216 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



carried off or destroyed ; and Buffon says, the 

 tame turkey only lays once a year, which is 

 wrong; for, in favorable circumstances, when 

 well fed and taken care of, the hen turkey will 

 lay a second time, toward the end of summer, 

 sometimes sooner and sometimes later. 



In the second laying, there are rarely more 

 than a dozen eggs; and in order to have the 

 brood from these successful, more than ordinary 

 care will be required. 



Hatching, A turkey hen is one of the most 

 steady and inveterate sitters of any known fowl. 

 Before she has even completed her laying, she 

 shows a wish to sit by unequivocal signs ; she 

 clucks like the common fowl, and continues in 

 her nest till her breast becomes bare of feath- 

 ers. While laying or sitting, she never moves 

 when an enemy passes in sight, unless she knows 

 she has been discovered, but crouches lower un- 

 til he has passed ; hence the difficulty of finding 

 them when laying abroad. 



In the domestic state, the instinct of the tur- 

 key hen is truly remarkable ; her little artifices 

 and tricks to conceal her eggs, and to deceive 

 those who might try to discover her nest, ap- 

 pear almost dictated by reason ; but what brings 

 her back to the rank of a brute, is her manner 

 of sitting; for even when her eggs are taken 

 away, she will continue to sit on any substance 

 \vhatever, even stones. It is, therefore, a mat- 

 ter of consequence that she be satisfied; for 

 sitting without eggs would fatigue her more 

 than natural hatching. 



When turkey hens have been left to them- 

 selves during their laying, and have chosen a 

 nest at a small distance from the house, there 

 is hardly any thing to be done, for they will 

 leave it with difficulty, and it is even prudent 

 not to thwart them, for they generally hatch 

 their own brood safely, and the young ones are 

 the ^stronger for it. 



The turkey hen sits from thirty to thirty-two 

 days, and, it is said, will continue on the nest 

 even until starvation ; and when hatched, she 

 is not the most careful mother, nor is she a 

 good provider, as she does not scratch for her 

 young, like the hen, but leaves them to shift for 

 themselves ; but she is very alert to discover 

 birds of prey and give timely notice. As the 



young, at the moment of their birth, give no 

 signs of seeking their food, and as they are not 

 instructed in the least so to do it by the moth- 

 er, it appears necessary to admit two or three 

 eggs of the common fowl to those of the turkey- 

 hen, ten days after sitting, so that the young 

 ones may be hatched at the same time ; as the 

 common chickens peck and eat as soon as out 

 of the shell, they become for turkey chickens 

 an example which they imitate, and which de- 

 termines them to eat a few hours sooner, which 

 is of some use. 



The hen and brood must be housed during 

 one month or six weeks, dependent upon the 

 state of the weather. The scorching sun and 

 the rain are above all hurtful to them ; super- 

 fluous moisture, whether external or internal, is 

 death to chickens, therefore, all slop victuals 

 should be rigorously avoided. The utmost clean- 

 liness is necessary, and a dry graveled layer is 

 most proper. High places exposed to the east 

 or south are those which always agree best with 

 chickens, especially when they have a small 

 separate yard. 



At the Rhode Island State Agricultural Fair, 

 Mr. Cliedell, of Barrington, exhibited an inter- 

 esting turkey cock, that took a notion to try the 

 art of incubation. How he succeeded the fol- 

 lowing will show : " Last year," says a writer, 

 " Mr. Gobbler actually sat on a dozen eggs until 

 the chickens were hatched, and then he brought 

 them up with all the assiduity of a hen, com- 

 bined with the masterly protection which his 

 own red throat, sharp and curled spurs so 

 amply afford. This year a more economical 

 method took his fancy, and instead of spending 

 his precious time in hatching, he has deputed 

 this duty to the hens, and as soon as a brood 

 comes forth he immediately takes charge of 

 the chicks, and releases the hens from farther 

 responsibility. The hens are again employed in 

 sitting, while he takes charge of the chicks and 

 anticipates their every want. He goes out ev- 

 ery morning and conducts them to good hunt- 

 ing-grounds in the woods and fields, where 

 grasshoppers, grubs, and other luxurious game, 

 afford ample sport for the young. In this way 

 he provides entirely for the fowls under his pro- 

 tection, so that they cost nothing to keep them." 



