192 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



twice a day? 6. Is there any food 

 which should be always before them? 

 Mrs. C. F. S. 



Keeping twenty young three- 

 month-old turkeys yarded is a very 

 serious proposition, unless your yard 

 is an unusually large one with plenty 

 of shade and sunshine. 1. Wheat is 

 the best grain for turkeys until about 

 two or three weeks before you want 

 to kill them, then you can add corn. 

 2. You can give bran and beef scraps 

 but, 3. I prefer granulated milk and 

 bran, as it seems to agree better with 

 the turkeys. 4. About an ounce each 

 per day. 5. Twice a day is consid- 

 ered about right for yarded turkeys. 

 6. Turkeys need plenty of fresh, 

 green succulent food, such as clover 

 lawn clippings or lettuce, swiss chard, 

 beet tops, cabbage or the curly kale. 

 They must have green food to do 

 well and should have all they can 

 eat of it, and grain only twice a day. 

 Almost any kind of fruit or nuts or 

 olives suits them. It you want to 

 leave any food always before them 

 you might leave a box of granulated 

 milk and another of bran. Always 

 keep charcoal, grit and granulated 

 bone before them. If you had a wal- 

 nut orchard in which they could roam 

 I would say leave a box of wheat 

 where they can get to it and they will 

 not over eat; they will roam away 

 and only go to it when hungry, but 

 in a yard with nothing to occupy or 

 interest them, I think the bran would 

 be better. Give them at least three 

 or four times a week, onions chopped 

 up and mixed with dry bran. The 

 onions are a wonderful tonic to liver 

 and kidneys and will do more to help 

 you keep the turkeys healthy than 

 anything. They are also a preventive 

 to intestinal worms and roup. Fresh, 

 clean water as cool as possible is also 

 a necessity. 



Turkeys I have just moved into 

 this valley, on a 120-acre farm and 

 want to raise turkeys. Now, is the 

 White Holland as good to raise for 

 market as the Bronze, if so, do you 

 have their eggs to sell? If you do 

 not have them, will you please send 

 me the address of someone who does. 

 Also the address of someone who has 

 the Bronze? Do you have Guinea 

 fowls, and if so what do you charge 

 for a setting of eggs; if you do not 

 keep them will you give me the ad- 



dress of someone who does? I also 

 want to ask you if you think it will 

 pay to raise geese for the feathers, 

 if so, what kind is best? And where 

 can I get the eggs? We have plenty 

 of alfalfa and plenty of water. Mrs. 

 S. E. S. 



Answer White Holland turkeys 

 will do equally well with the Bronze. 

 They are not quite as heavy when 

 two years old; they are smaller 

 boned; but I have had them at six 

 months weighing eighteen to twenty- 

 two pounds, which size is preferred 

 on the market to any larger. The 

 White Holland seem to stand hot cli- 

 mate exceedingly well and they do 

 not roam as far as the Bronze. I 

 will try and send you a list of breed- 

 ers of both kinds. There are, how- 

 ever, quite a number of persons in the 

 interior valley breeding turkeys, and 

 my advice to you would be to get 

 the eggs from two or three different 

 parties near you. I saw a large flock 

 at El Centre, and heard of others at 

 Imperial, Thermal and Coachella. 



The Guineas do not begin to lay 

 here before April; if you will write to 

 me then I may be able to give you 

 the address of farmers having some. 



I think it would pay to raise geese, 

 As they are grazing animals they re- 

 quire very little grain and will live 

 almost entirely upon alfalfa. But they 

 must have plenty of grit as well as 

 crushed shell to make egg shell, 

 There is not grit enough in the soil 

 of Imperial valley for domestic fowls 

 of any kind. 



The Toulouse geese are usually the 

 most popular. They are gray and 

 white. I like the Embden; they are 

 the same size but are pure white. I 

 will send you the address of a party 

 keeping the Toulouse geese and will 

 try to find out where you can get the 

 Embden. 



A Lack of Green Food I have a 

 torn turkey that is sick. He was a 

 year old last May and about six weeks 

 ago he would not eat. He did not 

 look sick, and would strut and gobble 

 a little, but did not eat. I gave him 

 Carters' liver pills and he soon got 

 all right. About a week ago he be- 

 gan to get off his feed again, and I 

 at once began to doctor him. Have 

 given him liver pills and germazone, 

 but he has not eaten anything since 

 last Wednesday. Can you tell me 



