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PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK:
A WORK ON THE
Td
+
BREEDS, BREEDING REARING, AND GENERAL —
@ MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY. —
BY
WM. M. LEWIS.
ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.
ee
See, 2 bf
NEW YORK: :
THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY,
39 AND 41 CHAMBERS STREET.
big 22).
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18
DED oT. MOORE, KO
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at wae
At oat ay tranere, ites
Te) " : ae t Office Lik,
; y Aprp 12 14,
TP
ind
. ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
PAU TECH EVEN. 6.5°5)5 s\c'siu e's oa'e sive’ e's ces 166
— Mother, Graves’....... Se a as 167
SVS Nd DD) CCS A 80
Bantam Cock, Fertile Hen - feathered
MEINE ta cr sao Oh olealaee wid austere 169
— Hen, Barren Full-feathered Sebright 168
Bantams, Black-breasted Red Game.... 57
— Duck-wing Game................ ov
SP CHOLMeMNSCDMENG. ..092 22s el sccie es 68
= belimvor Cochin 2.254. ... 8.8 ses 67
SME SUIVETSCOLIOME. so. 2s sce scenes o's 67
BrahimasWock, Dark: . 02225 60.0006. 8. 30
=) > ID eee eee ee Senna 33
SU OM MDAL Ki. one ass cede see ose aes 31
Capon Operating Table... 6.00.40. 22. 146
Caponizing Fowls—Implements used.. 145
— Position of Fowl on Operating
MAIL CR ei sisteie els cierease serene 146, 148
Chicken Coop and Wire Run.......... 138
— House, Exterior of Van Winkle’s.. 127
— — Interior of Van Winkle’s....... 128
CochimiCock, Butts s. 5 ook ko se 35
== [Een NIB TOT Re ae An ecg aE 36
Cochins, Pair of Partridge............ 37
MOAN CLOSE Os ae ee ic Setaiete 130
SMES UEC) Sarat ea Se cheiaicss ee cia.ctaie wcciels 130
eT vena res sa it'a sicio\ale ef aie. oS . 129
= eeTUGIOL WuCATIAtO. cecs./s's snisie ss oie oes 129
EmmLLAt TOOL is osaveye <.ctiaicjnier ed ale oss 129
Seem tea pe ee RENN 129
Creve-Ceurs, Pair of...... ale miaiei Sere) tes 62
Wominique Cock... ......2.¢ sooopadne 66
PAGE.
Dorking Cock, White...........00..5. 48
Dorkings, Pair of Gray..............- 44
WralcewAsmlesbui yj e stress a cleyvelecverers 80
Sri MOULD tasters av ene AUREL 2, SO eaeuetiay esate 81
Wiel Blaels Cay woah eee siete 85
=e @restedeneeiiia tie cers ceria cts WK 83
= “House Rusties orci i ye sae e 187
=. Tent-house:i i.e ee be. eee Lae
— Wood or Summer................ 85
Ducks} Heed Box forse see ack « cseesies 136
— Trio of Musk or Brazilian......... 83
Hgg Carrier, Suspension.............. 178
— Case, Canvas-covered........ PAs 178
— Transportation Case.............. 178
Neos: iMertilitiy Ol voce ae eee ae 20
Farmer Fogv’s Fowls............ se stereo dU
iHeedebox forDucksuamecce se ete 136
Feeding Hopper, A Cheap............ 132
——) b= DOUDIOS sae seneleiia craciteutervave aos 183
— — Funnel and Cone of........... 132
mow tm POTHCC LS. bie etanea Melo k re lotaicee 131
Se SO OMCHI NU Mie alaltonta siarclaie) clues 131
— — Standard Self................. 132
Seah eh SLO Oletaiara ots aienareterciaie a reie metals ay overs 1382
— Troughs (4 Ilustrations).......... 134
Mountain Barrel ssiate serials ciieletscleiel 135
— Bottle........ PR Shia trates a ey ara 1385
OLGA, 2 afeievscaisy ore] e oie teisesteteraiesace 135
MowA Boats Orasicreaciersarcver seis i weversie eve 10
==.) Viltture-hock sic) cicctc aes se «nies 15
Frizzled Fowls, Pair of............:.. 41
Games, Black-Red........csseesceeees O8
iv THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
PAGE. PAGE.
Games, Duck-Wing...........+ pire en 595 | Poultry Fountain, Ordinary........... 135
ear Derby: viacaieiartere siseate alow ete 52 |— House and plan for 100 fowls...... 119
Geese, Canada or American........... 89|}— — — — Virginia............. 114, 115
— Embden or Bremen........... --. 91]/— — — yards, Van Winkle’s........ 110
ms WANES ae GS cictaraie a e!sie 0 las, wla'a’s oka 94}— — Browne’s.......:.....2sesennenne
Goose!) Waite Chinese: ....35...00. «0 95 |— — Cheap........ 2. .acseeeeeee 115, 120
Guelders esi OF 5)... . cis wofae be Wek .. 64|— — Elevation, plan and yard....... 122
Hamburgs, Pair of Golden-Spangled... 46|— — Fancy....... we da'as ocean 125
-— — — Silver-Spangled............ 46|— — Interior of Van Winkle’s........ 111
Hen-house, Mount’s........... sade shevate 118.) — —-Octagon,.... 0)... .\cecs eee 117
Hennery for 200 to 250 fowls....... --. 121|— — Octagonal (8 Illustrations)..... 128
Elan Of DOUDIE, ..di.eeiaernye ctneree aes 113'] —. — Poor Man’s........ 52:25 106
oudans Pair -ol ce vsiccsre um eine er cterete eke 61|— — Rhode Island................. 114
Incubation—Process illustrated.......18,19|— — Rustic........................ 106
Incubator, Americans... 20: . oes ». 159 |— Mode of Packing...... Jags seee 27
A MSPMACL CYS, 1s :ciecle se end tee mere 156 | Rouen Drake.......... .\Ggpes eee 81
sared EREMEUITI Sis tales phave' nt ye wceua ete aie ae 154 | Shanghaes, Pair of White............. 39
aes EAVES, renee ae ie ele ovals neat sly Noes 160, 161 | Silky: Fowls,:Pait of. ..2 -o22 eee 69
Sees TS CNL OU El Sinise elt eeten eee ee eee 157 | Spanish Fowls, White and Black...... 59
ot VOR GLE Sie Srere cl s/o cle: mele eiuaheeanen 158 | Trap, Barrel: )\).. 3.223; e eee 171
havleche, Pairof. oe yaa aera, oe 63.}=-- Skunk.... 3.2.2: 5... eee 173
Beshoris, Pair ob) 52). Sujcsemeslasane 51} —. Common Box... ...¢sQuaneeeeeee 171
Dialers: WP artid. ple: cere putes giants 40 |— for Mink .......,.:¢229 ee 172
UNG ste MD eyelet jarccslole araietayapstere ofauetatel sor 139 |— Geyelin’s Vermin .......is2.csue. 173
een WN COL BN OMe sin sect ioue wiblais dare late ates 6 140 |— Miles’ Vermin......\...23eeeeee 174
iW WMO O CEI ES OX tase Scare paeyetsloalarepeouyore 140.) Turkey, Bronze. ..).; 0. see eee 4. ScTeUNIee
Poland Cock, Silver-Spangled......... AT |}— Crested... 0.0/0» .s =e 77
— Hen, Silver-Spangled............. 48|— Domestic. ......3.....ceneeeeeeee 73
Polands, Pair of Golden-Spangled..... 49 | — House and nest.jy... See 139
— White Crested Black............. 50!— Wild........ «ea =a eal 75
[FOR GENERAL INDEX SEE PAGE 219}
PREFATORY AND INTRODUCTORY.
_ In presenting this volume, on the subject of the Breeding, Treatment and
Management of Fowls to the public, we do so more for the purpose of supply-
ing a need greatly felt by the American breeder and fancier, the amateur
and beginner, and placing within the reach of all desiring a knowledge of
poultry —the breeds best for market purposes and as egg-producers —a —
cheap and reliable guide. Not only shall we be able to present our own
views and the results of our experience in poultry-rearing, diseases, their
treatment, etc., in these pages, but the experiences of the most careful,
scientific and reliable breeders and fanciers in this country, (as given from
time to time, for the past twenty-one years, through the columns of the
Agricultural Journals and other periodicals,) and place the same in juxta-
position with each other, so that they will prove of the utmost value to the
amateur breeder, as well as to the new beginner.
We have often wondered why our rural population do not rear fowls
more universally than they do. It has been demonstrated, beyond a perad-
venture, that they can be reared with little expense by nearly every house-
keeper, and can be made to pay an hundred fold on the investment. Not
only can this be done by our rural population, but also by those living in
cities and villages. Having had several years’ experience in rearing fowls in
a city, we can speak understandingly on the subject. Fowls can be bred in
cities and villages equally as well as on the farm—not on so large a scale,
but with as much, if not more profit to the breeder. It requires but a small
space to keep a dozen or twenty fowls in either of the localities mentioned;
and then the pleasure it gives a person to know that with a little judicious
management he will be able to supply his table with birds of his own rearing,
and his larder with fresh eggs the year round, can well be imagined.
- Nothing, in our opinion, looks more comfortable, home-like and rural,
than to see strutting about the premises of a city or village resident, a few
select and well-kept fowls. Thus we have city and country, as it were, com-
bined. Undoubtedly some city people, or the male portion of them, will
object to this theory, on the plea that it would take too much of their
valuable time to look after the fowls. This objection is easily overcome by
vi THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
leaving the care of them in the hands of the good housewife, who would
esteem it a great pleasure to care for the chicks and teach the children how
to rear them.
What is there that the farmer produces of quicker sale than eggs and
poultry? The prices which he receives therefor are in the main remunera-
tive, the labor incurred is light and agreeable, and can be performed by the
junior members of the family. The poultry yard produces food which is
highly palatable and nutritious at all seasons, and in this respect is hardly
equaled by any other department of the farm. Is it not worth while, then, to
bestow more care and skill in managing poultry? Left to themselves, half
their products are often wasted, and half the year they are non-layers. In
winter they need simply warmth, light and sunshine, clean, roomy quarters,
and plenty of food. Every day they will pay for this. In the summer they
want range, fresh earth, shade, water, seclusion, and protection from vermin.
An abundance of eggs and broods of plump chickens, either for market or
the farmer’s table, will result from this care. If it is not feasible to carry on
the poultry business on a large scale, it should be done on a medium scale;
for every farmer should make a couple of hundred dollars’ worth of their
products yearly, independent of fertilizing properties the farm receives in the
manure saved from the hennery. It is our object, however, to especially
impress upon the minds of village and city residents the importance and
advantages of rearing and keeping fowls. We take it for granted that large
and small farmers know their own interests in this matter.
In villages there can be no excuse whatever for not breeding fowls, suc-
cessfully and profitably. In nearly all the small villages in Europe fowls are
bred by tenants; their children make pets of them. Wherever there is a
cottager’s family living on potatoes, or better fare, may be seen a little pent-
house, with nests of straw or hay for the fowls to lay in, and a speculation in
eggs and chickens sought. It is said Americans are shrewd; then why
do they not demonstrate their shrewdness in this matter. We know, from
past experience, that there is no money lost in keeping and rearing a few
fowls, and a great ‘deal of pleasure and profit derived from it. Viewing
the matter in this light, with the hope of inducing our city, village and
rural population to enter more fully into the breeding and rearing of fowls,
we present this volume, and submit it, without further introduction, to the
inspection, and we trust, favorable consideration of the public:
Woe Ee
BROOKLYN, N. Y., 1871.
FOWLS—THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT,
THERE Is a great diversity of opinion in regard to the management of
fowls, the particular and desirable breeds for all purposes, &c. First of all,
their
PROPER CARE AND KEEPING .
is essential to success, for a person may have the best known breeds, and if
they are not properly cared for they will, in nine cases out of ten, prove a
failure. Therefore we wish to impress upon the mind of the breeder, in the
~ outset, that this needs attention more than purity of breed or superiority of
kind. As a friend of ours said, “there exists gross neglect of the poor birds
generally.” This neglect is not confined to persons who have no fancy for
fine poultry, but extends even to many who have the reputation of being fowl
fanciers. Still, as before stated, for poultry to be remunerative there must
be good management. In
STARTING OUT IN THE BUSINESS,
plans should be well matured and digested before hand. A good, convenient
poultry house should be properly constructed, sufficiently large to contain
the number of birds one desires, warm and dry in the winter, well ven-
tilated, and it should be kept scrupulously clean. The house should rot be
over-crowded, but just large enough. Nothing is made by over-crowding the
hennery; on the contrary, it will prove detrimental. The fowls must be fed
regularly and at stated periods. They must have plenty of pure water at
hand at all times — this is of as much importance to the health of the brood
as proper food. If possible, they should also be given, in addition, a plat of
grass fora run. Place within the hennery a dust heap; this may consist of
wood or coal ashes, sand, or dust from the streets. It should be kept under
cover, so that it will not become drenched with rain or snow, and to it the
fowls should have access at all times, to dust, and thereby rid them-
selves, in a great degree, of the numerous parasites which infest them. The
habit of
GIVING TOO MUCH FOOD,
to poultry, in a short space of time, is a very bad one. If one notices their
habits he will perceive that the process of picking up their food under ordi-
8 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
nary, or what we may call the natural condition, is a very slow one. Grain
by grain is the meal taken, and with the aggregate no small amount of sand,
pebbles, and thie like, all of which, passing into the crop, assist digestion
greatly. But in the “ hen-wife’s” mode of feeding poultry, a great heap is
thrown down, and the birds are allowed to “peg away” at such a rate that
their crop is filled too rapidly, and the process of assimilation is slow, painful
and incomplete. No wonder that so many cases of choked craw are met with
under this treatment. Many other diseases which affect chickens might be
prevented by breeders, were a little precaution taken in the simple matter of
feeding.
TO PRODUCE EGGS.
More eggs can perhaps be obtained from hens by mixing breeds than by
any other mode; and it is generally conceded that crossing also promotes —
the health of fowls far more than the vile practice, as some are pleased to
term it, of in-and-in breeding. Little trouble need be apprehended from
roup, gapes, cholera, and other diseases in poultry, if that care is observed in
breeding and crossing that is so essential to all well regulated poultry yards.
POSITION OF THE HENNERY AND RUNWAYS.
As we said before, the hennery should be placed in a warm, dry location —
(not in a damp, out-of-the-way place) — with runways ample to allow of plenty
of exercise. Above all, care should be taken that vermin do not get a foot-
hold in the hennery; for if they once make their appearance, it is difficult to
exterminate them, and before the breeder is aware of it, his flock is over-run
with them. Let the hennery be thoroughly cleansed with lime, (whitewash
put on hot,) as often as once a month. If any of the fowls show symptoms
of disease — which is frequently the case when in confinement —see that
they are removed at once from the flock. Give good, wholesome food, with
plenty of clean water; have the laying boxes cleaned and renewed frequently
with straw, hay or shavings, and, with the help of the good housewife and
children, there need be no fear of failure to profitably raise poultry. If one
does not succeed in the first undertaking, he should not become disheartened,
but persist in his endeavors to find out the cause of failure, and obviate it in
the future.
MR. LELAND’S EXPERIENCE.
In this connection we give the reply of Mr. Warren Leann, Rye, N.
Y., an experienced and extensive breeder of fowls, to inquiries from a gentle-
man who desired to engage in the poultry business in his old age. Mr. Lz-
LAND says:—“‘ I have found that for every hundred fowls you must give up at
least an acre. But rough land is as good as any. Hens naturally love the
bush, and I lop young trees, but leave a shred by which they live a year or
more. These form hiding places and retreats for them. In such places they
prefer to lay. Ihave great success, and it depends on three or four rules, by
observing which I believe a good living can be made by hens and turkeys. I
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 9
give my fowls great range. Eighteen acres belong to them exclusively.
Then the broods have the range of another big lot, and the turkeys go half a
mile or more from the house. The eighteen acres of poultry-yard is rough
land, of little use for tillage. It has a pond in it, and many rocks, and bushes,
and weeds, and sandy places, and ash heaps, and lime, and bones, and grass,
and a place which I plow up to give them worms.
‘“¢ When a hen has set, I take her box, throw out the straw and earth, let
it be out in the sun and rain a few days, and give it a good coat of whitewash
on both sides. In winter, when it is very cold, I have an old stove in their
house, and keep the warmth above freezing. There is also an open fire-place
where I build a fire in cool, wet days. They dry themselves, and when the
fire goes out there is a bed of ashes for them to wallow in. Summer and
winter my hens have all the lime, ashes and sand they want. Another reason
why I have such luck is because my poultry yards receive all the scraps from
the Metropolitan Hotel. Egg making is no easy work, and hens will not do
much of it without high feed. They need just what a man who works re-
quires — wheat bread and meat. Even when wheat costs two dollars I believe
in feeding it to hens. As to breeds, I prefer the Brahmas, light and dark. I
change roosters every spring, and a man on the farm has no other duty than
to take care of my Only I frequently turn off three thousand spring
chickens in a single season.’
BREEDING AND MATING.
Too many fanciers and farmers, otherwise earnest in their business, are
very careless concerning their fowls. Interbreeding certainly degenerates —
particularly when so promiscuously permitted in a flock of fowls as is com-
mon. ‘There are the same good reasons for
MAKING CHOICE OF THE BEST BREEDS OF FOWLS
as for making the same choice in other stocks. For while a prime breed is as
easily reared, fed and housed as a poorer one, there is a decided difference
in the returns in favor of the former. If properly cared for, we do not
hesitate to say that fowls of superior order do yield the farmer, even, the
largest interest for the outlay he makes of any other stock he keeps.
10 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
In giving our own, and the opinions of others on the general principles of
breeding and mating fowls, it will not be out of place to give here an illus-
tration and description of
THE DIFFERENT POINTS OF A FOWL,
so that the reader may be able to name them, and judge therefrom, in his
selection of stock for breeding
purposes :—A, Neck-hackle; B,
Saddle-hackle; C, Tail; D,
Breast; E, Upper Wing Coy-
erts; F, Lower Wing Coverts ;
G, Primary Quills; H, Thighs;
I, Legs; K, Comb ; L, Wattles;
M, Ear Lobe.
SELECTION OF COCKS AND HENS
FOR BREEDING PURPOSES.
A desirable thing in breeding
is the selection of the cock. This,
as all should understand, is a very
important matter to be looked
after ; another is the proper pro-
portion of hens to be given to
the cock. To breed a good fowl
of any kind requires thought, skill, observation and study. The cock in all
cases should be of good size, perfectly healthy and vigorous ; carry his head
high, and have a quick, animated look, a strong and shrill voice; the bill
thick and short, the comb of a fire red, bright color ; a membraneous wattle of
a large size, and in color resembling the comb. He should be broad-breasted,
with strong wings; the plumage dark, the thighs muscular, and spry and
trim on his legs; free in his motions ; crow often, and scratch the earth with
constancy in search of worms, not so much for himself as his mates; when
he is brisk, spirited, ardent and clever in caressing them, quick in defending
them, attentive in soliciting them to eat, in keeping them together in the
day, and assembling them at night, he will prove as a general thing, just the
bird to breed from. The good qualities of hens, whether intended for laying
or breeding, ‘are of no less importance than those of the cock. The hen is
deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal love. When her passion
of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed by the failure or separation of her
own brood, she will either go on sitting, till her natural powers fail, or she
will violently kidnap the young of another fowl, and insist upon adopting
them. But all hens are not alike. They have their little whims and fancies,
likes and dislikes, as capricious and unaccountable as those of other females.
Some are gentle in their manners and disposition, others are sanguinary ;
some are lazy, others energetic almost to insanity. To succeed in the matter
WISE
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 1]
of the selection of hens for mating and breeding purposes ene care,
study and a considerable degree of- patience.
THE NUMBER OF HENS TO A COCK, ETC.
We have no hesitancy in recommending to breeders the following ratio °
of hens to a cock of the breed named :—Houdans, twenty hens 40 two cocks R
Creve-Ceurs, eight hens to one cock; Buff Cochins, twenty-four hens to
two cocks; Gray Dorkings, ten hens to one cock; White Leghorns, four-
teen hens to one cock; Spanish, twelve hens to one cock; Brahmas, twelve
hens to one cock; Hamburgs, fourteen hens to one cock; Polands, twelve
hens to one cock; Game, ten hens to one cock. With this proportion of hens
to a cock the vitality of the eggs will prove good, and at least eleven out of
twelve eggs set will produce “ chicks.”
For breeding purposes, we inclose in a yard ten or fifteen hens of each
variety we desire to propagate, and with them one cock; if we have two or
more cocks whose qualities are equal, we think it preferable to. change every
two days, leaving only one cock with the hens at a time. Two weeks are
necessary to procure full bloods, and we prefer the eggs the third rather than
the second week. ;
We are told by a breeder of some considerable experience with fowls
that to determine the exact proportion of cocks and hens to be allowed to
run together for breeding purposes is not an easy problem. He says:
“ While with some varieties, as the Cochins, three or four, or even two, are
ample, (though we have seen cocks of that variety that would serve ten or
a dozen;) in others, twelve to fifteen are not too many. It is impossible to
give any definite number for a rule. We have had pairs that did well, the
egos hatched well, and the hen did not suffer from the over-attention of the
cock ; and again, we have been obliged to put in one, two, three, four and
even more additional hens of common stock, with a trio of pure-bred fowls,
to keep the blooded hens from being injured. LEspecially is this the case
with the Houdans and Creve-Ceurs; the cocks of both these breeds seem to
be very vigorous, and require not less than four or six hens to run with them.
The Dark Brahmas also need not less than four hens with the cock when he
is young and vigorous. It was a favorite theory of ours, some years since,
that poultry should be bred in pairs or trios. Because in the wild state, they
ran in pairs, so also, should they do in the domesticated state. It is needless
to say that our theory would not work when carried into practice. Perhaps,
were a pair of fowls given a range of ten, twenty or more acres, and left to
forage for themselves, one or two hens would be all the cock could attend;
but confined to an acre or less, and fed on stimulating food, the bird’s nature
becomes, as it were, changed, and he feels himself qualified for greater deeds.
We have seen a hen’s back and sides all cut open by the cock’s spurs, and
the owner was complaining that the hen did not lay. If he had given her
three or four companions his cause of complaint would have ceased. The
only mode of deciding the question is by watching the fowls. We have
12 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
known instances, though rare, of a cock serving twenty to twenty-five hens,
and the eggs being very fertile. Again, a cock was cooped up with four
hens, and it was found that when penned with two the eggs hatched twenty-
five per cent. better than with the four. We think the latter case is of rare
occurrence; a safe average is four to six hens toa cock. A few days’ ob-
servation will enable one to tell whether more or less hens are needed. A
young cock that has had a dozen or twenty hens to run with the first year is
rarely fit for more than three or four the second. But if well cared for the
first, and allowed not more than six hens, he is usually good for three or four
years’ service. We know many are prejudiced against using old cocks, and
usually their prejudice is founded on experience like the above. A young
cock with old hens is our preference for-breeding stock, though many reverse
it and put an old cock with young pullets. We know the hen lays a larger
ege than the pullet, and a large egg must certainly bring out a larger chick
than a small one; and, as a rule, (to which there are many exceptions,) a
young cock is more vigorous than an old one. Therefore we think this selec-
tion preferable. Some, we are aware, contend that the cock has more in-
fluence on the progeny than the hen, and that an old cock, being more mature
and developed, will throw better chicks. Such has not been our experience,
however, after a close observation of several years’ duration.”
PREMIUM BIRDS DO NOT PRODUCE THE BEST CHICKENS.
For the purpose of more fully carrying out our idea of breeding fowls
to perfection and pointing out their imperfections, we have selected the
Brahma as an example, (the principle will apply to any other breed,) and
in this connection give, from Moore’s Rural New-Yorker, the experience
and advice of a gentleman who makes the breeding of fowls a science.
He says:—“ Premium birds do not always produce the best chickens. Good
results may often be obtained from moderate stock, provided that they be
so selected that the defects of the cock may be counteracted by those of
the hens. Size in the Brahma is not of so mueh importance as most people
give to it. Fine, large chickens may be reared from small parents by proper
care and attention, and good, regular and judicious feeding.
INFLUENCE UPON THE FANCY POINTS.
“The cock has the most influence upon the fancy points, while the hen
has most upon the form and size. If more attention were paid to the shape
and straightness of the comb of the cock, we should see less of those grave
defects which so frequently mar whole pens. I have seen magnificent birds
with such crooked and fungus-like combs as would almost disqualify them in
my opinion. Judges have been too liberal with these defects. It is quite
time such liberality was stopped. Crooked combs should be bred out and
not tolerated. The comb is one of the most prominent characteristics of
the bird, and almost the first object. which meets the eye. It touches our
sense of the beautiful immediately to see a small head and straight comb,
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 13
and docile look. And the head of a Brahma fowl should possess these quali-
_ fications; too much importance should not be given to breeding for weight
or largeness of carcass, over other qualifications. I admire in the Brahma
fowl a large frame, of symmetrical proportions and corresponding weight;
but a fattened fowl is only fit for the table. I should rather breed from a
small cock with a perfect comb than a large one with a crooked comb. A
lively cock, mated with large hens, is preferable to a sluggish cock and small
hens. Length of legs in a cock is of less importance than in ahen; and in
order to get size and proportion you must have due length of legs; and
even in a hen, it may be counteracted by judicious mating. A narrow cock
and a very wide hen are more likely to breed well than the reverse. It is to
the male bird the breeder must look for perfection or defects in the comb,
the beautiful yellow color of the legs, and all the fine points of the Brahma.
“As to the penciling, I am convinced, by considerable experience, that
the two sexes bear a proportionate influence to each other, although I should
not hesitate to say that there is more probability of breeding good chickens
from a perfectly and darkly penciled pullet or hen and an inferior cock than
from a badly colored or marked hen and a cock of superior blood. A hen
with a bad comb, mated with a cock whose comb is small and fine, will
throw some very fine chickens. A cock with a drooping back and saddle
should be mated with a hen very high towards the tail; and if his hackle be
short or scanty, that of the hen should be unusually sweeping and full. Hf
any white stain should appear in the ear lobes, it is very apt to perpetuate
itself, and particular care should be taken that the other sex has no sign of it,
through several degrees. In shape, style and carriage, the Dark and Light
varieties of the Brahma fowl should be precisely similar. In the Light, I
think the breeders of this country have surpassed the English. The Light
“now stands almost on equality with the Dark in size, shape, and in general
popularity. The comb of this fowl especially must be more closely looked
after. A defective comb tells wofully against the bird. You must breed
them even, low and straight. You cannot, I know, get this point to perfection
in the cock until a strain has been bred for years. No pure strain ought to
breed a comb in which the peculiar triple character is not perfectly distinct.
SHAPE OF THE COMB AND HEAD.
7 There i is a diversity of opinion as to the shape of the comb. It should
not exceed half an inch in hight, and instead of rising from the front towards
the back and ending in a peak, I should prefer to see it, after arising for
half or two-thirds of its length, decrease again towards the back, forming a
kind of arch. This kind of comb not only looks well and symmetrical, but
according to experience, is likely to breed far more true than any other. The
head of the Brahma cannot be too small in proportion to the body. There
is no point in this fowl that so truly indicates the high breeding or the blood
of the strain as the smallness of the head, and you will find that a small head
is accompanied by fineness of flesh, a point never to be lost sight of in this
14 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
class. I placed a dark hen of this variety in a coop by itself on exhibition at
our poultry show merely to give those interested in the matter those points
in perfection which I claim we must reach before we can say we have finished —
our labors in this respect.
THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
“In all the original Brahmas the deaf-ears fell below the wattles; and
this point was mentioned by Dr. Benner as a characteristic of the breed;
and the perpetuation of this should be carefully looked after. The neck-
hackle should start well out just below the head, making a full sweep, and
marking the point of juncture between the head and neck very distinetly by
an apparent hollow or depression. The hackles can hardly be too full, and
should descend low enough to flow over the back and shoulders. The more
perfect you can get this, the nobler the carriage and appearance of the bird.
A short or scanty hackle is a very great blemish. The hocks should be well
covered with soft curling feathers. A cock with hocks a little owt should not
be deprecated, and as sometimes is, by the inexperienced, discarded. This
class of hock, when properly mated with fine built hens, scantily feathered on
the legs and toes, throw very fine full-booted birds. .While I should con-
demn all vulture-hocked fowls to the gridiron, there are exceptions where I
have bred from a very large, finely-formed hen, with handsomely and dis-
tinctly marked pencilings, with great success, by mating them with a clean
shanked cock with the proper marking ; and have thrown four good birds to
one hocked. No bird of this species should, when full grown, be considered
fit for exhibition, unless the cock weighs twelve pounds, and hens from eight
to nine pounds; andif a cockerel does not weigh eight pounds at six or eight
months, he will rarely prove a show bird.
BREEDING AND MATING FOR SIZE, ETC.
‘“‘In breeding for size, select a short, compact, deep-bodied cockerel, which
need not be large, and mate him with long backed hens, even if their legs
are longer than usual. Although length of back is a decided fault, such a
cross will generally breed well; the hen supplying the form, while the cock
fills out to the proper proportion. Long, dangy, large-boned cocks may be
mated with compact, short-legged hens, with the same result; but the first
mentioned cross will produce better results. Fine chickens may be reared
from the eggs of pullets; but the best chickens, asa rule, are got by mating
either a two-year-old cock or a cockerel, with hens in their second season ;
their chickens fledge more quickly, and attain maturity sooner. Hens mated
with cockerels turn out more male birds, while cocks mated with pullets, will
produce a goodly proportion of pullets. I should not hesitate mating cock-
erels with pullets, if they be fine, strong-boned birds, hatched in March or the
early part of April. A great many birds are spoiled by breeding from a
cock of one strain and hens of different strains, and different styles of pem
cilings. If my presumption may be excused, I should advise the different
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 15
breeders of this country te make up their minds respectively, as to the style
and markings of the birds they deem most desirable to breed, and breed them
uniformly and closely te the standard they have adopted. The popular taste
will soon settle the question. You can always have fresh blood, if you keep
two or three pens, and you can go on for years without crossing your breeds,
and running the risk of bad blood or a motley brood, with no uniformity of
shape or markings.
BREEDING IN-AND-IN.
“Do not feel too much anxiety about breeding tn-and-in. Parent and
offspring, and even brother and sister, may be bred from with safety and suc-
cess for several years with this class of fowls. No breed has such stamina as
the Brahma, and if any mishap does occur, it will not be so aggravated as
it would be by the concentration of bad blood; therefore, it stands you in.
hand to be very careful what strain you purchase, and to know if the party
has bred from distinct strains or indiscriminately. It is a work of time to
breed fine strains, and considerable patience is requisite. It is in this respect
that parties make a great mistake in going about from yard to yard, selecting
here and there a bird from one, and cock, &c., from another, to gratify their
vanity, with the hope of winning a few prizes, to the great detriment. of the
stock and disappointment of purchasers of the same, if they should breed
from them. In the Light Brahma it is very necessary to secure a sufficient
amount of color in the cock. The tendency of all poultry is to get lighter if
indiscriminately bred ; therefore, you should select cocks of the proper dark-
ness for breeding stock. The saddle should only be lightly striped, for if it
contains too much black or the neck-hackle too dark, you will produce spotted
backs. I will set down two rules, either of which can be applied to suit the
wants of the breeder:—1. Very heavy penciled cocks must be used to get
heavy penciled (chicks) cocks. 2. Very dark hackled hens and light pen-
ciled hackled cocks will get nice hackled pullets.”
VULTURE HOCKED FOWLS.
Vulture hocked birds are a disqualification to any brood of fowls, with
few exceptions, and should be eschewed in all
breeding stock. The vulture hock is the projec-
tion of feathers behind the knee, and inclining
towards the ground, as shown in the accompany-
ing illustration. The feathers of a fowl’s leg
usually should be close round the knee, and the
leg clean below it. The breeds in which the
vulture hock is necessary are Scrai-ta-ooks,
Booted Bantams, and Ptarmigan fowls. Where
the vulture hock makes its appearance, unwished
for, and where its presence is considered a grave fault, is among Cochins and
Brahmas. The fault will sometimes appear in the progeny, but in fowls, as
16 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
in everything else, the perfect birds form the exception, and as Dr. BENNETT
says, ‘to have many of them it is only necessary to breed well and kill well.
By this process you will get rid of the vulture hock.”
CROSSING THE BREED.
As we have said elsewhere, to insure successful and beneficial crossing of
distinct breeds, in order to produce a new and what may be considered a
valuable variety, the breeder should be well versed in the laws of procreation,
and the varied influences of parents upon their offspring. It is avered that
all fowls bred in this country are crosses or made breeds, either by design or
accident. Therefore crossing does not necessarily produce a breed; but on
the other hand, it always produces a variety, and that variety becomes a dis-
tinctive breed only where there is a sufliciency of stamina to make a dis-
tinctive race, and continue a progeny with the uniform or leading character-
istics of its progenitors. In crossing one breed with another we should say
put a light cock with dark hens or vice versa, as in this case there is more
liability of producing not only a new variety, but also some fine birds in the
brood. Care is required in this matter, as in all others, (in mating for cross-
breeding,) and patience is indispensable to success. All disqualified birds
should be taken from the pen at the earliest moment, and sent to the table.
leaving the best selections to breed from. We have made a fine cross by
placing a dark Brahma hen with a white Dorking cock, and, on another occa-
sion, made a good cross by placing a White-faced Black Spanish cock with a
white Dorking pullet. There is no question but that good and valuable
breeds of fowls, of beautiful plumage, may be thrown by these crosses.
ee a ee ee
SETTING HENS AND INCUBATION.
THE NUMBER OF EGGS TO PUT UNDER A HEN.
One of the most important points to be observed in setting eggs for
hatching, is to correctly proportion the number, taking into consideration
their size, and the size of the hen about to sit upon them. The state of the
weather should also be a guide; for a hen capable of setting upon and hatch-
ing thirteen eggs in June ought not to have more than ten in January.
The great error of settmg a hen upon more eggs than she can cover is a
cause of very general disappointment. We have frequently seen cross-bred
game and other small hens set upon thirteen eggs, when it was perfectly clear
to us that it would be impossible for them all to receive a proper and equal
share of heat from her body. It is absolutely certain, also, that a hen cannot
hatch out chickens from those eggs which she cannot draw close up to her
body and give to them the natural warmth they require in the process of in-
cubation. This has been very clearly demonstrated to us; for upon one
occasion we placed fifteen eggs under a hen, when we ought not at any sea-
son to have given more than twelve, or, at the most, thirteen, and while out.
at feeding time, we examined the ncst and found only thirteen eggs left. We
at first thought the hen might have eaten them; but, after one or two exami
nations, we found sometimes thirteen and at others fourteen eggs present.
- We determined upon catching the hen one morning while off to feed, after
finding there were only thirteen eggs in the nest. We cautiously laid hold
of her, when she unfortunately dropped one egg and broke it; upon a further
examination we found the other missing egg under her wing. We replaced
the egg in the nest and found that she regularly removed one or two of them ;
thus it was apparent that she had more eggs under her than the surface of
her body could possibly cover by contact. This marvelous fact proved
the existence, first, of the beautiful principle we term instinct, and the ardent
natural desire for carrying out to the fullest extent the remarkable operation
we understand as incubation.
THE PROPER HENS TO SET.
A half-breed game or other small hen should be chosen for a natural in-
cubator — (they have always, with us, proved the best breed) — and nine of
her own eggs should be the extent ; if a Dorking or a large size mongrel hen
be selected, eleven are sufficient; a Cochin hen of some of the strains we
2
18 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
have seen, will even cover fifteen of her own or eggs of similar size; but
even in this instance, it is best to err on the safe side, and give her but thir-
teen eggs. Cochins and Brahmas have a large width of breast and a large
amount of fluff and feather, both features being highly conducive to success-
ful hatching, by assisting to retain the heat of the body of the birds and of
the eggs also.
CLOSE-SETTING HENS.
There are some hens over-anxious about the chicks within the shells,
whose cry for deliverance they can distinctly hear ; and they do not rise from
off the eggs during the process of chipping. This is an operation we have
continually observed with hens that are very successful in hatching, while
those which sit too closely at the last stages are those whose excess of kind-
ness has produced the non, or limited, success in hatching out good broods.
The only good arising from any sprinkling of the eggs with water results
from their having received an increased and life-saving supply of air during
such process, without which, in many instances, the chicks would either have
been suffocated or glued to the shell.
THE PROCESS OF INCUBATION
of the chicken is a subject not only curious but very interesting to the
student of nature. It generally takes twenty-one days to hatch a brood
of chickens, although a close-setting hen will sometimes
hatch in eighteen days, if the weather is favorable. The
A\\ expiration of the time should be carefully watched for;
Z\ not that the chicken requires any assistance, but, on the
contrary, interference is much more likely to prove an
} injury than a benefit. A healthy chick will perform all
that is required to free it from the shell. It is wonder-
ful the power they possess while rolled up in so apparently
MI exertion to free itself, is placed so as to leave room for
reaction, cmd to turn round, and thus to peck a circle, (as shown in the ac-
companying engraving,) and breaks around the large end of the shell, ad-
mitting the air by degrees, until it becomes gradually prepared to extricate
itself. A rash attempt to help them by breaking the shell, more particularly
in a downward direction, toward the smaller end, is frequently followed by a
loss of blood, which can ill be spared, and death ensues.
We place the nest in a warm, sheltered place, and have fresh food and
water near at hand so that the hen can help herself whenever sho is so in-
clined. Should the nest become dirty, change it, or even wash the eggs in
tepid water. As fast as the chickens break the shell, place them in a basket
of cotton-wool by the fire, to avoid the danger of the mother’s crushing
them while they are helpless. When all have hatched, they may be returned
to the hen. The yolk of a hard boiled egg should constitute their food dur-
helpless a mass; the head, however, that makes the most —
\
et Se
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 19
ing the first week; after which coarser food may be given. When fully
fledged, give them their liberty in the heat of the day, and house them be-
fore sunset. Never permit them to wander in the grass when the dew is on,
as more healthy fowls perish from this than any other cause. The chicks can
be fed to good advantage with cracked corn or a mush of potatoes and
Indian meal cooked. Feed should be given in small quantities, and fre-
quently, during the day.
CHANGES WHICH AN EGG UNDERGOES IN HATCHING.
In this connection we trust it will not be deemed out of place to give
what we find in an old volume of the Genesee Harmer and Gardeners’
Journal of July, 1833, relative to the wonderful changes which an egg
undergoes in hatching, from the first day till its final exclusion, accompanied
with three illustrations, showing the first, middle and last stages of the chick.
The same article appears in the American Poulterer’s Companion, erron-
eously credited to an English journal. This process of incubation is thus
minutely described :
Zz
2
ZS
=
SS
ES
3
—
“ip =
Z
Aq
FIRST, MIDDLE, AND LAST STAGES OF THE CHICK.
“The hen has scarcely sat on her eggs twelve hours, before some linea-
ments of the head and body of the chicken appear. The heart may be seen
to beat at the end of the second day; it has at that time somewhat the form
of a horseshoe, but no blood yet appears. At the end of two days, two
vesicles of blood are to be distinguished, the pulsation of .which is very
visible; one of these is the left ventricle, and the other the root of the great
artery. At the fiftieth hour, one auricle of the heart appears, resembling a:
noose folded down upon itself. The beating of the heart is first observed in
the auricle, and afterward in the ventricle. At the end of seventy hours, the
wings are distinguishable; and on the head two bubbles are seen for the
brain, one for the bill, and two for the fore and hind part of the head. To-
ward the end of the fourth day, the two auricles already visible draw nearer
to the heart than before. The liver appears toward the fifth day. At the
end of a hundred and thirty-one hours, the first voluntary motion is observed.
At the end of seven hours more, the lungs and the stomach become visible ;
20 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
and four hours afterward, the intestines, and loins, and the upper jaw. At
the hundred and forty-fourth hour, two ventricles are visible, and two drops
of blood instead of the single one which was seen before. The seventh day,
the brain begins to have some consistency. At the hundred and nineteenth
hour of incubation, the bill opens, and the flesh appears in the breast. In
four hours more, the breast-bone is seen. In six hours after this, the ribs
appear, forming from the back, and the bill is very visible, as well as the gall.
bladder. The bill becomes green at the end of two hundred and thirty-six
hours; and if the chicken be taken out of its covering, it evidently moves
itself. The feathers begin to shoot out toward the two hundred and fortieth
hour, and the skull becomes gristly. At the two hundred and sixty-fourth
hour, the eyes appear. At the two hundred and eighty-eighth, the ribs are
perfect. At the three hundred and thirty-first, the spleen draws near the
stomach, and the lungs to the chest. At the end of three hundred and fifty-
five hours, the bill frequently opens and shuts; and at the end of the
eighteenth day, the first cry of the chicken is heard. It afterward gets more
strength and grows continually, till at length it is enabled to set itself free
trom its confinement.
“In the whole of this process we must remark that every part appears at
its proper time; if, for example, the liver is formed on the fifth day, it is
founded on the preceding situation of the chicken, and on the changes that
were to follow. No part of the body could possibly appear either sooner or
later without the whole embryo suffering; and each of the limbs becomes
visible at the first moment. This ordination, so wise and so invariable, is
manifestly the work of a Supreme Be-
ing; but we must still more sensibly
acknowledge His creative powers, when
we consider the manner in which the
which compose the egg. How aston-
. ishing it must appear to an observing
mind, that ~in this substance there
should at all be the vital principle of
an animated being; that all the parts
of an animal’s body should be con-
cealed in it, and require nothing but
heat to unfold and quicken them ; that
the whole formation of the chicken
should be so constant and regular that,
exactly at the same time, the same
changes will take place in the gener-
ality of eggs; that the chicken, the moment it is hatched, is heavier than
the egg was before! But even these are not all the wonders in the for-
mation of the bird from the egg—for this instance will serve to illustrate
chicken is formed out of the parts —
Se eee
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 2
the whole of the feathered tribe — there are others altogether hidden from
our observation, and of which, from our very limited faculties, we must ever
remain ignorant.”
THE FERTILITY OF EGGS.
There is no difficulty whatever in testing the fertility of eggs. The way
to ascertain unfertile eggs at as early a period as possible is to take them
into a room moderately dark, and hold them between the eye and a candle or
lamp, in the manner represented in the engraving on the preceding page. The
eggs under a setting hen should be examined at least as early as the eighth
day after she commences incubation. If the egg be fertile, it will appear
opaque, or dark all over, except, perhaps, a small portion towards the top ;
but if it be unimpregnated, it will be still translucent, the light passing
through it almost as if new laid. After some experience the eggs can be dis-
tinguished at an earlier period, and a practiced hand can tell the unfertile
eggs even at the fourth day. Should the number withdrawn be considerable,
four batches set the same day may be given to three hens, or even two, and
the remainder given fresh eggs; and if not, the fertile eggs will get more
heat, and the brood come out all the stronger.
' THE PROPER FOOD AND FEEDING.
NEVER stint poultry in the variety or quality of their food. Good food
is positive economy. ‘The best and heaviest corn is the cheapest. The best
food is that which gives the most of what nature demands for the formation
of muscle, bone and fat. Fine bran, or middlings, is richer in two of these
important ingredients than any other one kind of food; but being deficient
‘In gluten, is not warmth-giving, and is better when combined with whole
grain, which, when mashed, forms a most wholesome and nutritious diet.
Barley is much used in Europe, but should never be the only food in the
poultry yard. Fowls do not fatten on it, though for a time they will thrive.
Oats are good as a change, but inferior in nutriment; if they are browned
or roasted and given freely, they prove a good egg-producing food. Buck-
wheat, however, is the best food to make fowls lay early. They devour the
7.19) THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
feed greedily, and its heating influence, in winter, is very perceptible. Hemp
seed is also productive of eggs, and is very strengthening ; it is one of the
best things that can be fed to fowls during the moulting season.
THE PROPER FOOD TO GIVE.
In preparing birds for exhibition, flax seed may be given occasionally ; it
increases the secretion of oil, and gives luster to their plumage. In giving
soft feed it should be mixed stiff— not mushy ; fowls do not relish it in the
latter state. A good food of this kind is composed of equal parts of fine
bran and Indian meal. This should be scalded or mixed with boiling hot
water to such a consistency that it will break or crumble when thrown upon
the ground. Another good soft feed is made of small potatoes, washed clean,
boiled, and mashed with an equal quantity of Indian meal. In giving soft
feed never use a feeding dish or trough. If the yards are clean, as they
should be, the ground is by far the best place to feed them from. The gravel
and sand, which adhere to the food, are necessary for digestion; besides,
poultry prefer to pick their food from the ground.
Do not, on any consideration, neglect to give poultry green food. A
little chopped vegetables of some kind, whether cabbage, lettuce, spinach,
onions or other greens, is better given every day than a great deal once or
twice a week. To secure perfect eggs, lime, in some form, ought to be fur-
nished. Broken bones, lime rubbish, oyster or clam shells, burned and
pounded fine, are all good. Beef or pork scraps are productive of good re-
sults. In the winter, when fowls. cannot supply themselves with insects,
worms or grubs, a scrap-cake, laid in the hen yard for them to pick at, or a
little chopped off and broken up and fed to them, adds not only to their
health but largely to the contents of the egg basket. An occasional dish of
raw meat, chopped into small pieces and given them will be devoured with
avidity. Another way, and one which we have practiced with good results,
is to get a sheep’s pluck and hang it up in the hennery, just high enough to
make the fowls fly up and pick it off by piece-meal. If fowls are over-fed
with meat it will show itself in the loss of feathers, and prove very detri-
mental to the brood. Some breeders feed game fowls largely on fresh
meat — claiming that it creates a pugnacious disposition in the cock. What-
ever is done in the matter of feeding, regularity, as to time, is essential to
success.
REARING FOWLS FOR MARKET AND EGGS.
®
THE BEST BREED TO REAR FOR MARKET.
Tue best breed of fowls to rear for the market, or as egg-producers, de-
pends upon locality ; for while, in some places, one variety is deemed the
best, in others it would prove the reverse. Our own opinion is, that, for a
market fowl, the Brahmas and Cochins will, under almost all circumstances,
prove the most desirable, they being less liable to disease, feathering up
quickly, and can be bred to weigh, at from four to six months of age,
eight to ten pounds. Another good table fowl is the Dorking (cock) crossed
with the Brahma (hen). The flesh of this cross is sweet and nutritious, and
acquires at early age the plumpness of the Dorking at maturity. There are
other breeds, however, which are said to be desirable to rear for the table.
Many claim that the French breeds of fowls are of this number; but this we
very much doubt, as their flesh lacks the buttery, golden color that attracts
the eye of the epicure. They may prove valuable as egg-producers, but
they lack many good qualities as a table bird. Dorkings are undoubtedly
at the head of the list as table birds, but of late years have become so subject
to disease that we question the feasibility of rearing them profitably for mar-
ket in our changeable northern climate. —
THE BEST AS EGG-PRODUCERS..
As egg-producers the Hamburgs are claimed to stand at the head of the
- jist. This claim we are prepared to dispute; for, as winter layers, we
find that the Brahma, Cochin, Leghorn, Poland, and Houdan stand rela-
tively in the position here named. That the Hamburgs are good egg-pro-
ducers we admit ; but that they are any better than a number of non-setting
fowls, so called, we deny. The richness and meatiness of their eggs are not
to be compared with those of the Poland, Leghorn, Houdan or Brahma; and
their eggs lack the size of those named. All things considered, we have no
hesitancy in saying that for eggs we should name the Polands ; for the table,
Dorkings, and for early marketable chickens, Brahmas and Cochins.
A correspondent of Moore’s Rural New- Yorker, who has had consider-
able experience in rearing fowls for profit, says:—‘*‘The Farmer’s Breed is
the breed for profit. It consists of Brahma hens and colored Dorking
94 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
cocks — the chicks from which are hardy, easily reared, grow fast, and in
four months, without extra feed, will dress four to five pounds each of fine-
grained, well-formed, plump-breasted, well-colored flesh, fit for the table of
any amateur or epicure, and always commanding a good price in market.
The hens from this cross are even better and more continuous layers than
either pure Brahma or the Dorking; but if wanted to breed again, the
farmer must keep one coop separate of Brahmas — say a cock and two
hens — and so also of the Dorkings, and thus yearly with the cross of pure
bred birds, cocks of the Dorkings, and hens of the Brahmas, keep up the
‘ Farmer's Breed for profit.”
FATTENING AND PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET,
THE MANNER OF FATTENING.
AutTHoucH the manner of fattening poultry may seem to be extremely
plain, there is, nevertheless, a right and a wrong way, a long and a short
mode of accomplishing the object desired. Many breeders who rear fowls
for the market believe in letting poultry forage and shift for themselves,
while others believe the best method is in keeping them constantly in high
feed. This is just our idea; for where a steady and regular profit is required
from rearing poultry, or a business is made thereof, the very best .method,
whether for domestic use or for the market, is constant high keep from the
beginning. Thus they will always be in a saleable condition and ready for
the table. As the American Poulterer’s Companion justly says, fowls kept
in this way need but very little extra attention. Their flesh will be superior
in juiciness and richer in flavor than those which are fattened from a low
and emaciated state. Fed in the manner above indicated, spring pullets are
particularly fine, commanding the highest price on the market, and proving a
' most healthful, nourishing and restorative food.
FEEDING HOUSES.
Our mode of constructing feeding houses or coops is to have them so they
will be,at once warm and airy, with earthen floors, well raised, and capacious _
enough for the accommodation of from twenty to thirty-five fowls; the floor,
if desired, may be slightly littered with straw, but the litter should be fre-
placed on the table.
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 25
quently changed, and great care taken to secure cleanliness, for fear of ver-
min. As we have before said, the coops should be well supplied with feed-
ing-troughs which should always be kept full of feed, and which can be got
at easily by the fowls. Perches should also be placed but a few feet from
the ground, so they can be reached without much effort ; those made in the
form of stairs, having the poles one above the other, (slanting,) are the best.
Fowls cooped in this way may be fattened in a short time and to the highest
pitch, and be preserved in a perfectly healthy state. There is no necessity,
in our opinion, to confine fowls in dark coops and practice the art of cram-
ming to fatten them properly; this mode is an abomination, and should not
be followed by any breeder of common sense.
MODE OF FATTENING FOWLS IN COOPS.
In fattening fowls confined in coops, old writers recommend feeding them
with bread, soaked in ale, wine, or milk; barley mixed with milk, and sea-
soned with mustard or anise seed ; while others recommend cramming them
three or four times a day ; also keeping them in a dark. place, and not allow-
ing them any exercise. Brap1zEy says, “the best way, and the quickest, to
fatten them, is to put them into coops as usual, and feed them with barley
meal, being particular to put a small quantity of brick dust in their water,
which they should never be without. This last will give them an appetite
for their meat, and fatten them very soon.” Yet another writer says they
should be shut up where they can get no gravel; keep corn by them all the
time, and also give them dough enough for one feed a day. For drink, give
them skimmed milk; with this feed they will fatten in ten days; if they are
kept over ten days, they should have some gravel, or they will fall away.
The mode of fattening poultry, extensively practiced in Liverpool, Eng-
land, is to feed them with steamed or baked potatoes, warm, three or four
times a day; the fowls are taken in good condition from the yard, confined
in dry, well-ventilated coops, and covered in, so as to prevent the entrance
of too much light. It is said this method is attended with the greatest
success. .
NO POULTRY SHOULD BE PERMITTED TO RUN AT LARGE
for at least ten days before killing, for they are apt to range in the barn-
yards, and pick up filthy food, which permeates all through the bird, and
frequently they become so tainted that they are unfit to eat, after being
PROPER FOOD FOR FATTENING.
-In all cases in fattening fowls, whether old or young, we should recom-
mend that the food be cooked and fed warm. Barley meal, or mixed with
equal quantities of Indian meal, made into a thick paste or porridge and fed
warm, is about as good a feed as we know of, and seems to make flesh faster
and more solid, and give it a golden color and plump appearance after being
dressed.
26 , THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
KILLING AND DRESSING.
As much if not more depends on the manner of killing poultry as in the
dressing to have it look fit for market. 'Too much caution cannot be used in
this branch of the business. One mode of killing fowls, (instead of wringing
the necks, which we deprecate,) is to cut their heads off with a single blow
of a sharp ax, hang them up by the legs, and allow them to bleed freely, and
pluck their feathers immediately — while warm. The French mode, which
is highly commended, we think far the best, as it causes instant death without
pain or disfigurement, ‘and is simply done by opening the beak of the fowl,
and with a sharp-pointed and narrow-bladed knife, make an incision at the
back of the roof, which will divide the vertebra and cause immediate death,
after which hang the fowl up by the legs till the bleeding ceases, and pick it
while warm, if you desire the feathers to be removed. With a little care
the skin of the fowl does not become as torn and ragged as it does in the
old-fashioned way of scalding. Another thing, the ‘flesh presents a better
and more natural appearance when not scalded.
GEYELIN says :—‘Some breeders cram their poultry before killing, to
make them appear heavy ; this is a most injudicious plan, as the undigested
food soon enters into fermentation, and putrefaction takes place, as is evi-
denced by the quantity of greenish, putrid-looking fowls that are seen in the
markets.” Fowls should always be allowed to remain in their coops at least
twenty-four hours previous to being killed, without food; by so doing, the
breeder will be the gainer in the end, as his poultry will keep. longer and
present a better appearance in the market; and, above all, he will show the
purchaser that he is honest, and has not crammed his poultry for the purpose
of benefiting himself and swindling others.
THE FRENCH MODE OF KILLING
is preferable, when the head of the bird is to be left on; but that is not
necessary, neither is it desirable; but when the head is taken off, the skin
should always be pulled over the stump and tied. The mode of picking
while the bird is warm is called “ dry picking,” and is the favorite method
of dressing poultry for the Philadelphia market. There is one objection to
this system, that it does not improve the appearance, although it does the
flavor ; and while cooking it will “plump up” and come out of the oven
looking much finer than when it went in. In addition, it wili keep much
longer than when dressed by the other mode. Another ptan is, after the
bird is picked, as above described, plunge it in a kettle of very hot water,
holding it there only long enough to cause the bird te “ plump,” then hang it
up, turkeys and chickens by the foot, and geese and ducks by the head, until
thoroughly cooled. This scalding makes the fat look bright and clear, and the
fowl to appear much fatter than it would if picked dry. This is the usual
mode of dressing for the New York markets.
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 2%
BOXING POULTRY FOR MARKET.
On the subject of boxing poultry for market Dr. Benner says :—“It
should be carefully packed in baskets or boxes, and above all, it should be
kept from the frost. A friend of mine, who was very nice-in these matters,
used to bring his turkeys to market in the finest order possible, and always
obtained a ready sale and the highest market price. His method was to pick
them dry, while warm, and dress them in the neatest manner; then take a
long, deep, narrow, tight box, with a stick running from end to end of the
box, and hang the turkeys by the legs over the stick, which prevents bruising
or-disfiguring them in the least.” ‘The way poultry is frequently forwarded
to city markets is enough to disgust almost any one, and throws odium on
breeders as a class.
THE MODE OF PACKING.
All poultry should be thoroughly cooled before packing. Then provide
boxes, for they are preferable to barrels; place a layer of rye straw that
has been thoroughly cleaned from dust, on the bottom. Commence packing
aS <<
Ie yp rf yA ==
ae
FI@. I. FIeé. I.
by bending the head of the fowl under it (see figure 1.) Then lay it in the
left hand corner, with the head against the end of the box, with the back
up; continue to fill that row in the same manner until completed; then begin
the second row the same way, letting the head of the bird pass up between
the rump of the two adjoining ones, which will make it complete and solid,
(see figure 2.) In packing the last row, reverse the order, placing the head
against the end of the box, letting the feet pass under each other; should
there be a space left between these two rows wide enough to lay in a few
sideways, do so, passing the feet under the same way, but should it not be
wide enough, then fill tight with straw, so the poultry cannot move. This
gives a uniformity of appearance, and a firmness in packing that will prevent
moving during transportation. Over this layer, place straw enough to pre.
vent one layer from coming in contact with the other; then add other layers,
packed in the same manner, until the box is filled.
Care should be taken to have the box filled full, in order to prevent any
disarrangement of the contents; for should they become misplaced, the skin
- may become so badly disfigured as to cause a depreciation of the value to
the owner. Great care should be taken in packing not to skin the bird,
28 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
for during transportation, the skinned places turn black and make it look
badly. To those having extra fine poultry to send to market, we would
recommend to put paper over each layer before placing the straw on it; this
prevents the dust settling on it, and adds much to its appearance. A little
practice will soon make a person quite expert in packing, and for a person
buying to ship an expert packer is valuable ; his skill will pay the owner ten
times his cost, for very frequently the first sight of a box of poultry sells it.
MARKING THE BOXES, ETC.
The box should have the initials of the consignor, the number and variety
of the contents, as well as the name of the consignee, marked on it. The
necessity for marking the number and variety of contents is, that in case the
box is broken open and any portion of the contents missing before delivery
to the consignee, they will be enabled to make a correct bill for the missing
poultry. Another advantage is, that the consignee knows by a glance at the
box whether it contains the desired variety he wishes; if not, he need not
open it, and the contents will not receive a needless handling ; for some par-
ties prefer a mixed box, while others do not, and all dealers prefer selling the
entire contents of the box to one person, as it avoids error in weighing and
keeping the accounts. To those wishing to market capons we would say,
they should be dry picked, with the feathers on around the head and the tip
of the wings; also the tail feathers left in; the small or pin feathers should
all be removed.
SEND GEESE FOR CHRISTMAS,
as they are in demand at that time, and bring more money than any other
poultry. All Irishmen and many Germans think it is not Christmas with-
out a goose for dinner. Send all large turkeys before New Year’s, as they
are wanted to adorn the New Year’s table; and they depreciate in price
immediately after that day. Small turkeys are then in better demand, while
chickens and ducks can be sent any time after they are fattened, and never
until then.
Persons living at a distance from the city and desiring to send their
poultry to market for any particular occasion, should allow at least two days
longer for its transportation than usual, so that it will not miss the market
for that occasion ; for the dealer had better receive it a day or two sooner
than one hour too late.
PURCHASING POULTRY FOR THE TABLE.
As we have given the modus operandi for fattening fowls for market, &c.,
we now have a word of caution to offer those purchasing poultry which may
not, perhaps, come amiss. Those who are not good judges of poultry, as to
their age, may, and often do, have old, tough fowls palmed off upon them by
an unscrupulous dealer.
Fowls are killed and prepared for market with much adroitness and care
SS
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 29
by some dealers, and many devices practiced to catch the eye of the un-
sophisticated purchaser — the best side of the poultry being shown to the
greatest advantage. Every sort of fowl is killed, plucked and put on the
market, and if the purchaser buys an inferior article at an exorbitant price,
he has only himself to blame for so doing.
HOW TO JUDGE THE AGE OF POULTRY.
The age of a plucked fowl can be judged simply by the legs. If the scales
on the leg of a hen are rough and the spur hard, it will not be necessary to see
the head to determine that she is old ; still the head will corroborate your
observation; if that of an old hen, the bill will be stiff and hard, and the
comb rough and thick. The scales on the leg of a young hen are smooth,
glossy and fresh colored, whatever the color may.be; only the rudiments of
spurs are observable; the claws tender and short, the under bill soft, the
comb thin and smooth. An old hen turkey has rough scales on the legs, cal-
losities on the soles or bottom of the feet, and long, strong claws; while a
young turkey has the reverse of these marks. A young goose or duck can be
readily told by the tenderness of the skin under the wings, the strength of
the joints of the legs, and the coarseness of the skin.
If the foregoing directions are strictly followed, in purchasing poultry,
we will venture the assertion that the “good housewife” will have no fault
to find with the length of time it takes to cook, or the toughness of her
Thanksgiving turkey, goose or chicken. This mode of finding out the age
of fowls is infallible.
PURCHASING UNDRAWN POULTRY.
We are one of a score of housekeepers who object, in toto, to the pur-
chasing of poultry unless it be drawn. The habit of forcing fowls on the
market undrawn, and allowing them to freeze and thaw, (generally with full
crops,) by which process they become fetid and turn green cannot prove
otherwise than unwholesome food — not fit to be eaten. No fowls should be
purchased by housekeepers unless they are properly cleaned and drawn. In
many cities there is a fine imposed upon the person for offering undrawn
poultry upon the market for sale.
TO PRESERVE POULTRY IN WINTER.
This is a matter not fully understood, and for the information of the gen-
eral reader we cannot do better than to give the mode practiced by the ven-
erable Judge BuEL, in preserving poultry in winter. He says :—‘“I pur-
chased a quantity of poultry for winter use early in November. The insides
were carefully drawn, their place partially filled with charcoal, and the poul-
try hung in an airy loft. It was used through the winter, till about the first
of February, and although some were kept seventy days none of it was the
least affected with must or taint, the charcoal having kept it perfectly sweet.”
VARIETIES OF FOWLS.
HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, Erc., OF THE BREEDS.
THE BRAHMAS.
We have seen Brahmas which we considered the ne plus ultra of the
feathered tribe. English breeders claim everything that is good for these
DARK BRAHMA COCK.
birds, and lose sight of their faults. We have bred the Brahmas, both Light
and Dark, and thought highly of them; still they did not prove good layers
with us. Since we have discarded them we have found out the reason of our
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. ol
ill-suecess — it was over-feeding. This may seem strange, but nevertheless
it is a fact. We fed them all they could eat ‘“‘and more too.” The conse-
quence was we did not get from them the number of eggs we otherwise
DARK BRAHMA HEN.
should. Feeding fowls enough to keep them in good heart and over-feeding
them are two different things. In the first instance you are “just and gen-
erous ” with them, in feeding just enough — in the other case you are “ kill-
mg them with kindness” by over-feeding, which makes them dumpish and
lazy, and inclined to be perpetual sitters. We believe that Brahmas well
kept will make a very profitable fowl to breed. They are good layers, good
sitters, and make the best of mothers, if the breeder knows how to handle
them. They are objected to by many poultry fanciers, from their clumsi-
ness — many aver that they are liable to break their eggs, when sitting, by
32 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
getting off and on their nests. If the nests were put in the proper place,
this fault would be obviated. Always make the nests low — on the ground
or floor of the hennery is best; nail cleats around them of two-inch
boards, not higher than two and one-half inches, to keep the eggs from roll-
ing out, and you need have no fears of any being broken.
It is said the Brahmas are an Asiatic breed of fowls, and that they
were first brought to this country by a sailor, who said he got them from the
banks of the Brahmapootra— a river that waters the territory of Assam.
How true this is we cannot say, but it is claimed that the Brahmas in this
country sprung from this source, and that English breeders are indebted to
America for the beautiful fowls of this breed they possess. These birds are
highly prized in England —a pair of them having lately been sold for $350.
Dark Braumas.—The Dark Brahmas are claimed by many breeders to
be the best of the Brahma variety, but we opine there are just as many who
stand ready to claim that the Light are equally as good, if not a better
breed. Still some breeders claim that the flesh of the Dark is richer and
more palatable than that of the Light. Our opinion is that the difference
between the two colors is all fancy, one proving just as good as the other,
under similar management. Javing bred both colors, we have yet to learn
the distinctive difference between them. The plumage of the Dark does
not show the same mussiness of feather as the Light; still, if kept in a clean,
dry hennery, as fowls always should be, the difference is imaginary.
The head of the cock should be surmounted with what is termed a “ pea-
comb,” which resembles three small combs running parallel the length of the
head, the center one the highest; beak strong, well curved; wattles full;
ear-lobes red, well rounded and falling below the wattles. The neck should
be short, well curved; hackle full, silvery white striped with black, flowing
well over the back and sides of the breast; feathers at the head should be
white. Back very short, wide and flat, rising into a nice, soft, small tail,
carried upright ; back almost white; the saddle feathers white, striped with
black, and the longer the better. The soft rise from the saddle to the tail,
and the side feathers of the tail to be pure lustrous green black, (except a
few next the saddle,) slightly ticked with white, the tail feathers pure black.
The breast should be full and broad, and carried well forward; feathers
black, tipped with white. Wings small, and well tucked up under the sad-
dle-feathers and thigh fluff. A good black bar across the wing is important.
The fluff on the hinder parts and thighs should be black or dark gray ; lower
part of the thighs covered with soft feathers, nearly black. The markings
of the hen are nearly similar to those of the cock. Both sexes should have
rather short yellow legs, (those of the hen the shorter,) and profusely
feathered on the outside. The carriage of the hen is full, but not so upright
as that of the cock. The markings of the hen, except the neck and tail, are
the same all over, each feather having a dingy white ground, closely penciled
with dark steel gray, nearly up to the throat on the breast.
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34 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
Licut Braumas.—Pure Light Brahma fowls are chiefly white in color of
plumage, but if the feathers are parted, the bottom of the plumage will ap-
pear of a bluish-gray, showing an important distinction between them and
White Cochins, in which the feathers are always white down to the skin.
The neck-hackles should be distinctly striped with black down the center of
each feather. The plume of the cock is often lighter than that of the hen ;
the back should be quite white in both sexes. The wings should appear white
when folded, but the flight feathers are black ; the tail black in both cock and
hen ; in the cock, however, it is well developed, and the coverts show splen-
did green reflections in the light ; it should stand tolerably upright, and open
well out laterally, like a fan; the legs should be yellow and well covered
with white feathers, which may or may not be very slightly mottled with
black ; ear-lobes must be pure red, and every bird should have a perfect pea-
comb, though fine birds with a single comb have occasionally been shown
with good success ; but, as a general thing, the pea-comb fowl shows off to
the best advantage, and attracts universal commendation by both the amateur
and breeder.
; THE CHITTAGONGS.
Years ago this breed of fowls was looked upon as possessing a great
deal of merit, but in these latter days of Brahma and Cochin fever they have
been lost sight of, and we scarcely hear the name of Chittagong mentioned ;
though we firmly believe the Buff and White Cochins owe their parentage
to a cross with the Chittagong and Shanghae breed. Kzerrr’s “Ornamental
Poultry Breeder” says the plumage of the Chittagong is very showy and of
various colors; the birds being exceedingly hardy. In some, gray predomi-
nates, interspersed with lightish yellow and white feathers in the pullets; the
legs being of a reddish flesh-color, and more or less feathered; the comb
large and single; wattles very full, wings good size; the model is graceful,
carriage proud and easy, and action prompt and determined. ‘The flesh of
this breed is delicately white. The cocks, at eight or nine months of age,
weigh from nine to ten pounds, and the hens from eight to nine pounds.
They do not lay as many eggs during the year as smaller hens, but they lay
as many pounds as the best breeds. The Red variety of Chittagongs are
smaller than the gray; legs being yellow and blue; the wings and tail short;
comb single and rose-colored. An ordinary pair will weigh from sixteen to
eighteen pounds. In the dark-red variéty the cock is black on the breast and
thighs; the hens yellow or brown, with single serrated comb; legs yellow
and heavily beoted with black feathers. The Chittagongs as a breed is
quite leggy, in many instances, the cock standing twenty-six inches high, and
the hens twenty-two.
THE COCHIN CHINAS.
Birds of this breed are becoming more and more favorites with the gen-
eral breeder, not only in England, but also in this country. They are de-
servedly high in the standard of merit in this country on account of their
Le —S
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 35
hardiness and good laying and breeding qualities. A friend of ours who has
had considerable experience with the Asiatic breeds of fowls, considers the
Butt Cochins better adapted to our severe and changeable climate than either
the Brahma, Chittagong or Shanghae. He avers that they (the Cochins)
S
SSN
BUFF COCHIN COCK.
require less care, and pay for their feed in extra amount of flesh, and rich-
ness, and quality of eggs. His hens have weighed ten pounds each, and the
cock fifteen pounds, and stands over two feet in hight. He allows his hens
to have but one good setting a year, and breaks up this propensity in about
two or three days by removing them to a coop with a bottom made of rollers
Bis) THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
two inches in diameter, and gives them little or no feed and fresh water. He
thinks a hard bed a good cure for indolent habits. Although called Cochin
Chinas, the Buff Cochins are the real Shanghaes. They were unknown to
the Southern Chinese, and they never claimed them as their native fowl, and
were as much astonished at their size as we were when they first came to
this country. The Shanghae breed had feathered and unfeathered legs, but
were more frequently unfeathered. Fashion, however, calls for booted-legs.
There are three varieties of color — Buff, Lemon and Cinnamon. The Buff
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BUFF COCHIN HEN.
seem to be the most desired. There are also Silver Buffs and Silver Cinna-
mons. The latter, if well marked, are very beautiful and rare.
"The carriage of the cock should be upright and majestic; breast very
broad, forming a straight line from the crop to the thighs; back short and
wide ; tail very slightly raised, and the wings very short and held tightly to
the sides; the legs, thighs and saddles unusually large in proportion to the
vest of the body ; head small and carried weil up; a stout, curved and yel-
low beak, with plenty of substance at the base, and the shorter the better.
The carriage of the hen must be similar in general character to the cock, ex-
p
él
THE PEOPLN’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 37
eepting that the head is carried much lower; and a gentle, pleasing expres-
sion of face is a mark of high bred specimens. The hackle of the cock
should be very full and of a light bay color, spreading over the base of the
wings and free from any markings. The hen’s hackle should be a distinct,
clear buff, free from any markings; a slight penciling is preferable to a
clouded one. The saddles of the cock and hen should also be free from any
markings. Cockerels of the year, though imperfect, will, if of pure blood,
in the second year moult out perfectly clear. A black tail in the cock is ad-
missible; but the principal feathers, if bronze in color, add very much to the
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PAIR OF PARTRIDGE COCHINS.
appearance of the bird; if of buff color, will throw dark pullets. The breast
of the cock and hen should be clear buff, the feathers running somewhat
lighter in color towards the tip, showing a waving appearance in sunlight.
Both primary and secondary quills should be clear buff, without admixture
of colors. The legs should be very heavily feathered, short, and wide apart.
The comb in cock and hen should be very flat, evenly serrated and perfectly
straight, without any inclination to either side. The wattles of the cock thin
and fine, perfectly florid in color, ear-lobes well developed, long, thin and
fine; any white is a decided blemish. The eye of the cock should be yed-
38 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
low-ochre colored; in the hen a little darker than those of the cock; and,
strange to say, these characteristics denote a sound constitution. A clear,
dark-winged cock throws the best chickens. Vulture hocks in Cochins are
clearly inadmissible, and should never be tolerated at any exhibition; they
show mixed blood, and, if bred out, will revert back again. Hocked birds
are frequently awarded the highest premium at shows in this country — in_
England they are disqualified.
THE SHANGHAES.
The Shanghae fowl was highly estimated on its first introduction in this
country in 1847, and for a long time thereafter considered the best of the
Asiatic breed, but of late years we hear very little mention made of them.
They are entirely ignored even from our poultry shows. As we have said
elsewhere, the Cochins have superseded the Shanghae breed entirely. A well-
bred cock, when full-grown, stands twenty-eight inches high; the hen from
twenty to twenty-three inches. The hen has a slightly curved beak, the
forehead well arched ; comb low, single, erect, slightly and evenly toothed ;
wattles small and curved inward, the eyes are bright and prominent, the neck
about eight inches long and gently arched when held upright; the body long
znd greatly arched; the girth of the body of a good specimen, when meas-
ured over the wings, is about twenty inches; the legs are rather long, of a
pale yellow color, with a tinge of flesh-color, and generally thickly covered _
with feathers from the outside down to the toe. The plumage is remarkably
soft and silky, and, beneath the tail, densely fluffy and rounded. The comb
of the cock is high, deeply indented, and his wattles double and large.
‘Though the comb and wattles are not to be regarded as the chief character-
istics i this breed of fowls, nor are its reddish-yellow feathered legs; but
the abundant, soft and downy covering of the thighs, hips, and region of the
vent, together with the remarkably short tail, are characteristics not found in
any other bird. The wings are small and short in proportion to the size of
the fowl, being carried very high up the body, thus exposing the whole of
the thighs, and a large portion of the side. The arrangement of the feathers
gives the bird a greater depth of quarter, in proportion to the brisket, than
any fowl with which we are conversant. There are Shanghae fowls of Black,
Gray, Buff, Cinnamon and Partridge-color. These are termed sub-varieties.
White is said to have been the color of the original imported birds, the other
colors having been bred in this country. Mr. Bowman, an eminent English
breeder of the Shanghae, says of the fecundity of this breed, that he had
‘a pullet that laid one hundred and twenty eggs in a hundred and twenty-
five days, then stopped six days, then laid sixteen eggs more, stopped four
days, and again continued her laying.” The eggs are not so rich and nutri-
tious as those of the Dorking; neither are they remarkably large compared
to the size of the fowl; they are of a pale yellow or nankeen color, and gen-
erally blunt at the ends. The flesh of the Shanghae is quite inferior to that
of the smaller breeds, being coarse-grained, neither tender nor juicy, and
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 39
| have more offal and less breast-meat than either Cochins or Brahmas. They
are not inclined to ramble, and, on this account, bear confinement much bet- ~
ter than many other breeds.
Tae Waitt SHancHar.—tThis variety is entirely white, with the legs
usually feathered, and differs in no material respect from the red, yellow, and
Partridge, except in color. The legs are yellowish, or reddish-yellow, and
sometimes of flesh-color. Many prefer them to all others. It is claimed by
the friends of this variety that they are larger and more quiet than other
varieties, that their flesh is much superior, their eggs larger, and the hens
more profitable. Being more quiet in their habits, and less inclined to ram-
ble, the hens are invaluable as incubators and nurses; and the mildness of
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their disposition makes them excellent foster-mothers, as they never injure
the chickens belonging to other hens. These fowls will rank among the
largest coming from China, and are very thrifty in our climate. A cock of
this variety attained a weight of eight pounds, at about the age of eight’
months, and the pullets of the same breed were proportionably large. They
are broad on the back and breast, with a body well rounded up; the plumage
white, with a downy softness — in the latter respect much like the feathering
of the Bremen goose; the tail-feathers short and full; the head small, sur-
mounted by a small, single, serrated comb; wattles long and wide, overlay-
40 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
ing the cheek-piece, which is also large, and extends back on the neck; and
the legs of a yellow hue,'approaching a flesh-color, and feathered to the ends
of the toes.
THE MALAYS. -
This breed of fowls is very large and clumsy, and possesses no particular
merits that we are aware of, unless it be in size. They are decidedly Shang-
haeish in appearance and action. The usual hight of the cock is from
twenty-six to twenty-eight inches, and weighs on an average from ten to_
twelve pounds. We reared the fowls in 1857 on a small scale, and found
them in attitude uncouth, their gait being heavy and destitute of alertness.
Wricut says of this breed, that “in form and make they are as different
- from Cochins as can well be. They are exceedingly long in the neck and
Dm
Cy
PAIR OF MALAYS.
legs, and the carriage is so upright that the back forms a steep incline. The
wings are carried high, and project very much at the shoulders. Towards
the tail, on the contrary, the body becomes narrow — the conformation being
thus exactly opposite to that of the Shanghae. The tail is small, and that of
the cock droops. The plumage is very close, firm, and glossy, more so than
that of any other breed, giving to the bird a peculiar luster when viewed
in the light. The colors vary very much. We consider pure white the most
beautiful of all; but the most usual is that well known under the title of
brown-breasted red game. The legs are yellow, but quite naked. The head
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. | 4]
and beak are long, the latter being rather hooked. Comb low and flat, cov-
ered with small prominences like warts. Wattles and deaf-ears very small.
Eye usually yellow. The whole face and a great part of the throat are red
and naked, and the whole expression ‘snaky’ and cruel. This is not belied
by the real character of the breed, which is most ferocious, even more so than
Game fowls, though inferior to the latter in real courage.”
THE FRIZZLED.
We can find no difference between the “ crisp-feathered ” and French
frizzled fowl. LAyarp says these fowls were first found in Batavia, but Trm-
MINCK avers they are natives of Southern Asia, and are largely bred and
TRIO OF FRIZZLED FOWLS.
domesticated in Java, Sumatra, and on all the Philippine Islands. They are
known by Brisson as Gallus crispus (frizzled fowl,) and as Gallus pennis
revolutis (fowl with rolled-back feathers) by Linnarus. The prevailing
color of these birds is white, but there are many specimens variously colored
with black and brown. We were highly impressed with their novel appear-
ance, and, as ALDROVANDUS says in his description of them, two peculiarities
of the cock attracted our particular attention and admiration. First, that
the feathers of the wings had a contrary situation to those of other birds;
the side which in others is undermost or inmost, in this was turned outward,
42 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
so that the whole wing appears inverted; the other, that the feathers of the
neck were reflected towards the head, like a crest or ruff, the whole tail
feathers turning in the same manner.
As near as we can learn, this variety of fowl does not possess any peculiar
advantages over the common barn-yard breed, and is more interesting as a
curiosity than valued for any practical purposes. They would undoubtedly
thrive in our warm southern far better than in our cold northern climate.
The hens make good mothers; they breed freely with all other domestic
fowls, and the offspring is prolific without end, the chicks being perfectly
hardy, and make a good table fowl, though rather small.
THE DORKINGS.
In years gone by the Dorkings were the favorite fowls in this country,
and the only reason we can assign for their degeneracy is the improper care
they have received and the continual in-and-in breeding. To rear Dorkings
profitably it is essential that a good, long runway should be provided on
a clay or gravelly soil for the chicks. They never should be allowed to run
on wooden or brick floors. If this is carefully attended to the chickens will
thrive and grow well, and make hardy fowls.
There are two species of these fowls— the white and the colored Dork-
ings. The former is the favorite bird of old fanciers, and a writer in the
Poultry (English) Chronicle makes the following remarks on this breed of
fowls :—“* The old Dorking, the pure Dorking, the only Dorking, is the
White Surrey Dorking. It is of good size, compact and plump form, with
short neck, short white legs, five toes, a full comb, a large breast, and a
plumage of spotless white. They are hardy, lay well, and are excellent
mothers.”
Wuite Dorxinec.—We have reared the White Surrey Dorkings for a
number of years, and fully coincide with the writer in the Chronicle. To
our mind, no fowl is more essential to the farm-yard than the pure White
Surrey Dorking. The first pen of Dorkings we ever experimented with were
purchased of Judge 8.8. Bowne, in 1852. His stock was procured from
imported fowls of Dr. Ensen Wicur of Boston, who was at that time the
largest breeder of fancy fowls in this country. Our experiments with the
Dorking prove them to be fowls not to be despised. They are not early
layers, but make up this deficiency in the number and quality of eggs they
produce. They are easily fattened, and their flesh is of the very best quality.
In speaking of the weight of the Dorking, the Practical Poultry Keeper
says :—“‘ It is difficult to give a standard ; but we consider that a cock which
weighs Jess than ten pounds, or a hen under eight and a half pounds, would
stand a poor chance at a first-class show.” We have never, in our ex-
perience, seen one brought to this weight, not even by high feeding. Our
yearling fowls have often been brought to weigh from six to eight pounds.
The practice of crossing Dorking pullets with a game cock is much in
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 43
vogue, with the object of improving a worn out stock. This, however, would
be better accomplished by procuring a fresh bird of the same kind, but not
related. This cross shows itself in single combs, loss of a claw, or an occa-
sional red feather, and, what is still more objectionable, in pale yellow legs,
wiih -—
WHITE DORKING COCK.
and a yellow circle about the beak. These are faults in the Dorking to be
avoided by breeders generally.
SILVER Gray Dorxine.—Among the breeds of colored Dorkings which
are now attracting attention in this country with fanciers, is the Silver Gray
variety. Nearly all authorities aver that this breed is a chance offshoot from
the White Dorking, the breed having been perpetuated by careful breeding.
Still, colored birds frequently throw silver-gray chicks, but disappointments
44 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
are as often sure to follow in breeding for this cross, unless, when obtained,
the strain is kept pure for years, as in the case of the Derby Red Game fowls.
The only way to accomplish this is to remove all chicks from the pens that
do not show the perfect markings of the parent stock.
Mr. Hewirr of Sussex, says the colored Dorkings are decidedly the most
useful of all fowls for general table purposes, and a very important point in
the consideration of the Gray Dorkings is that they grow rapidly and are in
good condition at almost any age, if at all freely supplied with food. The
distinguishing colors of the Silver Gray Dorking cock are perfectly black
breast, tail, and larger tail coverts; the head, neck, hackle, back, saddle and
wingbow a clear, pure, silvery white. Across the wings there should be a
PAIR OF GRAY DORKINGS.
well-marked black bar, contrasting in a very striking, beautiful manner with
the white outer web of the quill-feathers and the silvery white hackle and
saddle. The breast of the hen should be of a salmon-red color, passing into
gray towards the thighs. The neck a silvery white, striped with black; the
back silver gray, with the white of the shafts of the feathers distinctly
marked; the wings a silvery or slaty gray, and free from any tendency to
redness ; the tail a dark gray, the inside nearly black.
Dorkings, like other breeds of fowls, are apt to degenerate very fast from
inter-breeding, therefore care should be taken to introduce fresh blood fre-
quently, or disappointments are sure to follow.
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 45
Mr. Dovetas, an eminent English breeder, says he has found the dark-
colored Dorkings the most hardy and heaviest in flesh. He once had a cock
weighing fourteen and a half pounds at two years, and several hens at eleven
pounds each. He claims that early Dorking pullets will lay all the winter,
although not so freely as some other breeds. They lay from thirty-five to
fifty eggs before wanting to sit. As mothers, they are perfectly docile, and
allow themselves to be handled at will; chickens from other hens may be
placed with them, which they will take to at once. These fowls are not
classed among the roamers, but are rather of the stay-at-homeativeness birds,
therefore are of little trouble to the housewife, and can be easily reared.
Fawn-cotorEeD Dorxine.—A writer in one of the agricultural journals
of New England gives the followimg description of the Fawn-colored and
Black breed of Dorkings. He says the fawn-colored bird is made up of a
cross between the White Dorking and the fawn-colored Turkish fowl. They
are of lofty carriage, handsome and remarkably healthy. The cocks weigh
from eight to nine pounds, and the hens from six to seven; they come to
maturity quite early for so large a fowl. Their tails are shorter and legs
darker than those of other Dorkings; their flesh is fine and their eggs are
very rich. It is conceded to be one of the best varieties of fowl known, as
the size is readily increased without diminishing the fineness of the flesh.
Buack Dorxine.—The Black Dorkings are said to be of large size, and
of a jet black color. The neck feathers of some of the cocks are tinged with
a bright gold color, and some of the hens bear a silvery complexion. Their
combs are usually double, and very short, though sometimes cupped, rose or
single, with quite small wattles, and are usually very red about the head.
Their tail feathers shorter and broader than the White variety, and the chicks
feather much slower. The legs of the Black are short and black, with the
usual five toes on each foot, the bottom of which is frequently yellow. The
two back toes are quite distinct, starting from the foot separately ; frequently
showing an extra toe between the two. This breed commences laying when
very young, and lay well during the winter season— the eggs being of a
large size. The breed is perfectly hardy, and are good setters and attentive
mothers to their young.
THE HAMBURGS.
This breed of fowls is considered a very useful and important denizen
of our poultry-yard. We have bred them for years successfully and with
- little trouble. The hens are inveterate layers, and seldom desire to sit ; their
propensity for laying beg almost continuous from one molting season to
another. This is undoubtedly owing to their confined condition in this
country ; for it is said that. when the birds have a free range, they frequently
set themselves to the task of incubation with as much diligence as other
fowls.
PenciteED Hampure.—The penciled Hamburg, which is of two colors,
golden and silver, is very minutely and beautifully marked. The cocks do
46 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
PAIR OF SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURGS.
not exhibit the pencilings, but are white or brown in the golden or silver
birds respectively. They should have bright double combs, which are firmly
fixed upon the head, ending in a poiut which turns upward; well defined
PAIR OF GOLDEN-SPANGLED HAMBURGS.
- golden, or orange-yellow,
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 47
deaf ears; taper blue legs, and ample tails. The carriage of the cock is gay
and majestic; his shape is symmetrical, and appearance indicative of cheer-
fulness. The hens, of both varieties, should have the body clearly penciled
across with several bars of black, and the hackle in both sexes should be per-
fectly free from dark marks. These birds are imported in large numbers
from Holland to England, from whence we derived the breed; but those now
bred in this country are far superior to the imported bird both in size and
beauty of plumage.
SpancLep Hampure.—Of the Speckled or Spangled variety, which is
—=
PAUL)
! i
= N
aS BA
SSS a/ |
=
—_ RS
Ii, oo
=e
WU
SILVER-
SPANGLED POLAND COCK.
becoming a great favorite with many breeders in this
5 ‘ . . ret
kinds — the Golden and Sily country, there are two
er-Speckled. The general color of the former is
o each feather having a glossy dark brown or black
tip, particularly remarkable on the hackles of the cock and the wing-coverts,
and also on the darker feathers of the breast. 'The plumage of the hen is
yellow or orange-brown, and in like manner being marginal with glossy black.
The Silver-Spangled breed is distinguished by the ground color of the
feathers being of a silver white, with perhaps a tinge of straw yellow, every
feather should, however, be margined with glossy black. Both of these
48 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
varieties are extremely beautiful, commanding as they do, high prices. The
hens in all cases proving prolific layers and non-setters.
Brack Hamsure.—This is one of the finest varieties of our black
fowls —the plumage being of a beautiful black color with metallic luster.
They possess the two-fold advantage of being noble-looking birds and ex-
ceedingly good layers. On the whole, the Hamburg is a capital fowl, and
WS
\ will dull
“,
Dor Bl
SILVER-SPANGLED POLAND HEN.
Oe ey aa ee
ee ess asebe
one which is deservedly highly valued. It has a good, robust constitution,
and proves perfectly hardy in almost any climate. Though the eggs preduced
by this breed are not as large as those of some other breeds, still what they
lack in size is made up in the number they produce during the year.
THE POLANDS.
There are several varieties of these fowls in this country, but those pos-
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 49
sessing the most prominence among breeders are the Silver, Golden Spangled,
White, Black, and Black with White top-knot.
SILVER-SPANGLED Potanp.—We have bred this variety for several years,
and find it one of the most desirable breeds for the poultry yard, proving
with us perfectly hardy and “ everlasting layers.” The ground color of the.
plumage of the Silver-Spangled Poland should be a silver white, with well
defined horseshoe-shaped black spangles. In the cock, the hackle feathers
are white, edged and tipped with black ; in the hen, each hackle feather has
a spangle on the end; tail feathers clear white, with spangle on the end; the
spangles on the wing coverts are large and regular in both sexes, so as to
form two well-defined bars across each wing. The proper spangle on the
breast is all-important. The crest should be full and regular; feathers black
bal
PAIR OF GOLDEN-SPANGLED POLANDS.
at the base and tip, with white between. A few white feathers frequently
appear after the second molt, in the very best hens. Ear-lobes small and
white ; wattles, none, being usually replaced by a black or spangled beard.
The weight of the cock is from six to seven and a half-pounds, while that of
the hen is from four to five and a half pounds. Besides the moon-shaped
spangles, many of the birds are shown with laced feathers —7. ¢., with an
edging of black on the outline of the feathers, but thicker at the end. This
marking, when perfect, is of exquisite beauty. Dr. Benner says they cer-
_ tainly rank among the very choicest and most beautiful of fowls, whether
considered for their beauty or rarity. ‘The newly hatched chickens are very
pretty, creamy white, interspersed with slaty dun on the back, head and neck,
4
:
50 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
marked with longitudinal stripes down the back, with black eyes, light lead.
colored legs, and a swelling of the down on the crown of the head, indicative
of the future top-knot, which is exactly the color of a powdered wig. At a
very early age, they acquire their peculiar distinctive features, and are then
the most elegant little miniature fowls it is possible to imagine. The distine-
tion of sex is not very manifest till they are nearly full grown, the first ob-
servable indication being in the tail — that of the pullet is carried upright, as
it should be, while the cockerel’s remains depressed.
PAIR OF WHITEHE-CRESTED BLASK POLANDS.
GoLDEN-SPANGLED Potanp.— This variety varies in the color of its
plumage from a light to a dark golden yellow, laced and. spangled with a
greenish luster black, and not unfrequently showing some part whitish feath-
ers in their wings, tail and crest. Legs and feet usually blueish, sometimes
verging on a greenish color; ear-lobes blueish white.
Brack Portanp.—The Black Polands are no strangers in this country,
they having been bred as long ago as we can remember. In plumage they
should be uniformly black (except crest,) although not unfrequently glossed
with metallic green, which, in contrast with the deep red wattles and hand-
some crest of white feathers, gives them a very unique appearance. Their legs
'
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. a
are usually dark colored, although through too close breeding, flesh-colored
and even yellowish legs will show themselves; but those with darkish legs
are to be preferred. Often times the cock will have some whitish feathers in
the tail, which by some is thought to be a sure sign of pure breeding.
Wairr-Crestep Brack Potanp.—The White-crested Black is of a
_ glossy black color ; body short, round and plump; legs shortish and of black
_ or leaden color ; full wattles of a bright red; ear-lobes pure white; hackle,
saddle and tail have bright reflections; crest is of pure white, regular and
full. These birds weigh from five to six pounds.
Waire-Crestep Waitt Potanp.—The pure White-crested White Po-
lands are very hardy; have no wattles, but have a well-developed beard in
lieu thereof. They, like all Polish breeds, are “ everlasting layers,” and non-
setters. There may be seen occa- -
sionally Blue, Gray and Cuckoo
Polands, but they are off-shoots, or
the result of crossing, and have
no qualifications worthy of par-
ticular notice.
Y
tt
M\ fl
f
‘THE LEGHORNS.
It is said that this breed of
fowls was imported from Leghorn,
Italy, only a few years since, but
has been bred to such perfection
in this country that there has been
a distinctive breed made, and be-
come, as it were, Americanized.
They are scarcely known in Eng-
— land, but are highly prized by
_ American breeders for their many
good qualities. They are bred of
- nearly all colors save black — the
- White, however, receiving the
‘preference. The imported birds
are not inferior to the American
_ standard of excellence. The white
| variety being similar to the Spanish
in size and appearance, except in the plumage, which is white, with hackle
or neck and saddle feathers slightly tinged with gold. They have proved
thus far very hardy birds, suffering from the sudden changes and severe
weather of our northern and western climate much less than the Spanish,
with which breed many deem them closely allied. They are extremely
_ good layers, and seldom desire to set. The young are easy to rear; they
feather up soon, and at the age of six or eight weeks are miniature
PAIR OF WHITE LEGHORNS.
52 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
chickens — that is, perfectly feathered, and as sprightly as many chicks are
at four months of age. The hens are considered excellent winter layers,
and will lay as large a number of eggs in a year as any fowls known, not
excepting the Polands or Hamburgs. They are hardy, medium sized fowls,
of a quiet and docile disposition ; persistent layers of a rich, meaty egg ;
pure white color, though in some flocks occasional colored feathers will
appear; these should at once be discarded from the pen, if it is desirable
to breed the pure white bird. Their legs and skin should be of a yellow
color. They lay asmaller egg than the Spanish, but mature earlier, and
PAIR OF EARL DERBY GAMES.
are much superior for the table. The cocks have large single combs,
which should stand perfectly erect; full wattles and large, cream-colored —
or white ear-lobes, extending sometimes upon their face. The carriage of
both cock and hen is proud and dignified. The hens have usually large combs,
which frequently lop over like the Spanish. From what we have read
and seen of this breed of fowls we consider them a great and valuable
acquisition to the poultry-yard. .
THE GAMES.
The varieties of so-called game fowls are almost innumerable. Many are
unworthy of the name or the prefix. A well-bred game cock should be a
neat, trim fowl, feathers close and glossy, head small, neck well set on his
—_—
ee
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 53
’
shoulders, toes lengthy, body erect and straight, strong on thigh, quick in
motion, and willing to die for his flock rather than yield to an opponent.
Game hens possess the same general qualifications. They should be excellent
layers and sitters, and for rearing chicks they are considered superior; they
are hardy, strong, and transmit these peculiar traits, as a general thing, to
their offspring.
The flesh of the Game fowl is fine and sweet, and is esteemed of a de-
cidedly rich flavor. In this breed almost all shades of feathers are allowable,
black-reds perhaps being most common, although jet blacks, pure whites,
grays, ginger-reds, spangles, or pied, and various blendings of colors called
piles, have their respective admirers, as the fancy of the breeder dictates.
The breeds also are numerous; those of English, Irish, Mexican, Spanish,
Cuban, Malay and other nationalities claiming equal attention with fanciers
in their respective localities.
PAIR OF BLACK-RED GAMES.
Eart Dery Game.—This is an old breed, one which has been given the
preference for years, and from which the black-breasted reds undoubtedly
originated. The best information that we can gather relative to this breed
is that they were originally imported from Knowlsley, Eng., where they have
been bred with great care for upwards of one hundred years, in all their
purity. The cock is of good round shape, well put together; the head being
long, with daw-eyes, long and strong neck; hackle well feathered, touching
54 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
the shoulders; wings large and well quilled; back short; belly round and
black ; tail long and sickled, being well tufted at the root — thick, short, and
stiff; legs rather long, with white feet and nails, the latter being free from
all coarseness. The required “ Daw-eye” is that which resembles the gray
eye of the jackdaw. Their distinctive features are the white beak, feet, and
claws, essential to every bird claiming descent from that illustrious stock.
The red Derby Game cock should have a bright red face; breast and
thighs coal black; hackle and saddle feathers light orange-red ; back, intense
brown-red, a depth of color that painters term dragon’s blood ; lesser wing-
coverts maroon colored ; greater wing-coverts marked at the extremity with
steel-blue, forming a bar across the wings; primary wing-feathers bay; tail
iridescent black. It seems a peculiarity in these fowls that one at least of
the pinion feathers is marked with white. The sex of the chickens can
readily be distinguished when only a few weeks old. The beak, legs and
feet are uniformly white. Martin remarks that “through the whole cata-
logue of game fowls the male birds are by far the most conspicuous in
plumage ;” and this remark proves true in regard to the Derby breed, for
wherever mere color has given the name of a class, the markings of the cock
explain the reason. The Black-breasted red hens possess little of their ‘con-
sort’s brilliancy of feather, though these are of much lighter colors than the
red-breasted hen — a fact in strange opposition to the plumage of the respec-
tive male birds. Brrron’s Poultry Book thus describes the perfect mark-
ings of the Lord Derby game hen:—“ Head fine and tapering ; face, wattles,
and comb bright red; extremities of upper mandible and the greater portion
of the lower one white, but dusky at its base and around its nostrils; chest-
nut-brown around the eyes, continued beneath the throat; shaft of neck-
hackle light buff; web pale brown, edged with black; breast shaded. with
roan and fawn-color ;: belly and vent of an ash tint; back and wing-coverts
partridge-colored; primary wing-feathers and tail black, the latter carried
vertically and widely-expanded; legs, feet and nails perfectly white.” The
carriage of both cock and hen of this breed is upright and dignified. The
pugnacious disposition of the cock equals that of any other game bird; and
its endurance cannot be surpassed; years agone they were numbered among
the best breed of birds for the cock-pit; and for the table they are not sur-
passed by the sweet and nutritious flesh of the Dorking fowl.
Ducx-Wine Gamr.—The pure Duck-wing Game fowls are the Silver
Grays — though there are Yellow or Birchen Duck-wings, but the blood of
the first mentioned is much purer than the other variety, and it is considered
a much finer, hardier, and more pugnacious bird. The cock should be of a
silver gray color; hackle striped, with black underneath, but clear above ;
back bright silver gray; breast clear, mealy silver gray color; wing crossed
with a steel blue bar, the lower part of a creamy white; tail greenish glossy
black. The plumage of the hen should be of a silvery blueish gray, thickly
frosted with silver; breast pale fawn-color ; neck-hackle silvery white, striped
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 55
with black. The comb and face in both sexes are of a bright red. The legs
of the silver gray should be white; eyes red and skin white.
Taz Yettow Ducx-Wines.—The Yellow Duck-wing Game fowl is of
straw or birchen color, with copper-colored saddle; skin yellow, and willow
or yellow legs. The cock’s breast, in this variety, is always black, while that
of the hen is fawn-colored. The weight of the cocks of the Duck-wing
variety of game birds varies from four to six pounds, while that of the hens
exceeds that of the cocks.
HES
i
Hin, i
TAINAN
PAIR OF DUCK-WING GAMES.
Duck-Winc Banrams.—In courage and endurance the Bantams are not
behind their larger relatives, and in constitution they are much hardier than
any other of the Bantam breeds. The plumage of the Duck-wing Bantams is
precisely similar to that of the larger breed, from which they were undoubtedly
obtained, by long inter-breeding with the smallest specimens. The carriage
and form are also similar; but the drooping wing of the Bantam breed is not
to be observed in the game variety. In weight the cock does not exceed one
and a half pounds, while that of the hen is about twenty ounces. Game
fowls van be as easily kept on a “town lot” as any other breed, and with as
little trouble. If they are well fed, and proper care taken of them, they are
not pre-disposed to roam, but remain quietly at home.
Satmon Pitu Game.—Coloring of hens is a buff or straw color, under-
lined with white, and has a rich creamy or salmon-colored look; although
some specimens are shaded more or less with red or light wine cast. Cocks
at maturity are beautiful, and in hackle and sickle featherings would be ob-
served as peculiar to this variety. There are but few fanciers who have
56 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
shown birds of this variety, to our knowledge, in this country; they claim
for them, however, great excellence, as producers of eggs and for
- table qualities.
DominiquE Games take their names from fowls which are common on
the Island of Dominica, and in feathering, especially on cocks, are really very
beautiful. They are long and rangy in body, well set up or stationed, high,
fine heads, and invariably possess thin single combs, free from tassel or head-
feathers, while neck-hackle or shawl is made up of long fringe-like feathers,
quite uniformly dotted or penciled—so too. of the tail hackles. The hens
are quite uniform in feathering, although they have more subdued colors.
They are very hardy fowls and most prolific layers. Flesh is yellow, and as
in almost all of the game varieties, of fine grain and excellent flavor. This
variety of fowl is said to be quite scarce in this country.
Groreian Gamue.—This well known variety of fowls came originally
from Europe, brought over by a gentleman who was a native of Geor-
gia, and celebrated in his time for the reputation his game fowls made
for him in sporting circles South. The breed is now generally recognized by
most of the poultry clubs, and ranks high with many leading fanciers. They
are claimed to have superior laying and. table qualities, hardiness, courage,
(and what no one will question who has ever seen them,) beauty of plumage,
shape and carriage. They are well calculated to stand the rigors of our
northern climate, and must be admirably adapted to our warm and genial
southern clime.
Tue Maray Game.—Mr. Darwin, in his new work “ On the variations
in Animals,” claims distinctly that the Malay has been bred for years as a
game fowl in India; is noted for its courage and endurance; proves suc-
cessful in the cock-pits of India and adjacent islands. He says they are a
small breed of fowls, and are designated in Europe as the “ Indian Games ;”
but in reality are of the original Malay species of game fowls. Mr. Hewrrr
says he is “not aware of any variety of fowl so cruel, oppressive, and vin-
dictive as Malays; they are literally the tyrants of the poultry-yard.” We _
bred the red Malay years ago, and found that the cocks evinced such a pug-
nacious disposition that we were glad to get rid of them. In our experience
with this breed we found nothing commendable in them for the amateur or
fancier; the hens proving only ordinary layers, while neither the plumage or
build of the cock is attractive.
Spanisu GamE.—This variety of game fowl is claimed by some writers
to be of English origin. It is more slender in the body, the neck, the bill
and the legs, than any other variety, and the colors, particularly of the cock,
are very bright and showy. The flesh is white, tender and delicate, and on
this account marketable; the eggs are small, and extremely delicate. The
plumage is exceedingly beautiful —a clear dark-red, very bright, extending
from the back to the extremities, while the breast shows a splendid black
THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 57
color. The upper convex side of the wing is equally red and black, and
the whole of the tail-feathers white. The beak and legs are black; the eyes
resemble jet beads; very full and brilliant ;
and the whole contour of the head gives
a most ferocious expression.
_ Brown-Reps.—This breed of fowls has
been long bred perfect in outline, and is
considered one of our most desirable game
birds. The breast of the cock should be
red-brown, shoulders frequently of orange-
red; comb and face dark purple; beak also
dark; wing-butts dark-red or brown; legs
blackish brown, with dark talons; hackle,
with dark stripes; thighs like the breast;
tail a dark, greenish black, and the wing
should be crossed with a glossy green bar.
The plumage of the hen should be, as a
general thing, of a very dark brown color,
and penciled with light brown; neck-
hackle dark, golden, copper-red, thickly
striped with dark feathers; comb and face
Mmucwmiatker nan) that of the cock, The BLACK BREASTED RED GAME BANTAME.
tail-feathers of the hens should show a slight curve; if they are spurred so
much the better.
Brack-BreastEeD RED is another breed of game that has its hosts of
admirers. The plumage of this bird, as its name signifies, should be of a
bright red, deeper on the body than in the hackle. Red eyes denote pure
blood — any other colored eye in this breed stamps it as a cross. The cock’s
hackle is striped underneath, but never above; the comb and wattles bright
red; the wings are of the
same color in the upper part,
and rich red chestnut in the
lower, with steel blue bar
across; breast bluish-black,
with glossy reflections;
thighs the same; tail green-
ish black, without much
down at the roots of the
feathers; legs are usually
willow in color. The hen
should be of a rich par-
tridge - brown, with red,
fawn-colored breast; red-
dish golden hackle with dark stripes. There are several other game fowls
DUCK-WING GAME BANTAMS.
58 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
which have their friends and admirers in this country, such as White, Black,
Gray, Dark Gray and Piles of all colors, but those considered of most merit
by breeders are given in their order.
Pitz Gamx.—The plumage of these fowls should have a proportion of
white as one of its compound colors. The cocks of all the various strains
of Piles are red and white, yellow and white, in one or other of the shades
of those colors. The best Piles are bred by crossing red and white game,
but may also be bred from a Pile cock and Pile hens. Some of the best and
purest may be bred from aSpangled cock and White hen. The object of the
breeder, particularly of show birds, should be to get the colors of the cocks
as distinct and as brilliant as possible.
THE BOLTON GRAYS.
This breed of fowls derives its name from having first been successfully
raised in and near Bolton, England. They are now found in almost all large
poultry-yards in America, as well as in Europe. They are also known in some
parts of the United States as the Creole fowl, from the mottled appearance
of the hen, whose every feather is delicately marked with alternate bands of
black and white, legs and feet a light blue, and very short. The neck-hackle
is white. The cock’s plumage is different from the above in many respects,
his feathers being nearly white. His tail is black, and legs and feet the color
ot those of the hen, but are much longer. In weight he is less than the hen.
Those of our own raising weigh about five pounds to the hen, and about
three and a half or four pounds to the cock. One singular peculiarity of the
hens of this breed is that they are furnished with spws over an inch in length,
while those of the cock are much shorter. The Bolton Grays begin laying
early in February, and continue throughout the year. If well fed, they will
lay all the year round. Their eggs are below the average size; but what
they lack in size is made up in number. As a breed, they are exceedingly
hardy, and thrive where many breeds would perish. They are not good sit-
ters, and their eggs must be set under some other fowl. They are never
inclined to wander away from their coops.
THE BLACK SPANISH.
This is one of our best black breeds of fowls, laying as they do a large
sized and meaty egg. The cock should carry himself very stately and up-
right, the breast well projecting, and the tail standing well up. The sickle-
feathers should be perfect and fully developed, and the whole plumage a
dense jet black, with glossy reflections in the light. The hen should be
equally dense in color, but is much less glossy. Any white or speckled
feathers, which now and then occur, are fatal faults. The legs should be
blue, or dark lead-color; any approach to white is decidedly bad. The legs
of both sexes are long, but the fowl should nevertheless be plump and heavy.
The comb must be large in both sexes, and of a bright vermillion color.
That of the hen should fall completely over on one side; but the cock’s comb
59
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
The indentation also must be regular and evén,
and the whole comb, though very large, quite free from any appearance of
must be perfectly upright.
Any sign of a twist in front is a great fault. The most im-
coarseness.
[ Ms if a
y
gm" AVG Ny )
; / WH, <
SSS
SS
WHITHK CHINESE GOOSE.
part of them pure white; black bar running across the center; back light-
red, growing dark-red toward the tail; the tail a deep black; carriage up-
right and stately.
THE WHITE CHINESE GOOSE.
This variety of aquatic fowl was introduced into England some years
since by AtFRED WuitIkar, and brought to this country by Jonn Gizzs of
Connecticut. Mr. Wuirrkar gives the following description of it:—‘ The
White China Goose is of a spotless, pure white, more swan-like than the
brown variety, with a bright orange-colored bill, and a large orange-colored
knob at its base. It is a particularly beautiful bird, either in or out of the
water, its neck long, slender, and gracefully arched when swimming. It
_ breeds three or four times in a season, and its period of incubation extends
to five weeks. They are prolific layers, but their eggs are small for the size
of the bird, being not more than half the size of those of the common goose.
96 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
The spring goslings are easily reared, and are a fair average quality for the
table. The disparity in size between the sexes is considerable, often amount-
ing to over one-third of their relative weights. Its color, as its name in- —
dicates, is a pure, spotless white, which, contrasted with its yellow or orange-
colored bill and legs, gives quite a pleasing effect, and it certainly deserves
to rank in the first class of ornamental poultry.”
THE BARNACLE GOOSE.
The Barnacle breeds in Iceland, Greenland, and the north of Russia and
of Asia. It is of handsome form, standing high on its limbs. The flesh is
excellent, and they weigh about eight pounds a pair. The bill is small and
black, with a reddish streak on each side; the cheeks and throat, with the
exception of a black line from the eye to the beak, white; head, neck, and
shoulders black: under plumage marbled with blue, gray, black, and white:
tail black; wnder parts white; legs dusky. Although the Barnacle is shy
and cautious in a wild state, yet when brought under a state of domestication
it is as tame as any of the goose tribe.
THE BRANT GOOSE.
This and the Barnacle goose are the smallest of their tribe yet introduced
to our aquatic aviaries; both being less in size than some ducks. The
Brant is considered one of our most savory birds. In its transit from its
breeding-places near the Arctic sea, it appears in great numbers on the coast
of New-York in the first and second week in October, and continues pass-
ing on to the south until December. Some few have been observed to re-
main all winter. They are again seen with us in April and May, on their
way north, when they are in the best condition. ‘Immense numbers of
Brant geese,” says Mr. Sr. Joun, “float with every tide into the bays formed
by the bar. As the tide recedes, they land on the grass, and feed in close
packed flocks. On the land, they are light, active birds, walking quickly,
and with a graceful carriage. On any alarm, before rising, they run together
as close as they can; thus affording a good chance to the sportsman, who
may be concealed near enough, of making his shot tell among their heads and
necks.”
DISEASES OF POULTRY.
SYMPTOMS, CARE, TREATMENT, PREVENTIVES, REMEDIES, ETC.
In the climate of this country there is no need of having any diseases
among our domestic poultry if proper care and judgment in the treatment of
the same were manifested on the part of the breeder. We have given in this
‘connection a series of diseases that are known to infest poultry yards not
properly cared for, with preventives and remedies for the same, in the
hope, that should occasion require, benefit may be derived therefrom.
Apoplexy.—Fowls are attacked with this disease when apparently in
the most robust health—suddenly fall down, die, or are found without
sensation or the power of locomotion. Bleeding is recommended for the
disease ; take a sharp-pointed pen-knife and open one of the largest veins
under the wing in a longitudinal direction, by pressing the thumb on the
vein at any point between the opening and the body, the blood will flow
freely and relieve the fowl at once. Stimulating food should not be given
to fowls liable to this disease.
Black Rot.—The symptoms of this disease are blackening of the comb,
resembling mortification; swelling of the legs and feet, and general
wasting of the system. It can only be cured in the earlier stages by frequent
doses of castor-oil, to keep up purging; at the same time giving freely
strong ale or other stimulants, with warm and nourishing food.
Catarrh in Chickens—The symptoms of this disease are not dis-
similar to those in the human subject, being a watery or slimy discharge of
mucus from the nostrils, swelling of the eyelids, and, in extreme cases,
the sides of the face are swollen. The cause of the disease is somewhat
similar to that of roup. It is said if this disease is not promptly attended
to it frequently terminates in roup. Food, consisting of boiled mashed
potatoes, well dusted with black pepper, is good. Pills, made the size of
a large pea, of mashed potatoes, with cayenne pepper placed in the center,
and given to them every other day, at feeding time, for a few days, will
insure a radical cure, and give the fowls a good appetite. Dr. Brenner
claims that the following will also prove efficacious—it never having beer
known to fail :—Take finely ee burnt charcoal, and new yeast,
98 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
of each three parts; flour, one part; pulverized sulphur, two parts; water,
quantity sufficient to mix well, and make into boluses of the size of a hazel-
nut, and give one three times a day.” Cleanliness he claims to be essential
in all cases, and frequent bathing of the eyes and nostrils of the fowls with
warm milk and water.
Chicken Cholera,—A correspondent of the Department of Agriculture,
writing from Iowa, says:—‘“‘ My chickens have been dying with cholera for
the last two years,—even turkeys have died of the same disease. When I
notice the fowls begin to droop and look sleepy, I give them three or four
tablespoonfuls of strong alum water, and repeat the same the next day. I
also mix their feed with strong alum water, feeding twice a day for two
or three days—afterwards once a week. Since commencing this practice I
have not lost any.” Another good cure is to give as feed cooked Indian
meal, red pepper, gunpowder and turpentine, mixed together. Put in a
day’s feed, for a dozen fowls, a tablespoonful each of red pepper, gunpowder
and turpentine, well mixed through the meal. Give them this food every
other day for a week or so, and it will in most cases effect a cure.
Another remedy for this disease is to one gallon of water add one ounce ~
of bi-sulphate of soda; set it where the fowls can drink it. As a preventive
it is necessary to have the roosting place for the fowls dry and clean; the
place where they roost should be cleaned as often as once a week, and
sprinkled with lime or wood ashes. Feed with dry feed.
Crop Bound Fowls.—If the crop feels hard and stone-like to the touch,
it will be necessary to make an incision with a sharp knife through the skin
and upper part of the crop and loosen the unpacked mass by some blunt-
pointed instrument, and remove it. The incision, if small, may be left, but if
large, a stitch or two is advisable. The birds should then be fed warm,
soft food for two or three days,—such as mush and potatoes, well mixed
with cayenne pepper and gentian; give them plenty of exercise in the
open air, and they will rapidly recover from the disease.
Curling in of the Toes of Fowls.—Large fowls, such as Brahma or
Cochin China, and others, are subject.to corns in the fleshy part of the foot.
These should be opened, the corn extracted, and the wound dressed with a —
little Venice turpentine, spread on soft cotton or lint, and the foot bound up.
Diphtheria—Is a disease which originates mainly from improper care and
sudden changes of weather and variations of temperature. It affects fowls of
all ages ; is either acute or chronic, sometimes beginning suddenly, at others
gradually, and seems a kind of lingering consumptive disease. It is also
occasioned by improper and damp coops and roosts. Fowls, to escape the
roup, catarrh, Pip, gapes and similar diseases, should be fed on wholesome
food and placed in dry, well ventilated coops—cleanliness proving a great
assistance to health. It makes its appearance in a way similar to the
croup in the human being. It fills up the windpipe at its opening with a
{
|
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 99
sort of white ulcerous substance, and continues to form and spread over
the entire tongue and mouth, occasionally causing the fowl to cough, raise its
head, and open its mouth to breathe. The smell from it is very offensive,
and unless the bird is relieved it pines away and dies. The best cure for
this disease that we have heard of being used with any degree of success is
nitrate of silver and powdered borax. Remove the ulcers as much as
possible, and apply the nitrate of silver with a feather. Powdered borax
can be applied in the same manner by wetting the feather, dipping it in the
powder, and swabbing the throat. A little chloride of potassium dissolved
in the water which is given the fowls to drink, may possibly avert the
disease—say one-quarter ounce to a half gallon of water.
Dust Baths.—Fowls in confinement need a dust bath, 7. ¢., a box of mixed
ashes and earth to wallow in. An ordinary soap box will do, filled two-
thirds full of dry earth and wood or coal ashes. Wood ashes is preferable
_ when it can be obtained. There is no better preventive of lice than this;
and the fowls enjoy it hugely.
Dysentery in Fowls.—Fowls attacked with this disease should be given
chalk, mixed with boiled rice and milk; a little alum dissolved in their water,
so as to make it a little rough, will be useful. The food should be dry grain ;
no food of a laxative tendency should be given them.
Eyg-Bound.—To relieve a hen that is egg-bound, take a common tail
feather of the hen and strip it until near the tip, and then dip it in sweet
oil, and let it remam until it becomes thoroughly saturated, then pass the
feather up the egg-passage till it meets the egg, which you will find will
relieve the hen at once, and enable her to proceed with her duties; if she
experience any further difficulty, repeat the operation, getting the feather
well filled with oil whenever you make an application. Do not attempt to
help nature, in the way of pressure, for in that case the egg may become
broken and prove fatal to the hen. After you have made the application,
as directed, let nature take its course, and all will be right.
Enlargement of Liver and Gall.—This frequently occurs in over-fed
fowls, or in consequence of feeding unnatural or over-stimulating food. For
a remedy, feed soft cooked food, so as to make as little call upon the di-
gestive organs as possible; give a grain of calomel every other day for a few
days, and remove the bird to dry, warm quarters.
Fowls Hating their Keathers—To prevent fowls eating their feathers
give them animal food, such as fresh meat, two or three times a week, burnt
bones, oyster shells, charcoal, together with good clean water and hennery.
If this does not produce the desired effect, wring their necks, for nothing
else will prove a cure.
Frost-Bitten Combs.—Frost-bitten combs can be cured by making a
thorough appplication of glycerine three times a day.
100 THR PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
Gapes in Fowls—Is no new disease, but one with which every poultry
breeder and fancier should make himself as familiar with as “ household
words ;” for all domestic birds are liable to it, more particularly all young —
fowls, if not properly guarded against. This disease is most destructive in
the excessively warm weather of July and August. It is caused by ill- —
ventilated and unclean coops, together with the unwholesome, sour food and
putrid or impure water, too often given to young fowls; more particularly
is this the case with young turkeys. It should be borne in mind, also, that
the “ gapes” is an epidemic disease, and when it once make its appearance in
a flock of young fowls, those affected with it should at once be removed from
the coop; for it is well understood that “an ounce of prevention is better
than a pound of cure.” The gapes is said to be caused by a sort of internal
worm intesting the wind pipe ; in some instances it has been so observed, but —
it is by no means a sure criterion with all the disorders accompanied with the
gaping of fowls. The general symptoms of the disease, and those most
noticeable, are-the continual gaping, coughing, dullness, inactivity, loss of
appetite and sneezing of the fowls attacked. Mr. Mowsray, an eminent
English breeder, says the “ disease first shows itself when the chicken or
turkey is between three and four months old, and not often after.” On the —
contrary, we have seen the disease in its worst form show itself in young
turkeys and chicks from four weeks to six months of age; therefore, there is
no more certainty of fowls being rid of the disease at four weeks old than
they are at six months old. There are several modes for the treatment of
turkeys for this disease ; the one which has proved the most successful in —
cases which we have treated, is as follows:—Take a small quiil feather,
stripping the vane, except half an inch from the extremity, of the feathers ;
this should be dipped in spirits of turpentine, and the diseased turkey or —
chicken, as the case may be, being held, the feather so prepared, is passed
down through the small opening of the wind-pipe, which is readily seen at
the base of the tongue, and giving it one or two turns, will generally bring
up and destroy the worms. The turpentine at once kills the worms, and its
application excites a fit of coughing, during which those that are not drawn
out by the feather are expelled by the coughing. After this process being
used, the young turkeys should be kept for several days in a dry coop, and
not be allowed to wander in damp, swampy places, or wet grass. Their feed —
should be either cooked corn meal or cracked wheat, which is better, soaked
in turpentine, given every morning, and the remainder of the day they
should be fed with boiled whey or sour milk, well sprinkled with black
pepper; they should also have plenty of clean, fresh water in the coop.
Crushed corn soaked in alum water is also said to be a good remedy for gapes.
BremENT, in the American Poulterer’s Companion, recommends shutting
up the turkeys or chickens in a box, with some shavings dipped in spirits of
turpentine, when the vapor arising from the extended surface, produces, in
most cases, a cure. He also recommends creosote, used in the same manner,
which will produce a like result.. We know nothing of the efficacy of these
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 101
remedies, never having tried them; but we do know that spirits of tur-
pentine will not harm fowls if it does not do them any good. The remedies
are certainly simple, and no doubt well worthy of trial.
Gout or Swelled Legs.—It is recommended for this disease to rub the leg
of the fowl affected with fresh grease of any kind once a day for a week,
when a cure will be effected. Another remedy is to give a grain of calomel
at night, and three drops of wine of colchicum twice a day, care being taken
as to warmth, diet, etc., of the fowl.
Leg Weakness.—This disease occurs in highly-fed, fast-growing chickens.
Give them animal food once a day, and in warm weather dip the legs for a
few minutes daily in cold water; also give them every day three or four
grains of ammonio-citrate of iron dissolved in water and mixed with meal-
feed. Keep them from the wet grass.
Pip.—tThe pip is occasioned by the forming of a dry, horny scale upon
the tongue —the beak becomes yellow at the base, the plumage becomes
ruffed, the bird mopes and pines, the appetite gradually declines to extine-
tion, and at length it dies, completely worn out by fever and starvation.
Give the bird, three times a day, for a week or so, two or three grains of
black pepper in fresh butter, which will effect a cure.
Rheumatism.—This disease is caused by exposure in cold, damp and wet
henneries. It may be prevented by placing the fowls in warm and dry loca-
tions, free from chilling rains and cold, bleak winds.-Feed cooked Indian
meal and potatoes, made into a mash, mixed with ale, blood warm, twice a
day. Local applications are useless.
Roup.—The symptoms of this disease are’ somewhat anaes to those of
catarrh. The bird has a frothy substance in the-imner*cormer of the eye; the
lids swell, and in severe cases the eye-ball is entirely concealed, and the fowl,
unable to see or feed, suffers from great depression, and sinks rapidly; the
feetid smell being unbearable. In aggravated cases the following will be
found beneficial:—Powdered sulphate of iron, half a drachm; capsicum
powder, one drachm; extract of licorice, half an ounce; make into thirty
pills; give one at a time three times a day for three days; then take half an
ounce of sulphate of iron, and one ounce of cayenne pepper in fine powder.
Mix carefully a teaspoonful of these powders with butter and divide into
ten parts; give one part twice a day. Wash the head, eyes, and inside of
the mouth and nostrils with vinegar ; it is very cleansing and beneficial. An-
other remedy for this disease, one which rarely fails to cure, is to take nitric
acid, strip a feather to within half or three-fourths of the end, dip the feather
into the acid, and thrust it into the nostril of the sick bird, giving it a twist
while in. Repeat this twice or three times a day, removing the burnt scab
before applying the acid. It is rarely necessary to make a fourth application,
and very frequently one is sufficient. Mrs. ArBuTHNoT’s remedy is confine-
ment alone in a warm, dry place; a tablespoonful of castor oil every morning
102 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
for a week ; feed with soft food only, mixed with ale and chopped vegetables.
In all cases where the bird is attacked with this disease it should be separated
at once from the coop, and placed in a good dry, warm location, and not
allowed to mix with other fowls on any consideration. ;
Scurvy Legs.—Fowls that show any symptoms of this disease should at
once be removed from the pen and placed in warm, dry quarters. Give them
wholesome and animal food as often as once a day; wash the legs witha
weak solution of sugar of lead in the morning, and anoint them with clean
lard, mixed with ointment of creosote in the evening, just before going to
roost. Don’t, on any consideration, allow the fowls to be exposed to drench-
ing rains or roam in wet or even damp grass; but keep them warm and as
quiet as possible until the disease disappears, which, if proper care is taken
of them, will result in from eight to ten days. }
To Exterminate Lice——There are almost as many remedies for ridding
the hennery of lice as there are breeds of fowls. We will in this connection
give a remedy which we have tried with success — one answering all purposes
desired. We will guarantee, if the directions ‘are followed, it will extermi-
nate both the common hen louse and the minute hen spider, (the last named
being the worse of the two). Take all the hay from the nest and burn it.
Drive all the hens out. Get an iron pot or vessel of any kind, put it in the
center of the house ; shut the house as tight as it can be; put in the pot a
pound of roll brimstone. Heat a piece of iron as large as a man’s fist red
hot and put in the pot with the brimstone. Keep the house shut close two
hours, then open and ventilate. Sweep and dust out the house thoroughly.
Dissolve one pound of potash in one quart of hot water. With an old paint
brush paint or wash every part of the house, inside and out, roosts, nests and
every place that can be reached with the solution. Get, now, a quart of ker-
osenc oil and go through the same operation, painting the whole inside of the
house, saturating the roosts well with it. There will not be a louse left when
these directions have been followed. It issome work to do it, but it will pay.
Put fresh hay in the nests and let the hens in. When they go on the nests
to lay, as soon as the nest is warm, if there are any lice on them the latter
will leave. They will be seen crawling around the front of the nest boxes;
but their lives are short; they cannot endure this remedy and live.
Vertigo.—Fowls affected with this disease, BEMENT says, may be ob-
served to run round in a circle, or to flutter about with but partial control
over their muscular actions. The affection is one evidently caused by undue
determination of blood to the head, and is dependent on a full-blooded state
of the system. Holding the head of the fowl under a stream of cold water
for a short time immediately arrests the disease; and a dose of any aperient,
such as calomel, jalap, or castor oil, removes the tendency to the complaint.
White Comb—Makes its appearance in the form of small white spots on
one or both sides of the comb, which are so thickly clustered together as to
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 103
be mistaken for a sprinkling of meal or other white powder. It seems to be
of a scorbutic or leprous nature. The disease spreads itself down the neck
of the fowl, both in front and back, and takes off all the feathers as far as it
goes, leaving only the stumps. TEGETMEIER recommends stimulating, whole-
some food, say oatmeal and water, with a supply of green vegetables, and
the administration of some alterative medicine, as flour of sulphur, ten grains,
and calomel, one grain, given every other night; and anoint the comb with
fresh lard. It can be successfully cured by using cocoa-nut oil, powdered
turmeric and sulphur, made into an ointment, and anointing the part affected
three or four times a day, and an occasional dose of six grains of jalap. The
proportions are about a quarter of an ounce turmeric powder to one ounce
of cocoa-nut oil, and a third of an ounce sulphur.
Tonic for Poultry.—Mr. Mitts, an apothecary of considerable note in
Bourges, France, in the Journal d’ Agriculture Pratique, recommends the
following prescription — one which he avers he has used successfully —as an
invaluable tonic for debilitated birds, especially in the mortality which is apt
to prevail when “shooting the red.” He says:—‘ Take cassia bark in fine
powder, three parts; ginger, ten parts; gentian, one part; anise seed, one
part ; carbonate of iron, five parts. Mix thoroughly by sifting. A teaspoon-
ful of the powder should be mingled with the dough for twenty young tur-
keys each morning and evening. It is of the greatest importance to begin -
the treatment a fortnight before the appearance of the red, and to continue
it two or three weeks after.”
Molting Fowls should have a few nails placed in the water furnished for
their use. The rust occasioned by nails renders fowls less liable to disease.
Tansy is almost a certain preventive of lice upon setting hens. Gather
it green, and line the nest, at the time of setting the hens.
FRACTURES OF THE BONES.
In regard to this matter TEGETMEIER says, that “fractures of the bones
of the body are less likely to occur in birds than in other animals, inasmuch
as the framework is more completely united together, and is protected from
injury by the feathers. In cases where fracture of the ribs or other bones
may be suspected, there would be great difficulty in determining the nature
of the injury, and I do not think anything more could be done than keeping
the bird quiet until recovery. In cases of broken wings, the quill feathers
would prevent any recourse being had to the ordinary method of bandaging.
The plan I have pursued is, to tie, carefully, the ends of some of the quills
together in their natural position, with the wing closed; this prevents motion
of the broken ends of the bones; and by keeping the bird in an empty place,
where there are no perches for it to attempt to fly upon, every chance of
recovery is afforded. Fracture of the fleshy part of the leg would be less
manageable, and I can hardly recommend any bandaging that would be
104 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
readily applied. The most common fracture in fowls is that of the tarsus, or
scaly part of the leg. This is usually treated by wrapping a slip of rag round
the injured limb, and tying it with thread — a very imperfect plan, as motion —
of the broken bones is not prevented, and which is therefore frequently un-
successful in its results. I always employ a modificatiou of what is known
to surgeons asa gum splint. The white of an egg is well beaten up with a
fork, and spread upon a strip of thick, soft brown paper, as wide as can be
smoothly wrapped around the broken limb. The fowl is held by an assistant,
the leg slightly stretched, so as to bring the ends of the bones in a straight
line, the moistened paper wrapped smoothly round several times, and secured
by two or three turns of thread; and, lastly, to prevent the parts being
moved before the paper has become dry and stiff, a thin splint of wood, such
asis used for lighting pipes, bound with thread on each side; the wood may
be removed the following day, as it then adds to the weight. The stiff paper
forms a bandage which prevents all motion, and so places the limb in the —
best possible condition for union to take place.”
SULPHUR FOR FOWLS.
We have been advised by a lady friend, who is no novice in rearing
poultry, that no one who has not had the experience, can imagine the
beneficial effect a little sulphur mixed with the food of fowls and given
two or three times a month, will have upon them. Sulphur is good to be
given in all cases, and seems to permeate through the system of the fowl,
promoting health and preventing disease. Mix, with the feed intended for
a dozen fowls, about half an ounce of pulverized sulphur. ;
POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND RUNS.
A PLAN OF A POULTRY HOUSE THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE FROM TWENTY TO
THIRTY FOWLS.
To those wishing a small hennery or duck house, for the accommodation
of from twenty to thirty fowls, we commend the following directions as
worthy of consideration:—In the first place, the house should be in a
situation that is dry and airy, but not exposed to tempests; the aspect
warm,—an eastern or southeastern loeation is the best,—sheltered, if it may
be, by a screen of trees or shrubbery, so that the birds may have the shelter
thereof from the summer midday sun, and raw, inclement winds of winter.
The house should also be constructed so as to give as much warmth as pos-
sible, with a perfect command of ventilation. The floor should be elevated
over the general surface, so as to be perfectly dry; the walls close and sub-
stantial; the roof air and water-tight; windows should be placed opposite
each other to admit of thorough ventilation; but one should be closed at
night, even in summer, to prevent through draft during sleeping hours.
The windows should be latticed to prevent the fowls passing out or in. The
roosting perches. should commence at about a foot from the ground, and
ladder-ways, placed twelve inches or so apart, and rising twelve inches, one
above the other, for cocks and hens. Turkeys require eighteen inches rise,
and at least two feet apart. The perches to be one and a-half to two inches
in diameter, with the angles taken off, but not made smoothly round; nests
to be constructed in the end walls. The house for twenty fowls should be
between five and six feet long, ten feet deep, from front to rear, seven feet
high at the front, and nine or ten feet high at the back. That for turkeys
must be seven or eight feet long, and the same depth, hight, etc., of the other
houses. That for ducks may be of the same dimensions as the hen house,
but requires no perches. A feeding coop may be made in the bottom com-
partment, two feet wide and two feet high, to suit the large birds; the
upper one eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high, for the smaller
ones; the sides and ends to be closely boarded; the front to be done with
rounded railing, in which the doors are to be made, also railed, through
which to take out and put in the fowls; or the backs may have the doors in
106 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
‘
them. Along the front the feeding troughs are to be placed. These coops
may be placed in a compartment in the same range with the other houses, ;
or one resting against the back of the poultry houses.
ie ee ke ee
A RUSTIC POULTRY HOUSE.
We can scarcely fancy anything more beautifying in a poultry yard than
a nice and ccnvenient rustic poultry house, combining convenience with
simplicity. In this line we find nothing more suitable than the following,
which we take from Brment’s Poulterer’s Companion: — For the rustic
work, join four pieces of saplings in an oblong shape for sills; confine them
to the ground; erect at the middle of each of the two ends a forked post, of
suitable hight, in order to make the sides quite steep ; join these with a ridge
pole; put on any rough or old boards from the apex down to the ground ;
then cover it with bark, cut in rough pieces, from half to a foot square, laid
on and confined in the same manner as ordinary shingles; fix the back end
in the same way; and the front can be latticed with little poles with the
HHH Kes
Sr, |
ileal Se:
i)
A RUSTIC POULTRY HOUSE. THE POOR MAN’S POULTRY HOUSE.
bark on, arranged diamond fashion, as shown inthe engraving. The door can
be made in any style of rustic form. The roosts, laying and sitting boxes
can be placed inside of the house, in almost any position; either lengthwise
or inthe rear. From the directions here given, a person can easily build a
fancy rustic house of any desired size, and in almost any location in the
poultry yard desired. To make the rusticity of the house show off to the
best advantage, it should be placed amid shrubbery.
THE POOR MAN’S POULTRY HOUSE. i
The plan is a cheap and economical one—such as can be built with very
little trouble or expense, combining at the same time a good and con- —_
venient poultry yard and house by simply thatching it with straw and brush-
wood instead of using lumber. The Rural Farmer's Library says it is made
by forming a circle eighteen or twenty-four feet in diameter, in accordance
with the size you wish to build; on the outside of the circle cut a trench,
ee ee A
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 107
three or four inches wide and deep, and plant poles twelve or eighteen
inches into the ground every two feet. These poles should be as thick as a
PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF BROWNE'S POULTRY HOUSE.
man’s arm, eight or ten feet high; a space on the south side, between two
poles, should be chosen for a doorway. Then take brushwood, six feet long,
with the twigs and leaves on, place it against the poles and commence lacing
some of the stout and straight twigs round the poles in the trench, alter-
nately twining in and out, similar to basket-work, going the whole round,
TCO
(CEC CeCe
Rae |
PERE EL |
GROUND PLAN.
except the doorway. When eight or ten inches high, stamp it well down,
making it tight and firm. Keep on in the same manner until you have got
five feet high, then pass the brush over doorway and all, which will make
it firmer and stronger, continuing up to eight or ten feet in hight; braid
o
108 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
sometimes on one, and then on the other side of the uprights. The house ‘
should be placed in the center of this circle. A few stakes, a little more —
brush, and an armful of straw for thatch or roof, will make this answer; the j
brush must be woven round the poles in the same manner for the house —
that it was for the yard. A straw thatch for roof, it is said, will last ‘
twenty years, if properly made. It should be formed of good, clean, long —
straw, and as little broken as possible. Wheat or rye straw is preferable ;
put it on ten or twelve inches thick; some roofs are made eighteen inches
thick. Tie it close and securely with strips of white oak or hickory bark
well twisted; but this every one knows how to perform. The roof should
have a good pitch, or, in other words, be very steep, so that rain or snow —
may be quickly thrown off. Doors for this house may be made of boards, —
and hinges from the sole of an old shoe. The inside of the house may be ~
arranged as desired as regards laying boxes, roosts, ete. The inside of
the house might be thatched with straw, as well as with brushwood, which —
will make it warmer in° winter. With the directions here given, and the
illustration before him, almost any handy lad upon the farm can build a com-
fortable hennery and yard.
Os
oe wer
BROWNE’S POULTRY HOUSE.
From the American Poultry Yard, by D. J. Brownz, we take the
following description of a very pretty and convenient poultry-house, of
which we give a perspective view:—“‘A fowl-
AN house,” says Mr. Browne, “should be dry, well-
roofed, and fronting the east or south ; and if prac-
ticable, in a cold climate, it should be provided
with a stove, or some other means for heating, —
R warmth being very conducive to health and laying,
though extreme heat has the contrary effect. The
dormitory, or roost, should be well ventilated by
means of two latticed windows, at opposite ends of
the building; and it would be desirable to have
one or more apertures through the roof for the
escape of foul air. The sitting apartment, also, —
should be ventilated by means of a large window, _
TRANSVERSE OR CROSS SECTION. jin the side of the house, and holes through the @
ceiling or roof. Ifkept moderately dark, it will contribute to the quietude
of the hens, and thus favor the process of incubation. The sitting room
should be provided with boxes or troughs, well supplied with fresh water
and proper food for the hens during the hatching period, from which they
can partake at all times at will. The laying-room, in winter, should have
similar boxes or troughs containing old mortar, broken oyster-shells, soot,
brick-dust, gravel and ashes, as well as a liberal supply of proper food and —
drink. The perches, or roosting poles, should be so arranged that one row |
TOCVELISITAL TTT
MOLD NER ge TER "PHM
'
f
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 109
of the fowls should not rest directly over another. They should be so con-
structed as to enable the fowls to ascend and descend by means of ladders
or steps, without making much use of their wings; for heavy fowls fly up
to their roosts with difficulty, and often injure themselves by descending,
as they alight heavily upon the ground. The illustration given represents
a hen-house in perspective, twenty feet long, twelve feet wide, and seven
feet high to the eaves, with a roof of a seven foot pitch, a chimney-top, a
ventilator on the peak, twelve feet in length and one foot or more in
hight, and openings in the gable ends for the admission of fresh air.
In the easterly end there are two doors, one leading into the laying apart-
ment and loft, and the other into the hatching-room. In the same end
there is also a wooden shutter or blind, which may be opened whenever
necessary to let air or light into the roost. In the back, or northerly side,
there is a large lattice window, three feet above the floor or ground,
four by twelve feet, for the purpose of affording fresh air to the sitting
hens. In front, or southerly side, there is a large glazed window, four by
twelve feet, and another on the southerly side of the roof, of a corre-
sponding size, designed to admit light and heat of the sun in cold weather,
to stimulate the laying hens. In the southerly side there are also two
small apertures three feet above the ground or floor, for the ingress and
egress of the fowls. These openings may be provided with sliding shut-
ters, as well as ‘lighting boards,’ inside and out,/nd may be guarded by
sheets of tin, nailed on below them, to prevent the intrusion of rats, weasels,
or skunks, The building may be constructed of wood or other materials,
and in such style or order of architecture as may suit one’s taste, only pre-
serving the internal arrangements and proportions in reference to breadth
and hight. As a general rule, as regards the length of a building, each
hen, irrespective of the cocks, may be allowed a foot. In the ground plan,
L denotes the laying apartment; H the hatching-room, six by twenty feet ;
n, 2, ete., nest-boxes for laying, fourteen by fourteen inches, and ten inches
deep ; 0, 0. etc. nest-boxes for sitting hens, of the same size; J, a ladder or
steps leading into the loft; and S, a stove for warming the apartment, if
desirable, when the weather is cold. The transverse or cross section shows
the building from the bottom to the top, with the internal arrangements ;
ZL, denotes the laying apartment, and H the hatching-room, divided in the
middle by a partition; m, the nest-boxes resting on tables, three or four
feet above the floor or ground; 6, 6, boxes or troughs containing water,
grain, brick-dust, sand, ground oyster shells, or the materials for the con-
venience of the fowls; d, an aperture or door three feet above the ground
or floor, for the ingress and egress of the fowls; a, a lattice window, three
feet above the the floor or ground, for the admission of fresh air to the
sitting hens; &, the roosting place, or loft, shut off from the laying and
sitting apartments by the ceilings, c, ¢; h, a hole or opening in the ceiling
for the escape of the air below into the loft; v, the ventilator at the
110 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
peak of the roof; P, the roosting-pole, or perch; ¢, a trough, or bed, for
retaining the droppings or dung.”
A MODEL HENNERY.
Among the multiplicity of poultry houses and yards, we were particu-
larly impressed with those of Isaac Van WINKLE, Esq., of Greenville,
N.J. Mr. W.seems to have an eye to the practical utility, as well as to
the beauty, of his henneries and surroundings. We present two engravings,
one of which gives an interior view of the house as it is, with the exception
that it is divided into sections for different classes of fowls by woven wire
partitions; the other gives the south elevation of the house, and shows
the interior of one of the yards. The partitions in the house correspond
with the size of the yards. The building is nearly seventy-five feet long,
sEEEREL:
AEE CEPT
POULTRY HOUSE AND YARDS — SOUTH ELEVATION,
thirteen feet high and twelve feet wide. It is built of wood, roof shingled. —
To the highest pitch of the roof it is thirteen feet. The elevation or hight
from the ground or foundation in front is four feet, which cuts a twelve-foot
board into three pieces; the length or pitch of the roof, in front, is twelve
feet—just the length of one board, saving a few inches of a ragged end;
the pitch of the rear roof is six feet, and the hight of the building from
the ground to the base of the roof is just six ae which cuts a twelve-
foot board into two pieces. The ground plan and frame work are planned
on the same principles of economy of timber. By this plan no timber
is wasted, as it all cuts out clean; there is also a great saving of labor.
The foundation of the building rests on cedar posts set four feet into the
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 111
- ground, to prevent action of the frost in the winter and spring. These are
regarded very much better than brick or stone piers. This house contains
eight pens, each of which will accommodate from twenty-five to thirty fowls;
each pen is nine feet long and eight feet wide. All the pens are divided off
by wire partitions of one inch mesh. Each pen has a glass window on the
southern front of the house, extending from the gutter to within one foot
of the apex of the roof, fixed in permanently with French glass lapping
over each other, after the fashion of hot-bed sashes; they are about eleven
by three feet. Each pen is entered by a wire door six feet high; from the
hallway, which is three feet wide; and these doors are carefully fastened
with brass padlocks.
INTERIOR OF POULTRY HOUSE.
The house is put together with match boards, and the grooves of the
boards are filled in with white lead and then driven together, so as to make
the joimts impervious to cold or wet. On the rear side of the house there
_are four scuttles or ventilators, two by two feet, placed equidistant from
each other, and to these are attached iron rods which fit into a slide with a
screw, so that they can be raised to any hight. These are raised, according ©
to the weather, every morning, to let off the foul air. Each pen has a venti-
lator besides the trap-door at the bottom, same size, which communicates
_ with the pens and runs. These lower ventilators are only used in very hot
weather, to allow a free circulation through the building, and in summer
JE THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
each pen is shaded from the extreme rays of the sun by thick shades fastened —
upon the inside, so that the inside of the house is cooler than the outside.
The dropping boards extend the whole width of the pen, and are about
two feet wide and sixteen inches from the floor; the roosts are about seven
inches above and over this board. They are three inches wide and crescent-
shaped on top, so that the fowls can rest a considerable part of their bodies
on the perches. Under these dropping boards are the nest-boxes, where the
fowls lay, and are shaded and secluded. The feeding and drinking troughs
are made of galvanized iron, and hung with hooks on eyes, so that they can
be easily removed when they require cleaning. One can stand at one end of
this long house and see all the chickens on their roosts. By seeing each
other in this way the fowls are made companionable, and are saved many a
ferocious fight ; at the same time each kind is kept separated from the other.
Each pen has a run thirty-three by twelve and fifteen feet; these runs are
separated by wire fences twelve feet high, with meshes of two inches. Out-
side of these small runs is a large run of half an acre, and on the rear are
other runs of about an acre, all of grass, so that four or five kinds can be out
at large at a time in these large runs, and into which they are all let out by
turns.
The house is surrounded with a drain which carries off all the water
and moisture, and prevents dampness. Inside, the house is cemented all
through; and these cemented floors are covered with gravel about two
inches deep. The house is heated in the cold weather just enongh to keep
water from freezing, as Mr. Van WINKLE is opposed to much artificial heat,
and to forcing fowls to lay. At the north end is‘a small house or shed to
protect the hens from the north winds, and the entrance is by the south,
through the shed which is used to keep his feed close at hand.
The plan of this hennery is remarkable for its simplicity and hygienic
arrangement. The cost of the labor and material was under five hundred
dollars. The house is cleaned out every day. We were there in the hottest
of last summer weather, and it smelled just as sweet as outside; we could
not discover the slightest taint to the air inside. Mr. Van WunxzzE has
other houses. One about fifty feet long, in which he has, on the second floor,
a sitting department. This house has five pens, with an office for his
poulterer. He planned all his own houses, and seems to have a quick eye to
any improvement. He has succeeded most admirably in all his aims, if we
judge by results.
PLAN OF POULTRY HOUSE FOR ONE HUNDRED FOWLS.
This plan requires the ceiling and sides to be lathed and plastered. The
partitions are made of smooth lath or boards, and set up endways and
fastened securely at both ends with a space between them of from one and a
half to two inches. The nests are twelve inches wide, fifteen inches
high, and fifteen inches long, and so constructed that they may be slid out —
at pleasure from the laying-room into the sitting-room, reserving room for a
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. gsi
door in either case to keep the fowls separate. The doors and windows are
placed so that a good draft is secured in warm weather, and plenty of light
in cold weather. The perches are made portable, so that they can be moved
or taken out at pleasure, to make it convenient to clean out the hennery.
The length of the building is sixteen by thirty feet, which is divided into six
rooms or compartments, two are laying and roosting rooms, one sitting
room, and three for runways or rooms for roamage.
PLAN OF A SMALL DOUBLE HENNERY.
Those desiring to keep two distinct breeds of fowls on a village lot, and
having but little room to do so, we think a small double hennery can be made
to answer all purposes, in a yard one hundred and forty by thirty-five feet—
one of which we have seen. It can be made very cheaply, takes up but little
room, and is considered a model hennery. ‘This lot is surrounded in the rear
and one side with an ordinary tight board fence; the coops are at C, and
runways R, as shown in the plan. The runways are five feet wide—that to
the rear of the lot being twenty-five feet
long, the ccops being each five feet
square; the front of each runway is
lathed up like any ordinary hennery.
The coops are made tight, in which are
situated a row of nests at N; the roosts
are at P; windows are placed at the
ends, which admit the light; 8, denotes
the slots in the coops for the fowls to
pass in and out of the runways. The
runways on the side of the lot may be
made the full length of the same, if desired, but twenty-five feet is sufficient
runway room for seven fowls. The door to each coop is situated in the
corner, D. This arrangement we think very economical, and answers every
purpose for keeping two distinct breeds of fowls, in a small space. If
deemed advisable, the fowls could be let out on the large plat of ground on
alternate days, to allow them to get grass, and pick up such refuse as comes
from the kitchen and table. It is a good plan to sift coal ashes in the
hen-yards for them to wallow in; also to spade up a portion of it, so that
they can, in sunning themselves, wallow in the fresh dug earth, which has a
tendency to keep them clear of vermin.
2 ee eee es Cee e Eee Ss es eer mecercces.
PLAN OF A SMALL DOUBLE HENNERY.
RHODE ISLAND POULTRY HOUSE.
‘The following plan of a poultry house is taken from the Albany Culti-
vator, and differs very considerably from those already given. The writer
who furnishes the plan remarks:—‘“‘Some farmers are of an opinion that a
few boards tacked together, or set against the side of a wall, answer very
well for the purpose of a hen roost; but I have come to the conclusion that
to render our fowls profitable, as much care must be taken of them as of our
114 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
horses and cattle. This house may be built of pine boards, or it may be
clapboarded and plastered with lime; in either case it should have a good
=
2
Fie. 1. Fig. 2.
EXPLANATION,
plank floor. It is twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and seven feet high,
from the bottom of the sill to the top of the plate.”
Fig. 1. View of the east end; A, a door, two feet wide and five feet
high ; E, a small window for ventilation.
Fig. 2. View of the west end; N N, two holes one foot square for the
Fig. 3. ' Fie. 4.
entrance of the fowls; F, a door to throw out the manure; it turns up “and
hooks at E; C C, windows with small wire grates. 2h
Fig. 3. Interior view; U, a door; OOOO, boxes for nests, twelve
inches square, to be plied in three tiers, one above the other; U, an inside
door of the same dimensions as the outer one; B B, are poles, or roosts ;
FRONT VIEW OF A VIRGINIA POULTRY HOUSE.
these may be either of sassafras or wild cherry tree. They are fitted to
swing up and hook at the upper floor.
Fig. 4. Side view; MM, nests or boxes for brood hens ; shade should
have a long door to swing down and hook at the bottom.
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 115
VIRGINIA POULTRY HOUSE.
A writer in the fifth volume of the Cultivator says, “I have used the
poultry house, of which drawings on preceding and this page, are represen-
sentations, for about eight years, and can testify that it is preferable to
any known in this section of country, and many of my neighbors have
FRONT VIEW. GROUND PLAN.
inrown aside their old houses and built after my plan. The roosts for the
fowls should be often renewed, and always of sassafras, as the smell of
that wood is deleterious to the vermin on poultry. The floor in the sitting
room should always be kept perfectly clean, and continually covered with
CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.
ashes and lime, and the litter from under the roosts taken away weekly.
A, the door ; B, the entrance for the fowls; C C C, the openings underneath
the mitred floor, where the fowls roost; D D D, six inch openings to admit
air; F', the ground floor, made of earth, elevated above the surface one foot,
with boxes for the poultry to lay and sit in; F, a ladder for poultry to go to
EEE ST ESTA MER ee. ORNATE sal
Feeding ' Rooms
SFE
6% It
GLE
HA ag GROUND PLAN. TRANSVERSE SECTION.
their roosting room; G G G G, boxes for nests; H, lattice floor for the litter
from the poultry to roost in; I, a round hole, one foot in diameter, for
fowls to roost; J J J, lattice windows of blinds three feet wide, and three
i feet six inches deep.”
116 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.
In third volume of the Country Gentleman we find the plan, on page 115,
with the annexed elevation, of a cheap poultry house, furnished by a corre-
spondent. He says:—“I have thought it would not be out of place to send
you a drawing and plan of one we consider the best, as it can be made to
accommodate from one dozen to five hundred fowls. The plan I send is
sixteen feet long by eight feet wide at the bottom, and costs, using one-
inch matched boards, about one dollar per foot. The present one will cost
from sixteen to twenty dollars, including sash, doors, and other fixtures.
The engraving exhibits the plan so clearly that any explanation is altogether
unnecessary.”
VAN NUXEN’S POULTRY HOUSE.
“Having made some experiments in the raising of chickens, a business
that forms a part of every farmer’s occupation, I send you a description of
my present plan of operation, which appears to answer admirably. Under
an outhouse, sixteen by eighteen feet, raised three feet above the ground, I
have made a cellar three feet below the ground, making the hight six feet
altogether. Eight feet in width of this cellar is partitioned off for turnips,
the remaining ten by sixteen feet being sufficiently large to accommodate one
hundred chickens, or more. This cellar is inclosed with boards at present,
but it is intended to substitute brick walls ina year or two. The roost is
made sloping from the roof to within eighteen inches from the ground or
floor, twelve feet long by six feet wide. The roost is formed in this way:
Two pieces of two-inch plank, six inches wide, and twelve feet long, are
fastened parallel, six feet apart, by a spike or pin, to the joist above, the
lower end resting on a post eighteen inches above the ground. Notches
are made along the upper edge of the plank, one foot apart, to receive
sticks or poles from the woods, the bark being left on. When it is desirable
to clean out the roosts, the poles, being loose, are removed ; the supports,
working on a pivot, are raised and fastened up, when all is clear for the
cleaning out. I next provide the fowls with corn, oats and buckwheat in
three separate apartments, holding about half a bushel each, which are
kept always supplied. A row of nests is constructed after a plan of my
own, and does well. It is a box, ten feet long and eighteen inches wide ; the
bottom level, the top sloping at an angle of forty-five degrees, to prevent the
fowls roosting on it; the top opens on hinges. The nests, eight in number,
are one foot square; the remaining six inches of the width is a passage way
next to the wall, open at each end of the box; the advantage is to give the
hens the apparent secrecy they are so fond of.”
OCTAGON POULTRY HOUSE.
Those desirous of keeping from twenty to thirty fowls will find the
octagon style of a house just the thing for them. It is more ornamental than
the oblong house and economizes room, where that essential is required.
ee ee ee Ve ee ee
a a
awe
Fm ANT as Sar tal
THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 117
The object of placing it on piles is to prevent the encroachment of rats and
other animals that prove so destructive to eggs and fowls, when not properly
protected. The structure is not a costly one; any person used to handling
tools can construct it, at a merely nominal expense, adding ornamentation to
the structure, as he desires. This building is ten feet in diameter and six
and a half feet high. The sills are four-
by-four and the plates three-by-four
joists, halved and nailed at the joints.
It is sided with inch-and - a-quarter
spruce plank, tongued and grooved.
No upright timbers are used. The
floor and roofing are of the same kind
of plank. To guard against leakage
by shrinkage, the joints may be bat-
tened with laths or other strips of thin
board. An eight-square frame sup-
ports the top of the rafters, leaving an
opening of ten inches in diameter, on
which is placed an octagon chimney
for a ventilator, which makes a very
pretty finish, The piers should be
either cedar, chestnut, or locust, two
OCTAGON POULTRY HOUSE. feet high, and set on flat stones.
The letter D, designates the door; W, W, windows; L, latticed win-
dow to admit air, with a shutter to exclude it when necessary ; H, entrance
for the fowls to alight on when going in; R, R, are roosts placed spirally,
one end attached to a post near the center of the room, and the other end to
the wall; the first or lowermost one two feet from the floor, and the others
eighteen inches apart, and rising gradually to
the top, six feet from the floor. These roosts
will accommodate forty ordinary sized fowls.
F, F,is a board floor, on an angle of about
forty-five degrees, to catch and carry down the
droppings of the fowls. This arrangement ren-
ders it much more convenient in cleaning out the
manure, which should be frequently done. The
space beneath this floor is appropriated to nests,
twelve in number, fifteen inches wide, eighteen
inches deep, and eighteen inches high. In order
to give an appearance of secretiveness, which it is
well known the hen is partial to, the front is latticed with strips of lath. By
this arrangement a free circulation of air is admitted, which adds much to
the comfort of the hens while sitting. In the foregoing bill of lumber for
building purposes, spruce is given, but any other lumber convenient and at
GROUND PLAN.
118 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
hand will of course do full as well for the structure. If the lumber used be
unplaned, paint the building inside and out with either hot lime made to the
consistency of whitewash, or common paint of the color which most suits
the fancy. The paint or whitewash not only beautifies the building, but
preserves it.
PLAN OF CHARLES MOUNT’S HEN HOUSE.
This house can be cheaply constructed, and has the advantage of being
easily kept clean, as the droppings fall on the inside roof, or slide, under the
roosts, and can be scraped down into the passage ways, (A) and swept out
at the doors, (B,) in which are the smaller doors, (C,) hung from the bottom,
and swinging outward and downward at an angle, to allow the fowls to
enter, at the same time keeping out rats and other vermin—the outer end
PLAN OF CHARLES MOUNT’S HEN HOUSE.
being about six inches from the ground. This door can be closed at night
and in cold weather. The nests are ranged in tiers on each side of the
feeding room, the hens having access to the nests (D) by ladders running
vertically across the face of the platforms, which also give access to the
roosts. This arrangement of the nests (D) gives the fowls privacy and
darkness, and allows them to follow their inclination to steal away and
hide their nests. The nests are easily got at to remove the eggs or clean
them out, by opening the boards, (E,) which run the whole length of the
tier of nests, and are hinged at the bottom side and held, when closed, by a
button at the top. There is a door, (E,) at each side, at the end of the tier
of nests, opening from the feeding room to the passage on each side, which
also has an opening in the bottom for the passage of the fowls, fitted with a
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 119
small door to shut them out when necessary. The roosts (F, F,) are round
_ poles, which rest in notches cut in pieces which are fastened to each end of
the building, which allows of their being taken out to clean. The gable end
_ should face to the sun, and have double sash covering the whole size of the
_ feeding room down to within one foot six inches of the ground, to let in the
_ light and heat of the sun in winter. The roof at the peak is left open for
ventilation, and surmounted by a double row of pigeon boxes, the under
POULTRY HOUSE — ELEVATION.
side of which have boards hung to close in extreme cold weather. The
whole is surmounted by a vane to give it finish. The house is eighteen by
_ thirteen feet, and eight feet post; is clapboarded outside and ceiled inside
with worked boards, and filled in with tan bark. It can be floored with
_ plank or cemented.
PLAN OF POULTRY HOUSE THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE ONE HUNDRED FOWLS.
A yard fifty by one hundred feet is sufficiently large to answer the
purpose desired by a medium breeder, and upon which one hundred fowls
S SSA SASSY
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3 GROUND FLOOR. SECOND FLOOR.
can be conveniently kept. But the more room allowed them the better it
will prove for the health of the brood. This lot should be allowed the fowls
outside of the dimensions of the hennery. We have seen a flock of one
hundred fowls well kept upon the space mentioned. A poultry house, con-
taining two floors, constructed on the following plan, which we take from
120 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
the Scottish Farmer, will accommodate, very comfortably, one hundred
fowls during winter and summer, provided they are allowed the liberty of
roaming in a small yard during pleasant weather. The cost of the building,
of course, will vary according to style of construction and price of materials.
The house is considered, in England, a desirable one, and answers the pur-
pose so well that it is being extensively used by poultry fanciers of limited
means. The plan presents some features of novelty as well as of utility.
The posts of the frame, if built of wood, may be not over nine feet high, by
resting the sills on concrete walls of three feet, where it is convenient to
build on a slight inclination. Seven and a-half feet in hight will do for
feeding room and the manure pit, which may be formed by running a wall
three feet high, as shown by the dotted line. The manure may be thrown
in through the door, which opens near. Three windows on the south side
will give light and warmth. The second floor may be lathed up the roof, to
give sufficient hight in the center, which will be four and a-half feet under
the eaves of the roof. The nests are set in the partition, one foot from the
floor, one foot high, and one and a-half feet long, open at both ends with a
slide door, which is reversed when a hen is sitting, so that she is placed in
the opposite or sitting room, and thus the others never disturb her. A door
e——_——
CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.
to communicate between the rooms and windows in the end and south side
will give sufficient light and warmth. The whole may be lathed and
plastered, or ceiled up, either of which will make it a warm and durable
building. The lower floor is much the best for roosting and feeding, while
the hens can quite readily ascend to lay and sit on the upper floor with
equally good success. ‘This plan will give eighty feet of outside wall and
eight hundred feet of floor.”
CHEAP POULTRY HOUSE.
Here is another house, designed to meet the wants of a person who
cannot afford to put up a poultry house, and who has buta small yard for
fowls to run in. The figure illustrates the design of the house. On the right
is the house, with door. The house is four feet long, three and a half feet
wide, twenty inches high at the sides, and thirty inches at the peak. Inside
are a roost and a couple of nests. In the rear of the yard a coop is attached
to the house, as shown in the drawing, in lattice work. It is five feet long,
and the same width, hight, and shape as the house. The house opens into
the yard by a hole a few inches from the ground; it is ventilated by a few
auger holes bored in each end in the peak. A pane or two of glass may be
put in, if desirable. This coop cat be moved daily, so that the fowls will be
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 121
on fresh ground. It will accommodate a cock and six hens. For breeding
purposes, where it is desirous to coop up a particular trio or more, it is
invaluable.
A HENNERY THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE FROM TWO HUNDRED TO TWO HUN-
DRED AND FIFTY FOWLS.
na Mr. G. O. Brown of Maryland, gives the following as a plan of », cheap
and convenient hennery, for those wishing to keep a large number of fowls.
_ He says:—‘The drawing of the building shows the north and west sides.
__ The building is sixteen by twenty feet, sixteen feet high to roof peak. Fig.
_ 2represents the inside of the building as follows :—C, roosting and general
room; B, egg room, feed room, etce.; A, A, A, are nests. In the recess
there are three rows of nests, one
above the other; 5, door opening from
outside building ; 6, door opening from
feed room to recess, nest boxes and
roosting room.. Fig. 3, nest boxes,
thirteen by twenty inches. These
boxes are all movable, so that I arrange iin il
them to suit circumstances: By raising “ssyay
a board, hinged, one can readily ex- ;
amine the nests from the feed or egg
room. Should a: hen wish to sit, take
out one of the nest boxes, turn it end
for end, thereby placing the end that
is closed up in the roosting room,
which prevents the other hens from
bothering or annoying her. I have it
so arranged that the sitting hen can go
out in a little yard, scratch and dust
without any inconvenience or anuoy-—
- ance from the others. The egg or feed
room has shelves in it, and a loft, (which is reached by a ladder made
fast up the side,) where the feed is kept. Fig. 4 represents the roosts, two
feet apart, of sassafras. Fig. 5 represents a flooring of boards, with the same
slant as the roosts, but placed two feet away from the roost. The droppings
falling on these boards, roll down into a trough at the lower end, as shown.
In the east side of the house I have one large sliding window, and in the
south side two, with wire fenders or screens, over all three. A building of
this size and kind can accommodate two hundred to two hundred and fifty
chickens with ample room.
+ ASE
A HENNERY THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE 250 FOWLS.
PLAN OF POULTRY HOUSE THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE THREE DISTINCT BREEDS.
The building is enclosed with worked spruce or pine boards, put on
vertically, and the hight so arranged that each board will cut to avoid
122 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
waste. Elevation —Length, twenty-four feet; width, eleven feet; hight
in front, nine and a half feet; hight in rear, six and a half feet. All the —
He
THEE TT
POULTRY HOUSE — ELEVATION.
pieces are cut off of the full lengths in front, making just half a rear length.
The rafters, of thirteen feet joist, with either battened or shingle roof as
preferred.
PLAN AND YARD.
The building is supposed to face the south. The entrance door, E, open-
ing into the passage, P, three and a half feet wide, which runs the length of the
building; smaller doors, D, each two
feet wide, opening into the roosting
rooms, R. The nests are raised about —
afoot from the floor, and also open ~
into the rooms R, with a hinged board
in the passage so that the eggs can be
removed without entering the roosting
i rooms. The perches, A, are movable,
i perfectly level, and raised two feet
} from the floor. The partition walls
are tight, two boards high, above which
AR ACR ee :.. is lath; the passage wall above the
PLAN AND YARD. nests, and the doors, D, D, D, being of
lath also. The roosting rooms are seven and a half by eight feet, large
enough for twenty-five fowls each. Windows are six feet square, raised one
foot from the floor. We prefer the glass to be six by eight or seven by nine
inches — as these small sizes need no protection strips to prevent the fowls
from breaking them. The holes, H, for egress and ingress of the fowls, are
closed by a drop door worked by a cord and pulley from the passage way.
Another door can be placed in the other end of the passage way if desirable.
- This arrangement of the yards, Y, of course would not suit every one;
some would prefer smaller yards, making each yard the width of the room
and adding to its length. We can only say “cut your garment according to
your cloth”? — cut your yard according to your ground. The house above
is designed for only three varieties ; but by simply adding to the length, any
number of breeds may be accommodated. The simplest and most economi-
cal foundation is to set locust or oak posts about four feet deep, every eight
feet, and spike the sills on them. There is then no heaving from frost; and
all the underpinning necessary is a board nailed to the sill and extending
;
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 123
into the ground a couple of inches. A sitting room can be added by making
the building four feet longer. The room should be in the end next the door,
so as to be always within notice.
MR. HAWLEY’S POULTRY HOUSE.
Mr. Hawtery gave in the Rural New- Yorker, a few years since, a plan
and description of a poultry house which he said proved a success with him
during severe cold. weather—the thermometer indicating only three degrees
below freezing, when it was fifteen degrees below zero outside. The house
is twenty feet long, eight feet wide on the bottom, six feet high in the rear,
six and one-quarter feet in roof. It is built of matched and dressed lumber
N —— —
OCTAGONAL POULTRY HOUSE.
for the outside, battened with strips and well painted. The frame is three
by four inch joist—lathed and filled in with sawdust on all sides and roof,
CLEA LTT Ut be
GROUND PLAN. ’ END SECTION.
then plastered. Gravel bottom. There are three windows, twelve lights,
nine by thirteen, both sashes movable, and a light frame, one-half the size
of the windows, prevents the fowls from escaping when the sashes are
raised or dropped., The building is divided into three comfortable coops.
There is ample room for two lengths of roosts, under which there is a plat-
form to catch the droppings, thereby insuring cleanliness, so essential to the
124 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
health of the occupants. The nests are “secret,” built on the grou
window in the door regulates the temperature of the house.
OCTAGONAL POULTRY HOUSE.
The Canada Farmer gives the following plan for an octagonal poultry
house, and says “ that form is chosen as offering a greater internal space for
the same extent of wall than the square form. The door occupies one of
the sides, the windows two of the others. The roof is supported by a cen-
tral pillar, F, and, if desired, may have a lantern light at the top, with
louvre boards, or other openings, for ventilation. The center pillar is by far
the best plan of supporting the roof, for if horizontal tie-beams are used, the
fowls will unquestionably perch on them. Around seven sides of the in-
terior runs a broad, stout shelf C, C, over which the two lines of perches
D, D, are supported on inclined rests. Underneath C, C, is a narrower
shelf for the nest boxes E, E. If desired, movable baskets or boxes can be
placed on this shelf.
“The advantages of this arrangement are obvious. The fowls, following ©
the natural instinct which leads them to select the highest perches, roost
over the shelf, and the nest boxes are undefiled. The manure on the shelf is
in a position in which it can be easily scraped away with a flat hoe or
scraper, and the shelf sanded daily. The floor is kept free from filth, and the
house consequently always preserved clean and wholesome. ‘The space under —
the nest-boxes will serve for the cooping of the hens with chickens, if no
better situation offers. If extreme cheapness of construction be an object, —
the house may be built by driving light poles into the ground at equal —
distances, and closing in the spaces between them with weather boarding. —
The form admits of easy ornamentation, and may be adapted to harmonize
with almost any style of buildings.”
A FANCY POULTRY HOUSE.
In closing our remarks on poultry houses, we cannot do so without pre-_
senting to those who can afford it, and who wish to display more taste in~
this branch of economy, an illustration of a Gothic or Chinese style of poul-
try house, which we take, together with the description, from the American
Poulterer’s Companion. It is a very neat and pretty looking structure, and
is designed for a poultry house and yard for breeding fowls, ducks and
pigeons. It is intended to stand in the center of a piece of grass land or
park, and if on a slight knoll or mound so much the better. If the soil is”
inclined to clay, it should be excavated all around the building at least two
feet deep, and first a layer of stones about one and a half feet deep, then —
covered with coarse gravel and sand. This is desirable— for we consider it
almost essential to success — stagnant moisture or wet in the soil being more
conducive to disease than any other circumstance. A southern aspect is the
best, and if sheltered from the north and northwest, by plantations of ever-
greens, it will not only be a protection from the cold winds of winter, but
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 125
shelter from the rays of the sun in summer. The houses and yards must be
constructed to suit the views and purposes of the proprietor. The yards
should be fenced with pickets at least six and a half feet high—wire would
be more ornamental but rather expensive. Not less than one-fourth of an
acre should be allowed for fifty fowls. The walls of the poultry house should
_be of brick, nine inches thick, and hollow ; they should be at least twelve
feet high, so that the roof can project some four feet, forming a shed for
protecting the fowls from the storm. The front of the shed may be formed
—s
Sr
FANCY POULTRY HOUSE.
of lath or any other kind of wood, in a rustic manner, forming a trellis on
which vines might be trained, which would add much to its appearance; or
it may be inclosed with glass, and grapes grown on the rafters ; or nests may
be placed in these sheds for sitting hens.
We may observe here, that whichever plan is adopted, the cheapest and
warmest materials of which to construct the house are a wood frame and a
_ weather-boarding, either of clapboards, or ceiled up and duwn with narrow
battens. It should be ceiled within with hemlock boards, tongued and
grooved, and laid crosswise, and filled in between the timbers with spent
tan, or any other dry substance, well rammed or packed in. Or the spaces
_ between the posts may be filled in with brick and a thin coat of plaster. In
either case, whether of brick or wood, it should be whitewashed with lime.
The roof should also be ceiled with boards and filled in with tan, which
would render it cooler in summer and warmer in winter. The interior may
126 THE PEGPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
be finished to accommodate the kind of stock intended to be kept. If for
the large Asiatic fowls, the perches should be low, or the floor of their roost-
ing room may be covered with straw ; in which case it should be cleansed,
or the straw changed daily. The cupola is intended for a pigeon house. The
holes by which they enter should not be too large or numerous, and should
have a shelf at the entrance. The upper tier should have a roof or weather-
boarding over them to keep out the wet. An objection to a wooden pigeon
house is, that they are too cold in winter and too hot in summer; but this
may be in a great measure prevented by making the wood double, with a
space of two or three inches between, which will form a non-conductor of
heat.
POULTRY APPLIANCES.
CHICKEN-COOPS OR PENS, FEEDING-HOPPERS AND TROUGHS, WATER-FOUN-
TAINS, ETC.
As the rearing, management and care of all kinds of poultry is much
facilitated, as well as rendered more certainly remunerative by the aid of
suitable appliances, we give herewith engravings and descriptions of those
we have been enabled to cull from the sources at command, and which are
deemed every way suited to the ends desired.
CHICKEN HOUSE — EXTERIOR VIEW.
The march of improvement in the building of chicken houses seems to be
as manifest as in most other things, and anything new in this line is sought
after with interest by the amateur or breeder of fancy fowls. .We give an
illustration (two views) of one of these houses, which struck us as being the
ne plus ultra of chicken coops. It is sketched from coops we saw on the
128 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
grounds of Isaac Van Winxe, Esq., of New-Jersey. One illustration
shows the house with the end open, giving an interior view, while the other
shows the exterior. These houses are movable; made of matched boards
nailed to posts, two by two inches, on each end, and side or section, and
hooks and staples placed at the top and bottom of the posts, on each inside,
so that instead of being nailed together as a whole, it is hooked up in sec-
tions, as shown in the engraving, with front section down. By this means
the coop can be taken down and moved to any place desired. At the rear
of the runway is placed.a tight coop, as shown, into which the hen and
chickens can retire to roost; the slide being closed, makes it perfectly rat or
vermin proof. In the end of the tight coop are three or four one-inch holes
A
\)
ne
|
\\
CHICKEN HOUSE — INTERIOR VIEW.
made for ventilation. The top of the runway is covered with a movable
glass sash —hot-bed fashion — under which chickens can be reared in the
coldest weather. For ventilation, the sash can be slid off, as seen by refer-
ence to the cut, or, if desired, the sash being placed in a groove, can be re-
moved entirely from the top of the coop. It strikes us that this house, when
it becomes more known, will somewhat revolutionize the rearing of early
spring chicks. It is so constructed that any person at all conversant with
the use of tools can put one up in short order and with comparatively little
expense. .
It is frequently recommended to breeders to build their chicken-coops
with floors in them. We cannot see any particular benefit derived from —
having coops with wooden floors; on the contrary, we are of the opinion it
inclines the chicks to weakness. Our mode is to let the chickens have free
ee Ee Oe eee eee
THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 129
access to the ground, or, what is better, let the coop be placed over a flooring
of ashes, made about two inches thick, so that the mother-hen can dust her-
self at pleasure. |
THE RAT-PROOF COOP
is our beaw-édeal of whata chicken-coop should be. It can be moved at will,
and at evening, or in stormy weather, the hen and chickens can be driven in
and the coop closed up, making it both rat and water-proof. Then again,
there is
THE TENT COOP,
Ty
THE RAT-PROOF COOP. THE TENT COOP.
which answers a good purpose for either young turkeys or chickens; is easily
constructed, and, having no floor, can be moved to any light or sandy soil,
which will answer in lieu of ashes for the chicks and hen to dust themselves
in, which keeps off vermin.
THE PENT OR LEAN-TO COOP. THE PEN COOP.
There is another form of coop which we have, but it has no advantages
to our mind over either of the preceding ones, unless it be that in this shape
it affords more room. It is made of clapboards and lathed or lattice-worked
across the whole front of the coop and about half-way up as shown in the
engraving. The back, sides and top are made of clapboards, but any kind
of boards might be used. We used the clapboards for the sake of mak-
ing the coop light, so that it could be handled easily. The size is four and a
half feet long —two and a half feet wide —front three feet high and with a
pitch of half a foot to the rear; the front of the coop being clapboarded one
foot down, leaving two feet for the length of the laths in front. The clap-
board in front has the effect to prevent the storm from beating in upon the
hen and chicks which are confined within the coops.
| 9
130 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
PEN CHICKEN COOP.
The illustration, as shown on page 129, gives a good idea of a pen coop,
which may be made large enough to contain a cock and four hens for breed-
ing purposes, where they can enjoy the sun and fresh air, yet be protected
from stormy weather. The dimensions are as follows:—Pen four feet high
in front and three feet in the rear, six feet long and four wide. The yard,
ten feet long and six wide, to be enclosed with lath four feet high. If de-
sired, the top may be covered also. The pen may be made with common
~ ‘3
SS
f SW
THE BARREL COOP. THE CLOSE COOP.
boards, and battened up as shown in the cut. The holes in the ends are
made to admit a free circulation of air. This house may, of course, be
reduced to a size sufficient to keep a hen and chickens. If used for that pur-
pose the coop may be say twenty inches high in front, fifteen in rear, and
twenty inches square on the bottom, making it light and movable.
THE BARREL COOP.
This is an appliance to keep chicks, that any one can make, with very
little trouble, as will be seen by our illustration. All that is necessary is to
place a common flour or other old barrel on its side, take out one of the
heads, place some straw in the back end of the barrel; put the hen and
chicks in; have some lath or strips of board at hand, with one end sharpened
and drive them into the ground in front of the coop and your work is
accomplished.
THE CLOSE CHICKEN COOP.
This coop is very handy, and may be made of inch boards (see illustra-
tion,) long enough to admit of any number of fowls. A, A, are slats raised
for admitting the fowls; B, B, doors to open and shut at night, to prevent
the intrusion of any kind of vermin; C, button for fastening the doors. Any
common dry goods or other large box will answer the purpose desired.
Cleats can be nailed on, as shown in the engraving, which makes it a light, ©
warm and airy coop insummer. Holes should be bored in one end and in
the top for ventilators.
FEEDING HOPPERS AND TROUGHS.
In giving descriptions of the different varieties of Feeding Hoppers or
Troughs being used by poulterers in their endeavor to facilitate the workings
© THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 131
of domestic economy in the poultry yard, we cannot do better than to com-
mence by presenting for inspection and adoption, if desired, a plan of the
Scotch Feeding Hopper, taken from Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Agriculture,
the description of which is given below.
A SCOTCH FEEDING HOPPER. A PERFECT FEEDING HOPPER.
THE SCOTCH FEEDING HOPPER
can be made to contain any quantity of corn required, and none wasted.
When once filled it requires no more trouble, as the grain falls into the
receiver below as the fowls pick it away; and the covers on that, which are
opened by the perches, and the cover on the top, protect the grain from rain,
so that the fowls always get it quite dry; and as nothing less than the weight
of a fowl on the perch can lift the cover on the lower receiver, rats and
mice are excluded. In this connection we give an engraving of what ix
called
A PERFECT FEEDING HOPPER, —
in Bement’s Poulterer’s Companion, which we think superior to that of the
Scotch plan, and which, from the description here given, can be easily con-
structed by any person. “A is an end view, eight inches wide, two feet six
inches high, and three feet long; B, the roof projecting over the perch on
which the fowls stand while feeding; ©, the lid of the receiving manger
raised, exhibiting the grain; E, E, cords attached to the perch and lid of the
manger or feeding trough; I, end bar of the perch, with a weight attached
to the end to balance the lid, otherwise it would not close when the fowls
leave the perch; H, pulley; G, fulcrum. The hinges on the top show that it
is to be raised when the hopper is to be replenished. When a fowl desires
food, it hops upon the bars of the perch, the weight of which raises the lid
of the feed box, exposing the grain to view, and after satisfying its hunger
jumps off, and the lid closes.” Of course the dimensions of either of these
feeding hoppers may be increased to any size desired.
132 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. e
STANDARD SELF-FEEDING HOPPER.
This feeding hopper is two feet square, the posts eighteen inches high,
three inches square ; the upper section of the box is six inches deep, the ends
are mortised into or nailed to the posts. From the bottom of this square the
tapering part of the grain box reaches to within one inch of the floor, which
should be raised on feet about six inches from the ground; the grain box
tapers to one foot square, and to bring
the grain within reach of the fowls, a
cone, as shown at A, is placed in the cen-
ter of the floor, and should be so much
smaller than the funnel part of the hop-
per as to leave at least one inch space all
STANDARD SELF-TEEDING HOPPER. FUNNEL AND CONE.
around the cone, which forces the grain to the edge, where, as the fowls pick
the grain away, more will fall and keep a constant supply within reach of the
fowls, as long as any is left in the hopper. The slats on the sides are in-
tended to prevent the fowls from getting into the trough or crowding one
another. This hopper will hold about two bushels of grain, and if the roof
projected one foot all round it, it would protect it completely from rain. It
occupies but little space, and from twelve to sixteen fowls can feed at the
same time.
A 8TOOL FEEDING HOPPER. A CHEAP FEEDING HOPPER.
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 133
A STOOL FEEDING-HOPPER,
which is proof against rats, can be made as follows:—Make a platform two
or three feet square, as the case may be; then make a square box, three
inches high and sixteen inches square; nail it in the center of the platform ;
saw strips one and one-fourth inches square and eighteen inches high for the
posts; nail strips of boards, two inches wide, to the posts at top, to secure
and steady them; then take common lath, or any thin stuff, one and one-half
or two inches wide, and nail them to the top and bottom, up and down, leav-
ing a space of two inches between each slat, so that the fowls can get at the
feed. The roof may be four-square, as shown in the engraving, and detached
so that it can be raised when required to be replenished with grain. Elevate
the hopper on a post about three feet from the ground, as shown in the cut,
which makes it rat and mice proof. The fowls will soon learn to leap upon
the platform, and feed from the grain box between the slats.
A CHEAP FEEDING-HOPPER.
There is a cheap plan for a Feeding-Hopper, which can be made out of an
old candle-box, for the want of a better thing. Take off the lid and one of
the sides ; let the ends, bottom and one side remain; cut a small strip off one
end of the lid, so that it will slip in between the ends of the box, placing the
lower edge one and a half inches from the side and an inch from the bottom;
the other edge of the lid is to reach the top and outside corners of the ends,
thus forming a deep, angular box, with long aperture at the bottom. As
shown in the cut, the lid forms the slanting side B; C, forms the trough,
where the corn will descend down to it when put into the angular box; then
put hinges on the lid, A; the open part of the hopper has a row (D) of slats.
two inches apart; these slats should be brought to the edge of the box, so
that the fowls can just reach the bottom of the angle; the corn falls down as
fast as the fowls pick it away.
DOUBLE FEEDING HOPPER.
This hopper was highly commended by the late N.C. Bement. It is nine
feet long and nine inches wide; end pieces fourteen inches high, and the bot-
tom raised six inches from the ground; the ends nailed to the bottom, and
a strip of board four inches wide was
firmly nailed on the sides, raised three
inches above the bottom board, form-
ing a manger or trough to prevent any _B
waste of food. Another strip of board =
three inches wide was nailed on the top
in front to secure the ends. The hop- DOUBLE FEEDING HOFPER.
per to contain the grain was formed of two pieces of board, nine: inches
wide, set between the ends forming a V, the upper edges lying against the
front top strips and the bottom resting on some small blocks, from one
134 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
to two inches high, sufficient to allow the grain to fall down as the fowls pick
it away. It may be made to open and shut at the bottom to suit the differ-
ent sizes of grain. The top or roof may be made of the same width as the
box, or it may extend over the sides sufficiently to protect the fowls from rain
when feeding. Narrow strips of lath must be nailed to the top and bottom
pieces, leaving space enough between them for the fowls to enter their heads
when eating. It is open on both sides, and one of this size is sufficient for
seventy-five fowls.
FEEDING TROUGHS.
It has been frequently suggested that in feeding fowls soft food, instead
of throwing it upon the ground, thereby wasting the larger portion of it, a
dish or trough of some sort should be
placed in the hennery or coop to con-
tain the food. In figure 1 we give an
engraving of a trough that may be
Fig. 1. Fie. 2
procured at little cost, which will meet the wants of most breeders. It can
be made of zinc, tin, or earthenware, in an oblong form, to any desired
length — width four inches, and two to four inches deep. To prevent the
chicks getting into the trough and scratching the food out, a loose curved
cover, made of tin, zinc, or wood, in form as seen in figure 2, will answer the
purpose. The wires which support the cover should be perpendicular, ten
to twelve inches high, and set two and a half inches apart. One end of the
- wire may be driven into the ground, if desired, for.a stationary feed box, in-
stead of having the top and bottom of the cover soldered to the wire.
This trough can be made very cheaply
lw1 by any tinsmith, and will economize
ANH}
TEE, ZA iX food enough during one season to pay
ee Ee 7D TLE AT, 7A ay for more than a dozen such troughs.
i ARS SA room
VAs Osea eael
ESAS
T. Las
Fig. 3. Fie. 4.
Figure 3 is a trough divided by the partition P. If desired, one part may
contain water and the other food, the whole being coyered with a screen
made of lath nailed together in the form shown, and kept in position by the
ends of the center laths fitting in and keyed to the ends of the trough. The
bottom is square or of triangle form. This is for the use of grown poultry.
The lattice work prevents them getting into the food with their feet. A
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 135
cheap and substantial feed or water dish is shown in figure 4. The sides of
an old tin pan are connected together by a net-work of wire passing through
holes beneath the rim, and crossing above the center at the various angles.
DRINKING FOUNTAINS.
Figure 1 shows a barrel fountain; it has a small tube extending from the
cask to a shallow dish or pan, which should be small, so that the fowls cannot
get into it and soil the water. Figure 2 shows a bottle fountain, which may
be made by taking atwo or three inch plank and scooping it out one and
a half inches, forming a shallow trough; then make a frame similar to the
figure shown, and insert the neck of the bottle, the nozzle reaching to within
three-quarters of an inch of the bottom of the trough. Either of these de-
signs will answer all purposes of a drinking fountain for the poultry yard.
THE ORDINARY POULTRY FOUNTAIN
is f00 well known to need description, but a rather better form than is usually
made is shown in figure 3. The advantages of such a construction are two;
|
Fie. 1.— BARREL FOUNTAIN. Fie. 2.— Bottite Fountaw.
|
|
!
f
Fig. 3. Fig. 4.
the top being open, and fitted with a cork, the state of the interior can be
examined, and the vessel well sluiced through to remove the green slime
136 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
which always collects by degrees, and is very prejudicial to health; and the ©
trough being slightly raised from the ground, instead of upon it, the water —
is less easily fouled. But either form, if placed with the trough towards the
wall, at afew inches distance from it, will keep the water clean very well.
Some experienced breeders prefer shallow pans; but if these be adopted they
must be either put behind rails, with a board over, or protected by a cover,
in the same way as the feeding troughs already described.
WINTER WATER FOUNTAIN.
We are indebted to the American Agriculturist for the description and
manner of keeping water from freezing in the fountain in winter, also for a
duck-feeding contrivance, and for the plan of a beautiful rustic duck coop,
herewith given. In describing these appliances it says :—‘‘ There is almost
Fic. 3.— FEED Box For Ducks.
always some difficulty in keeping fowls supplied with water in cold weather.
We have had no trouble since adopting the following expedient. Gy ig i ee
\
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 155
neath. The water tank is made of tin, and a little smaller than the box, so
as to allow half an inch free passage of air all round. The floating vessel is
made of tin, and is a trifle smaller than the water tank, so as to allow of its
floating in it. The center of this vessel has an oval opening, in which a
registering thermometer is kept to show at all times the temperature of the
water. The bottom of this vessel is covered about one inch deep with silver
sand, on which the eggs are placed. By means of the central opening, and
. that between the tank, the temperature is kept in a constantly moist state.
The lamp can be for oil or gas, but gas is certainly preferable. The manage-
ment of the apparatus is so simple that it can be attended to by a child, and
only a very few directions will be necessary :—1. Fill the tank with hot water
till the floating vessel reaches the top level, then see that the water has a
temperature of about one hundred and twelve degrees, after which light the
lamp, and should the heat of the water increase, reduce the flame ; but if the
temperature rises or decreases but slowly, it can be regulated by admitting
more or less air through the door of the box. 2. The principal point, how-
ever, is, that the temperature on the sand should not vary much from one
hundred and five degrees, and it will be found that with water-heat of one
hundred and twelve degrees, the sand will be one hundred and five, and on
the eggs ninety-eight degrees. For beginners, however, it is always best to
put the apparatus in action a day or two before placing eggs init. 3. Turn
the eggs once or twice a day, and keep the water replenished as it evap-
orates.
The only incubators that are considered at all practicable are those of M.
CarBonNNIER, Mr. BRINDLEY and Mr. F. ScuropEr.
M. CARBONNIER’S INCUBATOR
was quite a simply constructed machine. The heating apparatus consisted of
a tin or copper cistern or boiler of any desired size made with a flat bottom
and heated by a lamp, for which a chamber was provided in one end. The
lamp was so constructed as to burn for a certain length of time without at-
tention, and it was essential that the lamp chamber should be in the end of
the cistern that there might be a regular circulation of the water. The cistern .
was kept nearly filled; and the constant immersion of the thermometer was
necessary to show the temperature. The eggs were placed in a drawer under
the cistern on a little hay. They were not exposed to the direct heat of the
cistern, but were covered with a piece of canvas, on which is spread a layer
of sawdust half an inch thick. The sawdust became warmed by the heat of
the cistern and resting gently upon the eggs warms them in a more natural
way than any preceeding incubator we know of. Inthe egg drawer should be
a second thermometer to indicate the heat the eggs were subjected to. The
temperature of the sawdust may be kept at a standard of one hundred and
two or one hundred and three degrees Fahrenheit, and regular attention was
_ necessary to insure this. The eggs were withdrawn every day and exposed
to the cold air for about twenty minutes, and turned over as often, and the
156 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
sawdust laid again upon them, and sprinkled with water heated to one hun-
dred and five degrees, so as to make it slightly moist.
THE ARRANGEMENT OF MR. BRINDLEY’S INCUBATOR
is shown by figure 3. It is a copper boiler heated by a lamp or gas jet, B,
furnished with a reservoir, also marked B, carefully constructed to burn with
steadiness. From this boiler the hot water flows constantly through a sys-
Fie. 3— BRINDLEY’s INCUBATOR.
p and Reservoir.
ns freer Artificial Mother for newly-hatched Chicks.
. Lam
. Egg Drawer.
, Heiwater Boiler.
A
B
Cc
FE.
tem of metal pipes, arranged in a horizontal place between two plates of
glass, which thus forms a hot-air chamber heated by the pipes. Under the
lower glass plates slides the drawer C, lined with felt which contains the
eggs. At each side of the lamps at A are
TEMPORARY RECEPTACLES, OR ARTIFICIAL MOTHERS,
to receive the chickens for the first day, after which they may be removed
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. , Lay
and provided for separately. The hot air chamber is provided with a “ safety
valve,” acted on by the expansion of mercury, which opens at a given tem-
perature. This valve seems to have been employed first by M. VALLEE of the
Jardin des Plantes, Paris. Mr. Brrxpiry’s valve seems to have been su-
perior to all those shown before him, and to answer all reasonable purposes.
Mr. Wrieut thinks it impossible to make any valve the sole regulator, and
expect it to keep the heat uniform. He is under the impression that when
the heat becomes two or three degrees too high all that is expected is, that
the valve will open and admit cold air to reduce the temperature; but if the
air is really hot the valve, though open, cannot entirely keep the heat down,
nor can it guard against a lower temperature than is proper. We shall show
hereafter how the heat is regulated by the Graves’ plan, so as to obviate
these difficulties.
Brinpiey’s machine differs radically in principle from the preceding one,
as also from Mr. I’. H. ScuropeEr’s, in that the valve is not employed directly
to warm the eggs but simply to impart heat to a chamber of hot air through
which the heat is communicated. In other respects the management is simi-
lar. The eggs require to be withdrawn and cooled once a day; should be
carefully turned and sprinkled with warm water,which should also be allowed
to moisten the felt lining of the tray in which they are contained.
THE INCUBATOR OF MR. F. H. SCHRODER
is shown in figure 4. He has adopted an altogether distinct and separate
boiler, which is not shown; but. which is connected with the hot water tank
Fie. 4.
C, of the incubator by two pipes; B being the inlet pipe, and D the outlet.
This tank is provided with an open table, I, in which a thermometer can be
placed to show the temperature, and with a ventilating tube H, which is open
it top and bottom. Under the tank slide the egg drawers E, which in area
resembles the quadrant of a circle — this is of a circular form.
158 THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
THE INCUBATOR BEING OF A CIRCULAR FORM,
the bottom of these drawers are of perforated zinc, and partly filled with
sand, both to preserve the heat and to form a convenient and warm recep-
tacle for the newly-hatched chickens. Curtains are provided to surround the
sides of the incubator, and thus guard, in some measure, against change of
temperature in the apartment. In using this incubator the ege-drawers E
are partly filled with chaff or other similar material, on which the eggs are
deposited. The water from the cold water cistern F, underneath them ,slowly
evaporates with the heat above, and preserves a gentle moisture around the
eggs during the process of incubation, percolating as it does through the
chaff and menor ated bottom of the egg-drawer; ventilation takes place
through the.middle shape or pipe H. Sprinkling the eggs is not necessary in
Mr. ScuropEr’s plan; all that you need to do is to replenish the cold water
tank F when exhausted. The eggs, however, as in all incubators, should be.
withdrawn, cooled half an hour and turned every day.
THE INCUBATOR OF COL. STUART WORTLEY,
represented in figure 5, is described by Mr. Wricur in his work as superior
to all the rest; but, at the same time, admits that it has not yet been gen-
erally tested. D, is a saddle-backed or other convenient boiler, furnished
Fie. 5— Cou. Stuart Wort LeEy’s INCUBATOR.
with a steam dome, by which the steam is collected and allowed to escape.
Connected with the boiler is a simple cistern C, by which the hight of the
water is always kept uniform, a glass gauge, A, showing the hight at a glance.
The water in the boiler is always kept boiling, and circulates therefore at a
uniform temperature through the pipes, which heats the egg chamber.
These pipes pass through padded holes, and hence by sliding them in more,
there is greater heat imparted for cold weather, or by withdrawing them a
little the temperature will fall. ;
THE GREAT IMPROVEMENT OF COL. WORTLEY’S INCUBATOR
is the control he has over the variations of temperature. He seems to take
:
:
THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 159
advantage of the natural law, which, without trouble, gives him always a
temperature of one hundred and twelve degrees, and then provides for
changes by giving more or less of heating surface.
THE AMERICAN INCUBATOR.
This incubator, represented by the cuts; figure 4, representing the out-
Ward appearance of the machine, and figure 5 the inside arrangements,
was awarded the first premium at the Pennsylvania State Poultry Ex-
hibition, held in the city of Philadelphia.
C, figure 5, is the nursery for young chickens for the first week after hatch-
ing, D being a ventilator, of which there is a corresponding one in the rear.
B, B, B, B, is the boiler, by which the heat is generated by means of a lamp
L. N,N, N,N, are the nests or drawers for the eggs. The two lower
THE AMERICAN INCUBATOR.
ones being directly under the boiler, the heat is applied above the eggs, the
same as in natural incubation. To apply the heat in the same manner to the
eggs in the upper drawers, the inclined shelves, R, R, are used, (the two
drawers being tight-bottomed also.) The heat is thus forced to ascend as
shown by the arrows, and passes over the eggs, escaping by the ventilators
at H, H, into the nursery, C, where it is again utilized for the young chicks.
V, V, are tubes going through the boiler, serving for stays to keep the
boiler from bulging or collapsing, and also answering for ventilating the
lower tier of drawers. The boiler is so constructed as to keep the water in
constant circulation, thus securing, as is claimed, a uniform heat in all
portions of the boiler, with a smaller consumption of fuel than by any other
method. :
The great trouble in hatching machines heretofore presented to the
public, has been the impossibility of keeping the drawers below the boiler at
160 | THE PEOPLE’S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK.
the same temperature as those above. It is claimed that in this machine
that difficulty is entirely overcome; and that by the arrangement of the
ventilators heat is more perfectly under control than has been before at-
tained. This—an even temperature—is the most important point to be
secured; with it success is almost certain; without it, almost impossible.
The proper heat is one hundred and three degrees Fahrenheit ; the minimum
being one hundred degrees, and the maximum one hundred and five degrees.
It is not always fatal to let the heat go below one hundred degrees, if not
allowed to remain so any great length of time ; but a heat of one hundred.
and seven or one hundred and eight degrees is almost certain death to all
unhatched chickens. The period of incubation is not shortened, as many
suppose; or, at most, only one day—twenty days being the average time;
and we frequently see hens bring off their broods in that time, if close
sitters. The chicks come out remarkably strong and healthy, and are
always free from vermin; and after the first few days require no more care
than if hatched under a hen.
THE GRAVES’ INCUBATOR.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an incubator case, showing
the ventilating and heat-regulating devices. Figure 2 is a transverse,
vertical section of figure 1. Figures 3 and 4 are views in detail of the heat-
Saini
Fig. 1— PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF GRAVES’ INCUBATOR.
regulating devices; and figure 5 (shown elsewhere,) is a view of an artificial
mother, or protector. The object of this invention is to maintain a definite
a vieaeiereee 3
Condition. <2 ae ce eee 3
Deaf-ear. ...5:5 6... cee 1
APPENDIX
Disqualifications.
Plumage any color but black, presence of
crest, feathered lees, deformity of any kind,
legs any color but black or dark.
BANTAMS.
GAME BANTAMS.
GENERAL SHAPE AND COLOR.
The sameas in the corresponding varieties
of Game Fowls.
Points in Game Bantams.
BIO OlOW Ns savas Se se es Coe IS 3
Shape of Head and Neck... 2
s Body and Wings.. 2
: WMailae (esos ie 2
s Thighs, Legs, and
PROS SE a Areas eens
MO ACUUTO Meo. ois) cinieietele arse 2
15
Disqualifications.
Cocks above 24 oz. or hens above 20 oz. ;
adult cocks undubbed, color of legs not uni-
form in the pen, birds not matching in the
pen.
SEBRIGHT BANTAMS.
‘GENERAL SHAPE—THE COCK.
Comb—Double, square in front, fitting close
and straight on the head, the top covered
with small points, with a peak behind
turning slightly upwards.
Head—Small, round in front, carried well
back towards the tail,
Beak—Short, slightly curved.
Hye—Full.
Wattles—Broad, rounded on the lower edge.
Deaf. ~ear—F at.
Neck—Neat and taper,
hackle feathers.
Breast— Round, full, and carried prominent-
ly forward.
Back—Ver y short, perfectly free from saddle
feathers.
Wings—Ample, the points carried very low,
almost touching the ground.
quite free from
213
Tail—Square, similar to the hen, free from
sickle or curved feathers, the feathers
broadest towards the end,
Tail Coverts—Straight, round at the end and
lying close to the sides of the tail.
Thighs—V ery short.
Legs—Short, slender, and very taper.
Plumage—Close, perfectly hen-feathered.
Carriage—Very upright and strutting.
THE HEN.
Very similar to the cock. The comb and
wattles much smaller, and the head neater.
COLOR OF GOLD-LACED SEBRIGHTS.
Head, Face, and Wattles—Rich red.
Deaf-ear—W hite.
Plumage—Rich golden yellow, every feather
laced with rich black, that is, having a
narrow, even, well-defined rich black edge
all round the feathers ; the two colors dis-
tinct, and not shading into each other, the
lacing of the same width on the sides as
on the ends of the feathers.
Legs—Slaty blue.
COLOR OF SILVER-LACED SEBRIGHTS.
Similar to the golden, substituting silvery
white for the golden yellow ground color.
Points in Sebrights.
Plumage most evenly and
distinctly laced throughout 4
Purity of Ground Color in
Silver, and richness and
clearness of Ground Color
in Golden ............... 2
Combes es ee Operas 2
Tail. WY Cen a Nei
SuIalMessmeeersee eee 2
Symimetiy aioe Meee eA 2
Condition, and General Ap-
OGMNNVES soo ss4uoc4n cue
15
Disqualifications.
Cocks weighing more than 20 oz.; hens
more than 18 oz.
Cocks having either hackle, saddle or
sickle feathers.
Legs of any color except slate blue.
214
BLACK AND WHITE BANTAMS.
GENERAL SHAPE—THE COCK.
Comb—Double, square in front, close and
straight on the head, the top covered with
small points, with a peak behind, turning
slightly upwards.
Head—Small, round, and carried well back
towards the tail.
Beak—Short, slightly curved.
Hye—Prominent.
Deaf-ear—F at and even on the surface.
Wattles—Broad and thin, rounded on the
lower edge.
Neck—Very taper, curving well back, so as
to bring the back of the head towards the
tail; hackle full and long, flowing well
over the shoulders.
Breast—Round, and carried prominently for-
ward.
Back—Very short, saddle feathers long.
Wings—Ample, the points drooping so as
nearly to touch the ground, the seconda-
ries slightly expanded.
Towil—Full, expanded, well adorned with
Jong, curving sickle feathers, carried well
up toward the back of the head.
Thighs—Short.
Legs—Short, clean, and taper.
Carriage—Very upright, proud, and strut-
ting.
THE HEN.
Comb—Same shape as that of cock, but very
much smaller.
Head—S8mall, round, and neat.
Beak—Small.
Hye—F ull and quick.
Deaf-ear—F at, and even on the surface.
Wattles—Small.
Neck—Short and taper, carried well back.
Breast—Round and prominent.
Back—Short.
Wings—Ample, points drooping.
Toail—Full, expanded, carried rather up-
right.
Thighs—Short.
Legs—Short, clean and taper.
Carriage—Upright and strutting.
COLOR OF BLACK BANTAMS.
Comb, Face, and Wattles—Rich bright red.
Beak—Dark horn color, or black.
APPENDIX.
Deaf-ear—Pure white.
Plumage—Rich black throughout.
Legs—Black, or very dark leaden blue.
COLOR OF WHITE BANTAMS.
Comb, Face,and Wattiles—Rich scarlet red.
Beak—White.
Deaf-ear—Pure white.
Plumage—Pure white, as free from yellow
tinge as possible.
Legs—W hite, with a slight pink tinge on the
back, and betwixt the scales.
Points in Black or White Bantams.
Purity of White or richness
of black... ..0)0\c0 pees
Smrallness). 5: .7t.aye sere or
Symmetry. .\. .<’tee0kh eee 3
Combisrs).i¢ 04 oh ee 2
Deaf-ear )..). ..<.). shigie see 2
Condition, and General Ap-
pearance <).:.46 eee
15
Disqualifications.
Cocks more than 20 oz., or hens more than
18 oz.
Legs of black bantams not black or dark
leaden bjue.
Legs of white bantams of any other color
except white.
en
TURKEYS.
Head and Face—Very bright and rich in
color.
Hyes—Bright and clear.
Body—Long and deep.
Wings—Powerful, and well carried.
Breast—Broad, very long, and _ perfectly
straight.
Thighs—Muscular, straight, and strong.
Legs—Very strong, and perfectly straight.
Plumage—Sound, hard, and glossy.
Color—Rich, the birds matching in the pen.
Points.
Sige. Oe ee 6
Symmetry. 2... b.. 2 eee 4
Richness of Color, and Match-
ing in the pen............
Condition. .....3.Js.0e eee 2
APPENDIX.
Disqualifications.
Crooked breasts, backs, or legs, or de-
formity in any part.
DUCKS.
AYLESBURY.
GENERAL SHAPE AND COLOR.
Bill—Long and broad; when viewed side-
ways, nearly straight from the top of the
head to the tip of the bill; of a delicate
pale flesh color, perfectly free from black
or dark marks.
Head—Long and fine.
Neck—Long, slender, and gracefully curved.
- Body—Long and deep.
Back—Long and broad.
Wings—Strong, carried well up, and not
drooping.
Toil—Feathers stiff and hard, with hard
curled feathers in the drake.
Thighs—Short.
Legs—Short and strong; bright light orange
color.
Plumage—Pure white throughout.
Points in Aylesbury Ducks.
Purity of Color and Shape of
ee eee ban rae hide S ores. 0 3
SS So SSR a eee eine 4
SSVMMINEUMVas Aieteie «eee clel shale « 3
Purity of Color in Plumage.. 3
Condition..... louneaopudbos
15
Disqualifications.
Birds so fat as to be down behind, bills
deep yellow, or marked with black, plumage
of any color except white.
ROUEN DUCKS.
GENERAL SHAPE AND COLOR—THE DRAKE.
Bill—Long, broad, and rather wider at the
tip than at the base; when viewed side-
ways, nearly straight from the crown of
the head to the tip of the bill; the longer
the better. Color, greenish yellow, with-
out any other color except the black bean
at the tip.
215
Head—Long and fine; rich lustrous green.
Eye—Dark hazel.
Neck—Long, slender, and neatly curved ;
color, the same lustrous green as the head,
with a distinct white ring on the lower
part not quite meeting at the back.
Breast—Broad and deep ; the front part very
rich purplish brown, or claret color; free
from gray feathers, the claret color ex-
tending as far as possible towards the legs.
Back—Long; higher part ashy gray mixed
with green, becoming a rich, lustrous
green on the lower part and rump.
Shoulder Coveris—Gray, finely streaked with
waving brown lines.
Wings—Grayish brown, mixed with green,
with a broad ribbon mark of purple,
with metallic reflections of blue and
green, and edged with white; the
two colors quite distinct.
“ Flight Heathers—Dark, dusky brown,
quite free from white.
Underpart of Body and Sides—Beautiful gray,
becoming lighter gray near the vent, and
ending in solid black under the tail.
Tail—Feathers hard and stiff; dark ashy
brown, the outer web in old birds edged *
with white.
Tail Coverts—Curled feathers hard and well
curled; black, with very rich purple re-
flections.
Legs and Feei—Orange, with a tinge of
brown.
THE DUCK.
Bill—Broad, long, and somewhat flat;
_ brownish orange, with a dark blotch on
the upper part.
Head—Long and fine ; deep brown, with two
light pale brown stripes on each side from
the bill past the eye.
Neck—Long, slender, and neatly curved ;
light brown, penciled with darker brown,
and quite free from the least appearance
of a white ring.
Breast, Underpart of Body, and Sides—Gray-
ish brown, each feather marked distinctly
with a rich dark brown penciling.
Back—Long ; light brown, richly marked
with green.
Wings—Grayish brown, mixed with green,
with a broad riband mark of rich ~
216
purple, edged with white, the two
colors distinct.
“ Flight Feathers--Brown, perfectly free
from white.
Tail Coverts—Brown, beautifully penciled
with broad distinct penciling of dark
greenish brown.
Tail—Light brown, with distinct broad wavy
penciling of dark greenish brown.
Legs—Orange, or brown and orange.
Points in Rouen Ducks.
Shape and Color of Bill..... 3
BOLE oie ei sie ay opens ole obsie vledi eter
Color oftePlumages sy. ).i.\tc 1s): 3
SyMIMECtry::).. ..jsveletesieesite cr. 3
ConGition: iin teste rtek «halons 2
Disqualifications.
Bills clear yellow, dark green, blue or lead
color; any white in the flight feathers of
either sex; birdsso fat as to be down behind.
BLACK EAST INDIAN.
GENERAL SHAPE AND COLOR.
Shape—The entire form remarkably slender,
neat, and graceful.
Size—The smaller the better.
Plumage—Rich lustrous black, with a bril-
liant velvety green tint throughout; per-
fectly free from white or brown feathers
on any part whatever.
Bill of the Drake—V ery dark yellowish green,
without spot or blemish.
Bill of the Duck—Very dark.
Lega—Dark.
Points in Black Hast Indian Ducks.
125) | eer Race rie ae 3 2
Symmetry, Neatness, and El-
egance of Form.......... 3
Richness of Plumage....... 4
Smallness of Size........... 4
Condition jeeuc cee ices ercts 2
15
Disqualifications.
White in eny part of the plumage.
CALL DUCKS.
Shape—The entire form very short; round
APPENDIX.
and compact, with very full, round, high
forehead, and short broad Dill.
Size—The smaller the better.
Color—In the gray variety—bill, legs, and
plumage the same as in the Rouen.
“ In the white variety—bill bright,
clear, unspotted yellow.
Plumage—Pure white.
Legs—Bright orange.
Points in Call Ducks..
Smallness of Size........... 5
Bill and Stop of the Forehead 2
Symmetry and Compactness
of Shape.....:.. Sener 3
Color of Plumage.......... 3
Condition... ::i....caleseieeene 2
15
Disqualifications in Gray Call Ducks.
White ring on the neck of the duck ;
white flight feathers in either sex.
Disqualifications in White Call Ducks.
Colored feathers in any part of the
plumage; bills of any color except yellow.
te
GEESE.
TOULOUSE.
Carriage—Tall and erect; bodies nearly
touching the ground.
Color—Breast and body, light gray; back,
dark gray ; neck, darker gray than back ;
wings and ‘belly, shading off to white,
though but little white visible.
Bill—Pale flesh color.
Legs and Feet—Deep orange, incline@ to red.
EMBDEN.
Plumage—Uniformly pure white.
Bill—Flesh color. ‘
Legs and Feet-—Orange.
Points in Geese.
Size and Weight.....:...... 6
Symmetry «6 3.8 eee 4
Color... +:.: sinlen(elae ahate ote acces, OL
2 e\s 0 a aici eee eee ove 19%
— Points in........
— The cock.......
— — hen............. oibipia'e/s(0 = siete Richer 456.0 ive eae)
— White........ seiner
eee eee seen
— suck eggs.........
Molting fowls.......
Mount’s hen-house........... Bab oo a> a'kio.cs oe ineeieelies
Nest, Tight wooden bOX ..........sesseeeeeeee ee
== MOL eY«. os c2ccemeista she sielsteeeien acai eer anaes dope tacinneloe
Nests, Best arrangement fOr..........seseeesececeee 109
— for laying hens......... Soc he sop pismo!
Ogarinm, CVhes eee. sheers dis siateietets oa soles spp stele eRe
Packing boxes, A WOrd ADOUb..........eeeeneeeeneee LUV
— poultry for market...... sien wje'e. «is afk Bie -i6\9 Main aaa
Pekin Bantams...... sisiomremiigee aia « s/n bn arose sidlln ora
Perches for fOW]S... 00.020. .00,c20000+ sins caste pines slanmelannnne
ile) Game. cine weisiness ca an 58
PPL. se sidiaeecties 2 aerctenaiaitiete come caseniepen, AOL
eee eeweeeees
eee eee ery
48
23
— Black...... * cic n.p'\e;s ov civiele.o alain gidlsiaae S eisaine eiea eae
=) BIG. .i.so 0200000 see vices sicodiy viaweraae tale aeenniaennnnnn
— Characteristics Of. «00. ocens: ss'pssismauesians aeeeennne
— CUCKOO ie u'e 0:50 v.00 s/01010 010 ore coe ole sreneeisineie nee tanta
— Golden-Spangled .......-erceecseeseeerceereeecees 50
— farm, A South American..........
— Fattening for market.............+
— for market, Boxing..
— — — Packing....... obsoopdeddes
— — New York market, Dressing..........
-- — Philadelphia market, Dressing....
socacvosaagancagrcsdscaccenon Ail
— — the table, Purchasing.......... sdleccwesecects so 3
— fountain, Ordinary....... 5 aocesen. Soadeccssesas LBS
— house and yards, Van Winkle’s............0..2-- 110
— — Brown ’s........cccc-s0---- oe miclstniatesisicterstnels 107, 108
= == ONG OD canboocdadeocesons Sdsdco0a0006 Races 115, 116, 120
— — Fancy......... socossnocedeonsdos6 ppoocasoeacs 124, 125
— — for three distinct breeds...................... iil
— — — 100 fowls....... S6oD00EC 119
—-—----— Plan of...... 112
— eS TOWIS, PIAM Of. os. ceccesccccceccosscccses 105
a BEL R II OM ZS n ntalnictaiciaisizieisisiclsis'«c'stainiaisiviele'sicesscislcee wie 123
— — Interior view of Van Winkle’s............... 111
Octagon............ sagoocodcooasoRGenS assesses --116, 117
— — Octagonal...... edooodasonoonosoceséannees «e420, 124
— — Poor Man’s....... Whe anse cease 106
— — Rhode Island... dcoo IIB
— — Rustic......... sco0s0be -. 106
— — Van Nuxen’s........ ndoacoosesene 116
= == WTSI pdbcobeneodoroocosoen00s scoconoco Jhb 1s
— houses in South AMETiCA........ccecceccecseees 188
=. == VT SAG ih ee aoeacensecooseeosonecs pooncace - 105
— How to judge the age of........ soosseoo00 soscens 29
— in winter, Care of............. .. 184
— — — Topreserve..... 29
— kept by the thousand..... 7
— meat, Cost of..................
— Preparing for market.......... ocobsoboccoscocees
— Purchasing undrawn.................
— raising—Common ideas erroneous..
— rearing on a large scale......... sistas
— should not run at large before killing.....
=5 HR DUNG IRR concoteoodsccreoode sooseobescsocosossosene
-- To prevent vermin on.......... sesscotes seo uf
MY RT LACLEDE Mci-lv oe sinie'sicinicla vis eicicle siete s ecieiscses ccee oe
Prefatory and Introductory............ Saoconsbeeaee 5
Premium birds do not produce the best chicks.... 12
Ptarmigan fowls, Vulture-hock in
Pullets, To Caponize..... tatostetatsiclalateiciatereleintcteia
Purchasing poultry for the table................... 28
RUC TEVANAULIS II ofercte cle niciein stolen asiisivie sibel cisinnions cawnioco ec n OL
Rouen Drake....... dociucob apodoondoncaasaopocddoL decso. cl
VOM crataa/aicise Samisles a sodcose etn aloveloetslersielaieanieicisiels «ee M1
Srlmone Pile Games. oc. cccuis cv ccceecsecen Sonceccsos 55
Serai-ta-ooks, Vulture-hocks necessary in........ 15
Scurvy legs........... SCORE CS OABEC HOT hn Bar dteaacouscc 102
Setting Hens......... eet ers cbocoseacnaeonse tars ate 17
INDEX. 223
PAGE. PAGE.
Polands, Gray...........csccccccecsccesccscccccsecesss SL , Sexual Variations Of PlUMAZE.....cccccees sececceee 167
me eitens £08. COCK... ...-..-<02-2c0-cs0e esescseeeeeee» 11 | Shanghae fowls.......... cosoa seonnooonngoeeos soccore FF
— Pair of Golden-Spangled................-.eee0- .. 49 | Shanghaes, History and Characteristics of........ 38
— — — White-crested Black.......... Leeeestleces, (OO (G—! The Whites dcce occ la cee sisswesisiocencwen cosaeisneceeen noe
—- Silver-Spangled........ patent ots ciais acta! Bsteenists -eee. 49 | Silky fowls, A pair of............. eis 69
— White-crested Black..... Rocaoseoaunscsode Seccoce: GIL || =a = LENS aS Bo scca oo scctossosocecce sees 69
— — — White.........eeeeeeeeeneee nopaaos ponideiiaciee) Ol | SiLVier=GLrvveD OLKINSaeeeccseceae cece cen r - 43
Polish, Color of cock of Golaen-Spangled.... tenes 209 Gam ese. cisccsnsceseence stones Selsacollsesebeeeeee 54
— — — hen of Golden-Spangled.......... aes — Sebright Bantams..................... aeenaee .-67, 68
— — — White-crested Black.......... ddcnsco Skunk, Destructiveness of.......... codoooeceosose -. 173
— Disqualifications in White-crested TE. POST SEAMS oosetatslslateisiteiseneeeireeets SE acon S DAS 7
— Points in White-crested Black.................. 209 | Spamish, Ancona.............. Bieletaticte 60
— — Of Silver-Spangled.......cescseeseccccereceeeee 210 | — Black...........000-5 gacp006 dosooceHds 58
— Shape of cock.......... Boeeiclons Beanoccoocconensono CN) Sao dy inGHs Saka Sbnasanosbsocansoooeoanesee Betescceine eee 60
— appliances...... aacdadsnetascccecsadqocssococsctado LET Pa NOL DEMOS HN sGdooodap SoD0c0 SN GEST 200
— Diseases of...... nosccosasosasaccoodcancsdocaccsass HY 1] = GREE ccoddcensesadao doodancoccascass socosades coven AE
— enemies............. snocessnosbnccoce des — General shape................0..--05 Sacocee HoSoES 199
Sulphur for fowls.....
Sultans, Points of..... a
— Thecock....... soocdsocaosensocosace Sadoosoosese «-- 210
— — hen...............«- sondc
Terms and Technicalities............. .
Testicles, danger of bursting..........
— when found large.................
Trap, Barrel skunk.......
ES OXI OR DALLE Vescisiec) aicisincisieleisiceies
— Geyelin’s Vermin................
— Hungerford’s skunk.......
— Miles’ Vermin............ 30
—— EE SELLINPyAN GAIL. -/-e-e ieieeneoe nn ceeesecnee es
Pureey, BAUS W ill Clayercsciavwiniss ciaicisioiei= cercinictaiatelstersicela
Bronzed and Black..............sseeeeee
— The Domestic. ...................
— Portrait of a Bronze Baslevcrersyera
IPOMES Merete cslelelsietelelslamielele miaistoforstn eielayste mcveteineiaetoeye 214
— Raising.......... sococos soséede soases joooosscoesS 71, 186
——t NOME Dbe Me tacesoer ceiccisiacetienatisiseseitecioceeemeicione 73
— — prepare food for young......... Sietclate elsteraa ayers 72
a> TOME dcascccooecsdon bodedboddedasee ee 71
— The critical period........ BoSdoadnnesson 72
— Treatment of young........ le cissimstelsielaietets aS 72
Weasel....... socoadesbedesbocacs aoooaticadacocasdecocas cabal
White comb..... este rstate Salons Wolacleeis csisidaaieier a aeiomateiels 102
— faced Black Spanish and White Teens Cross 16
— Leghorns—Hens to & Cock............eeee ee eeeee ll
— Surrey Dorkings............. Wolstsietiaeeieie oebicaeaeeae
AVAL LIZ Osieesclsomtemninslesciisen ea cee Bye wie emek icici eemetene -. 102
Vulture Hocks................. apts eaistacepeueeo
Vulture Hocked Birds.................. *Watraetectelsaaie 38
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