62-t IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the size of the eggs. Set as many hens at the same time as you can, and 

 allow one hen to brood from twelve to fifteen chicks if the weather is 

 cold; but in warmer weather it is not necessary for the hen to hover all 

 the little chicks, for those that get cold will soon crawl under her wings, 

 and if she is a careful bird and is given the proper care and the right 

 coop she can easily take care of twenty-five chickens. I have found that 

 hens with large broods, if given good care, will raise a larger per cent 

 of their flock, than those with a few. Have a large dry coop for the 

 hen and a run for the chicks, a part at least, of which is in the open air, 

 for sunshine makes healthy chickens. It is very important that the 

 chicks are properly fed. They require food in small quantities, but re- 

 quire that often. Heavy feeding often stunts young chicks and they never 

 get over it. For the first twenty-four hours no food is necessary. Then 

 give scraps of bread, oatmeal, cracked corn, chickfeed, etc., with sand and 

 grit and plenty of fresh water. Many people are successful in hatching 

 and raising chickens to the frying stage, then their interest flags, and the 

 half-grown birds are neglected, underfed, crowded and pestered with lice. 

 To produce good birds, they must be kept growing from the time they 

 hatch until they are matured. It is the home stretch the last part of the 

 race which counts. Most farmers regard the poultry business as some- 

 thing too trifling to merit their attention. It may surprise some of them 

 to know that according to the twelfth census, there were raised in the 

 United States poultry to the value of $137,000,000 and eggs to the value of 

 :$144,000,000 in 1899. In 1908, the poultry products of the country ex- 

 ceeded $500,000,000, equaling in value the nation's wheat crop. It may 

 further surprise them to know that the value of the oats and potato crop 

 in the United States in 1907 did not equal the value of the poultry pro- 

 ducts of that year, and that in 1899 the nations egg output was more than 

 the gold and silver mined in any year for half a century. In 1900 the 

 poultry and egg output was more than the world's annual production of 

 either gold or silver in any year since the beginning of the gold and sil- 

 ver records. The Iowa hen leads the hens of the United States. Hens 

 are more numerous and busier, for Iowa annually produces more eggs 

 than any other state by 10,000,000 dozens. Iowa's eggs each year are 

 worth twice as much as her wheat crop. Her hens are as valuable as the 

 gold mines of California, for they produce as much wealth every year. But 

 still there are same farmers who say it doesn't pay to raise hens. There is 

 money in anything that is necessary for the comfort and well-being of the 

 human family. The poultry industry on the farm, in most cases, pays the 

 living expenses of the family. And then there are but few who do not 

 enjoy eating eggs and poultry and the many excellent dishes prepared 

 from them. Eggs are used for so many purposes that it is necessary 

 for the supply to be constant. The farmer who says chickens do not pay, 

 does so because he does not extend the proportionate time and brain in 

 caring for his fowls that he does in caring for his other stock. He quick- 

 ly discovers the reason when a cow fails to give her full quota of milk, 

 because he observes her daily, knows what she needs, and the condition 

 under which she is kept. The average farmer gives his chickens very 

 little care whatever, and generally houses them in some little 8x10 out 



