THE LEGHORNS 



133 



your plan at the start and adhere closely to it. When we 

 started in the business we decided that only such im- 

 provements or additions should be made as were justified 

 by the earnings of the plant. 



We have proven to our own satisfaction that S. C. 

 White Leghorns may be kept at a nice profit. That it is 

 necessary to make haste slowly in the poultry business 

 if success is to be your goal. That a fondness for the 



business and some experience is necessary if you are- 

 to be successful. 



That strict business methods are essential in this aa. 

 well as any other business if you are to succeed. 



That cornmon sense is one of the main essentiafs 

 and that strict attention to the little details is an abso- 

 lute necessity. 



Typical California Leghorn Farms 



Winter Climate Ideal for Intensive Poultry Culture. Style of Low Cost Houses 

 Csed by Successful Egg Farmers Illustrated. 



Profes 



Poullry Husbandr 



Static 



IN the neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, there 

 are a number of poultry farms that offer favorable 

 opportunity for studying intensive methods. It would 

 be difficult to find a winter climate that was more ideal 

 for intensive poultry culture than some sections of South- 

 ern California. 



One of these farms or "chicken ranches," as they are 

 called there, adjoins the city limits of Los Angeles, almost 

 within a stone's throw of the Cawston Ostrich Farm. It 

 is owned by Charles G. Weaver. It contains four acres 

 and at the time of my visit about 1,200 hens were kept 

 on it. It is located on rather a light sandy soil, not too 

 light, however, for the growth of crops, as it was the plan 

 ■ to cultivate and grow something on the land every year, 

 and at the time of my visit quite a number of the yards 

 were covered with a good growth of oats, etc. Crops 

 will grow here the year around. The yards were in sani- 

 tary condition, and there was no hard baked ground that 

 the chickens couldn't get theii toes into. 



A Small Start 



Mr. Weaver started in the chicken business here eight 

 years ago with 35 chickens. He bought the four acres 

 and made the first payment on borrowed money. The 

 land is now worth some two thousand dollars an acre 

 for building purposes. In 1909 he started the year with 

 500 hens, but sold them off during the summer to 325. 

 His profit that year was $1,800 above cost of feed and 

 hired help. The next year he started with 850 hens, 

 thinned them out to about 600 before the next pullets 

 started to lay, and he cleared $2,500 over feed and hired 

 help. He begins about August to kill off the hens. 



The total egg yield for 1909 was 86,519. The yield for 

 the following year up to October first, was 90,870. The 

 total receipts of the farm for the first year were $6,493.31; 

 the last year, till October 1st, $5,235.48. The statement 

 showed that the receipts for eggs and poultry and the 

 receipt for breeding stock and eggs for hatching, were 

 about equal. The flock w^s bred along utility lines, but 

 he has some show birds and occasionally gets a good price 

 for them. 



The highest price received for market eggs was 5Sc, 

 and the lowest 18 cents per dozen. 



The best month in egg yield during the first year was 

 March; the poorest November. The second year the April 

 yield slightly exceeded that for March. While this agrees 

 with conditions in the cold eastern states, I should expect 

 were the figures obtainable, that there would be a higher 

 percentage production here in the winter months than in 

 the cold states, due to a more favorable winter climate. 



The eggs were sold to retail dealers, though quite a 

 number were sold for incubation purposes at $6 per hun- 

 dred. He has secured as high as $25 for a breeding cock- 

 erel, though he makes no specialty of breeding fancy stuff. 



Style of Houses Used 



I want to call special attention to the style of houses 

 used on this place. The houses show that Mr. Weaver 

 has also learned the importance of fresh air in the egg bus- 

 iness. The photographs herewith show his style of house. 

 There were two houses of this kind on the place, each 

 200 feet by 12 feet. It is 4 feet high at back, 8 feet at cen- 

 ter and 6 feet at front. The front is entirely open, as will 

 be seen. The house is very cheaply constructed. Includ- 

 ing the fencing for yards and water pipe, the cost was- 

 about $360. The rafters are of 2x3-inch stuff placed 2]/^- 

 feet apart. On the top of the rafters two-inch wire net- 

 ting is placed and this is covered with sanded roofing 

 paper. The house is divided into ten sections, making- 

 each section 20 feet wide. For each section there is a 

 yard 50 feet long. Sixty to seventy hens are kept in each 

 section. There are three perches at back of house, made 

 of lx2^-inch material. Underneath the perches there is a> 

 platform to catch the droppings, but there is no floor. The 

 house is set on a cement wall. There is a tight board par- 

 tition between each section. 



During the first visit I made to the place, which was- 

 about the end of February, 308 eggs were gathered in the- 

 house shown in illustration. A month later, on anotheii 

 visit, I helped Mr. and Mrs. Weaver gather 326 eggs from 

 the same house, containing 600 pullets, and took the pho- 

 tograph of the buckets of eggs. From this house the eggs 

 are all marketed. All the hatching eggs were secured in 

 another house, in which yearling hens were kept. Mr. 

 Weaver believes that the eggs from hens produce better 

 chicks than those from pullets. 



STTLF: of houses USED ON CALIFORNIA POULTRY FARMS 



