TURKEYS—THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



45 



given to investigation and research, but the trouble contin- 

 ues. The Rhode Island College has devoted considerable 

 time to the subject, and has had the help of the United 

 States Bureau of Animal Industry. The circular bulletin 

 No. 2 was issued on the subject. After extensive examina- 

 tions and investigations Dr. Smith found that "the hitherto 

 undetermined disease of turkeys was due to a micro-organ- 

 ism belonging to the protozoa, which places the malady 

 iamong the infectious diseases, so that the idea that it is 

 tuberculosis, or due simply to improper feeding, must be 

 given up." This very lucid explanation of the cause of the 

 disease would doubtless be of considerable interest to the 

 various producers if they only knew what it meant. It cer- 

 tainly has upset the whole business of turkey production in 

 this part of the country, and until some way of averting the 

 trouble is found the business will not nourish as it other- 

 wise would. 



SETTING THE EGCS-RAISINC THE POULTS. 



The hens generally begin to lay from the middle of 

 March to the first of April, although sometimes one may 

 begin to lay earlier, the severity of the weather and early or 

 late coming spring having much to do with this. The wild 

 turkeys do not lay as early in the season as the domesticated 

 birds. The hens lay in all sorts of out-of-the-way places, 

 oftentimes under a leaning rock or in some slight cavern in 

 the hillside, and are allowed to sit in the same kinds of 

 places. They do better when handled in this way, than 

 where too much care is taken to give them the more com- 

 plete surroundings which are generally considered necessa- 

 ry to successful hatching by ordinary every day fowl. The 

 eggs are all set under turkeys, from seventeen to twenty 

 making the average size sitting. Where the stock is prop- 

 erly mated nearly every egg hatches, and the young poults 

 come out strong and sprightly and show a natural genius as 

 grasshopper chasers and all-round bug catchers. For the 

 first two or three days after hatching they are shut in a coop 

 with the mother turkey to give them time to get their rang- 

 ing legs on, and to make sure that the mother does not take 

 them on too long rambles before they are fully up to the 

 task. This, however, will not do with the all wild turkeys, 

 as the confinement is very much against their liking and 

 they will dash about so wildly that they are very apt to in- 

 jure the young birds. 



The poults are fed finely sifted, cracked corn which has 

 been soaked for several hours in milk. Great care is taken 

 that the mixture shall not be sour when fed, although sour 

 milk in itself is not a bad food. When, however, the mixture 

 has been kept so long that the corn becomes soured, it is 

 unfit for food and is never used. The poults are fed three or 

 four times a day all they will eat within a reasonable time. 

 After the period of confinement is past, the hen and poults 

 roam at pleasure and have no confinement either night or 

 day. This constant ranging and roaming gives them fresh 

 ground, and every opportunity to gain the strength and 

 stamina which is so necessary to carry any poultry success- 

 fully along to the best results, either in a market or breed- 

 ing sense. Fresh water in clean vessels is always to be had 

 from the time of hatching. The vessels are cleaned at every 

 watering time, and fresh water given not less than three 

 times daily. After the roving period is Teached on Mr. 

 Miner's farm they have free access to the running brook and 

 to this pure water supply Mr. Miner attributes much of his 

 success in raising turkeys as well as other poultry. He 

 thinks much of the disease and sickness which seems to fol- 

 low the poultry business may be found to originate in stag- 

 nant water and unclean drinking fountains or vessels. Mr. 

 Miner is in the habit of from time to time putting a tea- 

 spoonful of fine table salt in the watering vessel in the pro- 



portion of one spoonful to about eight quarts of water. This 

 is a practice which he has followed for years, and which he 

 thinks is highly beneficial to the poultry. 



SIZE OF TURKEYS DIFFERENT SEASONS DEMAND. 



The early hatched birds reach a salable size, and are 

 ready for the Thanksgiving market, while the later hatches 

 come along successfully and are marketed according to the 

 season and ruling prices. There is an increasing demand 

 for the broiler turkeys and this is in a measure met by ship- 

 ments which come through from the west packed in ice. The 

 birds are killed by sticking and bleeding from the mouth. 

 A rope is hung from a pole or beam in the picking house, a 

 noose is made in the lower end and this is slipped over the 

 feet of the turkeys. The cut is made and they are allowed 

 to bleed thoroughly before the feathers are pulled. Too 

 little bleeding leaves the carcass less clear and inviting in 

 appearance, and the keeping qualities are not so good as 

 when properly bled out. They are generally picked clean 

 except that sometimes upon the request of the buyers the 

 flight feathers are left in the wing tips, and these are pre- 

 sented to the various customers. The skin does not tear 

 easily in picking and the feathers are pulled as quickly as 

 possible after bleeding. The carcass is hung up to cool and 

 usually is not put into water, nor wiped off with a wet cloth, 

 but is allowed to hang perfectly dry. They are drawn while 

 warm and the carcass is generally left hanging for about 

 twenty-four hours, when they are packed with heads off or 

 on, according to the market to which they are to be shipped. 

 The wild turkeys bred in this section are conceded to have 

 the finest flavor and the juiciest, tenderest flesh. Wild males 

 crossed on the Bronze females give a very superior quality. 

 The birds have large size and a very fine flavor. The wild 

 males seldom weigh over twenty pounds, and the hens from 

 eight to ten pounds, the Bronze males weight from twenty 

 to forty pounds, the hens from fourteen to twenty pounds, 

 this of course for old breeding birds, the young birds being 

 proportionately lighter. The best market sizes are from 

 eight to twelve pounds. Nine out of ten customers, when 

 asked what size turkey they want, will answer, "about ten 

 pounds." Anyone having ability to turn out ten-pound tur- 

 keys at will would have the biggest kind of a mint, which 

 would turn them out a fortune in short order. At Thanks- 

 giving time the old toms and old hens are, as far as possible, 

 worked off and what are not gotten rid of at this season gen- 

 erally find their finish at Christmas time. It is only at the 

 holiday seasons that extra large birds sell at all readily, and 

 when marketed at other times the sale has to be forced and 

 the prices very much reduced. There is a limited demand for 

 young turkeys weighing from fourteen to eighteen pounds, 

 but where there is one call for a fifteen pound turkey there 

 are very many for such as weigh from ten to twelve pounds, 

 and later in the season, as the spring months approach, 

 there is an increasing demand for birds weighing from 

 seven to nine pounds. This want is met by storing away in 

 the freezers in times of plenty birds of this size. They are 

 held in cold storage until the later demand comes, when 

 they are withdrawn, and in this way the supply is made to 

 approximate the demand. 



Were it not for the cold storage facilities which have 

 grown up within recent years, the poultry business in its 

 present proportions would be impossible. Before this sys- 

 tem came into general use such shipments as met with slight 

 delay in selling, or had to be held for any cause beyond a 

 few days' time, rapidly lost value because of the inability to 

 keep the poultry sweet and free from taint. This was espe- 

 cially true of the spring months. The proportionate loss 

 during March and April oftentimes took up the profits which 



