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GENERAL NOTES ON POULTRY-KEEPING. 



;y "the henwife.' 



VALUE OF COCHINS AS MOTHERS. 



ALL persons conversant with poultry mat- 

 ters allow that in order to secure early 

 hatched chickens it is a necessity to have 

 Cochin hens to act as mothers. Dorkings, 

 &c., may lay during winter, but they rarely 

 sit until their usual time which is spring. 

 Cochins, on the contrary, sit three or four 

 times a-year, and as they are good v/inter 

 layers, if young, they can be depended upon 

 to hatch the eggs of all tardy sitters. For 

 this purpose alone, therefore, Cochins would 

 be valuable additions to our stock ; but I 

 consider them besides very beautiful birds. 

 Their soft downy feathering, of such exquisite 

 tints of yellow and maize, all ladies must 

 admire, and the true types of the high-caste 

 Cochins are of handsome, massive build, 

 majestic carriage, large size, and (which is 

 but little known) very short on the leg. They 

 are hardy, docile, and very productive ; their 

 eggs are not large, but by no means so small 

 as those of the Hamburghs. They bear 

 confinement well, and a fence 3 feet high is 

 sufhcient to keep them within bounds. They 

 require no perch in their houses, preferring 

 tlie floor, which must, however, be littered 

 <lown with straw, as in a stable, and as 

 regularly renewed, for the feathering is so 

 delicate in colour and texture that it is easy 

 soiled and ruffled by damp. I do not con- 

 sider Cochins good table fowls unless when 

 quite young, and I consequently advise their 

 being kept principally as egg-layers and sitters. 

 Pure-bred birds command high prices, and at 

 all our principal shows the classes fill Avell. 

 P^ach fancier has her or his individual taste 

 regarding colour, and, as the varieties are 

 numerous, if the points and qualities are good, 



colouring only holds a secondary place. 

 White Cochins, from the contrast of the scarlet 

 comb, yellow bill, and snowy plumage, are 

 peculiarly attractive, and they are quite as 

 robust as the coloured birds, but they must 

 have a clean grass run, and be seen only 

 under a pure sky. They are apt to become 

 yellow if exposed much to the sun, so require 

 a shaded yard — if the birds are intended for 

 exhibition — the yellow tinge being a great 

 disqualification. To those who have the wish 

 to breed early chickens for market, I confi- 

 dendy recommend crossing the Cochin hen 

 with a Dorking cock. The chickens will 

 feather more quickly than the pure bred 

 Cochins, which are backward in fledging ; 

 and although there may be a shade of yellow 

 in the skin at that early season, say in March, 

 poulterers cannot be fastidious, and I have 

 known them thankful to pay high prices for 

 chickens that would be almost worthless 

 later. There is no doubt Cochins are very 

 productive, when properly managed ; and I 

 strongly advise the introduction at once of a 

 few hens into all poultry-yards feeling sure 

 they will gi\-e satisfaction on trial. 



DAILY FOOD. 



Eggs may now be safely sent to market, 

 few caring to take the trouble of rearing 

 chickens through a long dreary winter, and 

 at present prices both poultry and eggs should 

 be repaying part of the expense of feeding. 

 All inferior birds must be killed off". ■ Grain 

 is daily rising in value, and, as insect life is 

 scarce, fowls are more dependent upon the 

 food given to them. A reduction in the 

 stock, therefore, becomes advisable, and gocd 

 birds can readily be sold at fair remunerative 

 prices. Where the stock is known as prize- 



