THOROUGHBRED POULTRY 

 FOR FARMERS. 



CHAPTER XV. 



J. H. DREVENSTEDT. 



The value of thoroughbred poultry to the farmer is fully as 

 great as that of thoroughbred stock of any other kind. 

 It costs no more to keep, brings better prices and is 

 altogether more profitable than common barn-yard 

 stock. When I first engaged in farming, little heed was paid 

 to the hens. The farm, the garden, the cattle and horses were 

 carefully looked after with an eye to profit, but the hens were 

 a side issue. The flock was mixed, and was of no particular 

 breed, and the eggs and dressed poultry were like the flock 

 mixed also. There was no uniformity in the product, conse- 

 quently it sold in the markets as ordinary produce. That 

 means ordinary prices and little profits. 



Like all young poultry men, I bought eggs and fowls of many 

 different breeds, and while I never regret the experience 

 gained in breeding half a dozen different varieties at one time, 

 I soon discovered that a farmer has no time for such expensive 

 fancy poultry-farming. I then selected the breed that I liked 

 best and determined to go in for profit. The five years during 

 which I kept stock on the farm convinced me thoroughly that 

 poultry-culture was a very profitable thing. A ledger account 

 showed that the hens paid far better that the dairy cows, both 

 products being sold at good prices. 



It is commonly supposed that thoroughbred birds are of no 

 account for practical purposes, being bred simply for fancy 

 points. This is true only so far as the management of the 

 birds is concerned. A fancier does not care for egg-records, 

 but believes in feathers only. He pays the price, and it is a 

 large one, to obtain a desired "point." He pens up his birds, 

 he breeds them in and in, he "conditions" them for the show- 



