POULTRY. 



POULTRY. 



KO 



mallei below placed OB a stool. In fifteen days, fowls are said to 

 1 ^ n j the highest state of ftno*s and flavour by this feeding. In 

 a<Hi<i"" to the ordinary paste of barley -meal, or meal made into little 

 ball* with milk, the dried seed* and leave* of nettle* have 

 ftfnjuA by the continental poulterer*, some of whom give a little 

 uuntane tend to induce sleep, while other* put out the eye* of the 

 i boner* a* the most effectual way of keeping them in a state of dark- 

 ness, which i* considered essential to their becoming rapidly fat ; and 

 under the pretext of relieving them from the irritation of vermin, they 

 pluck the feather* from their head*, bellies, and wings. While fowls 

 are thus preparing for the knife, though their bodies are closely con- 

 fined, their hinder part* are free for evacuation and cleanliness, and 

 their head* are at liberty to take in fresh supplies of nutriment 



The practice of making capon* (emasculating the males) is pr.ictised 

 a little in some of the English counties, and very much in France, 

 where the females are alao rendered incapable of breeding, and termed 

 in their unsexed condition pmlardtt, in order to give them the tendency 

 to fatten. An incision is made near the parts, and through this the 

 finger is introduced to take hold of and bring away the genital*, but so 

 carefully as not to injure the intestines : the wound is then stitched 

 up and rubbed with oil or grease ; and the comb (which appear* to be 

 an unnecessary and gratuitous pain and insult to the sufferer) is often 

 cut off. The females are treated much in the same way, when they 

 do not promise well for laying, or when they have ceased to be fertile ; 

 they are deprived of the ovarium. The subsequent treatment is 

 Nui'ilar to that in the former case. Care i* taken to give them good 

 food for three or four days, and during that time to keep them in a 

 place of moderate temperature, to avoid the danger of gangrene, which, 

 considering the time of the year midsummer, when the operation is 

 usually performed i* a very probable consequence. Pullets of the 

 largest breed are selected for the purpose, a* they yield the greatest 

 weight to the poulterer; and if employed in Latching, cover the 

 greatest number of egg*. 



Cuvier states that the capon may be taught to hatch eggs and to act 

 the part of a good nurse, with a little bell round his neck to supply the 

 want of a good voice. He asserts that the natural courage and energy 

 of this bird are not abated by the alteration of his condition, in which 

 his audacity enables him to impose on the cocks and hens, BO that they 

 allow him to strut about with his former gait of consequential import- 

 ance, and to fulfil his duties without interference or molestation. 

 This seems incredible, as a bold and haughty spirit under such cir- 

 cumstances is unnatural in the extreme. The |>alliduess of his head 

 and the diminutiveness of his comb and gills indicate the contrary dis- 

 position, and he is so despised by the other fowls that they will hardly 

 condescend to roost with him. 



Mr. Young, in his ' Report of the County of Sussex,' says that much 

 art and attention are requisite to make capons, and that the Sussex 

 breed are too long in the body for success in the operation, by which 

 many are lost A perfectly fat capon will weigh from seven to tea 

 pounds. 



As soon as the fowls are rendered sufficiently fat, they should be 

 killed, or they will lose flesh and become unhealthy. The most 

 humane and expeditious mode of putting them to death is by a smart 

 blow with a blunt-edged stick, such as a child's bat, at the back of the 

 neck. Higglers break the vertebra; of the neck by a sudden twist, and 

 never bleed fowls, as this mode of dispatching them dries up the juices 

 of the flesh. They bleed turkeys and geese however, after a stunning 

 blow in the neck, not by cutting the throat, but by an incision in the 

 upper part of the mouth. 



Store fowls will feed well upon the tailings of com, potatoes, and 

 insect*, and require little attention except when laying, during which 

 time the food for the hens should be abundant, and their roosting- 

 pUcesdry and warm. 



The dueasfie of all poultry principally arise from cold and moisture. 

 Ithmnutiion decidedly arises from this cause. During or after moulting 

 in a wet season, fowls frequently become diseased, as is evident from 

 their drooping appearance, swelled and watery eyes, and the dropsical 

 affections of the leg*. Severe laying also sometimes causes emaciation 

 and illness, which give way to a more healthy condition after the 

 moulting season, if they have good food and dry weather. 



Chicken* are very subject, in wet or variable weather, to a disease 

 called the chip, which appears in about a fortnight after their birth, 

 when they are changing their feathers. Warmth and sunshine are the 

 only restorative* within our knowledge. 



The roup U properly an impostbuiue upon the rump, which is cured 

 or relieved by opening, squeezing, and bathing with warm water. Mr. 

 Moubray, however, who i* a good practical authority, states that the 

 roup is a general term for all diseases, though it is generally applied to 

 catarrh, which is indicated by watery eye* and running at the nostrils. 

 This last disease resemble* glanders in hone*, and is infectious, and 

 generally fatal. As all these disostpi originate in moisture, dryness 

 and warmth are the beet counteracting influence*. The nostril* should 

 be washed with soap and water, and the eye* with milk and water. 

 Mr. Moubray recommend* a pepper-corn in dough at first to iinp..n 

 warmth, and afterward* calomel three times a week aa a finish to 

 the cure. 



We have had the trachea of a chicken dying of the gapes (which is 

 the incipient itage of roup) cut and opened, and have takcu out 



narrow worms, alnut half an inch in length, which lay imbedded in a 

 serous fluid. We have known fowls to be cured of the same disease 

 lir putting the upper ]>art of a feather, stripped for the purpose, down 

 the trachea, turning it iMiinil, and thus bringing U|> the worm. 



Tlu- |n|i. whi.-h u probably a modification of roup, has been cured 

 by an application of powdered borax dissolved in tin. tin. . i nnrrh 

 and water, and rubbed on the tongue with a caim-l-h;iir brush ; 

 three times a day. This at the muie time assists the bowels. The 

 flux is not uncommon. Solid corn is the most certain remedy for this 

 dj*(isi Taken at the commencement, it is rarely serious, lull : 

 established in the constitution it becomes incurable, and, according 

 to some, contagious. For constipation, bran or pollard, with milk, beet 

 leaves, and lettuce*, afford a certain cure. 



Much of the foregoing matter applies to the rearing and management 

 of all poultry. The succeeding observations will be brief. 



Tiirt-cyt. The greatest weight to which our domesticated poultry 

 can be made to attain is SOlbs., and a turkey of even half this 

 is " a dainty dish." 



" The varied plumage of the bird in the domesticated state is well 

 known to every one ; and in no sjiecies is that sure mark of Mil 

 to man more strongly seen. Every gradation of colour, from its 

 original bronze, passing into buff, and in many instances into pure 

 white, may be observed in these strutting denizens of our farmyards." 

 (Broderip, ' Recreations in Natural History.') The bronze or copper- 

 coloured is not considered hardy, nor is it often reared, and tin- 

 varieties may be stated to be only twofold, the dark-coloured and 

 the light. 



The dark-coloured birds are most prized for size and hardihood. 

 Notwithstanding the great price which may be obtained for tin), 

 London when fat, the finest young birds may be purchased in 1 

 fit for cramming, in September and October, from 4s. to 6. a couple, 

 and the light-coloured and smaller ones frequently from 'it. 6d. to St. 6d. 

 a couple. 



Turkeys, though extremely delicate in their infancy, becoin- 

 hardy, and, if permitted, will roost on the highest trees, in t i 

 dry nights of winter, without suffering injury. The hen, which l.iys 

 many eggs early in spring, sits thirty days, and covers from twelve to 

 fifteen eggs. It is unnecessary for the turkey cock, as is the case \\ ith 

 gallinaceous fowl, to be in constant intercourse with the hen during 

 her period of laying. Two visits from him in that season are sufficient ' 

 to impregnate all the eggs. She is a very steady sitter, and un 

 removed to her food and supplied with water, for she would n,-\cr 

 leave her nest. She wants the alertness and courage and sagiu 

 the common hen, and might be called a fool with much more pr. 

 than the goose, which is an intelligent bird. The turkey hen is in- 

 capable of teaching her young ones how to pick up their food, on 

 which account a poultry-maid should always attend them until tiny 

 are reared. 



On account of the constitutional delicacy of this bird, the hatching 

 should not be commenced too early in the spring, and when the chicks 

 are hatched they should be guarded from the extremes of heat ami 

 cold for some weeks. Rain is almost always fatal to thorn in tin-n- 

 early stage. Curd, boiled eggs, and barley or oatmeal, kneaded with 

 milk (or water, in case milk should produce looseness), potatoes, nettles, 

 parsley, Swedish turnips, with chopped beet-leaves, after a little time, 

 is their proper food.* As they retain so much of their original wild 

 nature as to stray a considerable distance, if permitted, the hen should 

 be tied or cooped for at least six weeks, when the chicks will be hardy 

 enough to follow her about, under the vigilant eye however of the 

 poultry-maid, who should beware of their being caught by a shown-. 



They are soon familiarised to the society of fowls in the 

 poultry or farm-yard. Without the advantage of the latter, it ia 

 -an unprofitable speculation to rear any description of poultry 

 on a large scale; but where a farmer's yard presents facilities the 

 economy of having all those kinds to which the soil and climate are 

 suitable, is considerable. The only caution with regard to turkeys, 

 where gallinaceous birds are numerous, is to have separate houses for 

 them at night These should be very lofty and well ventilated. They 

 may be altogether open to the ail- in front, the doors being of trellis- 

 work. Fowls (which are equally unsocial with the eajujiis of their own 

 kind) have a strong disinclination to roost with them. 



When well-grown, turkeys supply themselves in their rambling* so 

 far as to require food only when leaving their house in the morning 

 and returning at night The chances of rearing a second brood are not 

 so groat as to render it expedient to make the trial. 



After six months turkeys may be crammed like fowls, but they 

 require a much longer period to render them fully fat Those great 

 birds which are sent to the London market about Christmas, prin. 

 from Norfolk, frequently weighing from twenty to twenty-five | 

 arc usually cocks from the preceding year. Great numbers of turkeys 

 are reared in Ireland, where the climate is congenial to their natn 



Guinea fovL This bird, which is not much larger than the common 

 barn-door fowl, is of beautiful form and plumage, and though n< it a 

 .tit to the peasant who rears poultry for immediate sale, is 

 usually kept where there is proper accommodation, as much on a< 

 of the excellence and abundance of the eggs (which, though small, are 

 well-flavoured) a* for the sake of the flesh, which is prized in the 

 London markets when the season of pheasant-eating ceases. The 



