616 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



I always raise the poults with a turkey mother. I set the 

 eggs about April 15th under chicken hens, my Barred Plymouth 

 Rock hens covering ten easily. I always put soil in the nest 

 boxes several inches deep, placing on top chaff or loose straw. 

 Have my hens rid of lice by use of some good powder. A few 

 days before hatching I take all litter from the nest, putting in 

 fresh. Dust the hen, throw her out «to rid her of the powder. 

 Meanwhile the turkey hen has been setting for a week or per- 

 haps three or four days. I place a pipped egg under her at 

 night and leave her alone until she comes off with the one 

 turkey. Then she is dusted thoroughly, let loose to dust her 

 feathers, placed in a run prepared for her and containing corn, 

 grit, water and some clean sand. The poults are placed inside, 

 not more than twenty-five, generally not more than twenty; the 

 gap is closed and she is left to get acquainted with her family. 



The runs I use are made of old rails (as the only available 

 material at hand), but have been found so satisfactory that I 

 have continued the use of them. Build a pen square, rail 

 upon rail, until four feet high, making a slip gap in one side. 

 Cover with boards weighted down in case of heavy wind. At 

 the bottom of the pen I place a board eight or nine inches high 

 to keep the little poults inside the first day or until they have 

 learned the mother call. Always use the ground for floor 

 unless very damp, then some dry straw or chaff is scattered. 

 If weather is sunny and bright the little fellows lie in the sand, 

 take a pick at the grass, a sip at the water, seemingly quite 

 content. I feed first about noon (they are now forty-eight 

 hours old) a little stale bread dipped in sweet milk, pressed 

 dry, sprinkled lightly with black pepper, not too much, scat- 

 tered around on the same. Feed about five times each day 

 for two or three days. If weather is clear I open the gap on 

 the third day about nine or ten o'clock and let Mother Turk 

 come out with her brood, which she will do very leisurely. 

 Always keep her well fed and don't allow her to range far. As 

 they grow older commence to feed a little hard-boiled egg, a 

 little onion top or lettuce leaves cut fine, but main feed, bread 

 and milk, until after two weeks old, at no time feeding all they 

 will eat. The hen is driven back to the run about five o'clock 

 and kept in until after dew is off in the morning. The boards 

 are thrown back from top of pen to allow sunshine each day, 

 and every five or six days run is moved over on fresh ground. 

 I dust each poult once a week for lice until six weeks old. After 



