i ‘SF 487 me ‘ "| POULTRY YARD, HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. AUTRE ATISS | FOR THE AMATEUR POULTRY RAISER AND FARMER | 3 ON THE . | MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY, Perret rt teeter tr rs reer errr Perr ret titres sy 7 BY | , WwW. ATLEE BURPEE. AUTHOR OF THE PIGEON LOFT. ar ert tek Pode ee a eh de ek ee kl ee ek Pe PHALADEL PHDA, . BA. AS gay he National Agriculty wrist AND WORKING FARMER. Established 1847. United 1875. A large double quarto, 16-page illustrated family paper, (Na- — tional Agriculturist and Bee Journal and Working Farmer cousolidated). It treats of)stock raising, sheep husbandry, dairy business, swine, poultry, gardening and fruit growing, besides the elaborate departments of Bee-Culture, Ladies’ or Home and Fireside, and Youth’s Departments; a first-class Family Paper, interesting, instructive, making young eyes sparkle and old hearts glad. Large Cash Commission to Agents, or valuable premiums given. Try it six months for 55 cents, or $1.10 a year, postpaid. Send to / WM. L. ALLISON, 128 Nassau St. N. Y.. / The Western Fanciers’ , POULTRY JOURNAL AND STOCK BREEDERS’ RE VIEW, Minneapolis, Minn. The only Organ of Poultry Fanciers in the Western half of the United States. T. T. BACHBLOR, - Epirox. This large, three-column Poultry journal circulates every-— where, but its special field is the great West, where the interest in pure-bred Fowls is increasing very rapidly. A special de- partment for Stock Notes will be well filled in every issue.- A splendid advertising medium. Rates very low. Subscriptions $1.25 per year. Sample copies 12 cents. Agents wanted. Poultry Cuts and Fanciers’ job printing a specialty. Corres- podence solicited. “ sor * who ty, v4 S58S5443 ql li Morbi Jy DANA THE POULTRY YAR, HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. A TREATISE FOR THE AMATEUR POULTRY RAISER AND FARMER ON THE MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY, THE DIFFERENT BREEDS. BY We ATLEE BURPEE, AUTHOR OF THE PIGEON LOFT: PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1 Sinz Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1876, by W. ATLEE BURPEE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. u | PREFACK. Ww The favorable reception of “ The Pigeon Loft ; how to Furnish and Manage it ;” published May, 1875, and the large demand for it,together with numerous inquiries, have induced us to prepare the present treatise on Poultry, in the same form and at the same price. We lay no claims to entire originality in this work. All breeders meet with much the same experience, and it has been our aim to compile from all reliable sources, a concise treatise, at a low price, giving instructions to beginners. We have not attempted an elaborate description of the breeds of poultry, only endeavoring to state their respective me- rits and demerits, and thus enable every amateur to an- swer for himself the oft repeated question ‘“‘ which breed pays the best.’”?> We would express our indebtedness for valuable hints especially to The Poultry World, The Poul- try Nation, and Wright’s Mustrated Book of Poultry. Wc Be Philadelphia, March, 1877. a +h; 3% a we? | egies rhe ke Sl Boy Git ene ioe ky Lee & =f | or ahs | a - 4t) ath} ey JOH. SMart ac at eae | reek Mt} SUE ULEL ATE TP RE ees) oF Bye Bigger lye Saar hepa pivhtenicen' cy cE eke eee at ee ee : ME SPEAR OS CP DER tet , , rh Bs ok LA yn he : ' 7 Ps i - y =~ , *®. - mS ? ‘ ; PLAT | If Seetel Cio) er eor 1 ’ ens edn tia ees! . anette % ; , a “a . a Oe O84 Bhi) 1 eS Bie ie siiiie 0 Ow He seer shia lst tae iit bolt tates +t SBTaniiveder: « (OEGTIBOLT Th Tavis . We ery ; . Pov . ‘ i i ‘ aad om | ? F; - . \ y af rae a5 <4 £ or ; ees ter, « oF Jona tenn i va ft a oe , rie > meres oe { " en ‘tines = ol Noe evi ae eb)! sot M oe i ee 3 Me ats ese oN aA mye f pacman 1S: io hae 2a. = Nel, be re oad ee 2 7 i: ls the ! ~ a foe POULTRY YARD: HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. Poultry Houses. Wherever practicable it is preferable to allow fowls entire liberty. Thereby they have abundant muscular exercise, can range at will over wheat stubbles, gathering many a worm, and are kept in the highest degree of health. When thus kept,as is the universal custom ot farmers, they must not, however, be allowed to “shift ” for themselves, roosting on the trees or wherever they choose. No well-to-do farmer would allow his sheep or pigs torun at random without proper stabling or pens. It is none the less necessary to success in raising fowls that the same attention should be paid to them. It does not pay to constantly clean up the implements, wagons, ete., on which the fowls have passed the night. 4A farmer cannot afford to lose the droppings of his fowls, as there is no more valuable manure in the world. A thrifty breeder cannot afford the time to hunt over hay mows, under pig pens and amongst the shrubbery for hens’ nests—perhaps only to tind the eggs when spoiled by incubation. For these and other evident reasons poultry should have a house set apart especially for their wants, They do not require a large or expensive build- ing. A building ten or twelve feet square is large enough tor a flock of twenty fowls. The building should be about seven feet in height and should face the south. The roof should be perfectly water proof and the sides free from any cracks or crevices to admit draughts of air. The front, if in a warm climate, can be made of slats, when . 8 THE POULTRY YARD ; HOW TO abundant ventilation will be allowed. If the winters are severe it should be entirely closed in front excepting a small hole for the entrance and exit of fowls and a suita- ble opening for ventilation at the top. This latter can be accomplished by simply boring a considerable number of augur holes near together, or leaving an opening pro- tected by slats arranged after the fashion of Venetian blinds. A suitable door must of course be made for the entrance of the keeper. The house must be situated upon high ground and the floor always dry. Many styles of poultry houses are in use, and the reader can easily 1n- vent one to suit his own taste and surroundings. For half a dozen fowls a very small house only is necessary. Unless protected, the entrance hole for the fowls will admit a great deal of cold air. For the following simple arrangement we are indebted to the Pouliry Nation :— “Place a box in front of the outlet, tight up against the side of the house, leaving a hole at either end next the building. Slanting a board from the ground to the top of the box in front of the hole, to break the wind in that direction, you have a house as near wind-proof as though it were entirely closed. If possible, pile manure, straw, gravel, or anything you might happen to have handy, around the box, thus keeping the wind out of the cracks aud making the house warmer.” The interior of the house should be fitted up with roosts and nests. The roosts should all be on the same level to prevent fighting for the highest place. They should not be more than eighteen inches or two feet from the ground for large fowls, and should be suticiently wide. A good plan is to arrange the nests on the floor under the roosts, protected by a board which will collect the droppings and which can be readily scraped off. FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 9 When we published the ‘“‘American Fanciers’ Gazette,” we received a communication on nesting places from an . experienced fancier under the nom de plume of ‘‘Ama- - teur,” from which we give the following extract :— , ‘In almost every plan for the construction of a poultry: house an elaborate row of boxes is introduced, cun- ningly devised with a darkened rear passage, favoring. the secresy which mistress Biddy, it is well-known, takes delight in, and who, once ensconced therein, finds every- thing lovely and serene. But there is one fatal objection to this symmetrical arrangement, according to my expe- | rience, which is this—the liability of mistaking the nests _ and the confusion and loss resulting therefrom. | I have adopted for years the plan of having movable_ boxes placed on brackets, elevated from one to three feet from the ground. They should be painted in different colors, if possible, so that the hen easily distinguishes her own from others. Nothing could induce me to return to the plan of stationary boxes, as my losses from mistakes — have been next to nothing since I adopted this plan of movable nests. A cover of coarse wire netting placed over the sitting hen during the first few days of incuba- tion, will prevent any disturbance afterwards almost certainly.” It the fowls are kept in confinement, or have no other | shelter, they should be furnished with a covered run for wet weather. Cleanliness is all impor tant, and it is Foul management indeed to allow a stench to arise in the fowl ‘house, rendering the very air the fowls breathe impure and creating the presence of the chickens’ mortal enemy—vermin. ‘The roosts should be scraped, the drop- pings removed, and a little fresh ashes, gravel or loam strewn on the floor every morning. Also the nesting material should be changed whenever occasion requires. i0 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO The interior of the house, the nests and the perches should all be thoroughly whitewashed every spring and fall. No harbor should be presented for vermin, and the air must always be pure. If fowls are confined in a yard the ground should also be frequently raked and oceasion- ally dug or plowed over. In constructing the nests, we have already mentioned, it will be well to remember that several hens will fre- quently lay in the same nest and consequently a smaller number of nests are necessary. Ilens should not be set in the roosting and laying house. Some writers recom- mend a separate house for setting hens,and where poultry are raised in very large numbers this doubtless is desira- ble, but for the ordinary farmer is entirely unnecessary. The hens can be set on the hay mow, in the barn, wagon- house, an unused stall or any place where they will be quiet: and undisturbed. In breeding several yards of fancy poultry, the usual plan is to make a straight house with yards extending out the entire length and separated by slat fences. This will answer, but is open to the objection that the cocks will occasionally fight through the rails unless the fence is solid at the base, and if ever one slat should fall off woe to the pure breds! A very simple plan for a breeder of several varieties is to give them each a small, separate house and yard situated in different parts of the ground. When the yard space allotted is very small a movable fence can be used, and then the fowls can at any time be. transferred to fresh pasturage. FURNISH AND MANAGE IT7. ei Selection and Mating of Stock. — In selecting fancy stock of course the standard must be followed and only the best and most nearly perfect ° specimens of their kind retained—prow/ded they are all suited to each other. No hen should have the same faults as the cock. If one is faulty in a certain point, the other should be especially good in that particular so as to counteract the bad impress upon the offspring. Experi- ence with each breed must teach the fancier the ‘best birds to retain for breeding. Often a bird that is not up to the standard—and sometimes even a disqualifled bird is desirable in the breeding yard, nay, of the highest importance—for instance, in breeding Leghorns a straight comb hen is invaluable to raise the tinest and most erect combs on cockerels. So a spotted breasted Dark Brahma’ and Brown Leghorn cock will produce the most beauti- ful pencilled pullets. We remember seeing a communi- cation in one of the poultry journals by the late Mr. J. W- P. Hovey, in which he stated the case of a friend who ordered a trio of Brahmas, at a high price, mated for breeding, from a celebrated English breeder, and who was disgusted at receiving a poor looking trio of birds whose equals in looks could have been purchased anywhere at $2.00 a head! But appearances are deceitful and bload’ will tell, as was proven by the result. From that trio sprung noted prize birds. And so it is, the skillful breeder knows how to mate his birds to produce the best offspring. Amateurs in starting make a great mistake in purchasing exhibition birds (as birds matched for exhi- bition are seldom rightly mated for breeding), or in pur- 12 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO chasing low priced birds from unknown sources. The best plan is to send the price of a pair or trio of breeding birds to a responsible breeder who has a_ reputa- tion to maintain, and state plainly that you want birds whose progeny will speak their praises. In nine cases out of ten you will be satisfied not only in the birds received but in the chicks they breed. In mating fowls it is generally believed the hen affects mostly the size and form, and the cock the plumage and markings of the chicks. If a choice can be had it is preferred to mate a cock (over one year old) with spring pullets. Be sure you select a good vigorous cock and the one who is the ‘boss rooster.” One cock will readily serve eighteen or twenty hens of the large breeds and twenty four to thirty hens of the small breeds This has been our experience and we first expressed our views on this subject in an editorial in the ‘‘ American Fanciers’ Gazette.” Instead of meeting the opposition we might have anticipated from ‘ book fanciers’ who had followed the laws of four to six hens to one cock as laid down by other authors we received several long letters giving experience strongly confirming ourown. A good cock with a small number of hens will only worry and annoy them, often injuring them. With a large number of hens as stated, some of the hens will of course gener- ally be sitting. This ratio of hens applies to small flocks of fowls ; where the number is multiplied there should be rather a less proportion of hens, as the majority of the work will devolve upon the “cocks of the roost.’ In ®electing the hens those of the greatest utility only should be used. If layers are desired, prove by actual count which individual hens lay the most eggsand retain them- If size and early maturity, select the fowls most nearly perfect in these respects. Remember that fat is prejult —— FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 18 cial to health and success with breeding fowls, If is not weight but a large form—a capacity to take on flesh that makes Jarge chicks. See to it that the fowls do not breed large legs and necks—look to the greatest development of the most palatable parts. Raise fowls of bright, yellow skin and legs. These latter remarks are especially intended tor the market poulterer, and we will only add that no onecan realize the great improvement possible in even “dung-hills ” by following up the “survival of the fit- test.” We cannot make monkeys into men, life is too short for that, but we can vastly improve the condition and value of our poultry. One of our farmers by a source of judicious mating and selecting of mongrel breeding stock so well established a strain of large, well-bred fowls, that he was able to dispose of his surplus stock to dealers at $5.00 a pair. There is no need of the farmer of to day wasting tedious years in the improvement of his barnyard fowls, when for five or ten dollars outlay in the purchase of a cock or pair of pure bred fowls he can avail himself of the labor of others for many years. Poultry should not be bred in-and-in too much, but judicious in-breeding, to a certain extent, is necessary to establish a fixed type or peculiar strain. For ordinary farm use we would recom- mend the introduction of a thorough bred cock of fresh blood every second year. Farmers cannot realize what a wonderful improvement a thoroughbred cock will make in a flock of mongrel hens, It will not hurt to make one cross of father with daughter, or of son with mother and half-sisters. Itis best to kill all hens when two and one- half years old as soon as they begin to moult. After that the supply of eggs falls off greatly and it does not pay to keep them. They can then be sold at a fair compensation. Do not count your chickens before they are hatched is all very true, but none the less will an intelligent breeder 14 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO desire to count his chickens before they die,and to do this with profit the breeding stock should be slaughtered for market at the age already named. We will conelude our remarks on mating by the fol- lowing extract, written by us for the “ American Fan- ciers’ Gazette,” August, 1875 :— Luck 1n Matine.—So much has been said and written about science in breeding, that we propose, by way of vari- ety, to briefly call the attention of our readers to the intervention, oftimes, of /uck in mating. . We do not class ourselves among the believers in mere luck, never- theless it must be acknowledged that birds mated on the same system (or oftener perhaps lack of system), will and to produce diverse results. This, when looked at in one hight is not luck, but the rational results of nature’s own laws. However, as far as the breeder is concerned, it is bound to prove either a lucky or an unlucky match. For instance, two birds are selected which are as near ap- proaches to perfection as the art and skill of the breeder has attained unto; they are mated, and in some eases the offspring will be satisfactory, in others (and the chances are about equal,) they will be most unsatisfactory, the products coming worthless as mongrels. Now, this can be explained in some cases by the assumption (if the birds were of different but unknown strains,) that the strains of which they are members had been bred for different Tesults, and the one still possessed the fault which had just been eradicated from the other but of which a ten- dency remained. Then these two birds possessing an inherent inclination to like faults, the offspring come possessed of those faults to a double degree. Again, the strains being bred for diverse purposes, all the breeder’s pains are crushed to the ground by this sudden union, and nature will advocate its power. Now on the other hand FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. is if these birds are differently mated, they may luckily be paired to suitable birds, and then become the progenitors of worthy offspring. All that we have just now said shows that there is at bottom, in such eases, although the breeder may be igno- rant thereof, a natural cause for these lucky or unlucky results. That such, beyond doubt, is the fact, in nine eases out of ten of the varied results of promiscuous matings we are ready to acknowledge. But, on the other hand, the experienced breeder has, or doubtless will come across cases which can be explained upon no such ground. Despite all his care and system in breeding and mating, results (we do not mean an occasional excep- tional bird, but regular/y) contrary to the skilled breed- er’s expectations, will crop out. And then, when the same birds are mated to other birds of the same blood as the previous matings, and having like defects and “ fine points,” vastly different will be the results. Not only so, but we have known different cases of two birds upon being mated together proving entirely sterile and unfer- tile, while both of these birds being put to difterent mates were perfectly capable of reproducing sound and healthy offspring. We could particularize cases which might more vividly illustrate the point at issue, but as we have already consumed considerable space, we do not think it necessary, as we can vouch for the truth of the above statements. 16 THE POULTRY YarRD; HOW TO What and How to Feed. It is the general habit of Americans to give their poul- try corn, corn, corn, morning, noon and night. This may answer when the fowls have the unlimited range of a farm and can constantly pick up insects, grubs, worms, etc., together with scattered grains around the barn floor, but even then it is very inadvisable. In confine- ment fowls would soon die on this diet. Corn is too heating and fattening for breeding purposes. Fowls— should be fed regularly. They will soon learn the accus- tomed hours and will employ the intervening time in hunting for worms, dusting and exercising themselves. | Where they are at liberty or have a large run, two feeds a day, morning and evening, are sufficient. It is best to make the morning meal of soft food, that being most readily assimilated will the sooner appease their empty stomachs and break the fast of the night. Boiled potato peelings, vegetables and scraps mashed up with slightly scalded bran or meal with a little salt mixed, is an excel- lent dish for fowls. In winter a little pepper will be valuable as a seasoning. Asa soft food the Poultry World recommends a warm compound of two-thirds wheat bran to one-third meal, wet with skimmed milk. This food has a good egg producing effect. The bran does not tend to fat and the milk is even better than meat in the production of eggs. Fowls may eat too mnch meat, but milk they may drink ad libitum, and those who have it cannot put it to a more profitable use. Fowls should have, like human beings, a goodly variety of feed. Scraps from the table FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 17 are highly relished. Grain should be fed at night as it will remain in their crops longest. Corn is the best ‘staple feed for cold weather, as it is very heating and keeps the fowls in fine condition, but it should not be fed constantly in summer. Barley, buckwheat, oats, wheat screenings, cracked corn, rice, ete., are all excel- lent for a variety. Sunflower seed is invaluable for poultry and can be grown as cheaply as corn. The Mammoth Russian is the best and most prolitic. Single heads which we raised this year will measure one foot in diameter and are well filled with an immense number of large plump seeds. Breeding fowls must not be over fed nor stuffed but only kept in good working order. Beef scraps can be bought cheap, and are highly beneticial, in winter especially, also occasionally a boiled sheep’s or calf's pluck chopped up is recommended In _ concluding our remarks on the feed of fowls we cannot do better than append Lewis Wright’s valuable table of the re- spective constituents of the various grains, ete., generally used for poultry, from which intelligent poulterers cau draw their own conclusions :— TABLE 1 Flesh- iy,,.. ee ae te alegsse [tnereisin | fovimig [Mammth giving and Fat) Bonnet | aruay | every 100 parts Materiais PONG ae soa al ee ae hn) OPW ters BY weight of | ees Fat or Oil. Starch. Substances, Fibre. Beans & Peas. 25 2 48 bu 8 15 Oatmeal kon. 6 63 py 2 9 Middlings | Thirds. or fine . | “ Sharps. 18 9) 53 5 4 14 Oats 15 6 47 2 20 10 Wheat 12 3 70 2 1 12 Buckwheat }2 6 58 14 ii ie Barley jt 2 60 2 14 Oe Indian Corn id 8 65 l 5 10 mMempseed | 1) | 21 45 2 At 8 Rice. | fi A trace. 80 AS race: | Sse es Potatoes 63 — 41 2 ae 03 ‘Milk 43 3 is 8 Lae eS6e Sree nenre ees sce Oa ae ee Tn se ee be No aa | | { ik THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO On most farms both fowls and ducks are allowed to run together, hence it is sometimes desirable to feed the one and not the other. The ‘American A griculturist” suggests the following ingenious plan :— “The fowls can be readily fed by putting the feed on boards’ slightly elevated from the ground: the ducks seldom attempt to fly ur. To feed the ducks and not the towls, a large flat pan should be procured and several bric!s placed in the middle in order to keep the food around the edges. Then a large inverted box or tub should be covered over the pan, supported by a brick in each corner. The duc!s by the flexibility of their necks are enabled to feed, while the fowls can get nothing.” Fowls require a constant supply of pure fresh water. It is well occasionally to add a few drops of sulphate of iron to the water. The indestructible stone drinking fountains so generally used are well adapted to hold the supply. A large one on the same principle can easily be made out of any old keg or small barrel. Insert a spicket near the bottom and let its mouth rest in a movable tin cup—the water will flow out only so fast as it is con- sumed in the cup. A cover should be prepared for the tin in order to prevent the birds from fouling the water. This is best done by an oblong frame to fit over the cup, —Ssolid light wood at the sides and slanting top,—the front being made of perpendicular wires. The water should be changed at least once or twice a day on exces- sively warm days in summer, In Winter, once in three or four days is amply sufficient. It may often be desira- ble to give the feed in a hopper, when we would recom- mend one of the pattern described in -* The Pigeon Loft.” We would here state that buttermilk and curds are highly relished by the fowls and are very nutritious, FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 19 It now behooves us to mention the condiments requi- site to good health in our feathered pets. These are neither many nor expensive, but are all important to the thrift and well being of fowls. Poultry must have lime in some form for the formation of egg shell. Crushed oyster shells are the most desirable. They can be pro- cured at a low price, crushed finely by machinery, at any dealer’s store. Old mortar will also answer. They must have access to plenty of gravel containing small stones which are a necessary ald to digestion. These are the ‘hen’s teeth.” Granulated or pure ground bone is invalu- able for poultry and it can be fed either in a dish or hopper or scattered on the ground like corn. Broken charcoal should be supphed. It abundantly stimulates digestion and also acts as a purifier in cases of Roup, ete. Fowls in confinement must have plenty of dust in which to cleanse themselves. Road dust is the best. Coal ashes are also good for this purpose. Customers have often asked our opinion as to the value of prepared food advertised for poultry. These preparations are as a rule tonics which stimulate the production of eggs in fowls. From the great demand for the “Imperial Egg Food,” (at present the leading preparation of its kind), we know it is generally satisfactory. There is no doubt that the production of eggs is increased thereby, and it is a good thing for fowls, especially when kept in confinement. But it must always be remembered that breeding fowls should be in a natural condition—never overfed or too much forced by stimulants. 20 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO General Management. Suecess in any branch of business or industry 1s achieved only by the most diligent and the most eager to improve every opportunity. We often receive letters from men whose health has failed, very frequently disabled ministers, who desire some easy occupation whereby they ean gain an honest livelihood and who are inclined to favor poultry breeding. A man is always safe to keep out of a business he knows nothing about. If, however, a good opening presents itself, we can safely say the raising of first-class poultry can be soon learned. We would advise new beginners to start on a small scale and gradu- ally increase. Poultry costs less to produce than beet. and brings a higher average price. Fowls and eggs are always indemand. The intelligent poulterer can often secure a slight advance on the ordinary market rates by invariably selling a superior article to appreciative cus- tomers. To succeed in the poultry business, one should have a natural love for fowls and should start determined to devote to the breeding of fowls the same application and study which would be necessary to success in any business undertaking. Conducted on business principles, poultry breeding is as profitable—considering the small amount of capital required—as any of the lines of trade, and is not nearly so much overdone. But especially to the general farmer is poultry breeding remunerative. Fowls pay a speedy return for the money expended. and no farm stock yields a larger per centage on the capita- invested. In breeding fowls there is one yuite impor- tant item that is often neglected. Weallude to the value of FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 21 poultry manure. Wright-states that he found that drop- pings from four Brahmas, for one night, weighed, in one case, exactly one pound ; and in another more than three- quarters, an average of nearly four ounces each bird. By drying, this was reduced to 14 ounces. Other breeds make less; but allowing only | ounce per bird daily, of dry dung, fifty fowls will make in their roostin: g-house alone, Anote 10 cwt. per annum of the best manure in the Por. Hence, in half a year this number of fowls, to say nothing of their offspring, will make more than enough manure for an acre of land, 7 ewt. of guano being the Tone quantity applied per acre, and poultry manure being even richer than guano in ammonia and fertilizing salts. These figures demand careful attention from the large farmer. The manure, before using, should be mixed with twice its bulk of earth, and then allowed to stand in a heap covered with a few inches of earth, till decom- posed throughout, when it makes the very best manure that can be had. We quote this to show that no “little things,” which seein but trifling economies, should be neglected, but everything possible should be made a source of revenue. The droppings must be kept dry, under cover. If fowls are slaughtered in large quantities the feathers also will be worth saving. The webs of the large feathers should be pe ore the quills and the smaller ones left as they are. They should be cured by baking four times in a cool oven, about half an hour each time, Hn allowed to dry tora couple of days between each baking. In sup- plying the market it is very desirable to have winter eggs. A little foresight will secure a good supply. Ani- mal food must be furnished. 22 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO Dressing and Shipping Poultry. On this subject we quote the following as given by a large commission house ; “In preparing poultry for market, do not feed for at least twenty-four hours before killing, as food in the crop injures the appearance, is liable to sour, and purchasers object to paying for this worse than useless weight. Opening the veins of the neck is the best mode of killing, and let it bleed freely, as poultry not properly bled will not have a bright healthy appearance. The intestines or the crop should not be “drawn.” For scalding poultry, the water should be as near to the boiling point as possi— ble, without actually boiling; the bird being held by the head and legs, should be immersed and lifted up and down in the water three times—this makes picking easy. When the head is immersed it turns the color of the comb, and gives the eyes a shrunken appearance, which often leads buyers to think the fowl has been sick. The feathers should then be at once removed, pin fea- thers and all, very cleanly, and without breaking the_ skin. It should next be “ plumped,”’ by being dipped - about ten seconds into water, nearly or quite boiling hot, and then once into cold water about the same length of time. Most of the dressed poultry sold here is wet-— picked, and such is generally preferred; but very fat, handsome turkeys, dry-picked, sell well at Thanksgiving | and Christmas. Great care should be taken to avoid cutting or bruising the flesh or breaking the bones. It should be entirely cold, but not frozen before being packed. This is a matter of importance; for if packed | with the auimal heat in it, it will be almost sure to spoil. | If it reaches market sonnd, without freezing, it will sell | | | | . FURNISH AND MANAGE IT, 23 all the better. In packing, when practicable, use hand- threshed dry straw; be sure that it is clean, free from dust of any kind, and entirely dry. Place a layer of straw at the bottom, then alternate layers of poultry and straw, taking care to stow snugly, backs upward, legs not doubled up under the body, but straightened out, and fill the package so that the cover will draw down very snugly upon the contents, to prevent shifting or shucing on the way. Boxes are the best packages, and should contain from 100 to 200 pounds. Larger boxes are in- convenient, and more apt to get injured. The objection to barrels is, that the poultry is apt to be much bent and twisted out of shape; they answer better for chickens and ducks than for turkeys and geese; but when packed in barrels, should be packed on the side, keeping the legs out straight. Straw should be between the poul- try and sides of package to keep from freezing, though in very cold weather this cannot always be avoided. In packing large lots, avoid putting more than one kind in a package and mark the kind on the cover. In preparing frozen poultry for the late marxet, dry pick the poultry, as it will keep longer, hold its color better, and command better prices; the head should be left on, and the manner of packing much the same as in the general directions, except no straw or packing of any kind should be used. Boxes of the following dimensions are preferable—say four feet long by two feet wide and fitteen inches deep (outside measurement.) Use new inch lumber, well seasoned, and smoothly planed for the inside of the package; they will pack two layers of turkeys or ‘three of fowl. Larger sized packages are inconvenient to handle, and do not meet with as ready a sale; pack a ‘layer of poultry in as many boxes as will be required to mkae one layer for each day’s work; when frozen sufti- 24 THE POULTRY YARD ; HOW TO ~ ciently, the second layer may be packed in like manner; when full, the covers should be placed on and snugly nailed, and the boxes placed together and well covered with straw—say two or three feet in depth, or should the weather moisten and thaw when the boxes are but partly filled, they should be protected in the same way, in which manner the poultry can be held and forwarded with entire safety. The packing should be done in a cold, dry room, separate from the slaughter-house, and not in the open air, as the wind is apt to turn the poul- try dark. Mark plainly on each package the gross weight aud tare, and the kind it contains.” | HGGS.& CHIcks, Eggs should be regularly collected every day. The wide-awake fancier can often learn to distinguish the eggs of individual hens, and when this is possible it is very desirable. Thereby, when it is desired to set a hen, the eggs can be retained only from the finest hens or those that are the best layers. Hens of the laying breed will lay 150 to 250 eggs per annum—common hens aver- age about 100 eggs per head. Every nest must always have a nest egg (white china is the best,) as it prevents the hens from laying away. Hard shell eggs are always preferable, and hence it must be seen to that the hens have constant access to shell-forming material. It is not best to give them this in the form of broken eggshells, as they may from that acquire the unprofitable habit of eating their own eggs. The cure recommended, if the habit is detected early, is to place in the nest an eggshell filled with the strongest mustard mixed rather thick. | | { { FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 25 We often have inquiries as to whether eggs for hatching ean be sent safely by express for long distances. We answer unhesitatingly, Yes! We have sent eggs hundrels of miles by express and had 11 and 13 to hatch out of a clutch (13.) And again, we have sent eggs equally as far and had none to hutch. Then the purchaser, if he is a novice, is apt to think himself swindled and write a very ungentlemanly letter. There is of course always some risk in transportation, but there are many other reasons why the eggs will sometimes fail to hatch whether sent by express or set at home. Our plan for shipping eggs for hatching is to take a good sized box and make a “cushion” on the bottom inside with hay one or two inches deep, then spread a layer of bran, on which pack the eggs, each nearly one inch apart and the same dis- tance from the sides of the box. Cover with bran and then fill up with a good layer of hay. In cold weather each ‘egg should be neatly wrapped in a piece of paper. The lid of the box should be gently screwed on. The box should have a handle of a piece of leather or the rim of a barrel. When eggs are ordered from a distance a sitting hen should be in readiness to receive them as soon as they arrive. If none of the hens are ready a broody hen ean always be bought at a low figure from some neighboring farmer or “‘swapped” for a laying hen. To make the kien take to her new nest she should be changed at night, and it should be as nearly as possible like her old nest. She should first be given some china eggs until she settles down quietly to incubation. The period of incubation.is twenty-one days. Right here we might say that to pre- serve eggs for family use the best plan recommended in “Wright’s Book of Poultry,” is to pack them closely together and keep tightly covered up in a mixture pre- pared as follows :— 26 THE POULTRY YARD ; HOW TO “To four gallons of boiling water, half a peck of new lime, stirring it some little time. When cold, remove any hard lumps by a coarse sieve, add ten ounces of salt and three ounces of cream of tartar and mix the whole strongly. The mixture is then to be let stand to temper for a fortnight before use. Thus treated, if put in when newly Jnid, at nine months after they will eat quite as good as though only laid six days, though, of course, not quite like new laid.” In keeping fowls for eggs it is not necessary or even desirable to have a cock with the hens. Virgin eggs are preferred by epicures and will sometimes bring a slight advance in price on that account. To raise fowls in large numbers they should be colonized in separate families. Twenty five or thirty breeding fowls are plenty in one flock. An experienced poulterer once remarked to us that he could raise more young chicks and make more money from a flock of twenty-five fowls on his farm than he could from fifty—and we believe him. If it is desired to raise poultry in large numbers they snould have sepa- rate yards, with plenty of room, When this plan is adopted and at the same time eggs are the desired pro- duct, one pen of the finest fowls can be mated to replenish the stock and in the others no cocks will be necessary. In breeding fowls 1n separate enclosures in this manner it will be well to allow each flock on different days in rotation the range of the farm. When fancy fowls are bred it is always well to keep a sufficient number of common hens as sitters. Do not confine your fowls in too close quar- ters. We constantly see the bad effects of this misman- agement. The fowls become enfeebled, lose their vital powers aud, as a consequence, the eggs are often worth-— less. Whenever it is praeticable, we advocate unlimited range. When fowls are bred in confinement their wants FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. wey must be constantly kept in view and a plentiful supply of some greens, scraps, worms, etc. given. Some large breeders of thoroughbred poultry now adopt the plan of “farming out” their breeding stock. This has always been our plan, and it has worked very well. We now employ about thirty different farms in raising pure—bred poultry for us. We furnish the breeding-stock (to re- sponsible parties only, in the neighborhood,) and pay a specified price per dozen for eggs and per pair for the chicks that are fit to sell. The inferior chicks are mar- keted and the farmer pockets the proceeds. Every year we mate our breeding stock ourselves for the season. In putting our fowls out this way we are careful to give each farmer a breed he fancies. We make it to his best inter- ests to serve us well, by paying him better than he could do with his own poultry. Hens should be set in the evening and should be fur- nished with comfortable nests in a darkened and unmo- lested spot. The nest should be made flat, (when very concave the eggs do no not lay so well), and is best made out of an inverted sod, or three layers of dry earth or ashes with straw, hay, or forest leaves placed thereon. Thirteen eggs are the best number cov- ered by average hens. But in cold weather eleven or even nine or seven—according to the size of the hens and eggs—are amply sufficient. A larger number would only become chilled. The hen should be taken off the nest, (if she does not go off of her own accord) every day for feed, water, brief exercise and a good dusting. Do not, as a rule, remove the young chickens until twenty- four hours after all are hatched. Occasionally one may need some assistance to get from the shell. This should be given cautiously, and only in extreme cases, by gently indenting the finger into the shell (without touching the 28 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO inside membrane,) in a circle from where it is clipped, When the chicks are hatched the mother should be placed in a coop about two or three feet square, placed on the ground and with slats in the front, through which the chicks can run out to exercise and receive feed Young chicks should always be kept dry and where they can get plenty of sunlight. It must be remembered that fowls attain their growth in from four to eight months, and can never make up for any “‘back setts” in that period. Feed regularly and often until five or six weeks old, at first with cooked meal and hard boiled eggs mixed. Give fine chopped green feed and let them have the benefit of a grass run. The floor of the chicken coop should always be kept clean and free from vermin by a fresh supply of dry dirt. Chicks should always be kept growing while young. If intended for marketing they should be forced and marketed early—Spring chickens pay the best by all odds. For breeders, however, it is not necessary to hatch the chicks too early, as those hatched in milder weather require less care, grow better, and are fully as profitable. Asiatics, however, intended for for fall shows, should be hatched by the first of March. April, May and June, however, are tie best months for hatching fowls intended tor breeders. After the first few days a small bit of meat can be chopped with the feed once a day. Soft feed should be fed fresh very often —only so much given each time as is entirely con- sumcd. A little bone meal should be added ‘to the feed. After the chicks are two or three weeks old, the evening meal can consist of cracked corn and wheat or good serecnings. Chicks should always have a grass run; if deprived of this, green feed must be furnished to them daily. Chopped cabbage leaves are highly relished by them. A plentiful supply of pure fresh water must be FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 29 constantly at hand. In winter the chicks require more stimulating food than in summer. Beef scraps can be boiled and mixed with the soft feed. If the chicks have been liberally fed they will be in prime condition for the table without any extra fattening. Growing chicks must always have plenty of exercise and should not be crowded together in too close quarters. In raising fowls for market, as a rule, the chicks should be killed as soon as ready. Certainly as soon as they have attained full size, as then better prices are generally procured than later in the season. The feed afterwards fed is therefore worse than wasted. Besides this there is considerable risk from disease in holding a large lot of poultry. In breeding fancy fowls the young chicks that turn out in- ferior “culls” or “scrubs” as commonly called (and alas! even the best strains will sometimes throw these despised and ought-to-be rejected specimens), should be marketed as soon as distinguishable at from three to six months old. Don’t be afraid to kill your poor chicks—it is the only way to ultimate success. If all are killed this year they will be fewer next year. DISEASES. We do not much believe in doctoring fowls. In fact we have had very little disease amongst our fowls and when it did appear we generally resorted to the hatchet, If we can’t cure we can at least kill and thereby prevent the spread of the disease. Prevention js always better than cure. VeRMIN are a very frequent cause of disease in fowls. Every precaution should be taken to prevent their appearance. Don’t crowd the fowls, or—as the 30 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO Poultry World tersely remarks—you will breed thousands of vermin and precious few chicks. The poultry house should be thoroughly whitewashed inside and out, in the nests and every crevice, three or four times a year. Mix 2 oz. of carbolic acid toa bucketfull of hot whitewash. The house should occasionally be fumigated with sulphur. The nests should be strewn with tobacco dust and sulphur. The ground powder of the leaves of an imported plant known in commerce as Persian Powder, and various other names, is the most powerful exterminator of insects. The odor kills them. The feathers of the hens should be thoroughly rubbed with the powder. Gapes will seldom appear in young chicks if the hen and nests are thoroughly rid of all insects. Rovp, including colds, canker, diphtheria, ete., is best prevented and often cured by the use of the celebrated Douglass mixture. This consists of 4 pound Sulphate of Iron; 1 oz. Sulphuric Acid ; 2 Gatlons Water. ? This is to be added to the drinking water in the propor- tion of a tablespoonful to a pint. Fowls affected by the Rtoup should be separated and put in dry warm quarters. The head and nostrils should be well washed with warm water and also with warm alum water. Give daily half a grain Cayenne pepper with half a grain allspice in a bolus: of meal. Gapes, if treated early, a small pill of camphor, daily, and also a little camphor in the drinking water, is) recommended, When fully developed the worms should be removed from the windpipe by inserting a loop of horse hair into the organ and withdrawing it while turn- ing it around. Repeat the operation until all the worms| are removed. FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 31 For General DeEsiity, bad moulting, etc., use stimu- lating food, with sulphate of iron or Douglass mixture in the water. If the fowls are in general affected with disease, especially in the case of Catarrh and Roup, it is an excellent plan to thoroughly fumigate the poultry house with sulphur. To do this, close the doors and windows and burn a small quantity on a shovel. In many such cases the following prescription will be found valuable. It was given to us by a doctor fancier some two years ago, who recommends it as very successful in most cases of disease among the chickens :— Pulv. Capsicum, nua Do. Allspice, } Ka. 50 grains. Diluted Carbolic Acid, 2 scruples ; To form into a mass, add Syrup and Flour or powdered Gum Arabic. To form into pills 100 of 4 gr. each. One pill three times a day, or alternate with boluses, as below: Pulv. Charcoal and Yeast, 200 grs. Flor Sulphur, 150 grs. Syrup of flour, 2 scruples. To form into mass, which make into 100 boluses of 54 grs. each. One 3 times a day. With Roup give also 3 or 4 drops diluted Carbolic Acid, washing out nostrils with Castile water, and inject some of the acid into the nose. Crop Bounp. The following is recommended :— Warm water should be forced down the throat and the crop gently kneaded or worked for an hour, if neces- sary, until it becomes soft, holding the bill open and the head down; then give a tablespoonful of castor oil and feed sparingly for a day or two to prevent permanent dis- 32 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO tention. If this is not effective an incision about an inch long should be made at the top of the crop, first remo- ving some of the feathers, and care being taken not to cut any of the large blood vessels. The contents of the crop should then be removed and the outlet examined to see that it is not stopped up. ‘The incision may be closed by making three or four stitches with horse hair or silk in the inner skin and the same in the outer. Be careful not to sew the two skins together, as it 1s almost certainly fatal. Feed on sopped bread, and allow no water for twenty-four hours after the operation. StratneD Hip Jornt.—A customer of ours, and for many years a practical breeder, has called our attention to a common ailment in fowls which we believe has never before been noticed by any writer on poultry. Especially in the large breeds where the rooster is heavy, good laying hens after two years old often become so strained and weak in the hip joints that they slide out of position, letting the body fall very near the ground and making the hen walk hke a duck. The rooster seeing the hen in this position naturally thinks she is— courting his attentions, and the weakened hen is thus — very much injured. ‘lhe remedy is simple and the cure | nearly always complete. Tie the two legs together by a string around each at the hip joints—a little nearer than — they would be when the bird was standing naturally. They must be tied back of the breastbone, so that they cannot slip out of position. The hen will soon learn to — walk, although not so rapidly, using her hock joints, and — in a few weeks she will have recovered the full and per- | fect use of her limbs. | FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 33 How to Raise Good Turkeys. | No farm stock pays higher or surer return for the cap- ‘ital and time invested than turkeys, yet they are often ‘very poorly managed and the profits are consequently ‘Meagre. We are convinced this neglect is frequently ‘due to want of a proper knowledge of how to breed and | manage them, and hence we shall give full and ex- | plicit directions on this subject. Turkey hens attain ma. (turity much earlier than the gobblers. At two years old the hens will be full grown; they very seldom become jlarger after that time; whilst gobblers are not nearly ‘matured at that age, but continue to grow until four or |five years old. They are, however, in their prime breed- ‘ing condition at three years old. Gobblers of this age ‘mated to hens two years old will produce the finest, larg- ‘est and earliest matured young turkeys. The only objec- tee to gobblers of this age is, that on account of their heavy size they will sometimes injure the hens. For this reason the gobblers although of large frame should not be allowed to lay on fat and become heavy during \the breeding season. | AS a necessary preventive of injury to the hens the (spurs and toe nails of the gobbler should be cut off. After the operation the best and most speedy way to stop the bleeding is to saturate a rag with Monsell’s Liquid Solution of Iron, (which ean be procured from any \drugeist,) and tie over the bleeding parts for a day or es It will immediately stop the blood. A yearling ! : | { 34 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO gobbler of large size mated to two year old hens will also produce fine and large offspring. Great care must always — be taken in the selection of the breeding birds. It is very ‘‘penny wise and pound foolish” to slaughter and mar- ket the largest young turkeys because they will bring a few more cents in market. Those that grow the fastest and largest and are of the most perfect form should not be sold at any price but should be retained for breeders. In a few years the increase in the average size and value of the flock will be so apparent as to convince the farmer that this is beyond all doubt the only right way and by far the most profitable. We cannot too strongly urge this upon our readers. Turkeys are as sure of being im- proved or degenerated by the manner in which they are bred and selected as are pigs. It will pay every one who raises turkeys to pay eight or ten dollars for a good thor- oughbred gobbler to breed from. The gobbler should not be akin to the hens. In selecting birds for breeding, care must be taken that they possess no deformities. Crooked breast, which means what meat there is, all] developed on one side of the breast or bone, is often caused by narrow roosting perches. A rail split in half — makes an excellent roost. The roosts should not be too high — if in a house, as the turkeys not having room to take a long fly in descending are often seriously hurt. The roosts need not be all on the same level, but can slant in — the form of gradually ascending steps. The largest and heaviest old gobblers will often prefer the lowest roost. It is useless to attempt to keep turkeys in the same house — with hens. While they will generally thrive well roost- _ ing out in the trees, &., yet, for evident reasons, it 1s | always best to havea special house for them. This need only be a shed facing the south and open in front: roof | FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 35 v sloping from about nine to seven feet. Turkeys must have liberty and freedom to range at will. They will then pick up much of their feed, but should always be fed regularly every morning and evening. They will then always roost around home and will be kept constantly in fine growing condition. Mart hos says. England informs us that by actual experiment he has found that if the soft feed (such as meal, etc.) be mixed with milk instead of water, the turkeys when killed will be much more delicate and the flesh of a far superior quality to those fed on a mixture made with water. Cottage cheese is an excellent mess for them. Among other valuable hints he also calls attention to the fact that turkey hens after three years old are unprofitable as breeders, often laying soft shelled eggs. The same thing will happen if the turkey hens have not been set during the season. A turkey will lay eighteen or twenty eggs. The eggs of the first laying can be given to hens and the second laying will then be had earlier, when she should be allowed to sit herself, but should be given only so many eggs as she will cover satisfactorily. They begin to lay about April, and unless closely watched will make their nest in the field or among the shrubbery where their eggs may be lost. If a hen is discovered in some such place after she has begun to set it will be well to afford all the protection possible by placing a cover or | inverted box, with one side out, over the nest. The f period of incubation is twenty-eight days. It is an undoubted fact that one impregnation of the gobbler fecundates the entire laying of the turkey hen, and yet it is advisable to keep the gobbler constantly | with the hens. Turkey hens are persistent sitters; they frequently have to be compelled to leave the nest for food and water 36 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO The French, who are always such studious economists, avail themselves of this propensity to a very good profit in the hatching of chicks. A turkey hen will sit steadily for three months. By giving a little brandy the hen will sit still longer. One great merit is, that they will © during all this while keep in such good condition, that they can easily be fattened and killed when their ser- vices are no longer needed. Turkeys are very tender when young—until they finish “shooting the red.” When the eggs are all hatched the hen we should be con- fined in a small coop placed in an enclosure of about six feet square, surrounded by a board twelve or fifteen inches high. After awhile the hen can be allowed her freedom. She will guard her chicks carefully and will stay in the enclosure with them or near by. The young Turkeys must not be subjected to dampness nor allowed to run in wet grass. When about three weeks old they can be allowed their lberty with the hen on fine days. They must be fed “little and often” and allowed to get no “back sets.” At first feed bread thoroughly soaked in milk and give new milk to drink. Give hard boiled eggs mashed up and mixed with the bread and milk. Feed at least four or five times a day, giving each time just so much as they eat up clean. After a week or two give them curds and continue until five or six weeks old. At this— age feed scalded Indian meal mixed with curd: also at another time in the day give scalded Indian, wheat mid- lings and bran mixed, the mixture to be? bran. Turkeys. must be liberally fed and atter they are safe through the. critical period of their lives will gain in size very rapidly. They should be fed on stimulating food during moulting | season on account of the great rapt of shedding and | the wonderful change they then undergo. From being stark naked they will be entirely feathered in a few “weeks. FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 37 They are at this time, of course, lighter in-weight. A curious fact and one worthy of notice, is that the hens will not moult until they are through sitting. Hence if from any cause they are set very late the moulting is cor- respondingly later. We have known ahen to be entirely bare at Christmas. This must by all means be avoided, or the hens will likely not be able to withstand the try- ing ordeal. It has been observed that turkeys show a great fondness for dandelion leaves, in preference to all other greens. From the well-known medicinal properties of this plant, it will be well to sow a few seeds in some waste spot near the turkey house, so that they can have a constant supply. Varieties of Turkeys, are the Mammoth Bronze, White Holland, Black, Blue and Buff Turkeys. The Bronze Turkeys are generally considered the largest. Adult gobblers will weigh 40 and 45 pounds each, hens 15 to 20. Young Turkey Gobblers at eight months old, will weigh from twenty-two to twenty-five pounds each and hens from thirteen to fifteen pounds. These are fair average weights. ‘They will gain about one pound in two weeks. But occasionally, and also when birds are especially well fed, they will exceed these weights. or breeding stock, however, it is not well to force them too much. Further north where the snow is on the ground for a longer period and where consequently the Turkeys are fed more corn, they will weigh heavier. The new Ameri— / ean standard only recognizes the light tipped turkeys, while the dark bronze are really the more beautiful and by many breeders preferred. Both colors can be bred _ from the same flock if they are so mated, but some of | this offspring will be of a mixed bronze plumage. The silver tips, however, are generally purer bred. The 38 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO dark bronze will often throw buff or cinnamon birds, showing that they have been crossed with that va- riety to secure the desired color. Pure bronze turkeys are believed to have originated from a cross of the wild turkey and the grey Narragansetts. Toe Waite Hoiitanp Turkeys are a very handsome and showy variety. The rich red beads and the intense glossy black beard of the male contrasting beautifully with a plumage of snowy whiteness. For a lawn a finer or more aristocratic ornament could not be desired. They are not only ‘“‘a thing of beauty,” but are also a. very valuable breed. They are very much larger than the common white turkey, and also, unlike them, are very hardy. ‘Their flesh is much esteemed as of a supe- rior delicacy. They are especially valued on account of their superior laying qualities and early mating. While their eggs are not quite as large as the bronze, they fur- nish more of them. Buack Turkeys are distinguished by an intense deep black color throughout, and are of large size. Bius Turkeys, sometimes called slate turkeys, should be of an even slaty color throughout. The best stock of this breed was imported from France. They are much esteenicd on account of their prolificacy, early maturity and large size, being in many cases fully equal in size to the Bronze. This breed is well worthy of more general cultivation. Burr Turkeys are as their name indicates, of a pure buff color throughout. They are comparatively but little bred. In no stock is the importance of a good male so fully evinced, and every farmer should each year or two, as already hinted, procure a good thoroughbred gobbler of either the Bronze, White, Holland, or Blue varieties, FURNISH AND MANAGE IT, 39 RAISING GEESE. —____. No land or water fowls can be so easily and cheaply raised as Geese. They will thrive well on pasture alone. It is of the first importance to breed from large matured specimens, and when once mated, the same birds can be retained as breeders for very many years. The gander, however, is apt to get cross with age, and hence has to be changed. Two or three geese (or sometimes four) can be mated to one gander. The goose will lay 138 to 15 eggs. When ready for setting, she should have only 13 eggs. She is a splendid sitter, and should not be dis- turbed. When leaving the nest to feed she covers her eggs like the duck, although not so well. The period of incubation is thirty days. They usually commence laying in February. Large common hens, Cochins or Brahmas can be used as sitters, giving each hen three or four eggs. Turkeys will also hatch the eggs well. On account of the thick shells of the eggs and the long period of incu- bation, it is recommended to make the nest on the ground or moist earth, and during the last ten days or two weeks to sprinkle the eggs with tepid water. The gander will frequently assist his favorite mate in the labors of incu- bation, and after the goslings are hatched is very vigilant in his care of them. At first the goslings should be kept warm and fed “ little and often,’ with hard boiled eggs, bread crumbs or scalded meal, not neglecting a plentiful supply of greens and grass. They are soon ready to turn out to graze, and will pick all their food, mostly grass, in the fields. They require no other feed so long as this lasts, and they can be marketed in fine condition, called 40 THE POULTRY YARD; HOW TO in England “ green geese.” After the supply of grass is cut off by winter, the geese can be put up to fatten, if so desired. This should be done in a dark place, and they should be well fed, on oats, meal or barley meal, or a mixture. A bunch of sweet hay should be tied up within their reach. Geese can be raised profitably with very little water, only plenty to drink and a large tub full for bathing. One valuable peculiarity of geese is that they always give notice of hen-roost robbers, whether biped or quadruped, by their shrill cries, and hence are excellent “watch — dogs.” THe VARIETIES OF THOROUGHBRED GezSE are the Tou- louse, Embden and China. The value of thoroughbreds is here fully illustrated. For while the produce of pure Embden geese, crossed with a Toulouse Gander, make the very finest and largest goslings for the market, yet these, if bred together, will rapidly deteriorate. Tue TouLouss GmEsE are of an even shade of grey, with white on the belly. In size, the Toulouse generally are the largest, although sometimes equalled by the Emb- den. The prize Toulouse geese at the Birmingham show weighed as high as 60 pounds per pair, and goslings forty eight anda half pounds. This is counted the heaviest weight ever attained. They mature early, are very hardy, and produce an abundance of feathers. Embpen, or BREMEN GE&ESE are of a pure white plum- age, with dark flesh-colored bills, orange legs and bright blue eyes. They should be very tall and of erect carriage, with large square bodies. Mr. J. K. Fowler gives the following weights of his prize geese:—the gander, (three years old,) weighed just thirty-two and a half pounds and his mate (a goose of the same age) pulled down very nearly twenty-six pounds; the goslings weighed FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 41 twenty-seven and a half pounds, and twenty-four pounds. ‘They are kept and bred largely in Saxony, and are celebrated for the delicacy of their meat. They are good layers and easily raised. The feathers, (a very important “crop” of geese are bred in quanti- ties,) are more valuable than those of the Toulouse or any other grey geese. THE CHINA oR Hone Kone Gezsz are not so large but are unusually prolific layers. The goose will lay as many as thirty eggs before offering to sit, and will lay three or even four litters in a season. Their tlesh is very superior, they mature early, are easily raised, and are readily fat- tened. Their eggs are not as large by about one third as the two preceding breeds, but the greatly increased quan- tity more than compensates. They are, besides, very ornamental, having a large protuberance at the base of the bill, and they should receive more attention from poultry breeders. In color they are both brown (like the Toulouse,) and pure snowy white. In concluding our re- marks on Geese, we would strongly urge breeders and farmers everywhere to pay more attention to the breeding of this valued domestic fowl. We are glad to notice a good demand for thoroughbred geese, and trust that | breeders will soon perceive the value of paying these fowls the attention they so well deserve. a a given for Brown Leghorns. There is here just one fault, a solid white ear lobe, and the plumage (standard) of this variety cannot consistently go together without white feathers being made allowable or dark legs not a disqual- ification, but white ear lobes—spotless white—and yellow legs, cannot be made to breed ; it is altogether inconsistent with natural laws. “In a certain number of the Poultry World, there ap- peared an article in which the writer stated that the ori- ginal jungle fowls were nearly of the plumage of the Brown Leghorns, and some have willow legs, and some white ear lobes, to prove, doubtless that it was natural to have this white lobe. JI enquired in the succeeding number of the Poultry World whether it was the yellow and dark leg birds that had the white ear lobes, but have never learned; there is too much trying to cover up the defects of the standard as given to Brown Leghorns, the most open confession I have ever seen is an article in January (22) number. I am now running a strain of Brown Leghorns, direct descendants of the W. F. B.S. crossed on natives, and find stamina much improved, and when I get them where I can rely on them, which I know will be in 78, I will have a strain of Brown Leghorns that will not lose tail feathers in summer, nor give dark legs, but a type just to my own liking. IL want lobes one-third surface white, no more. But by all means, Brother Burpee, insert in your book an open remonstrance against the wholesale slaugh- ter of valuable points and desirable qualities, just to cater FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 53 to the wants of a few fanciers like , who had so much to do in compiling the standard that he got in what has just ruined him, and Iam glad of it. Last year, ’75, in August or September, he had not 25 hens or cocks but were disqualitied, on account of white feathers. I know _ this to be true, and am heartily glad of it.” The writer of the above is only too true to his statements. Much has been done to injure the fair fame of the Brown Leghorns by advertising solid white ear lobes and sending out birds with nearly red lobes. Rais- ing, as we do, hundreds of Brown Leghorns, from the most carefully mated stock, we every year raise birds that are throughout free from any white tinge, with bright yellow legs and solid white lobes, but they are scarce. We consider the Brown Leghorns as difficult a breed, to handle with a view to exhibition purposes, as the Dark Brahmas, and requiring equally as much skill. Hens with pure white ear lobes are easily produced from good strains. ‘Lhe trouble is with the cocks. If the ma- jority of the cocks have ear lobes two-thirds white and about five per cent pure white, with no corresponding defects, it is as good as can be expected at present. “Truth will out.” Even if by letting it out we may tread on some tender toes, yet it is our only true plan in writing for the poultry public. We regard the Brown Leghorns as too valuable a breed to be altered by crossing, or to be ruined instamina and important excellencies by a mad rush after white ear lobes, “regardless of cost.” In mat- | ing, always keep in view the one great quality that en- dears this breed to the people—the eggs. Buack Lreanorns. These are solid black in plumage, | with pure white ear lobes and erect combs. They, likeall | black fowls, usually have dark legs. They are the smallest of the Leghorns, and although good layers, are no better than the others. They look too much like degenerated black Spanish, and it is our opinion that unless improved they ——E~ EEE 54 THE POULTRY YARD, HOW TO will soon sink into oblivion as a variety not worthy of dis- tinct cultivation. Dominique Levnorns. These fowls are certainly very pretty, being of the uniform Dominique color, contrasting nicely with white ear lobes. The finest fowls we raised the past season, and exhibited at the Centennial, were perfect as regards Leghorn characteristics and color, but had a few black spots over the yellow legs. We have had birds of this breed with pure yellow legs, but they were faulty in the ear lobes.. This variety can never compete in popularity with the Brown and White Leghorns. | Some breeders claim that they are the largest of all Leg- horns, and we have purchased birds of such stock which were very large—too large for pure Leghorns, and plainly showing a cross, also having nearly or quite red ear lobes. BLACK SPANISH. The White Face Black Spanish are one of the oldest pure breeds. They are everlasting layers of very large ‘ eggs, of excellent flavor. The yelk \ of the egg is not larger than ordina— ry eggs, the white or albumen pre- \ properly bred, the only danger being their large erect single combs, which will become frozen in very severe mai weather. They are very high in bo- Pie ma Sine stylish carriage. Their legs are of a lead — eolor, becoming lighter with age. Breeding in-and-in also produces pale legs, and then a cross should be made dominating. They are very hardy if | FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 55 with a very bluish-black legged cock of fresh blood. Their white face and long serrated comb extending out almost to the end of the bill are well depicted in the ac- companying cut. They are very poor table fowls, but _ their fine eggs entitle them toa high rank among the _ breeds of domestic poultry. Hamburgs. Hamburgs are a very popular breed of non-sitting fowls. They are unrivalled in variety and beauty of plumage. Our colored frontispiece (prepared expressly for The Poultry Yard,) well represents an imported trio of the Black Hambur zs, bred by the Rev. W. Sergeatson, the most. celebrated Eielish exhibitor of this variety. All Hamburgs possess the same general characteristics. Stylish and active in carriage, slender, rather short, blue or slaty blue legs, with deep red rose combs and close fitting pure white ear lobes. They require free range, and are then easily kept, as they are excellent foragers. They will lay upwards of 200 eggs in a year. While their eggs are not so large as AGES. a the Leghorns, yet, as ne as eggs are sold by the dozen, this Hele little material serene: in supplying the market. Mr. A. | Beldon says of their early maturity, he has found that pullets of the pencilled varieties lay at five months; the | spangled not quite so early. The varieties of Hamburgs | are the silver and golden pencilled, the spangled and the solid black. The Blacks are the largest of all, and lay the largest eggs. They are also considered the most hardy.