24 POULTRY FARMING 



or pastime, deriving much pleasure from the success of the work. 

 The financial return to the one who has his money only in the 

 business, with no special interest or close personal touch with 

 the management, is apt to be very uncertain and often very dis- 

 astrous. Poultr}^ farming as a pure investment for surplus capital 

 is an unsafe and unwise policy. 



The Poultry Laborer. — By the poultry laborer is meant the 

 person who gives his time to the care and management of poultry 

 as the hired employee of the owner of the plant. He receives for 

 time so spent a cash compensation, with often additional pay in 

 the form of perquisites or bonuses. In some cases an interest in 

 the business is the method of making the amount of compensa- 

 tion, while in others a definite monthly rate is specified. The 

 opportunity for poultry labor is great, and success depends upon 

 experience and willingness to try and do as directed. Few poultry 

 farmers are willing to hire inexperienced laborers, owing to the 

 trouble and time required to teach them. 



The wages paid poultry laborers vary from board and room up 

 to sixty and seventy-five dollars per month and found. The in- 

 experienced young man who is looking for experience can usually 

 get about fifteen dollars with board and room. The experienced 

 poultryman receives a wage of about thirty to fifty dollars with 

 board and room, while the manager employed where the plant is 

 large and the responsibility great often receives a yearly salary of 

 from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars. A very satisfac- 

 tory wage schedule is to put into effect the bonus system. By 

 this method the employer agrees to pay the employee a definite 

 monthly wage; this amount to be paid regardless of the results 

 attained. In addition to this amount, a bonus is paid at the end 

 of each month or year, as the agreement was made, for superior 

 results in hatching, rearing, egg production, etc. A common 

 plan is to offer a bonus of twentj^-five dollars per year if the flock 

 production averages over 144 eggs per bird, or a bonus of one 

 dollar per hatch if the result is greater than 60 per cent. The 

 bonus system gives the laborer something to work for and hence 

 increases interest and efficiency. Men who are trained as to the 

 mating and breeding problems can demand the best wages. The 

 wages for poultry labor are somewhat higher than those paid to 

 other types of agricultural workers, due to the fact that a better 

 training, more experience, and careful attention to detail are 

 necessary. 



