TURKEY RAISING 



8 or 10 pounds heavier is sure to injure the hens in some 

 cases so severely that they will die. When the skin of a 

 hen's back is severely torn it may sometimes be desirable 

 to sew up the tears, rubbing carbolated vaseline on the 

 wound after the sewing is completed. 



Selecting and Purchasing Breeders 



The best time to select the breeders is during the fall, 

 before the turkeys are sent to the Thanksgiving and 

 Christmas markets. At this time the turkey grower can 

 pick out from his young stock the best grown, most vig- 

 orous females to save as breeders. There is entirely too 

 great a tendency for turkey raisers to be tempted by the 

 holiday prices to send their best grown, largest birds to 

 market, with the result that after the Christmas mar- 

 keting, they have left only the slow growing, small, 

 scrubby females to retain as breeders. Such a practice 

 must of course result in a deterioration in the stock. In 

 case turkey hens or breeding males are to be purchased, 

 the fall is the best time to do this as there will be a larger 

 number of birds to select from at that time. It is also 

 well to have the breeders selected early and placed under 

 the conditions where they will be bred so that they will 

 become thoroughly used to their environment before 

 the breeding season commences. 



When breeding birds are purchased they should be iso- 

 lated, when received, for a few days, in order to make sure 

 that they are thoroughly healthy before they are allowed 



