22 POULTRY FARMING 



The Future. In view of the great developments which have 

 taken place, combined with the constantly increasing demand for 

 poultry of all classes, there is a very bright future for the industry 

 as a whole. 



Poultry Keeping for Business and Pleasure. Profit is the 

 main object of poultry farming, yet the pleasure which accompanies 

 it is often an important consideration. The complexity of the 

 branches makes it difficult to separate these two objects. All 

 poultry keeping falls under one of the following heads: Poultry 

 keeping (1) as a business; (2) as an employment; (3) as an invest- 

 ment; (4) for family use; (5) for fancy points. 



Poultry Keeping as a Business. This phase of poultry keep- 

 ing is carried on by one who invests both his time and money in 

 the enterprise. It may be either an exclusive poultry business or 

 a side line to general farm operations. Many thousands of small 

 producers consider poultry of secondary importance. The number 

 of poultry keepers making a living from the production of eggs 

 and poultry is rapidly on the increase. These have usually com- 

 menced the business in a small way, and have started to specialize 

 as their experience grew. 



To make the business successful, a man must have become 

 expert in the care and management of fowls, must have a good 

 business training, good judgment, and must be accurate, prompt, 

 and methodical. These qualities are only gained by training and 

 experience. The beginner has the example of many earlier poultry 

 keepers to guide him, and thus the road to success is much quicker 

 and surer; books and papers are within the reach of all; and prac- 

 tical instruction is easy to obtain after the rudimentary principles 

 are learned. These must be secured before work, even for instruc- 

 tion purposes, can be obtained on any of the large plants. 



A man should never start out in poultry keeping as an extensive 

 business until he has learned it thoroughly by experience. 



Poultry keeping as an employment is taken to include all ex- 

 amples where one gives his entire time to poultry work, receiving 

 compensation for time so given. The demand for poultry labor, 

 both skilled and unskilled, is constantly on the increase. The 

 opportunities are very similar to those offered by other branches 

 of farm work. The wages received by skilled labor vary with the 

 experience and ability of the man, size of the plant, and the amount 

 of responsibility assumed. The size of the plant is the smallest 

 factor. The poultry laborer has fairly long hours of work and 

 moderate rate of pay, but his work is sure to be steady. For one 



