POULTRY AND EGGS FOR MARKET AND 



EXPORT. 



HINTS TO BEGINNERS. 

 CAPITAL. 



IN entering upon poultry-keeping as an industry sufficient capital is 

 required to obtain land, build houses and yards, and buy stock or eggs; 

 also to provide food for the birds and maintain the keeper until returns 

 begin to be received. Begin in a small way and invest the capital by 

 degrees, as it is required, and never resort to money on which interest 

 must be paid. 



SITUATION AND SOIL. 



In choosing a site it must be borne in mind that a dry soil is required, 

 a sandy loam being best. A north-east aspect, well-sheltered, is desirable. 

 On a cold clay soil pullets will not lay in winter, and hens will be slow 

 in moulting and only come on to lay when eggs are at a low price. It is 

 not well to keep more than two hundred head to the acre, the number 

 depending upon the richness of the soil. Poor land will probably give a 

 better return if utilised for poultry-keeping than in any other way. 

 Pure sand is undesirable, as it does not produce sufficient natural food. 



THE BREED TO KEEP. 



Which pay best, fowls for the table or eggs? is a frequent inquiry. 

 As a rule either alone will not pay so well as both combined. To keep 

 hens of the non-sitting breeds for eggs alone is to lose a profit that may 

 be made on chickens. Some breeds will bring off a brood and lay nearly 

 as many eggs in a year as those that do not sit. It is therefore advisable 

 to pay chief attention to such breeds as Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Ply- 

 mouth Rocks, and Houdans. If the soil is heavy and damp, Plymouth 

 Rocks, Orpingtons, and Wyandottes will be the best breeds to keep; 

 and on light dry soils Minorcas, Leghorns, and Houdans. 



Do not attempt to keep half a dozen breeds of fowls, as each breed 

 requires a separate run ; and every additional subdivision adds consider- 

 ably to the expense and labour. 



Do not rush into the business and buy stock indiscriminately to start 

 with. Be careful to select a good laying strain ; show-points and feathers 

 should be secondary considerations. Raise stock from a few well-chosen 

 birds; buy these birds from the Department of Agriculture or from some 

 other trustworthy breeder who only breeds from carefully selected, healthy, 

 vigorous stock. Chickens hatched from inbred, sickly, or deformed stock 

 will mean failure. It is a popular error to think that there is nothing to 

 learn about poultry, excepting in the case of those kept for show purposes, 



