:270 MAKING POULTRY PAY 



-weather settles and the ground warms up place the 

 -coop in the ground or grass and clean by simply 

 moving it to fresh ground. Lice are the cause of nearly 

 •all the ills of turkeydom and kill more young ones 

 than all else combined. Get rid of the lice on the old 

 birds first by dusting them every week, while sitting, 

 Tvith insect powder and place green cedar leaves and 

 branches in the bottom of the nests. Lice won't tarry 

 long where these are. The poults should be given a 

 ■drop of sweet oil on the head and neck, under the 

 wings and around the vent, once a week, applied with 

 the finger and rubbed on next the skin. Too much 

 may hurt them. 



The first feed should be dry bread. Take one 

 -quart each of corn meal, middlings and bran and one 

 pint of sifted ground oats. Season with salt, add a 

 little pepper, mix up with water or sour milk and add 

 -enough saleratus to raise it. Bake until done. Enough 

 can be baked at one time to last several days. After 

 the poults are several days old moisten the hard crust 

 in sweet milk, squeeze out dry and feed. Give a little 

 ^very two hours. Feed on a clean board and be sure 

 that none is left over to sour. 



Feed everything as dry as possible, as sloppy or 

 ■uncooked food is injurious. After the turks are a 

 week old the feed may be scalded. The saleratus and 

 •sour milk should be left out and a little meat added, 

 ■or cook a piece of fresh lean meat and feed a little of it 

 once a day. Ground bone may be put in the feed at 

 all times if it is sweet and good. When the poults are 

 "ten days old commence to feed whole wheat for 

 ■supper, and when a month old feed cracked com for 

 supper and wheat at noon. During all this time keep 

 ■on with the scalded feed between the times when 

 wheat or corn is given. After four weeks old feed 

 •onlv four times a dav. When four months old twice 



