THE TURKEY.] 



POULTRY. 



[iiir. 



1 I kkky 



■will almost perish with hunger before eutirely 



leaving the nest. 



The morning is the time wlicn the hen 

 turkev usually lays; bonie performing this 

 operation daily, and others only every Bccond 

 uav. From iirtoen to twenty egi^'s is the number 

 generally laid ; but this varies aceording to the 

 age of the bird — a hen of a year old laying 

 fewer eggs than one of greater maturity. 

 "When tlie turkeys are about to be let out in 

 the morning, the hens should be examined, and 

 those whieh are about to lay should be kept 

 iu until that process has taken place. 



Tiie eggs, :'.3 we have said, are to be taken 

 away as soon as laid, lest they bo broken, 

 through the awkwardness of the hen, or sucked 

 by vermin ; and if put into a basket, and sus- 

 pended iu a dry place, they will keep till the 

 hens have done laying. As the hen turkey has 

 no very reBned feelings of exclusiveness, there 

 is no necessity for keeping the eggs, belonging 

 to each, in a separate place. Her disposition 

 manifests no wonderful excess of maternal 

 love towards her eggs ; neither are her dis- 

 criminative qualities very great ; for she will, 

 witli equal kindness, care, and attention, rear a 

 batch belonging to another, as if they were 

 her own. Even in the nest, such eggs as those 

 of geese, ducks, and common fowl, do not come 

 amiss to her. In the second laying, the eggs 

 are fewer in number, and rarely exceed from 

 ten to thirteen; but, on this occasion, more than 

 ordinary care is requisite. 



We have observed that the hen turkey is 

 a most persevering incubator; and Mr. 

 Ixichardson says, that "if her eggs were not 

 taken away, she would sit upon stones, if she 

 could not procure the eggs of another bird, 

 and would perish before quitting the nest. 

 Eggs should, therefore, be left with her, not 

 only to tranquillise her, but because sitting 

 upon eggs fatigues her less than sitting upon 

 an empty nest. These eggs, however, should 

 be marked, in order to distinguish them from 

 those the poor bird continues to lay. Any 

 eggs that seem to her to be slow of hacching 

 will be abandoned, as she will quit the nest as 

 soon as she perceives the chick. Consequently, 

 as soon as the eggs you have placed under her 

 are hatched, she will leave the nest, and the 

 eggs of her own laying will be sacriticed. 

 liemove, therefore, the former. It is for this 



reason that I recommend them to be markci!. 

 Kee|) the lu-nt clean while tho turkey lien is 

 sitting, as dirt will injure tlio eggs. No popHon 

 should go near a hen when sitting, except her 

 keeper ; and none shouhl turn the eggn, or 

 meddle with them further than I have already 

 indicated. Tiie bird will turn lier eggs with 

 more judgment than you can." 



The time of sitting varies. Sometimes it is 

 twenty-seven, and at other times thirty-one 

 davs. "When tho latter takes place it is at 

 Midsummer. As some of tho chicks c-uno 

 forth more slowly than others, these should bo 

 removed to a place where they may get greater 

 warmth ; but, generally speaking, all inter- 

 ference should be avoided : where, however, 

 they have been removed, they may be returned 

 to the hen for six or eight hours before feeding 

 them. As in cases with more common fowls, 

 assistance is sometimes necessary to enable the 

 chick to leave the egg ; and if so, the utmost 

 caution should be observed, lest any injury 

 be the result. A too great eagerness to ren- 

 der aid, on these occasions, often does far more 

 harm than good. 



Many writers recommend a vast deal of what 

 may well be denominated quackery in the treat- 

 ment of the young chicks ; but they generally 

 thrive much better when left to themselves. 



In feeding poults, after the second month, 

 it will be sufficient to supply them with such 

 boiled herbs and plants as are esteemed nou- 

 rishing. Those which in their natural state 

 they would feed upon, are, as a matter of course, 

 the best. Among these may be enumerated 

 wild succory, nettles, milfoil, turnip-tops, cab- 

 bage-sprouts, or the outside leaves of greens, 

 well macerated by boiling. Potato skiu;^, or a 

 few potatoes themselves, may be given ; and, 

 if beans, oats, barley, or buck-wheat be amal- 

 gamated with them, the poults will rapidly 

 fatten. Besides these, the meal of Indian corn 

 is advantageous ; but, as this requires to bo 

 boiled three times more than that of oats, it is 

 proportionallv more troublesome to be used as 

 a food. If, however, the market has to be met, 

 the sooner the poults can be " got up" the 

 better ; and, although the feeding required for 

 this may be a little more expensive than usual, 

 the results will, nevertheless, prove satisfac- 

 tory. "When approaching their sixth month, 

 especially if there be an appearance of cold 



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