FARMER'S 

 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



POULTRY 



The poultry industry ; n the United 

 States is a very important one. On 

 farms, the care of poultry is largely left 

 to the women, the farmer not consider- 

 ing it worth his while to look after so 

 small a matter. The census of 1900 

 furnishes some startling figures on the 

 importance of this industry in the 

 United States. In that year the number 

 of fowls of all kinds was placed at 250,- 

 681,673, having an estimated value of 

 $85,784,996. In one year this number 

 of fowls produced poultry worth $136,- 

 891,877, and eggs worth $144,286,370, 

 a total value of $281,178,247, or an 

 annual gross income on the investment 

 of 380 per cent. 



The egg product alone for that year 

 was greater than the combined gold and 

 silver product of the United States for 

 any year since 1850, while the value of 

 poultry and eggs together was worth 

 more than either the gold or silver pro- 

 duction of the world for any year since 

 the beginning of records with but two 

 exceptions, 1898 and 1899. As compared 

 with other animals, the poultry and eggs 

 of that year outvalued the total exports 

 of animals and animal products during 

 all the years down to and including 

 1900. These figures are startling in their 

 magnitude and bring out strongly the 

 importance of the poultry industry. 



CHICKENS 



Profits in the business — The profits 

 to be made in the poultry business seem 

 most alluring to the man who figures 

 it out on paper. Theoretically, a hen 

 will lay on the average 150 eggs a year, 

 which, at two cents apiece would bring 

 in $3. The cost of maintaining the hen 

 is $1, leaving a net profit of $2. To 

 secure an income of $1,000, therefore, it 

 is only necessary to have about 500 hens. 

 The truth of the matter is that many 

 have made this sum and more than this 

 with 500 hens, while more than 90 per 



cent of those who have attempted it 

 have failed. The poultry business is a 

 trade and an art and the man who suc- 

 ceeds in it must serve his apprenticeship 

 and perhaps make many failures before 

 he finally makes the profits exceed the 

 losses. 



Cost of producing eggs — Some inter- 

 esting figures on the cost of producing 

 eggs are supplied by the New York Cor- 

 nell experiment station which made a 

 ttst in co-operation with practical com- 

 mercial poultry growers in that state to 

 determine the average cost of producing 

 eggs in the winter and the amount of 

 food consumed. In the experiment no 

 restrictions were placed upon the owners 

 as to how the fowls were to be fed, cared 

 for or managed. They were simply asked 

 to produce by the usual method of 

 feeding, the greatest possible number of 

 eggs at the lowest possible cost. 



In all, records were kept of 5,200 

 fowls for the four months, December to 

 March inclusive. The average cost of a 

 dozen eggs with these hens was 18 cents, 

 ranging from a minimum of about 6 

 cents a dozen to a maximum of $6 a 

 dozen. The average price of eggs dur- 

 ing the experiment was 25 cents a dozen. 

 The cost of food consumed during the 

 four months was at the rate of 

 $35.33 for 100 hens. And the net profit 

 $16.30 or about $4 a month on 100 hens. 

 Each 100 hens on the average laid daily 

 22.8 eggs; or about one egg for each five 

 hens. 



In these experiments one flock of 

 500 White Leghorn hens laid 4,504 eggs 

 which sold at $389.38. The cost of pro- 

 duction was $159, thus leaving a net 

 profit of $230.38 for four months work. 

 Another man with a flock of 387 fowls 

 secured 3,716 eggs during the test, which 

 sold for about $55.52. The cost of pro- 

 duction was $65.50. Thus there was an 

 actual loss of $9.98 for four months' 

 work. Both flocks laid well but the first 



