54 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



Until I have fully tested it 1 will not give my opinion 

 in favor of doubtful foods, and I confess I was afraid to 

 give the eorn chops used as chicken food, though I be- 

 lieved it would be good if fed judiciously. One season I 

 began when the poults were four weeks old giving corn 

 chops at night. 1 just dampened with cold water and I never 

 saw turkeys thrive better in my life. Be sure you do not 

 get that ground with the cob. It is not fit to feed either to 

 chickens or poults. 



I used blood meal one season and liked it very much. 

 I think in order to give it 1 shall feed soft food at least 

 once per week during the year. I am sure that for grow- 

 ing poults and chicks it is very fine. It seems to be of great 

 benefit to them while feathering. 



After turkeys are ten weeks old all that is necessary 

 on a large grain farm is to see that they are protected at 

 night. They will glean their own living from the fields, 

 and" while the "gude man" may complain, yet if he will 

 only watch ihem closely he will be convinced they are a 

 benefit to his crop instead of an injury. Last year the 

 turkeys saved the corn, but the chinch-bug killed the tur- 

 keys in many localities. Turn a flock of young turkeys 

 when from two or three months old or even five or six 

 weeks old in your potatoes and cabbage; they will not hurt 

 them, but will keep them free from bugs. Yet there is one 

 kind of potato bug they seldom pick; if they do it kills 

 them. But the cabbage worm does them no harm and they 

 do not when young hurt the cabbage. They clean the corn 

 of grasshoppers and glean after harvest in the wheat fields 

 what everything else has overlooked. 



Poults will not bear handling. Mine are very gentle 

 and eat out of my hands, still I never handle them in my 

 hands if I can avoid it. It will not do to try to raise young 

 turkeys in the same yard with other fowls. They are so 

 tender that chickens run over them. One snap from the bill 

 of a domestic hen will kill a very young turkey. 



What do you do with your little turkeys during a cold 

 or wet spell'.' 



We shut them up in the house they roost in and let 

 them stay there if it is very wet or cold, but if not very 

 cold we let them out on our front lawn. The grass is never 

 very high, and as a rule the hen will hover them and keep 

 them better than in a crowded spot. Keep little turkeys 

 dry and warm, for if they once get wet or chilled they sel- 

 dom recover. Some hens are more restless than others. If 

 possible to avoid it never let a restless hen foster turkeys; 

 however, one good feature about them is that they are gen- 

 erally of that spiteful class that will protect their little 

 ones. 



It does not hurt them to turn them out soon after a 

 hard rain if the sun comes out warm and bright, but if it 

 is cold and cloudy they will die from exposure and being 

 chilled. 



But if at any time they should be caught out and some 

 seem dead when found, make a fire and warm and rub them 

 well. Often I have brought both chicks and poults to life 

 that seemed perfectly dead. Keep them near the fire, but 

 do not let them get too hot, until they are entirely dry. Give 

 each of them a cracked grain of black, or a seed of red pep- 

 per. This warms them and stimulates them. 



Do not put the young turkeys out near ant holes, as the 

 ants if swallowed sting the crop and kill the fowl, and often 

 the ants sting the poults on the body and kill them. 



Poults are greatly benefited by having their wings and 

 tails cut. I find they get about so much better, and if a 

 rain comes up they do not seem to get as wet, or if thoy do 

 they dry so much faster. It takes so much strength lo sup- 



port the long wing and tail feathers that if they are kept 

 short until the turkeys are two months old they will be 

 much stronger than if the wings and tail are left to grow 

 without cutting. I cut the flight feathers about half, and 

 the tail about the same. 



There is very little expense attached to rearing tur- 

 keys, but as a rule there is a great deal of work until they 

 are ten weeks old. 



Summing up the requisites for success in raising poults 

 may be done in the following simple words: 



First, have vigorous parent stock, not over fat. 

 Take care that the poults are not chilled the first two 

 or three weeks of their lives. Be careful not to overfeed the 

 poults. They -require very little food for three weeks; after 

 that time feed all they will eat three times a day until they 

 are ready for market. If, however, you have grain fields 

 for range they will eat very little of your food after they 

 are six weeks old until late in the season. Be sure to keep 

 them free from vermin. It is almost impossible to cure a 

 droopy poult. If one is droopy, try to find the cause and 

 remove it before the entire flock becomes afflicted. Young 

 turkeys will do better with no human attention than with 

 too much. 



FIGHTING LICE ON POULTS AND ADULTS. 



I find that, whitewashing the house in which my fowls 

 are kept and keeping it thoroughly clean has been a sure 

 preventative of vermin on my young turkeys. 



Use tobacco stems and tobacco dust as follows: Smoke 

 the roosting places with the stems and sprinkle the floors 

 with the dust. If the coop in which the hen is put with the 

 poults is whitewashed inside and outside before she is put 

 in, she will not become lousy. 



I swept the roosting coop every day and dusted it once 

 a week with air-slaked lime. Lime must be dusted spar- 

 ingly, for if too much is used it will make the feet sore. 



When the nest has been well prepared and dusted there 

 are seldom any lice on the little ones when hatched. But 

 I dust the hen with Persian insect powder when I take her 

 from the nest, being very careful to shake the dust well out 

 so that it will not get into the eyes of the little ones, as it 

 may make them blind. 



The turkey louse is about the color of the poult and 

 is very hard to find by one not experienced in the art of 

 hunting them. They are between the quill (flight) feathers 

 and are often in solid knots, and at first glance will not 

 be discovered, as they do not move until disturbed. A 

 little clear lard oil will kill them, but it must be very care- 

 fully used. I prefer using it at night. Dust the hen well with 

 insect powder when you turn her out in the morning. I 

 know most persons say at night, but I have found the 

 powder gets into the eyes of the poults. 



One thing is certain and that is that poults must be 

 kept free from lice and mites. Then it is equally certain 

 that if not careful in the use of remedies for these the poults 

 may be killed. A little pure lard on the head, around vent, 

 and on the wings, where the flight feathers come out, may 

 be used to advantage, but too much is absolutely fatal. I 

 would not advise the use of sulphur in lard to grease the 

 heads. The lard is sufficient and the sulphur takes away 

 proper use of legs; it is also liable to cause blindness. Use 

 clear lard or thick cream. Liquid lice killer is equally danger- 

 ous if not carefully used. It may be put on the outside of the 

 coops or a little on inside after they are a few weeks old, 

 provided it is done in the morning and the coops are aired 

 well during the day. Never put it on the floors, for if the 

 hen sits over it, it will suffocate the poults. This is equally 

 true of little chicks. I have tried it and know from ex- 



