TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 



Turkeys have been called the "farmers' friend/' and there is no 

 doubt that turkey raising on a small scale is more profitable than 

 any other branch of the poultry industry and that turkeys will 

 bring larger cash returns than any other stock upon the farm. 

 They cost very little to raise, they eat the waste grain in the fields 

 and barnyard, besides the seed of many harmful weeds. They 

 consume an immense number of grasshoppers, grubs, worms and 

 insects which would otherwise greatly injure the farmers' crops, 

 and they are not difficult to raise if they are not overfed. 



One writer asks if chick feed is a proper and safe food for little 

 turkeys, and another requests me to tell her exactly how I feed 

 and care for the little turkeys. 



Chick food is neither a safe nor a proper food for little turkeys, 

 although it is a most excellent food for little chicks. In fact, you 

 may be sure of success when you feed it to chickens and failure if 

 you feed it to turkeys. Later on I will try to explain this. 



Now, as to my way of rearing turkeys. I am glad to give it, be- 

 cause now I raise every turkey that is hatched, barring accidents, 

 as some will drown in the cows' trough and occasionally one or two 

 get stepped on, or the door blows on one, or the puppy worries 

 another. None die from disease. 



I do not pretend to say that mine is the only way, but I do say 

 that not only do I succeed in raising turkeys, but those who have 

 followed my directions were as successful as I have been, and 

 those that met with failure did not follow my plans. I have been 

 criticised as too fussy and particular about little details, but I think 

 it pays to take good care of the little things for a few weeks, for 

 turkeys are delicate only when they are little, and if properly cared 

 for then will be strong and hardy when they mature. 



Grandmother's Recipe 



'At my grandmother's the recipe for feeding little turkeys was as 

 follows: "Leave them in the nest twenty-four hours or until the 

 mother turkey brings them off ; then give them only coarse sand, 

 and water to drink. Meanwhile put some fresh eggs in cold water 

 to boil; let them boil for half an hour; then chop them up, egg- 

 shells and all, quite fine ; add an equal amount of dry bread crumbs, 

 and always, always, some green food chopped up finely." 



Lettuce, dandelion or dock were the green foods at grandmoth- 

 er's, and the explanation given me was that if they are fed without 

 having green at every meal, they soon become constipated, then get 

 sick and die. The secret of her success was the tender green food 

 and the grit, a pinch of coarse sand being sprinkled over the food 

 of each meal. As the little turkeys grew, a little cracked wheat and 

 later whole wheat was added to their food. That was the only 

 grain given. This was grandmother's recipe for raising turkeys. 



