Mat, 1932] 



Economic Study op Poultry Farms 



15 



Where batteries were not used, the chicks after removal from the 

 incubator were placed under the brooder canopy and feed was gener- 

 ally placed before them immediately. In all but a few cases, scratch 

 was not fed until the third or fourth week. Most poultrymen fed noth- 

 ing but a starting mash for the first few weeks. Generally, the birds 

 were kept in confinement until nine or ten weeks of age when they 

 were either placed on range in the common New England range shelter 

 or were allowed to range in front of the brooder house. A few farms 

 had wire porches for use the first nine or ten weeks. 



Pullets were placed on unlimited sod range at nine or ten weeks of 

 age. The usual practice was to use a range once in three years, leaving 

 it idle for two years. This, of course, required three ranges used in 

 rotation. 



Fifteen farms had piped water to the range, and eight of these had 

 installed automatic fountains. 



LABOR 



On the 23 farms, an average of 6087 hours of man labor was 

 accounted for. Of this amount 3234 hours, or 53% of the total, was 

 provided by the owner; 2609 hours, or 43%, by hired labor; and only 

 245, or 4%, by the owner's wife or other members of the family. The 

 amount of poultry farm work done by members of the family other 

 than the operator was very small, averaging only about forty minutes 

 per day per farm. Considering the average size of flocks to be 1290 at 

 the maximum, the amount of hired labor required seems large. The 23 

 farms employed 14 hired men on a full time basis, and in addition a 

 total of 16,322 hours of hired seasonal or part time labor. The cost of 

 this hired labor, including in a few cases an estimate on value of board 

 provided, was $20,092.61, or $874 per farm. The average cost of all 

 labor hired, including both regular and extra, was 33.4^- per hour. 



Table 9 — Man hours monthly expended by owner and others 

 — average of 23 farms 



Month 



Hours expended by 



September 

 October 

 November 

 December 

 January . 

 February 

 March . . . 

 April 



May 



June 



July 



August 



Total 



3234.2 



199.3 



45.3 



2608.6 



$873.59 



6087.4 



