672 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LITE STOCK 



cessfully in yards if desirable, but the 

 yards should be large, containing plenty 

 of range, and only a limited number 

 kept in the flock. For the best results, 

 turkeys should be allowed a wide range. 

 During the summer and fall months 

 they will require but little feed other 

 than what they pick up in their wander- 

 ings. Once a day they may be fed oats 

 or cracked corn, but care must be taken 

 not to make them overfat. 



The roosting shed, if used at all, 

 should be very large, roomy and entirely 

 open in the front. A large number of 

 growers, including the experiment sta- 

 tion at Rhode Island, report much bet- 

 ter results when the birds are left to 

 roost outdoors, both summer and win- 

 ter, using trees or poles erected on the 

 south sides of barns or sheds for roosts. 

 The Rhode Island station notes that 

 when the turkeys were compelled to 

 roost in a large shed during the winter 

 they were continually out of condition, 

 and had colds with swelled faces, while 

 those in trees kept bright and healthy 

 throughout the winter. Even in the 

 northern part of Michigan, turkeys 

 withstand the cold of winter when roost- 

 ing out of doors and keep in good condi- 

 tion. 



Nesting habits— The turkey hens be- 

 gin to lay usually in March or April. 

 If given free range, they will steal their 

 nests in some secluded place. They 

 should be watched and the eggs gathered 

 to prevent them from becoming chilled 

 or molested by prowlers. One mating 

 of the hens with the gobbler is sufficient 

 to fertilize an entire batch of eggs. Us- 

 ually from 15 to 20 eggs are laid before 

 the hens become broody. If they are 

 broken up at this time, they will soon 

 lay another batch. By confining hens 

 in the medium sized enclosure and pre- 

 paring nests in barrels or boxes in se- 

 cluded positions, they may be induced to 

 lay near the house. After 2 or 3 

 o'clock in the afternoon they can be 

 given their liberty. Within a few days 

 they will lay regularly in their nests 

 without confinement. 



Hatching the eggs_Common hens or 

 turkeys are used primarily for hatching 

 turkey eggs. The turkey hens lay so 

 few eggs that an incubator is hardly 

 necessary, though they can be hatched 

 in incubators as well as other kinds of 

 eggs. It requires on an average 28 days 

 for the eggs to hatch. Turkeys are the 



best of all fowls for setting, and can be 

 made to hatch out three or four broods 

 continuously if desired. As mothers, 

 they are no better during the early 

 stages of growth, and perhaps not quite 

 as good as chickens. Later as the 

 young turkeys, or poults, as they are 

 called, grow older, their roaming habits 

 lead them away from the hen. 



It is especially necessary during in- 

 cubation that the mother birds be 

 thoroughly dusted with insect powder to 

 kill all lice and mites. When the poults 

 are hatched they should also be kept 

 dusted two or three times a week and a 

 little lard or sweet oil placed on the top 

 of the head, under the wings and around 

 the vent, as a further precaution against 

 lice. The eggs are usually all fertile. 

 The early hatched poults are most desir- 

 able for Thanksgiving and Christmas 

 market. The late hatches are consid- 

 ered unprofitable for this trade, but are 

 being used extensively as broilers. 



Feeding the poults — As with chick- 

 ens, no food should be given for the first 

 36 hours after the poults are hatched. 

 After this, they should be fed very 

 lightly once every two or three hours 

 for the first week. Any overfeeding at 

 this time will be sure to result in indi- 

 gestion and numerous losses. After 

 hatching the mother turkey should be 

 confined in a large, roomy coop so that 

 she can stand upright without difficulty. 

 The poults should have a large yard of 

 closely cut grass to run in. Another 

 common method is to confine both 

 mother and poults in a triangular pen 

 made of boards 12 inches wide by 12 to 

 14 feet long. One corner of this yard 

 can be covered over for shelter and the 

 mother given entire liberty. 



The first food given them may be 

 bread crumbs, moistened in milk and 

 squeezed dry. Scalded corn meal to 

 which about 10 per cent of hard boiled 

 eggs, finely chopped, has been added, 

 may also be given and in addition, a lit- 

 tle cracked corn or wheat scattered on 

 the ground. Later, corn bread soaked in 

 milk, dutch cheese, and such grains as 

 wheat, cracked corn and millet may be 

 fed, care being taken never to feed more 

 than they can eat clean in five minutes. 



The Rhode Island station notes that 

 in their experiments one flock escaped 

 and was gone 20 days before discovered. 

 During this time they received no food 

 except what they picked up on the 



