TURKEY RAISING. 



MISS MARGARET MAHANEY, CONCORD, MASS. 



To those who are thinking of undertaking to raise turkeys, 

 the proper time to begin is in the fall. For stock, select heavy- 

 bodied hens with good round breast, broad back, round eye, 

 feet far apart and head well set up. You want an intelligent 

 looking bird. For show, the wings must be well barred and the 

 feathers all over the breast must be white tipped. She must 

 be a good bronze. 



It should be fully understood that size and constitutional 

 vigor come largely from the female, and to have this developed 

 to the fullest extent, well proportioned, vigorous females must 

 be selected as breeders. A strong, healthy torn weighing from 

 25 to 40 pounds is generally what I have in my flock; a good 

 bronze, well barred wings, broad neck and deep chest, and 

 when he stands straight up his tail must touch the ground. 

 This is the most profitable stock to breed from. 



I have warm, sanitary houses with board floors which are 

 cleaned off every day in cold weather and furnished with dry 

 straw. The dropping boards are watched very carefully for 

 yellow droppings, as they are the first sign of "blackhead." 

 It is a very easy matter to single out the affected bird, as the 

 whettle under the neck will be drawn up and the head will 

 be a grayish color. That bird should be taken away, and an 

 examination made to see if she has any undigested food in her 

 crop. It is almost impossible to do anything with a bird 

 which has undigested food in her crop. To overcome this, 

 take 1 tablespoonful of ginger, one-half teaspoonful of common 

 baking soda, 1 teaspoonful of charcoal and moisten with castor 

 oil; make into pills the size of a small bean, and give one pill 

 to the turkey three times a day, with 1 tablespoonful of warm 

 milk and a little stimulant; massage the crop gently. In a 

 few hours the gas will begin to come into the crop, the food 



