POINTS ON TURKEY BREEDING. 



Loss of Vitality In Turkeys and Lack of Fertility In Eggs— Injured Females— Food for the Young— Danger from Lice 

 Their Causes— Care of the Layers and Sitters— Indigestion and Diarrhoea— Preparation for Market— 

 The Poults— Feeding the Breeding Stock— Advantages of Roosting Outside. 



By J. f. Crangle. 



RONZE turkeys are more raised than any other 

 variety, for several reasons. First, they are 

 the largest; second, they are hardy and well 

 adapted to this climate; third, they are good 

 layers and the best of mothers; fourth, they are 

 most satisfactory for marketing, being full-breasted and 

 possessing the desired color of flesh. They will lay eighteen 

 to forty eggs a season under proper care. 



Generally it is considered that one male will mate with 

 six to ten females. I have used one male for twenty-five 

 hens, but I do not think it well to risk using only one male 

 with your entire flock (especially if you have more than 

 eight or ten females) for the following reason: A female 

 usually allows the male to tread once. If from any cause 

 the male did not effect proper connection, the eggs would 

 not be fertile and the best part of the season would be lost 

 because the first litter is considered the best. 



The hen after connection selects a spot for her nest and 

 a few days after it is made. This is usually done by 

 scratching up the earth so as to make a hollow place to keep 

 the eggs from rolling out. A great deal of the risk of males 

 not fertilizing the eggs could be avoided in the following 

 way: Use two toms alternately every day, but under no 

 consideration allow both toms to run with the females at 

 the same time. If you do you will, as a rule, have bad luck, 

 as the males will fight and at times hurt themselves, also the 

 females. 



The lack of fertility in eggs and vigor in young poults 

 is one of the main reasons for the decline in turkey breeding 

 in the eastern states, and perhaps all over the United States. 

 In many of the eastern states, where a few years ago hun- 

 dreds of tons of turkeys were raised, they now have to im- 

 port, mostly from western states, to meet the demand, as it 

 seems almost impossible to raise them. I think the main 

 cause is in-breeding. There are many farmers who in the 

 past have not thought it necessary to obtain new blood, and 

 who thought they could save a few dollars by borrowing a 

 torn from a neighbor, in this way using the same blood 

 year after year. This has been done for so many years that 

 the vitality has been about bred out. For the past few years 

 turkey breeders no doubt have seen their folly, because 

 many of them are now looking months ahead for a good 

 male. The vitality had gotten so low that it created disease, 

 and I am sure that many of the turkey diseases with which 

 we have to contend have been caused by lowering the vital- 

 ity of the turkey. 1 believe there is no Sther variety of birds 

 in which the Vital forces decrease so rapidly by in-breeding 

 as in the turkey. 



I think it possible under proper management to raise 

 turkeys in every state in the Union, and I believe if farmers 

 in general will be more careful about in-breeding and will 

 see that they have the proper kind of males to breed from, 

 such as will introduce new, strong, hardy blood into their 



stock, they will be able to raise turkeys as they have in 

 years gone by. To people who are having trouble in raising 

 turkeys I advise using a half wild male if they have large 

 range. It is almost impossible to get a pure wild torn in 

 this country, although you may happen to run on one by 

 accident. About all the people who claim to have wild tur- 

 keys have nothing but half-breeds, yet with a half wild torn 

 you can get enough new blood to make the offspring very 

 much stronger, and this will be noticeable the first season. 



THE LAYING AND HATCHING SEASON. 



After the turkey commences to lay, in many sections 

 of the country, the nights are cold and in many places the 

 thermometer goes down to the freezing point. When hens 

 are laying and you are afraid of frost, the eggs should be 

 gathered every evening and marked with the date. Then 

 they should be placed in a pan or basket in common wheat 

 bran with the big end of the eggs down, as by so doing you 

 will keep the air cell in good condition. Put them in a cel- 

 lar or any cool place and turn them every day. It is 

 not best to turn them completely over; turn them only part 

 way over each day. It is safe to keep them ten or twelve 

 days, but I would not advise keeping them any longer than 

 possible, as they are liable to get stale, in which case not so 

 many of them would hatch. When the eggs are removed 

 from the nest a glass egg should always be put in. If you 

 do not put glass or wooden eggs in the nest the hen will 

 probably leave her nest and lay elsewhere. 



A good mother will cover her eggs when she leaves her 

 nest; usually this is done with dry grass or leaves, so that 

 in looking for a turkey nest it is always necessary to be 

 careful, as otherwise one might step on it. An ordinary hen 

 will cover eighteen eggs. If she lays more than that num- 

 ber, take the extra ones and put them under a common hen, 

 setting this hen and the turkey at the same time. If you 

 have a good hatch and get out more than eighteen, leave a 

 few of the poults with the common hen. The turkey hen 

 can brood eighteen poults with safety. Above all things, 

 see that there are no lice on the hen when she hatches, as 

 the poults are very tender when hatched and if the hen has 

 lice the poults will have them on their bodies within a few 

 hours. When you transfer poults from common hens to 

 turkey hens dust them well with a good powder, as you want 

 to bo sure there are no lice on them. 



It takes twenty-eight to twenty-nine days to hatch tur- 

 key eggs. If the turkey does not leave her nest at that time 

 do not disturb her for at least twenty-four hours, because 

 oftentimes a few of the eggs are slow in hatching and she 

 stays on the nest several hours after they are hatched for 

 the poults to gain strength. It is always well to take a 

 piece of stale bread moistened with milk and put it near the 

 nest, near enough for the turkey hen to reach it. If the 

 poults are hungry, they will also eat. This food is very im- 

 portant because if the hen is hungry she may leave her nest 



