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Poultry Pension,

For the Average Farmer
or
Poultry Man...

Exactly What to Feed.
Exactly When to Feed.
Exactly How Muchto Feed.

Price 40 Cents, Postage Prepaid.

Poultry Pension,

Sarcoxie, Missouri

; 1900.
THE SARCOXIE TRIBUNE PRINT.

1
9 Sarcoxie, Missouri.

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JUN 9 = 1900
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SECOND COPY,

COPYRIGHTED,

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BY W: R! GLASBY,

aie
“ESO 5° QA

INTRODUCTION.

This little book is devoted to poultry for
FRESH ego's for market, from a business point
of view, not for fancy or pleasure. ‘The greater
the profitthe more the pleasure shows up.

A big majority of those who supply the mar-
ket with eggs, good, bad and indifferent, do
not know the magnitude of the business, noth-
ing the ‘average farmer produces comes near it.
It is not our intention to figure out a great big
thing for you—do your own figuring. We will
put you in a position to figure correctly, when
‘you do. You will find it a bigger thing than
you are aware of, counting capital, labor, etc.,
invested, with little or no risk; no risk at all if
you go at it as a business, in a business way.
It is only risky when you undertake to overdo
the thing, so go at it meaning business.

After writing three times as much as was
necessary, we carved it down to about one-
third, as it was something practicaland to the
point we were after, knowing from experience
the average farmer or poultryman wanted it in
short metre.

We have tried to give it so you can almost

6 POULTRY PENSION.

learn it bv heart, leaving out a great amount
_of figures, cuts, etc. We hope it will find its
mark, for of all the reckless handling, or not

handling, of poultry, it is done on most farms.

the very place where it shouldobtain its great-
est success.

At the present time poultry for fresh eggs is
in its prime, there being a greater demand for
fresh eggs than ever. Why? Simply because
thev are, most generally, scarce. There are
plenty of other kinds, stale, ice house, etc., but
these will never supply the demand for fresh.
Of course, if you can’t get fresh, you take the
next best, so with the market. Of late years
the best of everything goes. Strawberries are
graded right here (we are in a strawberry
country) before being putin the car, and at
what kicking. It is the same in almost every
line of produce, and why should it not be with
eggs. You are in better shape to control that
part of the market than most any other pro-
ducer, let the produce be what it may.

Cold storage cuts a big figure with almost
all other perishable produce, not so with the
fresh egg, they had just as well brand it ‘-not
fresh’’, after storage, for itis known the min-
ute it gets into market; so with your fresh egg,
it is known also. The same egg does not bob
up in the market long as a freshegg; you can't
store it in an ice box and freshen it up every

|

cae aes data ae
+S

POULTRY PENSION. 7
morning. Theaveragefarmer and poultryman’s
fresh eggs bob up pretty regularevery day.

As tor the meat side ot the poultry business,
the big packing and cold storage corporations
handle a large quantity of dressed poultry.

The big corporation is all right in its
proper place, but where is its place? They
seem to have an awful appetite for
all they go after. The big cattle ranches are
being, or trying tu be, corraled by them. We
have heard a great many say they would fin-
ally corral the farmer. All they lack now is
to shut the gate. What could the farmer do if
he would? What sort of a job do you think
they would do towards corraling the poultry
business? They can never corral theold hen,
unless by buying up poultry in large quanti-
ties, storing it and then dish it out in differ-
ent localities.

The fresh egg has got the gripand you have
only the hen that lays the egg to deal with,
treat her right and you are perfectly safe, you
are beneath the notice of these big concerns,
simply because they cannot handle you, nor
can they crush you.

In attempting to tell ExacTLy how to feed
and manage poultry to make them pay we
have taken the ‘‘Average Farmer’’ for a tar-
get, although any one who may read this will
see instantly that it is suitable to all who wish

8 POULTRY PENSION.

to try it, and especially those of small means,
also those in cities whoare bound down to call
of bell or whistle, with no certainty of
their jobs lasting a month or maybe not a
week. Ina great many casesthey may be do-
ing very well, if so, ‘‘let well enough alone. ”’

Who ever may take up this calling he also
becomes an average farmer, as he will raise a
great deal besides poultry, in fact the greater
part of his living, fruit, vegetables, milk, but-
ter, etc., maybe some for market, as poultry
alone, in accordance with this plan, will not
keep him employed as we do not advocate very
big flocks. We call one hundred laying hens
an average flock. Wedo not for one minute
advise any one to go intoit by the thousand,
as is the first thought by a great many, es-
pecially the amateurs; they are the last ones
who, at first venture, should attempt it on a
.arge scale.

Probably after trying the plan on a small
scale you might enlarge. If vou are posted,
just think a moment, how many of these one |
thousand hen poultry farms (for eggs for mar-
ket) you know of, not that you hear of, but
actually know of.

Some years ago poultry and other papers |
were full of accounts of big farms, some of big
extent, others contracted to town lots, but do- |
ing big business, using various incubators, |

—

sis eta a gee NL

POULTRY PENSION. 9

brooders, heaters, etc., turningout broilers by
the wholesale. What has become of them, and
they were expert poultrymen (or writers, one
or the other). No, the fresh eggs are not sup-
plied from the mammoth poultry tarms. There
are special fruit farms, dairy farms, stock,
etc., where would the market be if it were not
for the average farmer and poultryman who
steps up with his little package of fruit, but-
ter, eggs, etc., drops it on the pile and moves
on. The large farm egg is aot in it at all, nor
ever will be, that is for fresh eggs for market.

You read of so and so having an eighty acre
poultry farm, another, forty acres devoted
to poultry, most generally they do not try to
furnish eggs for the general market. They
are fanciers or breeders and they are very es-
sential to the average farmer, as you will rely
on such to improve and keep your stock fresh
by buying eggs or roosters from them for that
purpose. On most farms they swap eggs or
roosters amongst their neighbors; that may do
in a few cases, but if you are up to date that
won't suit. For. the average farmer, on a
reasonable scale, the fresh egg business for
market, is a permanent thing.

The meat side is furnished just as the egg
side; every farmer having a few extra chickens
to sell keeps the market well supplied. The
surplus helps pay the feed bill.

10 POULTRY PENSION.

Some say the poultry business is overdone,
or will be, if everybody goes into it. That is
the beauty of the business, there is no prob-
ability of itever being overdone. Where one
goes into the business, two go out, not because
it was overdone, for the simple reason it was
not half done, so let us give you a_ pointer, the
the greatest trouble will not be over doing, let
you try ever so hard, so don't be backward.

There are patents for fixtures for running
the business onalargescale. ‘Their advocates
claim that the expense for labor eats up the
profit. For about one or two thousand towls,

labor, lice, etc., are heavy pull on them. Take
one hundred hens managed as we describe,
or any good way, soyougetfullreturns (that’s
the rub), let the average farmers’s wife at-
tend to the light work connected with it, the
farmer himself, or boy, or hand, doing the
heavy work. After deducting the feed bill,
the wife will have at least $8.00 per. month for
her labor and she can tell anyone she never
had to labor hard or long at a time.

Children can also attend to a flock; when
they are old enough let them become interest-
ed in keeping account of everything. It is a
good thing for them, they can pay you for feed,
etc., but give them the proceeds after paying
necessary expenses, and probably you might
have to borrow money from them, but treat

POULTRY PENSION, ime

them fair and they will stay with you a long

- time; boy or girl, it makes no difference. Only.

it is better for the girl than tor the boy as she
may not have to go out from home to work, as
is the case on too many farms. How many
girls now are, well no telling where, away
from home, who could have been kept at home
by this plan. They may earn $2.50 per week
(not often) or $10.00 per month, when she could
have stayed at home and earned, with one
hundred hens, $8.00 per month, or with two
hundred hens, $16.00 per month. Look at the
satisfaction and pleasure to herself and her
parents. As for the labor, you know the value
of a hired hand in your locality. How many
such flocks could he attend to and do a fair
day’s work besides ?

The labor is a stumbling block for the big
concerns. You can very seldomgethelp to at-_
tend to hens as they shouldbe. for that reas-
on the average farmer has the advan-
tage—he is personally interested. .Instead
ot following after hired help to see if the
work is properly done, he does it himself, only
undertaking what can be properly handled, in
most cases where he undertakes it ona big
scale, he too goes to the wall.

Labor saving machinery may be all right,
but itis hard on the laborer. Some condemn
it, but in every vocation itis eagerly sought

12 POULTRY PENSION.

after. The farmer himself bites at it as soon, |

f
or sooner, than any one, eventhough he may go |,

in debt for it.
As for labor saving machinery for the poul-

try business, we don’t see where it can come
in to any great extent. That also protecis the
business for the average farmer and poultryman

It has been tried, is being tried now, to see
if there is not an opening for capital to take
hold of it, as in various other products. Capi-
tal is all right and of course there is room for
some of it in the business, but not in quanti-
ties to suit the capitalists, it also being very
risky. <A limited amount of capital is neces-
sary, so it naturally falls to the man with lim-
ited means to furnish the egg market, and that
is the man we are after—the average farmer
and his family—and there are others who can
also do well, man or woman, with or without
families. Say three or four women club to-
- gether, live together on a few acres of land,
handling what suit each. You say again, too
many going into the business. In the first
place, some never will make a_ success of it,
even under a plain plan like we suggest. To
be sure if all who are in it now and who have
been in, and out, for years, the average farm-
er, those that may: yet go intoit, and all
succeed, there would be plenty of eggs. At
present we are short on fresh eggs. The case

POULTRY PENSION. 13

is the same the worldover. Takeour average
farmer, for instance, in other lines of produce;
some do well, others fail almost entirely. So
with poultry, some come across one of those
pieces telling what can be done with a thou-
sand hens. In they go and out they come.

Some can take our plan, attend strictly to
details, enlarge by degrees, stop short at their
limit, and do well. The little one or two hun-
dred hen man is generally on deck. Others
can not take fifty hens and get full returns.

Is that any reason why you should fail? We
say youwill suceeed if you mean business.
We know of acripple who is not able to do
hard labor, that is constantly, but with the
help of his good wife, makes a good living
easily with two one hundred hen flocks. getting
his $16.00 per month pension from his two
hundred hens, for fresh eggs. Raising most
of his own food, vegetables, fruit, milk, butter,
etc., on forty acres of land.

His neighbor has one hundred and twenty
acres of land witha mortgage hale and hearty,
borrows money, in small amounts, occasionally
from his crippled neighbor. He is a hard
worker, is shiftless, but he says there is no
money in chickens. There probably ain't for
him. Just such cases level the supply on the
market.

Time and again we have been asked, ‘‘What

14 POULTRY PENSION.

do you do to get so many eggs in winter, what

kind of chickens have .you, what. do }}

you feed, whatisthesecret? Asfaras weare
concerned, there is nosecret, and we willingly
tell any one what we do, only hoping they may
profit by 1t. We have asked different ones the
folowing questions in return :

Have you a hen house?

The greater number say no.

Where do your hens roost ?

Some in the trees, some at the barn, on the
fence and wood pile.

Do you feed them regularly ?

No, they get all the feed they want them-
selves.

Where do they get it?

Around the barns, pig pens, oh, all around
the place.

Did they get all they could eat yesterday
and the day before? (Feb. 27 and 28, 1898).

Well, no, lots of them never got off their
roosts, some of them even froze to death on the
fence.

How many eggs did you say you are getting
a day?

Eggs aday? Why, we don’t get ‘‘no eggs’
at all.

How many hens did you set last spring ?
Seventy or eighty, in spring and summer.
How many eggs do you put under a hen ?
When the old woman sets them she puts fif-

’

__s- ss. = +.”

POULTRY PENSION. 15

teen to twenty eggs to a hen.

Who else set any ?

A gvod many set out in the weeds and all
around.

How many young chickens did you take off ?

Don’t know; "bout two or three hundred.
The tats and pole cats bothered the old hens a
heap.

Where did you say the hens were eset?

Most of them set at the barn, some in a big
brush pile.

Who attended to them ?

Tended tothem how? The old woman and
the children done all the tending to them, I
ee uess.

You say you took off two or three hundred
chickens in all, where did you put them?

Some were in old barrels and boxes, some
used under the brush piles. The boxes and
barrels were open so they could go in and out
as they pleased.

I suppose you raised them all didn’t you ?

Hush, I don’t guess there is seventy- -tive.

What do you suppose became of them ?

I told you the rats and pole cats were awtul
bad and a good many got drowned.

Your coops were open so the chicks could go
in and out as they pleased; do you think those
pole cats and rats would go in and outas they
pleased, too ?

16 POULTRY PENSION.

They surely must, we are mightily put out i) ;
with the chicken business. I guess next year |
we will just let them go on their own hook and |
not try to raise any; if they raise any them- |
selves all right, if they don’t we won't be out |.
anything. |

The above is literally true; at one time this |
very family had the ‘then fever’’ terribly bad, |
and were going at itwholesale. Nowthey are
just letting them go on their ‘town hook’’, and
it would be hard to convince them that there is
any money in the chicken business.

Now just look around youandsee if you can
find any who are managing as they did (be-
fore they ‘‘just let them go on their own hook’’)
and are getting ‘‘no eggs.”’

As strange as it may seem there are a vast
number who are in the same boat, maybe lack-
ing the brush piles and other fixtures that
these people had at hand.

Will very much of such management ever
overdo the business ?

Now we want to try and tell you how it is
done, that is for the average farmer and poul-
tryman. In fact tell you ExAcTLY how it is
done. Thatis quite an assertion. Bear in
mind we do not say it is the only way, but we
believe as sure, as cheap and as reasonable
as any plan that is successful, for those who

are getting ‘‘no eggs’’, in particular.

POULTRY PENSION. 17

To the average farmer or poultryman, we
wish to state emphatically, this is a business
proposition, notvery complicated, butif not run
on business principles you cannot expect full
returns. It would indeed be strange if this
plan as we describe, escaped criticism, as
opinions differ widely in regard to poultry;
more so in regard to feed, quantity, quality,
etc.

Should you be interested try the plan in full
and you willsucceed:‘‘as sure as a gunis iron”’;
as before stated, some never will succeed,
neither are all guns iron. Thisis from actual
experience, as yet, has never failed.

Twenty years ago we wondered why some
one did not tell more particularly what to feed, -
how much.

We have found out and propose telling it, so
it can be profitably used by others whom we
know are lost when it comes to the feeding for
eggs for market.

The average farmer, whenever attempting
to feed regularly, generally feeds too much.
On the other hand, when he becomes an old
hand, he tries to feed them race horse or road-
ster fashion. We hold to the opinion that the
hen wants to be well fed to lay many eggs,
more particularly in winter. On some farms
they get ‘‘no eggs’’—their hens are too fat.
They are very seldom too fat, with plenty of

EGS ies ' . POULTRY PENSION.
range, unless they are deprived of egg produ-}
cing material, ground bone, animal food, etc. }
If not laying at all they may become too fat. |
At no time, by our plan, have we ever had any | |
complaint to make, although when killing one |
to eat, they are sometimes pretty fat, the re- | ;

4

turns from the flock always holding its own, |),

but they are surely well fed. Somesay differ- Ve
ent breeds..reqvire different -treatment,1ry i)
this treatment on any of them, for eggs, with
range and scratching pen. Compare it with
the feed and care you read of in’ some places
and see what is lacking. The ‘‘mush and
milk’’ is lacking. We have no fault to find
with milk, as it is fine most any time, but soft
teed is not in this to any very great extent,

We are not responsible for failure 1f you do
not follow directions, but will guarantee suc-
cess if you attend to the details, which may
appear of little importance. That is the key
note, or secret, as some call it.

LOCATION.

Various sections are often mentionedas good
locations for poultry and fruit farms. Some
localities are more favorable than others, the
climate being more suitable in the south and
southwest, say for poultry, small fruits and
vegetables in connection.

Don’t you think you can take this plan and
make it pay where you are, with your poultry

POULTRY PENSION. 19

house built warm enough to suit your locality,
the scratching pen being essential every where,
it being a good regulator towards keeping
your hens warm as well as busy. Probably
in the extreme south the scratching pen would
not appear so needful, where your fowls have
range in both winter and summer. In some
‘cases it may do to go to new locations to con-
duct the business, but vou must have the cap-
ital, no big amount, to buy, improve stock and
live for at leasta year, or until youget your flock
of laying hens to help you along. In this case
be sure before venturing toofar. The man with
‘money to burn,” needs no such caution. The
man with small means can read what ‘‘the
man from the east’’ has done, but he is an ex-
ception.

To the man with practically no means but
big ideas try andsee if you can not get a foot-
hold where you are. We have heard some,
yes, a great many, say a man in this day and
age who has not accumulated something is not
much account. Be careful—that is the very
one we are trying to reach.

And great isthe man with sword undrawn,

And good is the man who refrains from wine,

But the man who fails and yet still fight on,

Lo ! he is the twin-born brother of mine.
—JOAQUIN MILLER.

20 POULTRY PENSION. —

Like ‘‘the man trom the east’, we believe
South and Southwest Missouri, Arkansas,
Texas, etc., will some day be a great poultry
producing section, especially for winter egg
production, the same being produced there
cheaper than in the colder climate of the north.

We do not say the north will be depopulated,
to the contrary the business will pay there as
well as it ever did, or anywhere, north, south,
east or west, according to the management—
that tells the tale in any locality.

So go slow, make no rash moves to new lo-
calities, unless youcan go prepared, and it
might be a good idea to go prepared to come
back.

HEN’ HOUSE.

We will take it for granted you have some
fowls, if not you will have some, but don't
overdo the thing, only keep what you can take
proper care of. If you already have a hen
house add to it in any shape or style until you
vet the required ground space mentioned be-
low, for if you expect to take the treatment,
take it according to directions; but we don’t
expect you to give up what you already have,
but you will see Where you are lacking and
can act accordingly.

The ground room in the house is what we
want to commence on, and we must have it, as
there are times when all the outside range in

POULTRY PENSION. 21

your state is of no avail, especially when coy-
ered with snow, or very cold days,

We will give you our plan for building and
assure you any new building you may wish to
put up can not be put up much cheaper to an-
swer the purpose. For one hundred hens we
build 24 x 24 feet square, 4 feet high on each
side and 10 feet in the center, with a roof slop-
ing both ways. Somemay say, in fact often do,
that four feet is not high enough. We are
building for chickens, you spend butlittle time
in the house under the 4 feet, and it rises very
quickly to 10 feet. Be yourown judge and ar-
chitect, but save the ground room.

One end of house should face the south, with
doors in end to suit yourself. You may think -
that considerable ground room for 100 hens;
my friend, we are coming right close to the
‘‘secret’’ of winter laying. If you expect eggs
in cold freezing weather, you are bound to have
it, you want some windows in the south end;
say you have your door in centerof south end,
put window sash on each side of door, not over
two feet trom the ground. It ishardly safe for
us to tell you how much glass to put in as you
might think we had glass to sell, but put in
two sash side-by side on each side of door, at
the cornersof thehouse. You want more glass
on east side of the house. It would be ‘‘mighty
nice’’ to commence at the southeast corner of

PO Lr

20 POULTRY PENSION.

the house and go north half way. Now don't
get excited, your hens will more than pay ior
it many times, if you follow directions. As for
the material for the house, we see no use for

_ very expensive houses.

We do not propose to go into figures, esti-
mating cost of houses, cost of feed, labor, etc.,
nor do we intend trying to figure whata big
thing you have in this plan of management, it
is of no use whatever, to any one interested,
as they are certain to figure the cost before
ever making a move, besides one set of figures
cannot suit all localities, so you must do your
own figuring in every case, then you will know
more about it than ii we undertake it for you.
You want your house close, no draft, warm in
winter and coolin summer. We use common
boxing, or barn siding, painted, with the crack
well battened. For the roof you can use the
same, shingles, felt or whatever you choose.
Your locality will have something to do with
rt:

How many in yourmeighborhood have as good
hen house ?

For inside arrangements we will only state
the more particular parts. For the roosts,
commence in the center of the north end and
go six feet each way, putup tenroosting poles,
each being twelve feet long, have them up five
feet from the ground and fifteen inches apart.

POULTRY PENSION, 23

We make the frames for roosts solid, not swing-
ing, all ona level, the five feet being plenty
high and handy should youwish to take chick-
ens from the roosts. You now have north end
of house, twelve by twelve feet square, for a
roosting place We enclose this room up to the
root, in fact make a house within a house, the
idea being to keep your laying stock, all others
of course, warm in winter. The room has no
direct contact with the outside, only on north
end, which must be close, and the roof also.
This room in its present shape, becomes
very warm in summer, we put two shutters,
six feet long and one foot wide, even with the
bottom of the roosts, in each. side of roosting
room, north and south, the north doors or
shutters opening on outside of main house.“ By
opening these doors and the corresponding
door in south end of main house, you obtain
ventilation in the warmest weather. On each
side of the roosting room you have a Space six
feet by twelve feet. One side is for the laying
department; make and place the nests to suit
yourself, but make them all movable. We use
boxes when we can get them of proper size
and shape; one foot square is about right.
This room is ample for a flock at this house.
In the southeast corner of main house puta
dusting bin, or box, right in the corner in the
sun. Do not make it too small, say eight by

24 POULTRY PENSION.

eight feet; have it even with bottom of sash so
the sun can get a good sweep at it; have a
tight bottom and keep it supplied with dirt,

say road dust, fill itin the fall; also have a

few barels or boxes full for renewing. Step in
some cold day and watch the hens in it, al-
though they will use it the year through.

For the floor of your house, take your choice,
some prefer one and some another. We have
always had a dirt floor; if too low, fill up and
occasionally take out from eight to twelve
inches, put it on your onion bed and put in
fresh dirt well tamped down, sprinkling with
water as you tamp, to make it solid.

There is no fancy work attached tothis plan, —

but if you attend to business you will soon be
able to put on a few extra touches; but go
slow. You are aware by this time that this
book is intended for those atthe bottom, that’s
the place to begin. Weare now coming pret-
ty close to the ‘‘secret’’ of healthy fowls.

In first writing this book for the average
farmer, we had fourteen pages devoted to lice,
telling a lot nonsense about their habits, loca-
tion, etc., having also anumber of cuts of same.
After re-reading it, we politely threw the
whole amount out! After getting started we
carved right and left, but we want to assure
you you have not missed a single thing by it;
to the contrary, you are the gainer, as you

ij

POULTRY PENSION. 25

will make time by its omission. You will be

just as able to deal with the lice without it-

If you neglect this part of the plan you had
better build no house at all, we honestly mean
it. ‘Justlet them go on their own hook”’,
roosting where they please, for with a lousy
hen house you have various diseases, so called,
when in reality, the lice are the cause of the
whole thing, in order to beat them you have
got to be vigilant. Clean out from under your
roosts, the year round once a week, going into
roosting room from a door in north end of
same; with a wheel barrow, it is a short job,
wheeling. the manure right on to your garden,
there is money in it. Sprinkle a little dirt
under roostsoccasionally. Atanytime, should
roosting pen smell bad, more particularly in
damp weather, dissolve a small amount of
copperas inthe water andsprinkle, air slacked
lime is good. Whitewash, you know. won't
hurt your house, but by cleaning out the ma-
nure once a week you do not give the lice much
show in that direction, which is agreat source
for them.

There is another verse belonging to this se-
cret—the roosts. Some say sassafras poles,
cedar, two by four scantling, with the corners
rounded off, etc., etc. Take your choice. We
have never found one any better than the
other as far as lice are concerned. They do

26 POULTRY PENSION.

just as well on one as the other, as they do not
seem to be very particular. We get nice,
straight poles from the woods, all knots cut
off smooth.

What ever your choice, oil them once a week
with coal oil; we use a quart bottle, with a
quill, or small pipe stem, put through the
cork. The first time you oil them it will take
some oil, but when you getthem saturated and
oil them regularly once a week, it won’t take
much atatime. The quantity does not cut
much of a figure as the hens will foot the bill,
provided you do your part.

Build as fine a hen house as you wish, feed
and care for them otherwise, but if you do not
keep them clean and oil your roosts, your suc-
cess, if any at all, will be very moderate. We
have heard some say, all that is a heap of
trouble. Right there the curtain falls. When
we tell you how easy it is to obtain a pension
of from $8.00 to $16.00 per month (more accord-
ing to your ability, less according to your dis-

ability) from your poultry, you will plainly ~

see itis sure necessary to pay attention to
these little details.

Figure the cost; if you can beat it at any-
thing else with as little labor, don’t be hoggish,
let us hear fromyou. Wemeanon an average
farm. :

Say, brother, right here we put up the bars.

oe

Stat fa

POULTRY PENSION. 27

We came very near asking you a question
which it would take a good one to answer.
Should we have asked it, we might have at-
tempted to answer it, in that case we know
some of you might have been offended, so we
will just let it go until another time.

If you will figure a little, you see you have
three hundred and sixty feet of the ground space
of your house left after cutting off your roost-
ing and laying room.

Here comes another ‘‘secret’’; 1t ought not
to be such a great secret as it has been pub-
lished time and again, but there is no doubt of
it being a secret tosome. You who have read
of it often, don’t see why it should bea secret,
almost too true to mention, some take no pa-
pers at all that ever mention anything relative
to their especial calling. Instead of taking
one or more good agricultural journals, and
also poultry papers, they barely take their
county paper, in lots of cases not even that.
Say, for land sake don't say a word about it,
but we have been in lots of houses where the
only paper they get is one wrapped around
some purchase made in the country town, and
is not always on account of poverty that they
take none. We wish to tell our average farm-
er that we have-no ax to grind at all, but if
you want to keep posted after starting in on.
this plan of managing poultry for fresh eggs,

28 POULTRY PENSION.

take some good papers; they are almost giving
some of them away. Keep posted and you will
find many suggestions; you can’t near try ali
of them, but sift them and you will find many
_ that are usetul.

Some years ago we first read of the scratch-
ing pen, had we tried it at that time we would
have done a great deal better than we have
After waiting eight or ten years we adopted
it. Wiih us it was the missing link; as it is in
any other-calling, so it is’ with the poultry
business, to slight the undertaking in what
may appear of little consequence, sometimes
wrecks the whole thing.

We aim to tell you just what is needful, no
more, no less. Of course you may improve on

it, but don’t cut down. On some farms the |

only eggs they get in winter come from the
barn; what few hens that get there through the
snow, with those that roost there, on the farm-
ing implements, etc., find a place to scratch,
but even those do not lay as they should, lack-
ing a full ration of egg producing food, bone,
meat, etc. Water also is scarce at barn and
everywhere else in cold, freezing weather, if
not provided. Yes, but they eat snow. So
would you if you had to, but you know it
won't satisfy. a

In the toregoing, we havemerely given you a
fair start at what is needed in the way of a

POULTRY PENSION. 29

house. There may be other things needed
which you will soon see. Say vou want an ex-
tra sash in north endof roosting pen, forlight,
poultry do not like togoin a dark place to
j roost; or it may be more light in the laying
‘ reom, hens would rather lay in the dark, and
} farely.. wo: ‘in; there .only- to ‘lay, thus
) keeping out of inischief ina roomintended only
for business.
In the northeast corner of house, adjoining
{ the roosting room, we have a small grainery_
* (a large dry goods box) with a partition in it.
holding from twenty totwenty-five bushels, say
~ ten bushels of oats and ten bushels of wheat,
for scattering in the straw in the scratching
pen. Itis raised two and one-half feet from
| the ground, or floor, giving plenty of room for
hens to go under to scratch. To look at it,
under there would look like a good place for
nests, don't put any there nor anywhere else,
only in laying room.
LAYING OR SITTING ROOM.

In the division of house, we have left six by
twelve feet for your laying and setting room.
This room would also be better enclosed. You

naa ld

| see there is only one side of it open, you might
enclose it up solid the height of the low side,
four feet, with lattice or wire, the balance of
the way. By having the room .tight you can
just set an old setting hen on the outside or on

30 POULTRY PENSION.

the roost, close it up and she can't get back to
the nest at least until morning. Such treat-
ment will most generally break up a great
many hens, especially hens best suited for
eggs for market.

In regard to the nests, youcan make good
and cheap ones for layers, out of common four
foot lath, making the bottom, front and back
with the lath, with a solid partition between
each nest, highenough so hens won't bother
each other. Make four nests to each length
of lath, that number being easy to take out of
house at one time for cleaning, renewing, etc.

This room, as stated before, will be some-
what dark; all the better for your laying hens.
but as you will have to be in there occasional-
ly attending to your setting hens etc., you
might make a door in the north side to enter,
leaving it open for your setting hens to come
out for exercise, water, etc.

Don’t let the nests get filthy, renew them oc-
casionally, sprinkling sulphur or some insect
powder in them, also keepthe whole room clean
and in shape; it won’t take long at a time nor
will it have to be done often. None of your
fowls should be allowed to roost in there. The
house, as divided, has one apartment for each
certain purpose. For one hundred, hens we
provide twenty-five or thirty nests.

Now listen, more trouble: every morning, the

——

POULTRY PENSION, 31

whole year through, we put a nest egg in each
nest, provided we do not have permanent nest
eggs. We have not missed doing so for five or
SIX years, not even one morning.

There are artificial nesteggs, but we haveal-
ways used the hens’ eggs for the purpose,
making a very small mark on one end witha
lead pencil, sothere will beno possibility of us-
ing the same egg twice for a nest egg, as they
will soon spoil, especially in summer, and if
taken to market will hurt your reputation as a
fresh egg poultryman or farmer. The mark
being so small the merchant nor anvone else
will notice them. It may look a little suspi-
cious to some, as though the eggs might have
been marked for setting purpose, or had been
set, but we have never heard any complaint.
On the contrary, it acted as our trade mark
on one occasion. One afternoon mv wife and
self were away from home, and somebody came
and cleaned up the hen house of eggs, amongst
them being the nest eygs with the little pencil
mark. We suspicioned certain parties, went
direct to the store where they do their trading
and asked the merchant if they had broughtin
any eggs lately. He said theyhad. We went
direct toa tub of eggs and there found the
eggs with the mark on them. The merchant
had never noticed the mark; but am glad to
_ say it is not necessary to mark them for that

32 POULTRY PENSION.

purpose.

The egg gourd makes a very g “good nest ego,
but when seasoned they become rather light
weight, the hens raking them around with
their bills out of nest on floor, etc. We believe
if there were made a small holein one end and
shot put in to make them heavier they would
answer for nest eggs, but you will probably
not notice your nests so closely as you would
were you putting nest eggs outevery morning.
A great many will say that itis toomuch trou-
ble. How on earth do you expect toearn your
$8.00 to $16.00 a month, are you doing as_ well
at anything else, especially something for
nothing ? Now you see it and now you don't.

Poultry confined in small quarters do not
need nest eggs nor much of anything else but
more room. Where they have plenty of range,
as by our plan, we have found the nest eggs of
benefit. Very few hens will lay anywhere
else but in the room intended for the purpose;
there is one thing you will get very nearly
every single egg laid on the place, with nest
eggs, provided you keep up all along the line;
it allgoes together. The young pullets long

before beginning to lay, find out where ine

nests are and go right to them when they are
ready for business.

We do not claim that the nest egg willmake
the hens lay any more eggs, they will lay just

|

POULTRY PENSION. 33

as many, but you may not find them all, and
may have a great deal more trouble hunting
what you do find than the putting out of nest
eges would have been. Now can’t you plainly
see the shortest route of the two is the nest
egg? You not only get all of the eggs, but

you get them regularly every day, while if the

hens laid everywhere some eggs are often from
one to three weeks old when run across; then
where would you be in the freshegg business ?
No, we are trying conscientiously to save you
trouble rather than otherwise. /
The eggs are gathered every evening just

. before or after feeding. Itis better for one

person to attend to the hens all through, feed-
ing, etc.; hens are partial toa degree in that
respect. There is nouse of running to the
nest every time a hen cackles, as is the cus-
tom on some farms, especially with the chil-
dren, and somebody else’s come to stay all
day, make a dive for the hen house, scaring
every hen off to see how many eggs are under
them. Children can be of great help in the
business when old enough, eventually tend to
a flock of their own. Fowls are naturally shy
but by kind and gentle treatment they become
quite familiar, but rush into their laying room
off and on all day and they are, from nature,
inclined to move their place of laying rather
than be disturbed. It is not necessary, it is

34 POULTRY PENSION.

handier to gather the eggs at a regular time,
one person attending to them; especially when
laying, they are not near soshy. Should you

wish a chicken to eat, don't call every one at |

hand, armed with clubs, rocks, etc., and two
or three dogs, and then sail out after a chicken,
Have a coop for the purpose, putting in what
chickens you wish to dispose of or eat; you
then have them handy. If spring chickens are
ripe just pick them up out of feeding coops
while feeding them, pen them up, feeding and
watering them good, they soon become fine for
the table or market. Have a small iron rod

about the size of a lead pencil, bent at one end -
in such a shape that it will go around their

leg, but will not slip over the foot as you draw
them to you. When your neighbor calls to see
you bringing a dog or twowith him, gets seat-
ed and his dogs begin taking in the bone meal
boxes, hens’ nests, etc., just say, I'll be back

in aminute. Go for those dogs with anything

you can get hold of, you will miss them nine
times in ten.
A CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.
When approximating the cost of housing

fowls comfortably and well, one dollar per —

head is considered a proper estimate here in
New England.

Nearly every hen house on my farm, in fact
every one that is arranged for laying stock,

POULTRY PENSION. 35

has its annexed stratching pen, tight roof,
sides and back, with open front covered by
wire netting to admit the air. These fronts
are provided with oiled muslin curtains which
can be opened and closed at will during very
cold, stormy weather, hinged at top or on the
end, whichever may be most convenient for

hooking the frame up out of the way when not
in use.
In the fall ot "98 [had about 125 extra late

hatched pullets that must need either be housed
or sold then at a sacrifice. J bought some sec-
ond grade spruce timber and hemlock boards
for $14.00 per thousand feet. The sills 4x4
inches were set on cedar posts with a stone
underpinning between posts. Balance of
framing, 2x4 spruce. The lumber was all
14 and 16 feet in length, which cui with very
little waste. The roof was covered with pack-
ing paper and over this two-ply tarred felting
kept well washed with gas tar.

The interior is 14x28, with a partition from
the front to rear, making two rooms 14x14.
The platforms or fioors or roosting pens are
raised two feet from the sills and are four feet
wide. These extend the entire depth of each
room, running along the partition, which of
course, is in the highest part of the house.
This arrangement leaves the entire floor space
to be used as a scratching room or pen. The

36 POULTRY PENSION.

inside doors, or those over the roosts, are ar-
ranged so as to shut down flush with the edge
ot dropping boards. During cold weather
these make a cupboard-like arrangement for
the hens to roost in, while insummer the doors
are left hooked up at all times, which leaves
the roosting place practically as cool as would
be an open shed.

Small windows for light and ventilation are
put in front of each roosting room, and one
each on side of the shed part. The laying
nests are arranged around these latter pens.
In buildings of this kind we can scatter the
birds about the farm on the colony plan with-
out having any yards. Where it was _ neces-
sary to confine the flock the house could set in
an enclosure or have adjoining yards.

The pullets that were housed in this build-
ing in November were quite small and imma-
tured Barred Plymouth Rocks, but with these
lodgings they developed rapidly and com-
menced laying early, keeping uparemarkable
egg yield throughout the entire season. Ihave
another lean-to shed fixed up after the same
principles, with only one pen, the pullets in
this shed were the best layers on thefarm last
winter.

I have spent over twenty years of my life in
connection with practical poultry keeping and
different methods and have yet to learn of a

|

POULTRY PENSION. 37

better plan to keep hens in a _ laying condition
during the winter months.
Apponaug, R. I. D. J. LAMBERT.

The above was taken from the ‘‘Farm Jour-
nal’’ published at Philadelphia, Pa., by the
Wilmer Atkinson Company, and written by a
poultryman who has been in the poultry busi-
ness for over twenty years and he finds the
poultry house, as described to you by us, as
just the thing. We may differ a little, but in
no case does it change the general structure.
You may also think a little different, but asa
whole you can't beat it. It gives us pleasure
to have the endorsement of sucha manas D.
J. Lambert, Apponaug, R. I Our planis of
our own selection, after trying various other
plans.

SETTING THE HENS.

In setting the hens you have the same object
in view as you do all through, eggs in winter.
It is the early hatched pullet you have to rely
on for eggs in winter, consequently you must
set your hens early.

Don’t keep on setting through the whole
year unless you have an object in it. If your
object is to keep them through the winter, you
won't find much pension in a late hatched pul-
let, as they won’t lay until towards spring.
but will eat just the same. Bear in mind we
are figuring on the one flock ot one hundred

38 POULTRY PENSION.

hens. If you should only have fifty and do not
wish to enlarge, take it at one half;if youhave
two hundred, double it and so on.. The above
may sound strange to some, but try it on ten
by taking it at one-tenth, and you are all
right. For the average farmer and poultry-
man it is what we call a soft snap, written for
your especial benefit. It is only necessary for
you to raise fifty pullets every year to keep
vour one hundred winter layers in_ shape.
Each fall fifty of your hens will two years old
next spring and fifty one year old next spring.
The fifty vou raise each spring takesthe place
of your coming two year olds; each fall you
sell off your two year olds. There may be
some exceptions, say in extra layers or early
moulting. 3

Before describing the management of the
setting hens, we will say it does not make so
very much difference about what kind of stock
you have, that 1s to begin on; you can improve
them every year by getting new blood, in eggs
or males. Youcan soon have a good flock
of any breed that may suityour fancy, buttreat
them well and any of them will respond to
good treatment. Sometimes you may thinkone
certain hen an extra good layer; set all her
eggs you can get.

We have one hen, ‘‘Blacklegs,’’ which isnine
years old, ‘“‘Old Blue’’ is eight years old; they

POULTRY PENSION, 39

were the best hens with young chickens we
ever saw. They are very uncertain now asto
setting, they do not commence laying until near
spring; they are privileged characters, never
having had any disease, and I guess the lice
have not hurt them. In the spring when they
commence laying they make as much noise as
any of them. We never fail to set all their
eges that areon time. ‘‘Blacklegs”’ is an in-
cubator chicken; as for their breed, they are
more Leghorn than anything else. In their
early days we had all colors and kinds, but
by keeping the best we now have a pretty good
stock of Leghorns of our own build. You can
dv the same with any breed you prefer. We
have often heard a great many lay the blame
altogether on their chickens, because they
got ‘‘no eggs’. It is not their fault at all, al-
though some are, we think, better egg pro-
ducers than others, any of them will bear good
treatment. |

To supply the fifty pullets it is only neces-
sary to set ten hens. This will seem strange
to a great many, but let metell you, itis the
number of chickens you raise out of a given
number, not the number of hens you set. If
any one person had the amount of eggs wasted
insettiny, they would have a pretty fair in-
come.

To some, the idea of only setting ten hens in

40 POUITRY PENSION.

one year we know appears strange, more so to
those who are use to setting them the year
round, when and wherever they come across
them. We never set a hen outside of the hen
house, notwithstanding the hen that steals her
nest out gets great credit in some places, she
has got to make a complete job of it before we
come across her, if it were any trouble to get
setting hens in the hen house, it would be dif-
ferent. You know they are taught to lay in
the house, and that’s where they go to setting.
They are taught, also, to lay in the winter,
so by spring there is no scarcity of setting
hens, in fact a great many morethan are need-
ed, by this plan, provided they are of the set-
ting kind. Ih

We set our ten hens in each house from the
fifteenth to the last of March, so as to have the
chickens all off in April, whichisearly enough,
and the weather settled, the chicks all grow-
ing off finely, will make good winter layers, if
fed and cared for as directed. Youknow they
will do better than those hatched in February
or March and left to rustle for themselves, the
old hen tied to a tree with a string to her leg;
that is common. Of all the makeshifts that
takes the cake, and some of these very people
will tell you that they take good care of their
chicks. They may think so, but why they do
itis hard to understand. If you have good

POULTRY PENSION. 41

Warm coops with a run for each coop, you can
do the fair thing by them, but as stated be-
fore, you can do a better job by waiting until
the proper time. In the early spring how often
do you hear, Have you got any young chickens
yet? No. Why we have got one hen hatched
and eight more setting.

How many voung chickens has your hen
got? Generally they say five or six. Ask
them two months later and you will find you
are ahead of them. Atthe end of the season
they may tell you they have set from fifty to
eighty hens, but the pole cats, rats and etc.,
were awlul bad; that they did not get through
with many. Aftertrying the ten hen plan,
with five good coops and runs you can tell
them you only set ten hens, took off one hun-
dred and ten chicks (a low estimate some

_ years) and raised one hundred and five.

Which one, or are you both overdoing the
chicken business, only taking different routes ?
It is all right to be up to date provided you are
fixed for it.

Our plan ts comparatively easy,
much more pleasant and ___ profitable.
Your hens, after laying in fall and win-
ter, will be plenty early wanting to set; some
too early, but don’t get excited and set some
so you can blow around the neighborhood that
you have hens setting. The principal time is

4) POULTRY PENSION.

in the wind up, not what you set but what you
raise. We have five double boxes to set the
ten hens, a common cracker box does very
well, with solid partition between each nest,
always setting two hens at the same time;
don't tool away the time with setting one hen
at a time; shouldthere be only one ben wanting
to set, let her alone, not in your double box,
as it is not in your hen house, they are only
used for setting hens in; when another hen is
ready, fix up your double box, making plenty
of nest, sprinkling some sulphur or insect
powder on same, caretully select fifteen eggs
for each hen, that is enough. Some put twen-
tv and even more, they think the more the bet-
‘ter, everything on a big scale, only as to re-
sults.

This double box is perfectly tight all over,
having a door, with leather hinges, to close up
so other hens cannot bother them, nor those
pole cats, rats, weasles, etc., that your neigh-
bor spoke of, but your hens must have air, so
you will bore plenty of holes small enough so
a mouse cannot get in, all around, front, back
and sides; it is also better to sprinkle the

nests and hens occasionally with insect pow- |
der or sulphur up to the third week after set- |

ting.

When your hens have been setting a day, |
take some corn in a shallow pan or box, open |

POULTRY PENSION. 43

each double nest and feed them on their nests.
It may be neither of them willeatthe first time
but they will soon come to it. Have a regular
time to feed them every day. notice that none
of the grain falls in their nests, as it will
tempt other hens to scratch in their nests
while they are off, it is not often they wish to
leave their nests more than every other day.
Leave the doors down so they can go out for
water, exercise, etc., the water, of course; al-
ways being handy and inthe same place at
all seasons, they know just whereto go. Most
ewenerally some laying hen takes their nest the
moment they go off. Notice when the setting
hens begin going back; see that they get
their own nest; they may goon another nest.
Put the laying hen out of her nest and lift her
on gently. You may not have gotten hold of a
good hen in the start and she may stay off too
long. Walk around her and most generally
she will go back. If she does not appear to
mean business, bear with her until you get
another, there are plenty most generally want-
ing to set; put the other one up, she will soon
go to laying: again.

One of the greatest sources for lice is the
setting hen. By this plan you do not spend
much time with the setting hen unless you
manage as some do. Never break upa hen;
that won’t do, put them in a coop afew days.

'

44 POUITRY PENSION.

Don’t let them hatch lice, there is no money in
them. ‘There being one hundred hens in each
fiock and you only set ten out of them, if. of
that nature or breed, all will want to set dur-
ing the season. We have a special double coop
for breaking setting hens, letting out one side
at atime, feeding and watering them well,
after breaking them up, or at the Lime, is >a
a good time to disposeof some of your two year
old stock, as they will weigh well.

It is natural for some to say, too much trou-
ble. Well, try the fifty or eighty hen plan,
set here and yonder all through the season.
Notice the ages of your pullets in the fall; see

“how many of them will lay that fall or winter.
Have often read, not feed setting hens on the
nest. In ten or twelve years’ trial, have not
found any fault with it. After attending to
your poultry by this plan, in every detail, or
any other good plan, if you do not make some
headway in improvementin different lines you
are not as deeply interested as you should be.

You could, or may, have a different room for

_ your setting hens; not a bad idea atall, pro-

vided you also give them the proper attention.

Our principal object is to start you, trying to

get you to abandon some of the old time poul- jj

_ try fixtures, brush piles, fence corners, etc.
' When your hens commence hatching, once a

day notice and see that the egg shells do not |

POULTRY PENSION. 45

cover another egg. Take themout of the nest.

When nearly through hatching take one hen

2

off, the one you may select as liable to be the
best mother, put her with what chickens are
dry in a roomy box, leaving the .other hen to
finish the job. When finished put the hen and
chickens out in the coops, put your other hen
in the setting coop. She is in good condition,
being well fed will soon go to laying. Grease
her well under the wings and body before put-
ting her in coop. Also your hen with the
chickens, not the chickens at this time, but at
any time if you think they are not looking
right, standing sleeping, wings drooped.
grease everv one lightly on the top of the head,
taking them out of back door in coop; if you
have kept your hen house clean, oiled your
roosts, vou will not have much trouble with
lice.

The best feed we have ever used is the com-
mon corn or egg bread, just as you make it
for yourself. Before going any farther in the
feed line we will tell you of the coops.

In all profitable manufacturing establish-
ments they have their plant, so with you in the
poultry business for manufacturing fresh eggs
for market. The hen does a manufacturing
business that is beyond comparison unless it
be to that piece of machinery that turns out
the same product. Other fowls may equal her

46 POULTRY PENSION.

but only to a limited extent, the reproduction,
whether of animal or vegetable, ts beyond
comparison. Man has attempted and accor-
plished wonders, but here he stops, and well
he may. -
Your houses, coops, etc., are the permanent
part of your plant,if properly constructed will
last a long time. We-make our coops of the
old style letter A, or roof fashion; make them
two and one-half feet wide and two feet deep,
two and one-halt feet from eaves to comb. We
make the frame or rafters out of 2x2 inch stuff
covered with siding overlapped so as to shed
the rain. The bottom, to keep out those pole
cats, rats, etc.,ismadeof two2x4cross pieces,
with most any kind of lumber for bottom, only
letting the lumber extend half way on the 2x4,
leaving room for the coop to set down in so the
rain will run off clear of the bottom of coop.
The above well painted will last a lony time.
We make a sliding (up anddown) door in each
end of coop, the outside or back door being

handy totake your young chickens out to

grease, if necessary, also for inspection of
coop. In making the two ends of coop do not
let your lumber go clear up, leave a hole you
can put your fist in for ventilation, covering it
with wire cloth. In very warm weather bore
small holes in front and back doors. In early
spring break the ends of corn cobs in those

*

SS

POULTRY PENSION. 47

holes, punching them open when needed. Put
a small piece, 2x1 inch sloping, infront of each
door to keep the dirt in the coop. Put the dirt
in the coop and you are ready for your chick-
ens, but don’t forget to renew it occasionally.

In connection with the above coop, we have.
two lath coops to feed in. We take common
lath, cut them half in two, nail them toa full
length (four feet) lath, one-half inch apart
—four of such panels make the coop—to set
right in front of your roosting coop. Make the
top out of lath; for a few days feed the old hen
and chickens in this coop, drive stakes in the
ground and fasten the panels to them with
wire Most old hens are soindustrious scratch-
ing that they keep the teed in such shape the

‘little chicks fail to get enough to eat, so we

have another coop for them alone. We cut the
lath into three pieces, making and staking it
at the corners, the same way asthe other; this
one only takes three lengths, as one end of the
other coop makes one side of it. This addi-
tional coop more than pays for itself ina
short time in the saving of feed, as the old hen
can not get in there to scratch and waste the
feed. Of course you must feed the old hen.
When putting up this additional coopraise the
partition between the two so they can run
from one coop to the other, but never raise the
the small coop on the outside as outside hens

48 POULTRY PENSION.

try to reach in under to get the feed. When
your little chickens get strong and lively,
raise the main coop up so they can run
in and out and very shortly you will let the old
hen ovt, but of a morning when the dew is
heavy the little ones can run out and in, also

«7 wet weather. Onsuch days and times, a_

great many young chickens are _ lost,
the old hen dragging them through the dew
and rain. Of course you know you have to
shut them up in their house every night.

We feed these little chickens in atrough two
and one half feet long, six inches wide, with
lath nailed around the edges, with a partition
in one end four by six inches. As stated be-
fore, feed the corn bread, don’t feed soft feed
at all. Some of you may go against us, but we
are sure many young chicks are killed by
feeding soft feed, especially corn meal made up
a few minutes before feeding. There is old
bread etc., on many farms, soak it, squeeze it
as dry as you can, throw it to the main flock
and give your chicks some small grain, millet
seed, cane seed, cracked corn, wheat or some-
thing similar, by putting a little in the coop
they will soon get to eating it and you will
need have nomore bother with your corn bread.

The partition in your trough is for bone
meal. Keep it there constantly. You’ are
aware this plan is for business as well as

oo

POULTRY PENSION. 49

pleasure, so you want them laying by fall. In
order to do so you must feed them for this pur-
pose. Some time when you are admiring your
chickens and the ‘‘soft snap’’ you have by this
plan, drop a little charcoal in (fine grained)
the trough, or a little cracklins (also fine) and
notice your chickens go for it; they are fond of
it and it is good for them. We have known
people who would never rest until they hada
box in the coop for that purpose, and in the
fall chuckle to themselves because their pullets
commenced laying so early, not telling a sou]
the cause of it. You mav pick up lots of little
tricks, but don’t be selfish, tell it, it will do no
harm, besides there ain't one inten that will
try it, they are afraid they might overdo the
chicken business. ;
There are various ways for watering the
little chickens, but by allmeans use something
that they cannot get into with their feet. A
pie panorsaucer is most generally used—about
as poor a vesselas you can use, We use a
common half gallon fruit can. Setitin a saucer
open end down, take a case knife, lay it level
on top of saucer, mark on the can by rubbing
the knife backward and forward, take a peg-
ging awl or small nail and‘make a hole in the
can just below, not too low, the mark, ’fill the
the can with water, lay the saucer on top, give
it a quick flop, set it on an inch block in one

50 POULTRY PENSION.

corner of the coop. The water will. flow just
as they drink it out, ina short time set it up
two inches higher, a brick is good to set it on.
The drinking fountain is to remain in themain
feeding coop all the time as the old hen will
have to have water. Should she get restless
at times, running around in the coop trying to
get out and knock the can over, slip a piece of
lath through the cracks of your coop, in front
of the canor puta loopof wireor string around
it. Keep plenty of water in the cans until
your cnicks are big and bold enough to go to
the larger vessels having the water for the
main flock. Recollect you want to raise every
one of the whole five flocks, or say about one
hundred and ten or twenty chicks, which is no
trick, barring unavoidable accidents. From
now on pay a little attention to those whvu take
off from two to three hundred chickens in a
season and see what they have in the fall.
They hate to tell. ‘“‘Oh, I guess there is a
hundred or hundred and fifty.”’

We don’t say all are that way but we do say
an overwhelming majority are.

You should keep feed in your little chickens’
trough all the time until they are half grown,
then feed them morning, noon and night for a
short time, then morning and evening, event-

ually merging them into your main flock. The.

old hen will quit her chickens sooner by this

7 _abeamigeain ining FO dtindite

4

POULTRY PENSION. 1

double coop plan than she would otherwise.

On

Some of her chicks may follow her to the hen

house to roost; let them go, but they will still
visit the feeding coop and run with the others
during the day. When all the chicks are
weaned, putseveral of the smallcoops together
in front of the large coop nearest the hen
house and make thatthe general feeding place,
calling all up together, old and young, putting
the feed in the pens for the young, scattering
it to the old, by this means you will soon feed
all together. Do not take the big coops from
any of the roosting coops, only what small
coops you need, as they may still go home to
roost, or some of them, nor do not raise the
small coops off the ground, but let them go in
through the big coop as before. The older
ones are not apt to bother the feed in the small
coops as they do not know how to get in. You
will have to raise the big coop to suit the size
of your young ones, from time to time; the older
ones will learn the trick and goin there. You
will have to let them go as there is no use scar-
ing them out, by so doing your younger ones
will get wild. You ought to take off twenty-
five chicks to each two hens, at the least cal-
culation, making one hundred and twenty-five
chicks all told. There is a screw loose some-
where if you do not raise from ninety to nine-
ty-five per cent, as you are prepared to pro-

52 POULTRY PENSION.

tect them from all varmits, or conditions of the
weather. The old hen and chicks are partial
to their coops and will make for them when a
rain comes up. Weoften round them up when
it begins to look squally. by opening the door
and letting the old hen. in, all’s well. Don't
go in a whoop but be gentle, at the same time
get a move on yourself. The chickensthat are
lost by this route will compare favorably with
the pole cat route.

Some of us average tarmers take a notion to
go to pa’s and ma’s Saturday evening andstay
until Sunday evening, sometimes until Monday
morning. Every one the place go,-even to the
dog, more often dogs. Possibly a near neigh-
bor may milk the cow and teed the chickens.
As for shutting them up, it won’t hurt this
time; it sets into raining some are drowned,
the polecat. weasle, rats, etc., do love to ram-
ble on a wet night, they take a turn at the
chicks, which almost, if not. completely ends
the whole business, as they, or some of them,
merely suck the blood and kill a great number
in one night. When we return, what? The
the chicken business don’t near pay, so we
‘Gust let them go on their own hook.”’

We don’t say you do that but don’t you
you know some who do, or have done almost
exactly that way? Wetold you inthe start
we were going to give it to you from actual ex-

POULTRY PENSION. 53

perience. The above is positively so, but not
personal experience. ‘Once upon a time we
ourself, had one hundredandten as fine chicks
as you would want to see in a_ brooder of our
own make, it had a lid to shut downlike a box.
‘near the top there was a small opening; we
thoyght it was just the thing for air. So it
was. One night something came and killed
every one of them and as near as I recollect,
did not eat the whole of any one. The sight
was awful; we thought awful. We soon knew
what the air hole was for. We just closed
down the lid and left everything just as we
found it. The next night we put a steel trap
down in where what ever it was would get it.
The next morning there was the mother pole-
cat in the trap, with nine little kittens dancing
around in the brooder. They were sure cute
little things—not half as cute as my little
chicks were. That wastwelve years ago; when
we want air holes we always put wire cloth
over them.

Out of the number of chickens you raise you
will have no trouble getting your fifty pullets
to renew your flock, the balance being roosters,
disposing of them as you please. But don’t
forget to give proper credit for them, as you
ought to keep a strict account so you will know
if you are making your $8.00 per month pen-
sion, clear of all expenses. You are expected

54 POULTRY PENSION.

to charge to your flock all thefeed fed to them;
you certainly will give them credit for what
you use or sell. Try it one season and see how
interesting it will become; but don’t think be-
cause you have done so well that you will in-
crease your flock to two or five hundred and
crowd them into your one hundred hen house;
it is often attempted. Then another one has
overdone the chicken business and gone out,
leaving another place to be filled.

We will give you a pointer here in regard to
proper credit for eggs, Whenever eggs. are
used in the family we drop a grain of corn in
jar or bottle for every egg used. At the end of
each month the corn is counted and credited to
the month in which they were used. Theeges
that are set should be credited in their proper
month. It is not so particular what you use,
you are the judge on that score, but if you are
running on business principle you have no
right to use them and not give credit for them.
It is on that principle we are giving this, on
no other whatever, not for fun or pleasure, al-
though you derive lots of pleasure if you are
interested. |

How do you expect to tellif your hens are
laying the amount of eggs they ought to if you
do not keep close account of them? You can
also tell what comes in every month. otherwise
you can not. You are expected to have dis-

Oa
on

POULTRY PENSION.

posed of your fifty coming three year old hens
by or before the pullets are leaving their coops
going to the hen house to roost, which they
will soon do, as the mother hen has oftentaken
them into the scratching pen, consequently
this is no new place to them, but should any of
them take a notion to a tree or fence to roost
when nearly all the rest are on the roosts in
the house, gently scare these off the fence or
tree for as sure as they become accustomed te
roosting out, it is almost impossible to break
them of it. By setting your coops near the
hen house when you first put the old hen and
chickens out, and by moving your general
feeding pen, on the wind up, close to house, the
most of them will naturally take to the house.

We have often read, don’t set your coops
near hen house on accountof lice. Foragreat
many that may answer, but by this plan of
management, cleansing your house and oiling
your roosts as per directions, you need have no
fear on that score, and as stated above, you
must put them near the house you wish them
to occupy when they are grown.

At the end of the first season, after practi-
cing this plan up to the above time, just call
the ‘‘old woman’’, put your arm around her
waist, stand in the door of the hen house, see
if everything is snug and neat, see if you have
fifty coming twa year old hens and fifty coming

56 - POULTRY PENSION.

one year olds, pay close attention and see if
they all have not plenty of room on the roost,
_ notice what a mess you would make if you im-
agine, next year we will set more hens and
raise twice that many. Don’t, notin the same
house; hew to the line and you are into stay.
You and the ‘‘old woman” will be far better
off. Of course in due time youmay ‘‘expand”’,
which is all right in some cases, but expand
along the line; just multiply two, say two
houses, twice the amount of feed, twenty set-
ting hens, ten hens and chickens, twohundred
laying hens, twice the amount of labor, twice
the amount of diligence, $16.00 per month pen-
sions. The above reads fine, by experience
you can accomplish it. Were we personally
acquainted with you we might tell you by
what figure to multiply the experience. We
do not wish to frighten you for we are giving
you an exact plan by which it can be done;
but will you do it?
SETTING SIX HENS.

In some cases. parties advocate that a three
year old hen is in her prime as to laying.

By this plan we prefer the one and two year
old hen, though there are good laying three
year old hens, those especially that moult early
in the fall. In many cases we have discarded
an inferior pullet, keeping acoming three year
old in her place. As you disposeof your stock

POULTRY PENSION. 57

in mid summer, or coming fall, all are called
coming so and so, as they are not evened up
until spring, the time when all are supposed
to be hatched out. We give you the six hen
plan, which is all right for those holding the
above opinion, also not wishing too much set-
ting hen business.

In order to fully explain the plan, we will
suppose you start in the spring of 1901 with
the following aged hens:

50, 1 yr olds

Spring 1901 set 6 hens.

Bed, Fi tore
to replace one-half, or 25, of your two year
olds which vou dispose of during summer.

In spring of 1902 you have:

25, 1 yr olds )
Sore her ti 1902 set 6 hens.
2 Ce ym aT

Replace your 25 3-vear olds. In spring of

1903 you have:

25, 1 yr olds |

Dist Aan | 1903, set 10 hens.
2 Ed

Replace your 50 3-year olds by setting 10
hens. In spring of 1904 you have:
50, 1 vr olds
etn eee 1904, set 6 hens.
rer Snes

You drop back to your six hens. By the
above plan you will only set the ten hens every
third year. The plan is feasible and will bear

wW

58 POUITRY PENSION.

investigation; the only advantage of the plan
is you have fewer setting hens to bother with.
The same as with the ten hens, in comparison
to the brush pile, fence corner plan, you get
all your chicks at the proper season, raising a
greater per cent, in fact’ nearly every one,
with no trouble at all compared with the old
plan. But to any whodesireto set more hens,
there is no one to stop them even from one
year’s'end to the’ other. Some believe they
have to set hens the year through to get eggs
the vear through; thatisa mistake. The early
hatched pullet is the queen of layers the year
through if fed for the purpose.

INCUBATORS.

Of all poultry fixings, the incubator is terri-
bly abused by both the manufacturer and the
unskilled user. We remember how they used
to say the chicken business was gone up the
spout, the incubator was going to revolution-
ize the whole thing; things were going to be
done on a grand scale, bv the wholesale; that
did the business for the incubator, as it does
for every branch of the business today, a sure
thing to the amateur. Manufacturers said,
raise chickens by the thousand, or rather
hatch; a child can run it, etc., etc.

The amateur jumped at it, loaded it with

various brands of eggs collected from various |

sources, not even having enough hens to sup-

|

POULTRY PENSION, 59

ply eggs for breakfast, much less for an incu-
bator. But they were too deeply interested to
let the children try torun it, they were actual-
ly out of joint until the time for results rolled
around, and then—well, you know the rest.
Of course the incubator was to blame. Some
put in fair eggs, had a fair hatch and raised
only afew to maturity, after a short while
they quit entirely. Others did better and are
still using them.
We know of various makes of incubators that
can be purchased for ‘‘name the priceand take
it’. At the start some of them were as good
as any on the market, and in proper hands,
are allright. Learn to raise chicks with the
old hens before tackling an incubator. The
brooder is the thing that has to be perfect.
Most incubators do very well when started
with good eggs, no better than you ought to
_put under the hen, and faithful care. Don’t
risk them with children. The raising of the
chicks is the rub with a new beginner, and we
don’t know as any one has it down to _ perfec-

tion.

When you are in the business up to the two
hundred notch, an incubator might come in
good play. Should youtake.a notion to try
one, getone of some reliable manufacturer.
With your two hundred hen plan it ought not
to be a big job to keep up your flock, as you

60 POULTRY PENSION.

will only want one hundred pullets each year-
You could start your incubator say the first of
March, have everything in good shape to care
for the chicks. Don’t feed too much soft feed;
you can't beat the feed you used to feed in
your one hundred hen business, before you exX-
panded. Keep the chicks warm; they hatch in
a pretty good month, April, you may be able
to do well. ;

Don't think because you have an incubator
you will keep it fired up and going the year
round. ‘True, itis idle capital most of the
time—in a great many cases had better be.
Personally, we have used them, and do not
blame the incubator as much as the man, not
the child, who is trying to runit. Be your own
judge; if you should fail with the incubator
your old hen is still on deck ready for business
at the old stand and you have a good plan,
which, like the incubator, needs a certain
amount of attention. Go slow, don't expand
too much, there is a limit to everything—you
may bust.

FEED AND CARE OF LAYING HENS.

We now come to a part of the plan on which
a great deal depends, whether you get the full
amount of your pension, more according to

your ability, less according to your disability. |

You cannot do any feeding in your house,

only in your scratching pen; neither can you.

-—

- POULTRY PENSION. 61

put your water in the house because of the
dust which the hens raise in scratching. Your
bone meal boxes will also have to be outside on
account of thedust. Your house being twenty-

four feet square gives you plenty of room on
- either side, according to the wind or weather.

We use two two-gallon crocks for water ves-
sels; they are easy kept clean by scalding them
occasionally. A board fence runningout from
the house, from either side you prefer, makes
a good shelter for your water crocks and bone
meal boxes.

We make the fence ten feet long and two feet
high, having rafters across the top, extending
two feet on each side of fence, with movable
cover or roof, shifting from one side to the
other, in caseof wind, rainor sun. In freezing
weather you, of course, will empty the crocks
at night, setting them just inside of house
with the bone meal boxes. g

The above is very handy; atter you get
straightened out, doing a ‘‘land office’ busi-
ness. you may see some way to improve on it,
as you ought all along the line. It did not take
the ‘‘man from the east’’ long to catch on.

In freezing weather we keep the tea kettle
hot all the time, pouring water into the drink-
ing vessels, no telling how often during the
day. Good, clean water (warmin winter) is
as necessary as any other part of the feed.

62 POULTRY PENSION.

Some say Water three times a day; that may
do, we know certain it is betterthan not at all,
as we have heard people say sheep and poul
try did notneedwater. Poultry may be taught
to drink three times a day, we won't dispute _
that, but what would be gained by it? The
three times a day is advocated for a purpose,
for what we can't say; if it is tosave labor, by
_our plan it is no go. In winter when we see
our hens pecking away ata frozen up vessel,
we would sure thaw it out, or else put it out of
sight, which you would have to do by the three
times a day plan. We notice our hens on the
coldest of days come from the scratching pen
at all hours of the day for water, and they al-
ways look to us like they could hardly wait
until the regular time, if it was far off. The
same with the hen when she lays her egg. She
comes from her nest cackling, goes straight
for the water. If it suited the hen, it would
suit us. Ours don’t like the plan, but it may
be the way they are raised. I know the way
they are raised has a heap to do with their
laying, it may be so with watering. So water
for results. Let your hensbethe judge. After
you teach them the trick, you can load up your
water tank, setting them to go off at the re-
quiredtimes aday, and you are in it up to your
neck and if your poultry are not there to drink | _
the water .at stated time, you may - get |

=

5
y

POULTRY PENSION. 63

drowned. There are lots of good fountains
now on the market where the hen herself
touches the button, that’s more like it. Look
in your poultry paper or farm paper and see
if you don’t find lots vf good hints from corre-
spondents, etc. In winter when a big snow
falls, we are up before daylight clearing the
snow away from the hen house, more particu-
larly where the water crocks and bone meal
boxes set, also pathsaround the hen house and
to various other places. Make yourself a
snow plow out of lumber, something in the
shape of a big hoe with the handle on the bot-
tom, well braced so it will push easy.

Some say they never let their hens out in
the snow at all. Like the watering, they may
be taught that way; ours gotothe barn, in fact.
wherever we have our paths plowed out. As
we don’t like to wade around in the snow we
soon have all around the place looking like a
switch yard of arailroad, someof the branches
running out to a grass patch.

When it is extremely cold they don’t go very
far, some hardly coming out atall, not because
they are shut up. The coldest days of last
winter (1888 and 1889) they laid equally as
well as before and kept at it, increasing all
along towards spring.

From the start we have faithfully tried ty
avoid almost any figures at all, for the reason

64 POULTRY PENSION.

that we did not want to mislead any one.
Should we have attempted it we could surely
have given figures as straight asa string, of |
results from this plan of management, which
are hard to beat. Not for one, but severa-
years’ faithful practice, showing an increase,
every year, of eggs to the individual hen, or in
other words, the average to each hen, knowing
that if you try the plan faithfully you will do
the same and you are just as apttotry it with-
out the figures as with them.

We will say the increase in eggs, commence
in the fall in November, increasing each month,
more in December, January, February, March
and April, with May a good second, gradually
decreasing until September; September and
October being the least months of the year, al-
though with plenty of eggs in the above two
months to more than pay running expenses.

The above is just as good as figures and as
true as steel. Brother, we have no desire
whatever to deceive you and do not know of
anything that would give us more pleasure
than to see or hear of you doing equally as
well, it is easy enough.

The laying is done by the early hatched
chickens we told you of and how to get them. |
We also told you it was of nouse to keep up |
the whole year unless you had another object. }

The boxes for your bonemeal are not partic

POULTRY PENSION. 65

ular as to shape. We get tobacco caddies, if
too high we cut them down toabout four inches,
nail lath flat down on top, letting project over
on inside of box; that keeps the hens from flip-
ping the bone meal out with their bills; then
nail lath across each way in center of the box,
to keep the hens from scratching with their
feet. Should you prefer, you can make a
trough, nailing lath on theedges and across
the top. Whatever you use, scrape the meal
from out of the corners occasionally, keep it
supplied the year round with bone meal; it

‘ will take more in fall and winter, as that is

the time they are getting ready, also laying.
You will notice your laying hens visit it pretty
regularly,jalso hens when moulting find use for
it. When you quit putting itin your chicks’ feed
coops, watch them hunt it up.

We will tell you our way of obtaining the |
bone meal. We buy the bone meal that is sold
for fertilizer, as raw, pure bone meal, coarse
ground. Itis easy to get most everywhere,
and we have yet found nofault with it. In an-
other place we will tell you of other kinds and
sources of obtaining bone meal; having never
used them we cannot put them as belonging to
our plan, but you might find them to your idea.
We have no doubt they are just as good, no
better, nor as cheap. In buying the bone meal
get the pure bone, not a mixture of bone and

66 POULTRY PENSION.

some other stuff for fertilizer. It is no trouble
to get if you call for it. Buy it by the quan-
tity, or at least by the one hundred pounds, if
vou have to have it shipped to vou, as the rate
is;the same on a less amount. You will need
for each flock of one hundred hens, about four
hundred and fifty pounds a year; make it say,
five hundred. Itmay be you can get your
neighbors interested in the business, go to-
gether and buy it by the ton, delivered. Make
no secret at all of the way you manage to get
so many eggs, especially in winter, for when
you try this plan according to directions you
are sure to get the eggs, and if your neighbors
are like a great many neighbors they are sure
to want to know, as they think vou have a se-
cret. It does seem it is a secretto some. It is
nothing new at all, although we have given it
to youin a bunch and in a shape so it 1s easily
understood or practiced.

There is one more box to provide, or if you
prefer, can make a trough. for winter use, es-
pecially when the ground is covered with
snow; it is for grit and charcoal, neither one

being hard to furnish. If you have ever paid |

much attention to chickens, you have oiten no-
ticed them hunting the ash pile for charcoal.
They are very fond of itso we furnish it to
them when they cannot get it themselves. It

is very little trouble to lay up a quantity for |

POULTRY PENSION. 67

them. You can easily make a sieve to sift the
ashes in; say a box,.with neither top nor bot-
tom, with common wire screen tacked on one
side. The ashes atter sieving, make good fer-
tilizer for either putting in the hill or broad-
casting. It won’t take very long to sieve
enough charcoal to last a long time. For grit
you can save all the broken crockeryware,
grinding the same in a mill made for the pur-
pose, answering also to grind your charcoal;
or in case of necessity you can pound it up,
which is slow, for the old crockery, but if you
are up to business it won't be long before you
can afford to buy a mill, There is grit al-
ready prepared, on the market now for sale,
but it looks like the average farmer or poultry-
man could furnish plenty of grit for his poul-
try, sharp gravel, etc., as it is only needed
when there is snow on thegrounda short while
atatime. They are both needed for your win-

ter layers, otherwise we would not have said
a word about them. You canhave a partition
in your box for both the charcoal and grit.

These little tricks are of more consequence
than a great many are aware of. Your poul-
try pension, or the amount, is governed to a
great extent by just such little things, that ip
reality cost comparatively nothing.

In regard to the feeding of the flock, as
stated before, we are up early, in fact a great

68 POULTRY PENSION.

part of the time, in winter particularly, before
the chickens are off the roosts, getting their
bone meal boxes, water crocks. etc., in shape.

On most farms, thechickens, when fed at all,
are the last thing to be attended to. That is
a losing game; just as soon they come from
their roosts they should be fed, by this plan
they come off pretty early, goiny directly into
the scratching pen. We have long since come
to the conclusion thatone certain person should
attend to the feeding, watering,
regular time and system.

Have you not often heard some member of

etc., having a

the family, way up in the day, maybe near
night, say, Has anybody fed the chickens?

Do you call that business? When it is one
person's duty it is more apt to be attended to,
sure to if they are taking any interest. Chil-
dren, when old enough, are all right, one ata
time, attending to chickens; but don't drive
them, give them an interest, it will stimulate
them not only for the present, but will give
them good ideas.

You are aware hens generally commence
laying in the spring, even the brush pile,
fence corner stock, simply because nature pro-
vides them with the certain foods necessary
for the egg. one of which is bugs, worms, in-
sects, etc. In order to obtain eggs in winter,
you may provide similar food. The best sub-

POULTRY PENSION. 69

stitute for bugs, insects, etc., is animal food of
some description. We could give you page
after page describing certain different things
that an ege contains, what a certain grain
contains toward making an egg and so on.
We don’t propose to take your time to read
such, besides it does not interest very many.
We plainly tell you that how to get the egg it-
self, which we believe is of far more import-
ance to an average farmer and poultryman.

Animal food being what you want to supply
in the place of insects, we propose telling you
what we have.used, we will also tell you other
substances, all being easy to get. On most
farms there is generally enough cracklins to
supply a big portion of the animal food. Ia
case you run short vou may beableto get them
at vour nearest butcher shop. Should many
in your neighborhood try this plan, cracklins
at the butcher shops become scarce. In an-
other place we tell you how to obtain some-
thing else. The cracklins are cheap but they
are sure hard to cut, asthey must be cut pret-
ty fine. The butcher shopcracklins are easier
to cut on account of being pressed so much
harder. It takes a heavy tool to cut them, we
use an ax for the purpose.

Some tear the cakes up and throw them out
in that shape; .no use going to the expense of
buying cracklins to feed in that way, chips,

70 POULTRY PENSION.

old boots, or shoes are just as good, as the

hens can come as near eating one as the other.
There are bone mills on the market that cut

them, they have knives that shave them, so it

said. We have never tried them, but may do

so, as the ax cutting is a hard job.
We commence feeding thecracklins, or whee

ever food you use, in theearly fall, when bugs,
grasshoppers, etc., begin to get scarce; better
a little too early than too late, as you want to
start your hens into the winter laying. ‘To
do this vou must commence in time, time 1s
money in this case. You need not expect full
returns unless you do this. When you refer to
the teed tables given in the following pages,
do your own figuring. you will find it a money
making investment. Some have come to us in
dead of winter wanting to know what we do to
get so many eggs, then when we tell them they
pull out for cracklins and bone meal, expect-
ing to get a full flow of eggs. So bear in mind
you must commence early, attend tothe details
in full, if you expect complete success; 1f you

take the treatment, take a full dose.
The first of August is early enough to com-

mence feeding the animal food in small quan-
tities (see table). When you commence feed-
ing the animal feed (Aug. 1), mix it with your
bone meal until the nights begin getting cold,
but continve the bone meal.

For feeding the cracklins, in cold weather,

POULTRY PENSION, fa

we feed itin steamed grain. We put wheat,
corn or oats ina pot, pour boiling water over

- and let it steam on the stove; when ready to

feed, pour it out in.a large vessel, dish pan 1s
good enough (this 1s expected to be only
steamed grain, not a lot of water in it, if so
drain it off), mix your cracklins and a little
bran totake up the moisture. By letting it
set a while the cracklins become soft. This
you feed every other morning in cold weather.
From the tables you will see the amounts to
feed, we merely tell you how to feed at this
time, the tables belong entirely to themselves.

You must be your judge in a great many
cases, say in regard to feeding the steamed
grain, which we feed whenever the weather is
cool, that is in fall; if you become interested
you will do the same, while others may not
take such interest and feed altogether by the
tables, principally dry. The steamed grain
is only for a change and you know thatis a
benefit, even of the same grain, although we
change from one grain to another, but no mush
any where in it.

We have a regular feeding place all the
time. Wetake the steamed grain, drop a
handful in a pile briskly. Should the ground
be wet and muddy, we omit the steamed grain,
feeding the animal food mixed with the bone
meal, making the grain tood dry, of whatever

19 POULTRY PENSION.

grain we take a notion to. According to the
table, most generally wheat, that is of a morn-

ing, and in the scratching pen, also on bad .

days when the hens cannot get out and rustle,
we scatter small grainof almost any kind, at
noon in the scratching pen, In the even-
ing just before going to roost, we feed them
corn straight from the hand on the ground. It
is very seldom but what corncan be fed broad-
cast, often all through the year in muddy,
rainy weather; Wefeed, 1t\,in: ‘the splaecenor
wheat for the evening feed, as spoken of in
table for summer feeding of wheat. Some

farmers think wheat expensive feed for chick-
ens, such is not the case. Wheat is an expen-
sive crop. To feed it to chickens according to
this plan, you will realize morefor your wheat

than in any other way. Thegrain fed to your
chickens is supposed to be good, sound wheat,
not the rotten, mouldy refuse that anything
else won't eat. Feed according to tables and
see that they get good weight of some good,
sound grain. You need not weigh every feed,
have a measure of some kind, box, bucket or
such, after testing the grain, you can feed it
by measure. Some grain will not weigh out.
Whenever you change grain, change your
quantity by measure to correspond with your
weight per bushel. Take oats, for instance,
some seasons a bushel will over run the 32
pounds, more often they fall short. Some years

oats are not fit to feed your poyltry at all. In- i

that case change to wheat. You can starve a

POULTRY PENSION. 73

hen awful easy on suchkinds of grain. When

your eggs begin falling off, slip out and weigh

your grain, you will soon see where the trouble
is.

Often you. read in the papers, correspond-
ence from the women how they are doing with
poultry. Frequently they say, the old man
don’t believe in chickens, they eat too much,
waste too much, etc. Such ‘‘old men’’ are a
tough proposition. We have known such ‘‘old
men ’, one in particular; he raised a big rack-
et in the family on account of the chickens. It
went so far the lady quit trying to raise any
chickens, not even setting a hen. Pretty soon
the ‘old man’’ began to notice the children
were not shoed and clothed as before, the table
lacked in several things. Don’t you think
they began raising chickens again, what would
you have done? Now honestly, don’t you
know several such old men, only they did not
go far enough to choke off the supply of extras
the chickens afforded ‘without taking money
directly out of his pocket.

Now in regard to the waste and destruction,
it is the fault of the ‘‘old man’’, if he had his
grain cribbed so the fowls could not get to it,
they would not soil it. If you will give them >
time they will eat it all and not waste a grain,
but feed them as they should be, they are all
right and more profitable. Some, of course,

74 POULTRY PENSION.

claim they get all they want at crib, pig pen,
etc. On very cold days, ground covered with
snow, they sit on the roost and if by chance
some one thinks of them they may throw them
some corn in the snow; but when spring comes
and nature provides for these pvor, neglected
fowls, all are ready and eager tv get the eges
and market them, but no one hardly thinks of
them at other times. Noton all farms ‘is the
above the case, but it is positively so on some.

On one farm, we knew of two young ladies
who took week about—not feeding the hens—
gathering the eggs tosellfor their own es-
pecial benefit, the hens took careof themselves.
Either one of the above ladies could take a
flock, manage them properly, pay the ‘‘old
man’’for his grain and make from $8.00 to
$16.00 per month. More according to their
ability, less according to their disability.
Have no fear of the hens, they will discount
you.

Let us talk to the ‘‘ofd man’’ a while. As
we told you in the start, he is a hard proposi-
tion. He says they don’t pay for their feed.
We want to tell him he has no other stock on
his place that will come anywhere near pay-
ing like the hen. The trouble with such ‘‘old
men’’ they expect one hen to equal one cow.
Now, ‘‘old man’’, just try it and find out for
yourself. Put the same amount of money into

——
ae

POULTRY PENSION, tS

poultry that you have in one of your cows,
counting everything; you will soon find out
what a big difference there is, and in favor ot
your poultry. The old man would rather sack
up and haul thirty bushels of wheat to the
mill or market at sixty cents per bushel, the
miller making it into flour, when he could have
let the hens grind it, and get adollar a bushel
for it, taking the eggs, a finished product, to
town with less trouble than he could the orig-
inal thirty bushels. Say, oldman, you are
standing in your own light.

Ona great many farms, not only the old
man, but others think any kind of grain or
waste is good enough for chickéns. That isa
big mistake. They also think they only need
feeding during the winter and even then only
in stormy, bad weather, another mistake.
While it is true there is no other stock on the
farm that will come as near taking care of
themselves and still give returns, we yet say
she will give more clear profit, above feed and
care, than any other stock kept by the average
farmer.

It is not profitable to feed and care for any
stock unless you get full returns. The hen,
without care will not lay near the amount of
eggs she would if proper attention was given,
in which case you will make a good profit.

In order to get full returns you should feed

76 POULTRY PENSION,

regularly the whole year through. Do you
know that some of you really feed more than is
really necessary? That may sound strange
to some, but itis so. We mean the stormy,
cold day feeders. What ‘can’ you ‘expect of
vour hens when you do not try to get them
ready to lay when eggs are high ? Consequent-
ly you must keep them in good shape all the
time.

The following tables are given for hens who
are supposed to have yood shelter. a place to
work in scratching pen. The tables were not
intended for hens that have no house or any-
thing else, although it is more feed than prob-
ably most of them get, generally. |

Take the amount named in the tables and
you will find ovt it is not a large amount of
grain, etc., for one hundred hens, but a little
every day in the year, with some idea of busi-
ness.

DECEMBER 1, TO APRIL l.
A. M., 6 pounds of wheat (or oats).

P. M., 6 pounds corn. |

4 pounds cracklins (every other day).

2 pounds. bone meal (every day).

With this four months feeding you can feed
any apple, potatoes and other vegetable peel-
ings, etc., of a morning in your steamed grain,
also with this four months, or any time during
the year, give any surplus milk youmay have.
Feed the steamed grain whenever youcan, that

2

POULTRY PENSION. Yoh
is, every other day. After a while you may
be able to fix up like ‘‘the man from the east.’
You can feed it under shelter whenever you
wish. Nice days do not put too much feed in
your scratching pen at noon. On most farms
there is generally plenty of grass range. We
have found it of great benefit to sow a piece of
wheat, sown a little earlier than for the gen-
eral crop, it makes fine picking to go with this
four months of winter feeding.

With this four months you will pay close at”
tention to your charcoal, grit and bone meal
boxes, particularly in bad weather. There is
nothing very hard about this four months, al-
though it requires a little closer attention,
which will repay you well, as you should get
lots of eggs, at a season when they are high,
to pay you big for your time and trouble. As
for the time, it will take probably an hour all
told.

Keep a garden rake in your scratching pen
to loosen up the straw, leaves or whatever you
have in your scratching pen. After your flock
has gone on the roost is a good time, it will
then be ready for the morning grain. Your
hens generally come off the roosts pretty early,
a great deal earlier than they would if they
were roosting out of doors on fence or trees, as
they will not have to fly down inthe snow, and
your glass or canvas makes it light and com-

~

78 POULTRY PENSION.

fortable. Say, brother, you have gota snug
little business ‘‘under your own vine and fig
tree.

Give plenty ot water and warm it whenever
needed.

Of all the seasons, this is the time to get ©
there, the other seasons, or tables for feeding,
are all making ready for this one, getting
them in shape, ready for business when your
neighbor’s hens are idle, provided they have
not been attended to on the same plan or one
similar. , Tell them the secret, it won’t hurt
your business one iota.

The above feed is all you will need for the
four months named, but we will state again.
you will substitute oats for wheat occasionally
in your steamed feed, which does not increase
your feed bill. The oats are good fora change.
provided they are sound and of full weight.
If not, don’t fool with them, for we want
to fully impress it on your mind, poor oats are
next to nothing as food for poultry.

Recollect, you ought to charge your poultry
for everything you feed, market prices.” It is
no more than fair that you should deliver it,
not by the wagon load, but as they need it, the
same aS you would dofor the merchant. Fill
your little grainery with so much grain, of any
kinds needed, keep account of number of bush-
els put in; when fed out you know just what it
takes. While you are doing all this charging,

a

POULTRY PENSION. 719

don't forget to give vour poultry proper credit
for everything, then you will know what vou
are doing. You may talk as you please, that
is the only correct way of doing it.
APRIL 1, TO AUGUST 1.
A. M., 3 pounds wheat.
P. M., 4 pounds wheat (or corn).

1 pound bone meal.

In most of cases, those who feed the four
months previous, durmg cold spells, fail to feed
any more until cold weather comes again.
That won't near pay, that is if you are in the
business for profit, nor do we know of any
other case where it is the right thing to do.
This four months’ feed is less expensive, but
just as essential. Itis about the only time
during the year in which they can get animal
food, bugs, etc., consequently, it 1s not neces-
sary to feed your substitute, but put out the
bone meal. There are times when you will
feed corn in place of the wheat mentioned
above, when the ground is muddy or sloppy, it
is much handier for your fowls to pick up, you
can feed it onthe short grassaround your house
for evening feed. The morning meal you can
throw in your scratching pen, as your hens
never give it up during the whole year, and
will spend about as much time in there as any
where else. Same with the hens with chickens.
The chickens, when about full grown, run in

80 POULTRY PENSION.

there out of rain the same as the older ones.
Pay attention to the little details, neglect in
small matters sometimes makes great loss. a
missing link in any chain weakens the whole
chain; so with this plan, one part depends on
the other for success and the size of your
monthly poultry pension. You will get plenty ©
of eggs the year round to more than pay your
expenses, even if you had to buy your grain,
etc., from day to day.

Some few years ago there was a great cry
about corn being too fattening; such is not the
.case, when fed properly. We often use it for
evening feed; if fed according tothe tables it
is all right the vear around, if short on wheat.

| AUGUST 1, TO DECEMBER 1,

A. M., 4 pounds of wheat.

P. M., 5 pounds corn (wheat occasionally.)

1 pound bone meal (Nov. and Dec. 1% lbs.)

2 pounds cracklins.

This four months is sure a business period.
You will have to keep the machines supplied
with the right kind of fuelasevery pulley (pul-
let) must be started at this time.

This period’s feeding almost settles the
question in regard to the winter laying of your
stock. If attended to properly will greatly aid
your hens when moulting or shedding, which
is quite an item. Some people (town lot poul-
trymen) say moulting and laying hens should

{

POULTRY PENSION. roe

be fed differently. Not by this plan, where
they have plenty of range, tor you know we
are out in the open.

The latter part of the summer, especially if
dry and hot, does not furnish sufficient animal
food, bugs, etc., so we commence on our crack-
lins, or substitute. You must get your hens
started to laying, or under the spell, before
winter sets in;if you do not, it isa hard matter
to get them started in mid-winter, whatever
the feed, they may lay a little earlier in the
spring. For that reason, we say commence
in time. This four months’ feed cuts quite a
figure and if you wish to keep a sure secret in
regard to winter laying, never mention how
you feed this period; if you do you have let a
bird go. Say, don’t be foolish, you have noth-
ing to gain by such secrets. It is really true
some try to keep such things a secret, when if
they would stop and think they must know
they are not a drop in the bucket when it comes
to keeping the markets supplied with eggs. It
is all right to know such so called secrets and
practice them, that is the one who is at the
top, but how many will doit if you tell every
one yon see ?

On most farms the above season is when
most of grains are ripe and are being, or are,
harvested. When the grain is near the fowls
they may help harvest some of the grain; don't

82 ” - POULTRY PENSION.

give up feeding, call them up at night and give
them some grain different from the grain they
have been harvesting. Here comes the same
‘old man’’ bellowing and shooing them off his
shocks of grain, but leaves them still stand in
the feld to tempt them, and it might be long
enough for the wet weather to set in and spoil
them. It is of no benefit tothechickens; under
our plan it our purpose to give them all the
grain they need, but should they have access
to such grain, feed them only at night as long
as they get.the grain outside, but don’t make
a habit of it. .

In feeding the cracklins, or substitute, this
four months it is not necessary to steam, al-
though it willdo no harm, and the steamed
grain, in October and November especially is
a good inducement to start them laying and
also a good change in the matter of feeding;
butif you wish to take the shortest route,
take the sieve for sifting ashes and sieve the
cracklins, putting the fine with the bone meal,
saving the coarsest to feed with the steamed
grain. You can mix the cracklins and bone
meal in the bulk, two pounds of cracklins to
two pounds bone meal, putting it out in the
boxes used for bone meal. The above mixture
is a good egg producing mixture; if it were not
for feeding the steamed grainin late fall we
would feed it as described.

POULTRY PENSION. 83

We have given the above tables for the aver-
age farmer or poultryman, not for the one who
has his poultry in little pens; but with the
scratching pen the big ranye is not as essen-
tial as it would be without it, but on an aver-
age farm there is no lack of range.

You should get—well, now, how many eggs
do you say you should get? Of course you
have no idea. It all depends on the manage-
ment, not alone in the feed and shelter, but in
getting the early hatched pullet we told of at
first. You may not have the flock ‘to suit you,
but come at it by degrees. When you get
down to business, be sure and have the early
hatched pullet.

The way the average farmer, the majority,
manage, they get fromsevento nine dozen eggs
from each hen in the course of a year, more
often seven dozen. You have probably often
heard of your neighbor having hens that lay

‘every day. That might be sofor afew days,

but not long at a stretch.
One man told us of a Hamburgh hen that

layed every day for a year. The Hamburghs

“are good layers and a good breed for this plan,

but no Hamburgh, nor any other hen, ever was
guilty of such atrick. Any of them that put
in one half of the time in a year are good ones,
and there are some that have beat it, but only
under good conditions and where there were

84 POULTRY PENSION.

but a few hens in the bunch, not by the one
hundred hen plan. But come tothink of it, we
read, not long ago, of a poultryman who gotan
average of one hundred and ninety-six eges
from each hen in a flock of six hundred White
Leghorns. Now that is very seldom heard of,
much less accomplished. We have no reason
for disputing it as the Leghorns are noted lay-
ers and such is not improbable, which beats
the half time we spoke of. Counting 365 days
to the year, the whole six hundred went 14
daysover théehalftime. Say, thatis business and
if you ever reach that number you are a good
one. Note difference between the seven dozen
we generally get, us average farmers, and the
sixteen and one-third dozen he gets from each
of his six hundred hens, but don’t let that
worry you, you don't need that many to keep
your pension up to $8.00 per month. But you
ought to get eleven dozen from each of your
100 hens; that will pay the pension and leave
some, but should you keep along with the
crowd, managing by the brush pile, fence cor-
ner plan, you may get seven dozen, often not
that. Do vour own figuring and see if this
way of managing won't pay.
BREED OF FOWLS.

As regards the different breeds, we would
say, if you are just starting in the business,
start with the best you can get. Of course for

om

a —
————

POULTRY PENSION, 8

Oa

fresh eggs for market, you want to get egg
producers, such as Leghorns, Hamburghs,
Spanish, ete. If you already have chickens.
build upandimprove by introducing new blood.

For our own use we prefer the Leghorns,
but all are not alike as to choice of breeds.
You may now have hens that you think are
good layers, if so, stick to them, improve until
you get the average laying hen up to a good
notch. Some may wish to breed for fancy
stock. But with this plan itis for business,
not much fancy work about it.

We first imported the Leghorns, but they
were not hardy, appearedtender, although our
stock at present is nearly full blood Leghorn
of ‘sour own make,” built from the ground up,
from common stock, by getting a_ setting of
eggs occasionally, or roosters if you prefer,
you will soon have a flock to suit.

Get roosters or eggs from some reliable
breeder, picking the best eggs for setting,
whenever you come across the hen that lays
every day, set all her eggs you can get. If
you wish, you can have asmall flock for breed-
ing from, of course keeping them separate
from the main flock. In that case you need no
roosters with the laying hens, they lay just as
well, some say better. At present writing we
have not got a rooster onthe place and are get-
ting lots of eggs.

86 POULTRY PENSION.

Should you keep a breeding pen you will not
have to keep them shut up long, as you are not
long in getting what eggs you wish to set, as
by this plan it don’t take many. After ob-
taining the amount of eggs you wish, you can
let the breeding flock out with the main flock,
or even when you are getting eggs to set, you
can let the hens and rooster out late of an
evening, as they will all go back to their own
house to roost. You can shut them up for the
next day’s laying. This gives them exercise.

The breeding pen will appear expensive and
useless to some of the brush pile, fence corner
poultrymen. Keep the right kind of stock,
bred to lay, and you sell enough settings of
eggs to pay expense of same.

We do not aim to suggest any particular
change in our present plan of management,
but merely state, once in a while, another way
of accomplishing the same thing, our plan in
the main being correct. You are expected to
make any change to suit your convenience:
improving wherever the samemay appear.

As we have mentioned more than once, we
have found, in our locality, no inducement to
set any more hens than it takes to keep our
laying stock up to the proper number, not find-
ing it profitable to raise chickens especially
for the market. You may think differently;
your locality may offer better inducements to

|

\

POULTRY PENSION, 87

raise chickens tor the market. With the plan

as given, you ought to have every year fifty
’ hens to dispose of and say one-half of your

early hatched chickens, which will be roosters,

another fifty, making 100 head or 8 dozen.

Do you sell that number by your present plan
. of managing ?

The market, of course, is your dictator. It
never fails to call for fresh eggs, if it calls for
poultry. You must be vour own judge whether
you will supplv your part or not.

All along we try to tell you how to get full
returns; we will tell you of another source of
income.

A few vears ago, the big packing houses
were throwing away a vast amount of refuse.
What do they throw away now days? Well,
just say nothing whatever and you have told
it in full. With the average farmer it should
be the same in every branch of his business
With his poultry managed by this or some
other good plan, he has a field for profit.
Take the manure taken out of the hen house
each week, and the refuse from the scratching
pen occasionally, its value is far greater than
many who have never tried it are aware of.
There is still another source which makes a
fertilizer equal to the best onthe market. We
often notice our hens are very destructive to

‘ young birds, toads, etc. Just let a young bird

88 POULTRY PENSION.

get out of its nest, they willgo torit immediate-
ly. We did not like that part ot the game and
could see no reason for their being such canni- *
bals. We at last came to the conclusion that
it had been taught to them the same as some
hens are taught to eat eggs by throwing the
egg shells out to them; when cleaning chickens
for our own use we threw the entrails tv the
other chickens. We have no doubt but right
there we were teaching them the habit of eat-
ing birds, or anything that satisfied the appe-
tite in that line. We thought at once of bury-
ing the entrails. feathers, feet and head. On
second thought we recognized in the above a
very valuable fertilizer, provided it was manu-
factured so it could beproperly handled. You
know that is hard to beat, and on every farm
there are the materials at hand for manufac-
turing thesame. Most all of you know how to
make the old time ash hopper. Well, make one,
or get an old barrel, box or such, sieve your
ashes to get the charcoal out to store away for
the chickens in winter—say, they eat char-
coal the year around—put a layer of ashes in,
and when cleaning the chickens, or when
through, pour the wholemixture, entrails, etc.,
and bloody water, onto the layer of ashes,
scattering it, then cover with another layer of
ashes, and you have your manutacturing plant
going. There may be other refuse to put in,

ae

POULTRY PENSION. - 89

the more the better. Keep it moist enough for
the ashes to work, not too wet, as you do not
aim to make a liquid fertilizer, but a compost.
Should it run, put something under it to catch
the liquor, pouring it back on the mass.
Should it become too dry, moisten it up;
chamber lye is fine for the purpose. Work it
over occasionally; after setting, say a week,
take a spade or shovel, mixing it well, after
while you have a sure enough high grade fer-
tilizer. You must use it with judgement, put it
in the hill for corn, etc. Five acres fertilized
will equal, or beat ten acres not fertilized, and
vou have it of your own make, as is the same
with the other manure. Forty acres of land
devoted to poultry, using the manure as above
described, for raising their and your own food,
will beat oceans of eighty acre farms as now
run. Some people think land not fit for any-
thing else is just the thing for poultry. You
average farmers know better, but you can im-
prove any of it with poultry, that is if you use
all the manure they furnish. Every hen on
onthe place will produce enough fertilizer,
and of the best, every year, to more than raise
what she eats.

For curiosity, my brother, let us_ talk with
you onthat score a little. It has been counted
for years that each hen will consume in one
year, one bushel of corn, or its equivalent.

90 _ POULTRY PENSION.

That may be all right for one hen, but suppose
you had two one hundred hen flocks, or two
hundred hens; it makes no particular differ-
ence as to the price of corn, as to the quantity
your hens eat, they should have the same
amount at each feed, let it be high or low, let
it be corn or wheat.

When you want tolay ina supply of corn
for your teams, not having sufficient on hand,
you try to purchase on the bestterms you can,
for that reason you most generally purchase
in the fall at gathering time. When vou get
for the chickens, do the same thing.

Last fall all corn sold, at gathering time, at
25 cents per bushel. Your hens, by this plan,
always have a little money on hand. You take
their own money and purchase their 200 bush-
els of corn, giving for the same $50.00, or 25
cents a bushel. By this plan of feeding, they
won't eat a bushel of corn apiece, but they
may consume the equivalent in something else,
say, wheat, oats, bone meal, animal food, etc.
You are supposed to purchase the above in
quantity and at the proper time whenthe mar-
ket is right. Of course you are expected to
raise all the grain, or most of it, but what we'
want to tell you is this, corn is now selling
from 40 to 45 cents per bushel; are you going
to charge the hens 40 or 45 cents a bushel for
it when she could have bought it with her own

POULTRY PENSION. 91

money at 25 cents, enough todo her a year?
These extra touches are for your own benefit.
By taking the tables vou can figure it all out,
but the labor. On very few farms is the labor
taken into account, but it should be. The
poultry business is not assome would suppose,
simply a sitting down and folding the hands:
True, the labor is not killing hard, but it is
there al} the same. You can compare it with
other labor done on the farm, a great deal
with no profit at all attached toit. The ‘‘old
man’’ spoken of will plainly tell you it don’t
pay to hire help on thefarm. Hethinksaheap
of his old woman and girls, but from outside
appearances, only for what work they can do,
as he has them out in the fields working. For
a change we give you apiece of poetry that ex-
actly suits a big majority of such old men.

“ONE OF A THOUSAND.”’
BY MRS. M. A. KIDDER.

«‘She’s one in a thousand,”’
Said old farmer Grey,
As he waded knee-deep
In the sweet-scented hay.
‘“‘You won't find her like, marm,
From here to the town—
That woman out there
In the calico gown !

POULTRY PENSION.

“You thought ‘twas a servant
A yoking the steers!”

And the old farmer laughed
Till he started the tears.

‘‘And you was half right, marm,
For, ‘twixt you and me,

She has worked likea slave
Since the year forty-three.

“If you could have seen her by

That morning in May, )

When I stopped at her father’s

_ And took her away—

A likely young bride, marm,
So blooming and fair,

And chipper as that little lamb
Frisking there!

‘You wouldn’t a thought it,
Now would you, friend, say ?

As you look at her wrinkled
And brown face today ?

Her hard, bony hands, marm,
Her back like a bow?

Ah, she’s one in a thousand
Yo labor,:tha't,so!

‘‘When first we were married,
All, all for my sake;”’

And here the old farmer
Leaned hard on his rake,

‘She gave up her music,

POULTRY PENSION. 93

And gave up her books—
No nonsense about her,
You’d know by her looks!”

«And if you Should lose her ?”’

I ventured to say’
The old farmer sighed

And looked down at his hay !
*°’Twould near break my heart,”’

He replied with a tear,
‘‘And then help’s uncommonly

High about here!”

—New York Ledger.

Well, the girls, or mother, could take a flock
of chickens, attending to them with half, yes,
one-tenth of the labor, and do well, even
though they might have to pay the ‘‘old man”’
tor his grain to feed their poultry. He would
probably want to borrow the balance to hire
his help, and of course never pay it back, and
yet growl that there was nomoney inchickens,
but mother and daughters would have a far
easier time. .

A great many girls are now working out for
just such a purpose, to help keep up the farm.
It is the same with girls as it is with boys,
some don’t care the snap of your finger for
poultry; those who do should be encouraged.

_- In fact, in some families there is not a single

one from the ‘‘old man’’ down, who pays much
attention to poultry. No longer than yester-

s

94 POULTRY PENSION.

day we heard a lady say she was going to
raise 300 young chickens this year, and as
true as can be she did not have a hen house
or chicken coop on the place. She raised Cain
for a new smoke house and summer kitchen,
got it, too, but does not need a hen house, or
at least no complaint aboutit. But she is for-
tunate in way of brush piles, big barn, straw

stacks, etc.
é

MARKETING THE EGGS.

The first consideration is the quality, many
think itis the quantity; quality is more in
demand in every line of produce today on the
market than ever before; to the average farm-
er an egg is an egg.

Do you know eggs are spoken of as being
rich? While we are not surprised at any new
thing thatmay happen in the poultry business,
we always watch where it originated. Keep
your eye skinned and see if there won't be
some brand of food gotten up to produce rich
eggs.

There is a difference in the egg produced by
the well fed hen and the one on half or no ra-
tions at all. Thereis no disputing the fact,
the beauty of the whole thing is, the average
farmer is prepared to feed such food. The
plan as given you is for producing eggs of as
good quality as anvbody’s and_ especially in
good quantities, also some markets or locali-

“POULTRY PENSION. 95

ties want the shells acertain color. Now how
about that? The average farmer will hardly
be bothered in that respect, unless it be in a
case where he has regular customers, serving
them something on the plan that a milkman
furnishes milk. Should they take a notion to
different colored eggs the producer would have
to furnish them or lose the trade, but for the
average farmer in the main, the general mar-
ket is his port of entry. In afew cases, near
mining or manufacturing centers, large cities,
etc., there may be established. an egg route,
having regular customers. You yourself, will
have to be regular, also. At no time of the
year are you to run short of eggs; if you do
your regular customer business is gone up.
You can not depend on outsiders for eggs, as
you can in no wise guarantee anyone else’s
eggs and sucha route has to be furnished
with the freshest of eggs. Inthe spring you
may have lots of eggs, but it takes good man-
agement and good judgment to supply sucha
trade the whole year. In the most of cases,
the average tarmer takes his eggs to the coun-
try store, taking them up in trade, whichis all
right, so far, but when you try this plan ac-
cording to rule, you are going toget more eggs
than you ever got before and may not be able
to take them all up in trade.

All over the country there areplenty of cash

96 POULTRY PENSION,

buyers, in the future there will be more of
them, ready and eager for your eggs, and the
farmer that is awake is the one to profit by it.
But you are sure to have to quit the business
unless you have fresh eggs. Before long no
other egg goes. When coming across a nest
of egys laid out, never mix them with other
eges known to be fresh. Some times a neigh-
bor may suggest going in together and ship-
ping. Never ship unless you can ship a guar-
anteed case of fresh eggs; in thatcase you can
not guarantee your neighbor’s. eggs, nor can
he yours. Feel your way beforecommencing it.

In the winter time an egg may be called
fresh for a week from the day it is layed, in
summer, 4 or 5 days, and then it begins to be-
come stale.

Should you manage right, keep on and get
up to the two hundred hen plan, you can easily
get a case of thirty dozen eggs in, at the low-
est calculation, four days. If near a shipping
point, you mightship acase, guaranteed fresh,
which you can easily do by this plan. Mark
them as such and see what vou cando. Un-
der no circumstances put in a doubtful egg;
the sooner you can see the advisability of
handling only fresh eggs, the sooner you will
command better prices.

All produce, no difference what kind, is
graded, so with eggs; there is not much mid-

id use

POULTRY PENSION, 97

i
=X

-

| ‘die ground inthe egg. Itis simply fresh or
| stale, good or bad. Notice in the market re-
ports the following:

‘Quality so poor, dealers do not care to
handle it..”’

‘-The best of near by points stock, higher.’’
_ “Phe supply was light of fresh, salable, on
basis loss off.”’

a “Quality of stock poor, loss heavy.’”’

The above tells just what is on the market;
who is to blame? First the producer, in not
selling his stock (eggs) when fresh. Next,
the merchant for holding them so long before
shipping. What are you going to do about it;
do you notice what was said above, ‘‘Quality
so poor dealers don’t care to handle?’ After
while you will not hear, they don’t care to
handle it, when you take your doubtful eggs
in they will say, the dealers positively won’r
handle it. So get on board if you wish to be
infront. The whole thing is on the.move, just
stick a pin right here. The above conditions
are sure to exist. They don’t like to handle
tf them now, shortly they Won’T; and then where
ti will the brush pile, fence corner poultryman
be?

As stated above, all over the country there
| arecashegg buyers. Tenor fifteen years ago
did you ever hear of us poor average farmers .
ever being offered cash for eggs? What

|
|

98 POULTRY PENSION.

brought those cash buyers amongst us? You
may not think think of such things. You yet
have time to take notice of the progress of the
egg business with much less trouble than be-
fore as there is but one direction to look in—
the ‘‘Fresh Egg Route,’’ and to think some
will say the poultry business is overdone.

We have often heard some of the country
merchants complain about this “loss of€”’ you
notice and hear of, claiming the last shipment
they made the loss was so heavy that they
could not pay much for eggs this time. Right
here there is a screw loose, the merchant can-
dles your eggs (no, not candles, be safer all
around if he would), but tests them with a
tester, to our notion of not much conseqnence,
only to tell a real bad egg from a tolerably
fair one, not distinguishing the genuine fresh
one atall. At any rate, if he ships them out
pretty soon after receiving them, the loss ought
not to be somuch. We are an average farmer
(hardly that) ourself, but the eggs are very
nearly lost, in a great many cases before the
farmer ever starts totown with them. The
commission merchant gets the blame, in most
cases, for this last ‘‘loss off’’, some even claim-
ing he keeps it as a part of his profit. Gener-
ally speaking, they are a high class of men,
and they sure have a hard job handling just
such eggs as are first taken totown by us

POULTRY PENSION, 99

average farmers to the average country mer-
chant and tested by not an average tester.
Most eggs taken by the average farmer are
gathered from all overthe farm, may be have
been held for higher prices, two weeks or more,
part the time with a henon. Eggs have been
known to hatch on the way, or on the market,
in the hands of these very commission men,
and vou know it takes three weeks at home for
the purpose. The commission man is to blame,
I suppose. When you come tokeeping the eggs
for higher prices it is generally alosing game,
on most average farms. Shovethem into mar-
ket fresh. If you cannot get proper credit at
home for guaranteed fresh eggs by the case,
try shipping. Cold storage cuts a figure in
holding eggs over, but when they get into mar-
ket and run up against thefreshegg, you hear
the following: ‘‘Choice, fresh eggs sold 25c,
but cold storage held or doubtful stock would
not bring anything like that figure.’’ In just-
ice to the cold storage man, he doesn’t try to
compete with the fresh egg, he is only buying
them up so when he catches the hens napping,
in winter, he shoves in his stock. In some
cases the market is glad to get them. That is
a trick in the trade, not a very old one either.

_As we told you before, keep your eye skinned
and stay with the procession; whenever they

be WG

100 POULTRY PENSION.

not in it at all, she holds the trump- No imi-
tation, but the genuine fresh eg$ is the only
thing. Where, oF what have you got to do
with it, you average farmers? Youare right
next to the old hen, for without you there is 00
egg market to talk about, you create the sup-
ply, that is the majority of it, and always will,
but don't neglect your opportunity; the brush
pile, fence corner poultryman is doomed.
DISEASES.

Right in the start we will have to admit that
we know practically nothing about it, that is
as to any cure, unless 1t be the steamed oats
we speak of later. Our experience has been
that the fowls kept bythe planas given by Us,

‘have been healthy.

Several years 420 we were ina bad state
of affairs, some kind of a disease struck our
fowls and struck them hard: Th wes called

chicken cholera; it may have been, but we

have always believed it was lice that caused
it, for they had lots of them, house, nests and
all, covered with them. We lost a great many
chickens, but we got rid of it, OF quit. We
killed some. quarantined some and had a
general cleaning up. In those days WES did
not oil our roosts at all, nor did we clean out
the hen house very often, which we have faith-
fully done since, and have had no trouble. We
never hand a case of roup that we know of,

POULTRY PENSION. 101

and from all accounts of the disease, I yuess
that we would have known it. We are very
particular in regard to drafts in cold weather
in the roosting room. The roosting room, if

k.

/
,
[
+

_ protected as we have described, has no imme-
__ diate contact with the outside, except on one
4 side and the roof, which can be protected if
Vi mecessary. Inacold climate, double it, or
_ cover with roofing felt.

} Our idea is that half the so called diseases

are caused from filth and lice. We sometimes
have noticed sulphur-colored droppings under
the roosts; being afraid of cholera, we throw
| air slacked lime on it, more often take it out
and throw it on the garden.

An old lady told me that steamed oats would
cure the cholera every time. We have had no
| cholera since to try it on, but if a hen ever
| looks bad, or wrong in any manner, she gets
re steamed oats. At any rate we have adopted
_ it as aration in our feed table, changing oc-
_ casionally to wheat.
yy’ We don’t feed any preventatives at all, but
4 we believe a good way of feeding is agood way

to prevent several things. We have noticed a

‘lot of different things put in the water, at dif-
_ ferent places, to keep off the cholera. Some-
_ times very little water was in sight, but the
,|| other stuff was there, poke root, white oak
bark, blue stone, common, bottled blueing, etc..

————

102 POULTRY PENSION.

etc. Whenever they thoughtof giving the hens
water, it was poured in on that stuff and they
call it a preventative for disease. Many are
the farms where poultry seldom ever get a
drink of water only when it rains, and we have
just finished telling you that the market for
fresh eggs depended on the average farmer,
or do we count them as not average?

Don’t fail to give plenty of pure. fresh water
every day in the year, incleanvessels, leaving
out the stuff named above, it is of no good on
earth. If youmanage by this plan, or some
other good plan—we don’t pretend to say this
is the only way; we do say for one who does
not know of any system at all, it is just the
plan to jump at.

There is a habit which some call, or rather
class among diseases; it is egg eating. In
many cases itis taught to the hens by the
throwing outof ege shells, especially just after |
breaking the egg for house use, and tossing
the shells out of doors, which is very common.
It looks like they would soon learn itis not a
good thing.to do, but they do not, having prac-
ticed it all their lives, are still at it. Lay the
shells on the hearth of your stove, or in a pan
in the oven, letting them heat, not burn, until
they crumble easily; mash them up and scat-
them on the ground or in the scratching pen
for the chickens; don’t putthem in the bone meal

POWLTRY PENSION. 103

boxes. Some hens seem to take to eating eggs
and are hard to break. Whenever you catch
one certain hen eating eges very often, the best
idea is to eat her, the sooner you get rid of her
the better itis for the balance of the flock.
By feeding the right kind of feed there is not
i much trouble on the egg eating score. Half
fed, or not fed at all, hens, are worse than any
_ other. By eating one egg they may be able to
"g produce another, but it is not profitable as
they will only come out even; so feed them ege
producing food, according to the tables, and
you can get the finished product for your pay
| . tor vour food and labor.

Give the poultry good careand attention and
there is no more danger of disease than with
any other stock.

TWO HUNDRED HENS.

We hardly know how to upproach the two
hundred hen plan as we have been talking to
you altogether on the one hundred hen plan,
You know as well as anybody there are many
who will not manage 100 hens and get full re-
turns, but for your especial benefit we will
tell you something of the two hundred hen
_ business, but don’t get excited and go into it

ib until you are perfectly satisfied you can mas-
|| ter the business. Itis not the number you
keep at all; some may have the 200 hens now,
_ while if they only had 50 they would get more

SS
ESF IA FA :

104 POULTRY PENSION.
clear profit.

For the 200 hen plan, everything: is, of
course, double. Twice the amount of house
room, etc., but as we told you in the start you
need not abandon whatimprovements you al-
ready have, add a shed here, an addition
somewhere else and soon. If you build a new
house out and out youcan’t beat the planas we
have given you, but don’t attempt to run a 200
hen business in a 100 hen house. Don’t think
because we tell you of one thing more than the
one time that you are hard tomake understand.
Take the book all through, make a note of each
point where we have cautioned you sv often.
It you don’t succeed, or are not doing as well
as you wish, look up those oft repeated points
and see if you are not hung up on one of them.
At one time we thought we would put up sign
boards all along the route, but have just made
them so plain that you can tell right where
are to be put. Before proceeding, let us tell
you the 200 hen business is no hard proposi-
tion at all, that is for you, but your neighbor
might not do so well. You say you are not
your neighbor’s keeper. Help him along if
you possibly can, it will benefit you and the
whole neighborhood.

Notice in the poultry and farm and poultry
papers and see what certain -counties are
doing in the egg and poultry business. See if

POULTRY PENSION. 105

thev don’t getbetter prices than you do, ina
neighborhood where but a few produce first
class poultry and genuine fresh eggs; egg and
poultry buyers hunt such places. If we knew
the exact location of yourfarmand farm build-
ings we could tell you more particularly about
the location of your two houses, as it is we will
but make suggestions; but will most emphat-
ically say if you really mean business and aim
to attend to the details, there is not much show
for vour losing anything by making the
houses substantial, neat, well painted, etc.;
the hens will soon pay for it. You may not be
able to do it all atonce, but begin with the in-
tention, it will add to the appearance of your
farm, besides paying more, counting the capi-
tal invested, than any other improvements on
the farm. They are permanent improvements
and if properly put up in the start, will not
have to be replaced soon.

It is not necessary for us to attempt to esti-
mate the cost, as you are not compelled to use
any particular plan or material. You may
have some building already on the place which
can be worked over to suit the purpose, or
some lumber at hand that would do, but be
sure and have the ground room for scratching ©
pen at each 100 hen house. We contemplate
building another house by the plan as stated,
fixed up in fine shape, but we do not expect

106 POULTRY PENSION.

one more egg from the fine house than in the
first house, built of common barn siding, roof
of same, and painted with mineral paint. The
hens don’t care a copper so they are comfort-
able; but before we forget it we wish to tell
you the hen is a sure queer bird. Paint the
houses at each station a different color and
see how soon they notice it, each one going to
her proper house.

The location of the two houses has some-
thing to do with the management. At first
thought you might think to have them as far
apart as possible; that might do provided they
were out of sight of each other, out of hearing
distance or fenced apart, which would be necs-
sary in case you had another two flock of 100
each, but we will only talk of the two 100 hen
flock. If you go any deeper it’s your look out;
be careful when you go to expanding, it is
risky in almost every ‘case, let alone poultry,
but it is sometimes advisable. If you run your
200 hens up to the notch, and still improving,
you are almost sure to expand, andthen what!

We prefer the houses close together, not jam
up: ‘‘the man from the east”’ is working them
on a good plan. You have to feed them alto-
gether so you had just as well have the houses
close together, for they will all come if they
see or hear you. Some argue that 200 hens
are too many for one flock, so say we, in one

POULTRY PENSION. 107

house, especially a 100 hen house, but it is no
trick at ali too feed 200 hens out of their
houses, on the ground. Just stand in one
place and throw the grain broadcast over a
small space; don’t throw one handful and
watch the hens pick that up. keep it going,
watch where they are cleaning up the fastest.
The above is for corn. Should you take a no-
tion to feed wheat outside of house, in summer,
just trail it along ina circle big enough for
them to get around it. In winter you will
have todomostof your feeding in the scratching
pen unless you geta moveon yourself and clean
the snow away from the house. Manage just
as you did vour 100 hen flock when _you first
went into the business for profit, only a little
more so. Whenrunning a 200 hen flock, if you
expect to use the eggs for setting, it will take
several roosters and they cause a heap of
bother, more particularly in winter, when the
flock uses the houses during the day. When
you get up the 200 hen flock you can surely af-
ford a breeding pen, you know it don’t take so
very many eggs to set, considering the size of
your business. You only want 100 pullets
each fall and you ought to get them easv out
of 300 eggs set. With a good breeding pen
you can build up some trade in your neigh-
borhood selling eggs for setting. When you
also reach perfection with your 200 hen flock

108 POULTRY PENSION.

you will commence thinking of an incubator.
Well, a good 200 egg incubator run and man-
aged with the same energy, should enable you to
tackle the 200 hen plan, it being sufficient to
set it only twice to keep your lavers fresh.
Should you undertake it, the first thing is a
reliable machine, and you can only get one of
a reliable firm. Don’t go for one because it is
cheap, but of course get it as reasonable as
possible. Geta good brooder also, that is of
more consequence, to very many, than the in-
cubator. By this plan, the chicks ought all
come off in April and May, two good months
for raisiti¢ chickens. Read your poultry and
agricultural books and you will find lots of
good suggestions on raising them; that is for
warmth, etc., you can't beat the plan already
given for feeding them.

Only when raising them in a brooder, vou
are to supply them animal food and grit. You
will find from time to time various suggestions
in your papers that will equal, and you may
think beat ours; go for it, that is what makes
the thing go. We don’t care how near the
head of the procession you get. We simply
want to get you started in on the tail end be-
fore the whole thing moves off and leaves you.
The average farmer and poultryman belong in
the front. Some are away up now, but for the
lands sake, look around and see how many

POULTRY PENSION. 109

you know who are being left fast, When you
vet to talking to them, tell them if they can’t
do any better, build a straw shed for their
hens to scratch in, even if they have to roost
out of doors. Wedon't like to mention it to
them, they might getoffended. Let them have
your book to read if they can’taffordone, any-
thing to start them, it’s for their own good.
SUBSTITUTES.

There are various substitutes for furnishing
the animal food, bone meal, etc. We don’t.
know much about them from actual use. We
used beef meal a short time on account of the
cracklins becoming scarce. You can get it
from same parties you get the bone meal from,
but you cannot mix it with the steamed feed:
of course vou can but we believe it is - better
mixed with the bone meal as described in the

table.
There are bone mills on the market for cut-

ting or shaving green bone as it comes from
the butcher shop, but like the cracklins, will
be hard to get when many are wanting it, un-

less in large towns and cities.
In some sections, rabbits are plentiful

enough to supply meat in winter. Boil them,
season as you would were you going to eat
them yourself, chopping them up fine, bone and
all, steaming the grain in the water they were
cooked in. To some, the rabbit may not seem
like the proper thing; to others, it is just the

110 POULTRY PENSION.

the thing, as there are localities where it is no
trouble to get them, sometimes catching
enough tolast a long time, during a_ big
snow. The beef meal, in the long run is the
most reliable, as it is no trouble to get. Now
it may seem extravagant to furnish animal
food for your hens; we will just say it is far
more extravagant not tofurnish it, as it is a
dead loss, for you cannot getfull returns with-
out it, not only ence in a while, but rerularly.
Some have tried it occasionally, once or twice
during the winter. Regular or not at all, that
is the plan all through; the investment is some-
thing like laying down a dollar and taking up
two.

There is also, on the market, granulated
bone, about the size of wheat grains or larger,
which ts fine, but for the average farmer the
bone meal is cheapest and, from our experi-
ence, answers the purpose. The granulated
is claimed to be green bone; we hardly think
it is, in every case, but believe itis all bone,
that is all we have handled, but what it may
be after while 1s another thing. The bone
meal we speak of is sold as pure, fresh ground;
it may have been whenground. In buying any
ot it vou want to buy trom some reliable firm.

There is a brand we intend trying, it is sold

as pure flesh, blood and bones, if so it seems
like it ought to be very near what we want.

POULTRY PENSION, 111

At the present you will be all right with
such as we first mentioned, and when vou be-
gin expanding, just keep posted with papers,
and if you don’t find enough tosatisfy, you are
amongst the first. Be economical in buying
but don't try to be economical by not buying
at all.

THE MAN FROM THE EAST.

For an example. we give you a partial ac-
count of the operations of ‘‘the man from the
east.’ He formerly worked in a manufactur-
ing establishment in a northeastern state,
running or tending a certain class of machin-
ery. The proprietors, from time to time, have
been adding other machinery, making it so the
one man who formerly tended one machine
now tends to three. His health began to fail;
was in one strike; he began thinking of other
machines being put on to replace more men;
his health also beginning to fail, he thought
he had better begin making other arrange-
ments while he had a little money saved up,
knowing if he lost his job his money would not
last long.

He corresponded with the land agent of the
Frisco R. R. in regard to land in Southwest
Missouri and Arkansas. Duringa shut down
of the mills, he pulled out for Arkansas. He
says it was a hard pull, as he hardly knew
what was going to become of him. He was

TT POULTRY PENSION.

convinced he could not long remain where he
was. |

He landed tn Southwest Missouri, just over
the state line from Arkansas. He bought
forty acres of land near a_ railroad station,
paying $320.00 for the same. It had a_ pretty
fair box house on it, a log stable, 22 acres
fenced and broke out, the balance bemg coy-
ered with good timber. He built a loge hen
house 20x30 feet, with the help of his good
neighbors, it cost him very little cash. He
bought fifty hens, as good as the country af-
forded, which was far above what he had ex-
pected, set out three acres of strawberries.
twenty-five apple trees, with various other
small fruit. | The first year came very near
doing him up. His wife could hardly stand it,
being raised in the east and coming to that
‘‘wooded country”’ it was sure hard to stand.
Now it is all changed, neither himself nor wife
cares to go back.

His stock now consists of 196 laying hens,
his first poultry house; another built of pine
lumber, 20x30, sawed right there in the neigh-
borhood. ‘There is a stone foundation under
his new hen house, the stone also gotten close
at hand.

His two houses are 30 feet apart, with a
covered run between the twv, 12 toot wide,
with door connecting each house to this run.

POULTRY PENSION. rs

It is used forfeeding purposes in bad weather,
mostly in winter. There are hinged troughs
all around this feeding room, the sides of
house making one side of trough. By unhook-
ing at each end and'center they are easily let
down for cleaning. On south side of this run
there is plenty of light and sun, having light
glass and oiled muslin in plenty. The above
run makes a fine place for feeding the steamed
grain, inthe troughs around the sides. All
the above buildings have eave troughs for run-
ning the water away from the houses. To
come right down to the point, everything is in
_ good shape.

Now we come to a new idea of his own get
up. When he first undertook the business, he
knew very little about chickens. As he has to
have 100 pullets every fall, it is a hard matter
to pick out what he wishes to discard every
fall, as they are now all full blood Brown
Leghorns and look almost exactly alike. He
is starting two breeding pens, one of Brown
and the other of White Leghorns, one house
to be whites and the other browns. One year
set all browns and the next year all whites.
By that means he says he will haveno trouble
in picking out what he wants to dispose of. If
there is no sale for the eggs for setting pur-
poses, he lets which ever pen he is not using
run with the main flock.

114 POULTRY PENSION.

He prepares his oiled muslin in the following
manner:

Stretch the muslin tightly on a frame the
size you want, get one quart of linseed oil, one
ounce of sugar of lead and three ounces of
rosin. Pulverize the sugar of lead ina little
oil and add it to the other materials. Put all
into an iron kettle and, heat it until the resin
is dissolved and all is thoroughly mixed; ap-
ply while hot. At the end of five years, he says
he is all O. K. He is head boss, runs his own
machine, has his own living, butter, milk, veg-
etables, fruit and honey, as he now has fine
bees.

He thinks his section of country will soon be
noted for the poultry business, the climate
alone being a great inducement, to say noth-
ing of cheap land, building’ material, ete.
Transportation to market is ample, with talk
of more routes being laid out. At present,
there is a pretty good market, winter resorts
using a good supply of both poultry and eggs
with egg buyers by the wholesale. At any
rate he thinks he made a safe venture, having
plenty of everything, good health, with two
fine baby boys.

My reader, don’t you think a man of the
above type is a ‘‘winner’’ most anywhere ?

He is talking of expanding, purchasing a
200 egg incubator, cnlaretie his flock, etc. It

POULTRY PENSION. EES

is almost certain he will succeed, the firm that
sells him an incubator and brooder can rest
assured that the children won't run it; all the
better for them, as a machine in such hands
is a good advertisement.

THE MAN FROM THE WEST.

This man was born and raised inthe west,
or rather Southwest.. His parents were
wealthy. The boy was not a complete success
(according to our plan) inthe city in which
his parents lived. They moved to the city
from a fine farm to ‘‘educate their children.’’
They, him, or some one, concluded he was only
fit to make a No. 1 poultryman. We have often
thought it was against his own will.

They purchased land ina near by county
and set him up in the business. Let me tell
you there was no discount in the ‘‘set up”’. He
had everything you ever heard of in the busi-
ness, as far as fixtures are concerned, incu-
bators, brooders, houses, glass and wooden,
heaters, etc., he and his business were the
talk of the whole section, and are yet. There
was one grand mistake in the start, there
were no children.to run those incubators and
they would not, ordid not, runthemselves, and
they had a fair and impartial trial, as he left
them entirely alone, while he spent the great-
er part of his time in a near by town, telling
the bpys just how he was going to stampede

116 POULTRY PENSION.

the broiler market, and the boys all thought a
ereat deal of him and always will, as long as
the old folks at home foot the bills.

After cooking a batch or soof eggs, smother-
ing or starving any chickens he may have
hatched, he concluded the incubator was not
reliable and gave them up. He then went
after the fresh egg market; he served it just as
he did the broiler market.

At last accounts he was still in the chicken
business, drawing regularly on the old folks
for funds to keep him (and the boys) going.
The markets that he was going to elut remain.
the same as before. Take your choice.

THE END.