CHAPTER XII. 



HINDRANCES AND DISEASES. 



The chief hindrances and obstacles to turkey growing 

 are human and animal thieves, lice and disease. You can 

 always find a market for your dressed turkeys; you can 

 generally make satisfactory arrangements with your neigh- 

 bors, if your birds trespass upon their land ; but all the 

 obstacles may be overcome by patience, perseverance and 

 intelligence. In the more thickly settled portions of the 

 country, thieves are the worst enemies the poultry grower 

 has. In some parts of New England, poultry thieving 

 seems to be a profession with some people, as "our court 

 records, when a culprit is caught, will show. But these 

 thieves rarely steal in their own neighborhood. They cen- 

 ter in some large town or city, and go out by night, with 

 teams, five, ten, and sometimes twenty miles in their 

 predatory excursions. If your turkeys roost out of doors, 

 it will be necessary to keep one or more dogs to warn you 

 of the approach of the thieves. You cannot shoot them as 

 you can foxes and coyotes, but you can do something 

 which the thieves dread more than the shot gun ; cause 

 their arrest. As your action must be determined by the laws 

 of the place where you live, no further advice can be given 

 than always to bear in mind that eternal vigilance is the 

 price of success in turkey raising. 



Of animals, dogs do more mischief than foxes. If you 

 cannot cure your dog of worrying turkeys, shoot him. For 

 other animals, the gun, traps and poison, judiciously used, 

 are effective remedies. 



Lice, a great annoyance to the poultry keeper, may be 

 exterminated from your flock, if they get possession, but it 



