28 PROFITABLE POULTRY PRODUCTION 



eral farms where they are a by-product and must 

 be gotten rid of quickly to prevent loss. 



Cockerels may pay more than the cost of feed- 

 ing, but unless they can have free range they are 

 not likely to pay the whole cost of their produc- 

 tion, counting the value of the eggs, the cost of 

 hatching, the labor and the feed, etc., up to the 

 time of their being marketed. Unless the poultry- 

 man has facilities for fattening and thus disposing 

 of his cockerels as roasters or capons, it would be 

 more economical to sell the broilers as soon as they 

 are of marketable size. 



ROASTERS 



What is known in the market as a roaster is a 

 fairly matured fowl large enough, either alone or 

 with another roaster, to supply a family dinner. 

 Such fowls are sold when four or five months old, 

 depending somewhat on the breed. The popular 

 American breeds go to market at the earlier age ; 

 the Asiatics at the later. These fowls are most 

 profitably raised by being allowed free range of 

 the stubble fields, pastures, meadows, orchards, 

 etc., where they pick up a large share of their liv- 

 ing between the time that they can leave the 

 brooder or the mother hen and the time they are 

 sold. Frequently they are fattened for two weeks 

 or so before going to market so as to add a pound 

 or more to their weight. They can be considered 

 more profitable, as a rule, than broilers raised in 

 the ordinary way on the farm ; and generally it is 

 better to allow the cockerels to have the run of the 

 fields and orchards where this can be conveniently 

 arranged. The pullets should be kept by them- 



