletin No. 801.)

Additional copies free upon request
Illinois Farmers’ Institute

H. E. Young, Secretary
Springfield, Ill.

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