THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



9 



(EMBODYING RESULTS OF ACTfAL EXPERIENCE.) 

 HATCHING CHICKS EVERT MONTH. 



By P. H. Jacobs. Hanimonltm, N. J. 



Although custom has confined the hatching of 

 chicks to' the early spring niontlis, there is no 

 reason why they may not be hatched ami raised 

 with profit the entire year. There is not a 

 month in the year that does not present advan- 

 tages and disadvantages, and tlie most successful 

 persons often meet with loss when unexpected, 

 and success when the obstacles seem greatest. 



September is an excellent time to begin hatch- 

 ing, not because there will be a sale for broilers 

 wlieti they are six weeks old, but because they 

 can be raised with less care. In such case the 

 poultry raiser must take into consideration the 

 fact tliat the best prices are not attainable until 

 after Christmas, and the chicks must pass through 

 the beginning of winter The broilers that bring 

 the highest prices are those that are fat, compact, 

 and nicely feathered, and when they first come 

 into mark'etshouhl weigh from one-half to three- 

 quarters of a pound. How to raise chicks 

 hatclied in September, and yet manage to liave 

 them small enough for sale in January, is best 

 done by crossing a black-red game bantam cock 

 on small, compact common hens. The gjime 

 blood gives vigor, the flesh is the best of all table 

 towls, and the bantam size prevents rapid growth. 

 but allows of quick feathering and age before 

 the weather becomes too cold. As the chicks 

 will have made suflicient growth during the fall 

 to enable them to withstand the severity of 

 winter, they will be able to endvre much more 

 than the chicks from standard fow'.s of llie .same 

 age. The same rule that applie> to September 

 may hold good for October, but November de- 

 mands a cross of a larger kind, for the cliicks 

 will not grow too fast after frost. We should 

 cross the hens with a cock of a hardy breed, and 

 one that feathers up well, such as the Plymouth 

 Rock lor Dominiciv, if the hens are large), but 

 avoid such breeds as Hamburgs or Black Spanish, 

 as they are too tender for winter. 



The first consideration for the chicks is dryness. 

 The slightest dampness is worse tluin cold, 

 though warmth is also abscdutely essential. The 

 breeder will find that his duty will be shoveling 

 snow, thawing drinking fountains, and occasion- 

 ally resuscitating chicks tliat have been chilled, 

 but after he has attended to tliem faithfully he 

 will be amply rewarded by the high ])rices 

 obtained. Chicks hatched in November, Decem- 

 ber, and January, are more readily sold at the 

 weight of half a pound. February and March 

 chicks sell best at three-quarters of a jmund, and 

 April hatched chicks at a pound, the price 

 averaging about fifty cents a chick, the half 

 pound selling at one Qollar per pound, the three- 

 quarters at seventy-five cents per pound, and 

 pro rata. 



Although the difiiculties in winter may seem 

 arduous, the prices are a remuneration, but the 

 largest and easiest profits are derived from chicks 

 hatched in the spring months — March, April, 

 and May, owing to the expenses being lighter in 

 comparison, the chicks not being subject to such 

 extremes of heat and cold as during the winter 

 and summer. The best month tor selling is 

 April, and the poorest, September and October. 

 That chicks may be raised profitably at all 

 times may be made apparent from the fact that 

 the price seldom l>ecomes less than twelve and 

 one-half cents a pound, even in the dullest sea- 

 sons, though adults often sell for much less, 

 while the actual cost is about five cents ])er 

 pound. The summer months are usually con- 

 sidered the most unfavorable for hatching young 

 chicks, but the cause of failure may be attribu- 

 ted to lice, which rapidly multiply during warm 

 weather, the mortality being greater than in 

 winter or spring. This difficulty is easily obvi- 

 ated, however, by proper management, and as 

 the increase of carcass is greatest during the first 

 three months of a chick's existence, a fair profit 

 may be realized even at low prices. 



To classify each month, in a condensed form, in 

 regard to the advantages and disadvantages, we 

 may state that in September chicks may be 

 hatched, brought to a good condition, and sold 

 in January at a fair profit, but the breeder must 

 buy all the food and expect to do hard work 

 before they reach the market. 



October enables the breeder to have the chicks 

 feathered i)efore the cold season sets in, and they 

 may be sold with those liatched in September. 



November chicks will bring good prices about 

 the beginning of February, but they demand the 

 closest supervision, and unceasing care. 



December chicks come at a time when they 

 mu,st not be allowed to roam at will, for the cold. 



if allowed to injure them, brings on roup, and 

 they gradually drop otf. With plenty of warmtli 

 and sunlight, however, they may be carried tor- 

 ward with but little loss. 



January chicks are those that produce the 

 early pullets for winter laying, but they must be , 

 raised without the snow and ice to injure them. 

 It is the extra care required that makes them 

 valuable. 



Both January and February are the months 

 for raising the April market chicks; the best 

 breeds fijr the purpose being those possessing 

 strong constitutions, heavy bone, and close 

 feathering. All chicks raised in the winter 

 months grow faster the greater the proportion of 

 artificial heat supplied. 



March chicks get the benefitof the first growth 

 of vegetation iu warm sandy sections, and a 

 variety of food is more easily obtained than (ire- 

 viouslv. A cross of the Leghorn on common 

 hens is now the best, as the chicks will feather 

 rapidly and come into market with greater attrac- 

 tions, 'owing to the easy maturity of the Leg- 

 horns. Chicks hatched this month sell best in 

 Mav, when about one pound each in weight. 



April and Mav are twin months, t.ie conditions 

 being nearlv tlie same. The chicks will receive 

 a greater variety, and can begin to forage. They 

 reach the market about the middle of June and 

 first of Julv, up to which time the prices will he 

 from fifty cents down to twenty-five cents per 

 pound for two-pound cliicks, but the cost of pro- 

 duction will be less. 



June, July, and August are considered unfa- 

 vorable months, for reasons stated above, yet, 

 in proportion to the cost of proiluction (estima- 

 ting care, labor, and price of food), the profit 

 from hatching chicks, ior the capital invested, is 

 quite a large sum it rightly noticed, the princi- 

 ple obstacle, as meiitioned, being lice. 



In attempting to illustrate that hatching chicks 

 may be made profitable at all seasons, it should 

 be considered that while the prices are greatest 

 for those raised during the winter that transpor- 

 tation to market, cleanliness, and freedom from 

 colds is more difficult, and that by keeping away 

 the vermin in summer the lowest prices are 

 apparentlv more than they seem to be if we 

 allow due importance to the value of quicker 

 growth, smaller amount of food consumed, and 

 the saving eff'ected by the foraging of the chicks, 

 and the feeding to them of luucii material that 

 would otherwise he wasted. Above all things 

 give strict attention to the merits of the breeds, 

 and use as cardinal rules for success — icarmt/i, 

 ftri/ness, cleanliness, and rnriely in feeding. It' 

 these suggestions are followed the chances of 

 success will be largely increased. 



annually, sooner or later brings on loss of vigor 

 and hardiness in the chicks. The eggs from the 

 early moulted hens hatch best, and the hens are 

 better sitters and more reliable than the pullets. 

 It is time to rid the flock of the moulting hens, 

 when they postpone the shedding of feathers after 

 the advent of cold weather, for such hens will noti 

 lay until Spring, no matter how well they pass 

 through the ordeal, nor will tlie jiuUets lay if 

 they do not begin early. It is well known that 

 pullets and cockerels do not nionlt the first fall, 

 but they continue to grow until over a year old, 

 wliich affects the laying qualities of the pullets 

 to a certain extent. The breeder may hasten the 

 moulting of the hens by giving them, three times, 

 a week, a little meat and ground bone, with aa 

 occasional stimulant of a little red pepper and 

 tincture of ircm. The object should be to get 

 them to moult as soon as possible, and not to send 

 them to niiirkef If good, strong, well-grown 

 cockerels are obtainable, no objections may be in 

 the way of selling the cocks, and yet it is advis- 

 able to keep a cock that has proved himself 

 valuable, another season. 



MOULTING IN THE PALL. 



As the hen begins to molt, the number of eggs 

 secured becomes less than previously, hut as all 

 the hens do not usually moult at the same time, a 

 careful comparison will convince the breeder 

 that more eggs will be obtained than during some 

 of the winter months. We wish to give a few 

 special hints to our readers in regard to the 

 moulting hens, as many mistakes occur by not 

 taking advantage of natural results. 



As soon as a hen begins to moult she stops 

 laying (though there are sometimes exceptions), 

 and she is sent to market. If we will but calcu- 

 late that it requires three months during which 

 time to complete the moulting ]iroeess, it is plain 

 that the hen that begins now will finish about 

 the first of December. Being then in full plum- 

 age, and her troubles over, she is prepared to 

 begin the winter, and should lay. If the com- 

 mences to lay on the approach of winter, she will 

 continue to do so until spring, and will return a 

 large revenue owing to the high prices then 

 obtained for eggs, and will also be among the 

 first to sit in the spring, when it is desirable that 

 the early broods be hatched, mark the fact then, 

 that instead of sending her to market that it will 

 pay to keep her as a winter layer. But the 

 moulting hens are made to give place to the 

 early puUet-s, and we consider such a course 

 injurious, as pullets often begin to lay before they 

 are fully matured, and a repetition of the process 



THE BROOM IN THE POULTRY HOUSE. 



It is a disagreeable task at all times to clean 

 out the jioultry houses and coops, but, like every 

 other undertaking, much dejiends on the system- 

 atic uiaiiner in which the work is performed. 

 We have seen persons labor hard all day, in the 

 midst of filth, with shovel and hoe, cleaning the 

 poultry house, and when the job was finished but 

 little a|ipearance of cleanliness was added to it. 

 There is an easy, neat, effectual way of cleaning 

 the poultry house, which, if adopted, removes 

 the dread and disgust of the work, and makes it 

 a pleasure instead of an annoyance. The first 

 consideration is the construction of the floors. 

 Dry dirt will not answer, for the reason that it 

 absorbs the iin|)urities, and the filth can only be 

 removed with the dirt, thus entailing the neces- 

 sity of changing the entire floor and substituting 

 fresh material. W^ have found the use of the 

 broom to be the cleanest, easiest, and best method 

 of removing the droppings, but in order to do so, 

 the floor must be hard. Wood is the best mater- 

 ial, but a wooden floor is liable to become a har- 

 boring jilaee for rats, unless it is well closed 

 underneath, or raised sufficiently to allow of a 

 cat or terrier to run in and out under it. When 

 this is done the cold air comes up into the poultry 

 house in winter, ami makes the wooden floors 

 objectionable. Cement is better, for it not only 

 prevents vermin from entering, but also the 

 drafts. The cheapest way to make such a floor 

 is to take 1 barrel of lime, 2 of sand, 1 of fine 

 gravel, 1 bushel of cements, and two gallons 

 liquid coal tar. Mix the engredients dry, then 

 add water, and spreaci evenly on a liani surface 

 which has been graveled. The coal tar may be 

 brought to a projier consistency with coal oil. 

 It keeps away lice, and colors the cement. Let 

 the floor remain undisturbed for twenty-four 

 hours, and add another coating in order to stop 

 the cracks. 



To clean such a floor first dust it well with dry 

 earth, plaster, or .sand. A mixture of road dirt 

 and plaster, equal jiarts, is best. Dust it over 

 every portion of the floor, and dust it over the 

 walls and in the nests. Three times a week take 

 a broom and sweep the floor, dusting again after 

 sweeping, and it will be surprising to notice how 

 nicely and easily a poultry house may be cleaned 

 out in a few minutes. Another advantage is also 

 secured, which is, that the droppings will need 

 no iireparation for jireservation, as it will only 

 be necessary to put them in an old flour barrel 

 and keep the barrel under cover. Such a methotJ 

 gives the lice but little chance for securing pos- 

 session, and no disagreeable odor is at any time 

 manifested, while the work can be done much 

 better than with the, shovel, spade, or hoe. 



THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 



If poultry raisers would take into consideration 

 the influence of the etimate of the sections in 

 which they are located, they would secure mucli 

 ( (Ymtin^ied oihpage 16 ) 



FHR ^&l F '-' '"" l'l°°<'°''' ''"O'' 9^"^ Krown LeS' 



81.00 encb. 



horn Kousrers* tour tnolltlis old, 

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FOR POXJLTFIYIVIEN 



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 Belle's Prollable Poultry Keeping. SI. SO: Halsted's Artificial 

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POULTRY PAPERS. 



Pricelncludesa year's fiubacriptinii to Farm and Garden. 



American Poultry Yard, SI. 40; National Pooltry Bonitor. SI. 10; 



Poullrv VDorld, SI.ZO ; Poultry Nation. 80 cents; Poultry 



Monthly, SI. 10; Poultry Bulletin. SI. ID: Poultry and 



Farm Journal. SI. 10. 



S.'iHi hv P O Nar(. .ir I!..L'i.I.r...i I ..ti'r Sriinip^ irtkfii. Vitlrri^ 



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I The S.WIDGE, 100 



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A. W. T.ANG, 

 Cove L>ului L'Cwib Co.. Ky^ 



