SUCCESSFUL POULTRY KEEPING 



oblong shape of body and close plumage. Excessive blocky 

 shape is a robber of merit both as to normal growth and egg 

 -production. 



BEGIN WITH FOWLS 



NOT PULLETS AND COCKERELS BUT HENS 

 AND COCKS— NO GUESS WORK THEN AS 

 TO QUALITY OF FOUNDATION STOCK 



THOMAS F. RIGG, Iowa Falls, Iowa 



BREEDER OF HOUDANS AND WHITE WYANDOTTES 



A. 9. Fowls, not pullets and cokerels, but hens and 

 cocks. 



A. 10. By so doing would secure breeding stock of known 

 quaHty, as they would be fully developed in size, shape and color 

 markings. There would be no guess work about the quality of 

 the foundation stock. 



A. 11. Buy a pen of standard-bred fowls. Raise every 

 Schick possible from this pen. At the close of the breeding 

 season market the mongrels. If not this, buy a number of 

 standard-bred males of the American class, one breed or variety. 

 Turn these in with the flock of common stock. Breed to males 

 of the same breed or variety each season. Use incubators and 

 brooders, thus getting out early chicks. These early pullets 

 will produce aii abundance of eggs during early fall and winter. 

 The early cockerels can be profitably marketed when price for 

 young stock is comparatively high^ 



A. 12. Put up comfortable but not expensive buildings. 

 Resolve to handle but one breed or variety. White Plymouth 

 Rock or Orpington, and stand pat on that resolution. Operate 

 incubators and brooders. Early hatched birds will be demanded 

 by breeders and exhibitors for the early shows and for the 

 winter shows, and such exhibition stock brings the very highest 

 price. The early hatched pullets reserved will supply an abund- 

 ance of eggs which will command the highest market price. 

 Advertise the breeding stock in the poultry press every month 

 in the year and every year. Exhibit stock annually. 



A. 13. Make the start with one or two pens of fowls, not 

 cockerels and pullets. Secure the very best stock obtainable 

 regardless of price. Make the matings each year carefully and 

 for quality, not quantity. Cull early each season. This is 

 very important. Keep only the specimens of extra choice 

 quality; get all others off the place as soon as possible. Ex- 

 hibit in a number of the leading shows each season. " Advertise 

 liberally in the poultry press. 



A. 14. Same as the answer to No. 13 except that he must 

 cut his cloth to the garment; must proceed more slowly, denying 

 himself somewhat of the conveniences which the man of ample 

 means can and should have, but which are not absolutely neces- 

 sary to success — but he must not cut the quality of the foimda- 

 tion stock. Better start with a pen or trio of extra choice stock 

 than with several pens of fair to good stock. Here is where 

 most beginners fall down. 



A. 15. Same as the answer to No. 13 in regard to laying 

 the foundation of the business. Should locate near a city and 

 own the land, several acres, enough land that grain in particular 

 at least may be raised. Select one variety of Wyandottes, 

 ■Plymouth Rocks, Orpingtons or S. C. White Leghorns. Use 

 incubators and brooders. Establish a personal trade for market 

 poultry and eggs. Deliver to customers daily in neat packages, 

 each package bearing name of producer and his guaranty of 

 quality. Charge a little more than the market price and make 

 the goods worth it. This alone will greatly aid in the selling 

 of the produce. Advertise and exhibit the stock. 



A. 16. Same as the answer to No. 15, bringing the busi- 

 ness to the full capacity of the farm and the owner's resources 

 more slowly. 



A. \T. White Plymouth Rocks and S. C. White Leghorns. 



A. 18. They represent the best in market poultry and 

 egg production. They possess all the points required by the 

 fancier and market poultryman; beailty and utihty. 



A. 19. White Plymouth Rocks. 



A. 20. Consider them the best market fowls. They fully 

 meet the demands of the American market and can be brought 

 to marketable size and condition more quickly than any other 

 breed or variety. 



A. 21. White Plymouth Rocks. 



A. 22. Answered in No. 18 and 19. Also that they are 

 one of the most popular fowls with the breeders and exhibitors. 



BUY PLENTY OF EGGS 



MOST BEGINNERS BUY TOO FEW— YOU WANT 

 A FAIR NUMBER OF CHICKS TO START WITH 



H. J. BLANCHARD, Groton, N. Y. 



SPEqjALTY BREEDER OF SINGLE-COMB WHITE LEGHORNS 



A. 9. Eggs — from a long estabhshed, well known, suc- 

 cessful and rehable breeder who has made a specialty of the 

 breed I want. 



A. 10. I shouldvbuy a goodly number of eggs; most be- 

 ginners make the mistake of buying too few, so as to have a 

 fair number of chicks to start with. I would raise them care- 

 fully, keeping them growing right along without setbacks if 

 possible, giving free range when old enough, watching them 

 carefully in every stage of growth. If they pleased me at ma- 

 turity I would then select from the lot the most promising birds 

 for breeders. In this way I would be more able to detect any 

 weakness or undesirable qualities inherent in the strain, and 

 would also run a chance of having some as good birds as the 

 old breeder of whom I purchased the eggs. Furthermore, my 

 chickens would not be of so many different ages and sizes as 

 they would be if I had bought a few breeding birds and produced 

 the eggs from which to hatch my chickens. 



A. 11. Buy some low-priced but good-sized and vigorous 

 pure-bred males and cross on his mongi'els. However, he might' 

 better sell his mongrels and buy pure-bred stock for breeders, 

 as it costs no more to maintain them and much finer and more 

 uniform poultry would be the result. 



A. 12. Buy a fine breeding pen from a well known, re- 

 liable and successful breeder for foundation stock. Or, if he 

 prefers, it would perhaps be as weU to fill an incubator with 

 first-class eggs instead of the fine breeding pen, whichever ap- 

 peals to him most favorably. 



A. 13. Buy the very finest breeding pen obtainable from 

 a well known, reliable and successful specialty breeder of exhibi- 

 tion birds, for his foundation stock. Would recommend Une- 

 breeding in his case. 



A. 14. Buy eggs from exhibition matings of a well known, 

 reliable and successful specialty breeder, hatch and raise his 

 breeding stock. 



A. 15. Buy enough good breeding stock to supply eggs 

 for running one or two 240-egg incubators during the hatching 

 season. Also buy enough eggs from fine exhibition matings to 

 fill one or more incubators, from a specialist of reputation and 

 experience. 



A. 16. Buy 1,000 or 2,000 eggs for hatching from good 

 general purpose matings, of an experienced, rehable and success- 

 ful specialty breeder, hatch them in incubators and raise with 



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