636 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



flock produced the larger part of their 

 eggs during early winter when prices 

 were high, while the other flock laid the 

 most of their eggs in late winter when 

 eggs were cheaper. 



A conservative estimate of the profits 

 to be made in a well managed flock of 

 chickens, is about $1 a hen a year. Some 

 people make a comfortable living on 

 from 200 to 300 hens, by selling eggs, 

 raising pullets and fattening cockerels. 

 But a man must understand his busi- 

 ness and attend to it, if he does this well. 

 It requires a considerable amount of cap- 

 ital to go into the poultry business on a 

 sufficiently large scale to make a living 

 from it. He should have between $1,500 

 and $2,000 capital, besides owning his 

 ground. His hens one to two years old 

 will cost 50 to 75 cents apiece, while the 

 cost of housing and yarding them will 

 average close to $1.75 apiece in the 

 northern states and proportionately less 

 farther south, where cheaper winter 

 buildings will suffice. Generally there 

 is more money in egg production than 

 in any other form of poultry farming. 



Each hen will consume about 75 

 pounds of food a year, which it will 

 usually be necessary to buy and pay for. 

 And if more than about 500 hens are 

 kept, an assistant will be necessary, with 

 wages from $20 to $35 a month. No 

 other form of animal industry has been 

 more extensively studied in the United 

 States than the poultry industry and in 

 the following pages an attempt will be 

 made to present the more important 

 facts relative to the present best prac- 

 tices. 



BREEDS OF CHICKENS 



There are about 40 breeds and a hun- 

 dred varieties of chickens now grown in 

 the United States. These may be con- 

 veniently classified into (1) General 

 purpose breeds, many of which are of 

 American production, the most impor- 

 tant being the Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 

 dottes, Rhode Island Reds, Dorkings, 

 Dominiques, Javas, Orpingtons, and, 

 perhaps, Indian Games; (2) Egg breeds 

 mostly of Mediterranean origin, and in- 

 cluding the Leghorns, Minorcas, Anda- 

 lusians, Hamburgs and Spanish breeds; 

 (3) Meat breeds, mostly of Asiatic ori- 

 gin, and including the Cochin, Brah- 

 mas, Langshan, Faverolles, etc, and (4) 

 Fancy breeds, of which the game and 

 bantam breeds are best known. 



Egg breeds—These include all the 

 small or medium sized breeds of chick- 

 ens that have a strong tendency toward 

 egg production. They have an active, 

 nervous disposition, a trim appearance, 

 seldom desire to sit, do not take on an 

 excessive quantity of flesh, and require 

 plenty of liberty and exercise to produce 

 the best results in egg yield. The meat 

 is rather inferior for table purposes, ex- 

 cept when the birds are young. They 

 mature quickly and up to 10 or 12 weeks 

 of age make good broilers. 



Leghorn — The White Leghorn is 

 probably the best of the egg breeds for 



& L $mmt': 



Eig. 307 — SINGLE COMB WHITE LEGHORN 



laying in both winter and summer. In 

 addition to the white form there are al- 

 so Black, Brown, Buff, Dominique, 

 Silver Duckwing and Pyle, varieties of 

 Leghorns and single and rose comb 

 forms. They do best when given free 

 range. They have an active, nervous 

 disposition, mature early, lay large 

 white eggs when four to six months old 

 and make good broilers. When well 

 managed, no other breed will excel 

 them in egg production, the average 

 production running between 150 and 

 200 eggs a year. 



Minorcas — These are larger fowls 

 than the Leghorns, though similar in 

 build and not as wild and nervous in 

 disposition. They are second only to 



