R. I. REDS AS UTILITY FOWLS 



73 



Mr. Gregg certainly made a good record for one year. 

 When we stop to consider that in addition to paying for his 

 little plant and equipment, also his original stock, that the 

 family had all the eggs wanted for home use, that he had 

 67 chicks on hand two weeks old, all at the end of his first 

 year and his cash account showed a credit of $5.06, it un- 

 doubtedly spells success. 



There are several good points to be gleaned from Mr. 

 Gregg's story. First; he showed that he was observing and 

 posted up before starting. His erecting a Tolman Fresh-Air 

 house verifies that. Second; he had studied the feeding 

 quest ■ note the dry mash and of what composed, also the 

 fact t ^i, it was "hopper-fed" and before the fowls at all 



times; note also that Mr. Gregg sprouted oats in his basement 

 for vegetable feed. Which all goes to prove two things, viz.; 

 it pays to study the successful methods of others and then 

 live up to the system installed. 



The fact that Mr. Gregg kept a strict account of every- 

 thing the first year gives evidence that he was handling 

 poultry keeping as a business proposition as well as for 

 pleasure. 



We predict that Mr. Gregg will soon be selling fancy 

 stock and eggs which will materially increase his cash returns, 

 also his profits. All of his sales were made at market prices. 

 Anyone who is as methodical as Mr. Gregg, in regard to the 

 raising of poultry, is bound to succeed. 



RHODE ISLAND REDS IN DIXIE LAND 



THE UTILITY QUALITIES OF THE BREED ARE BEING RECOG- 

 NIZED AND IT IS RAPIDLY INCREASING IN POPULARITY 



WM. L. SADNDERS, NORTH CAROLINA 



EVER since fanciers of the southern states began to 

 pay more attention to poultry, they have made 

 rapid strides toward the front as producers of eggs 

 and market poultry and many of them are raising 

 birds that can win at the largest shows. For the last half 

 dozen years the Reds have been sweeping over this section 

 like a tidal wave, carrying everything before them, and, like 

 the honeysuckle, when they once take root they are there 

 to stay, as they combine many of the best qualities of the 

 old favorites. 



A Dual Purpose Fowl Wanted 



In this section, as well as in most others, what our 

 farmers want is a general-purpose fowl; one that will furnish 

 eggs the year 'round and also make a good market bird. 

 As a rule, they do not care to keep two different breeds, 

 one for egg production and the other for its meat, but want 

 a dual-purpose breed, i. e., one that will furnish both and 

 they have found the Rhode Island Red meets all require- 

 ments. 



The Reds are fortunate in possessing the long back and 

 bodies, and are also of sufiicient width and depth to make 

 them what is known as the egg type or the natural egg 

 machine. Give them the proper food and enough of it and 

 they will shell out the eggs whether in sunshine or rain. 



One of my customers who replaced "the good old 

 Dominicker hen" with a flock of Rose Comb Rhode Island 

 Reds last year, said that it seemed like all his neighbors 

 expected him to supply them with eggs for their Christmas 

 cakes, that one of them who raises White Plymouth Rocks 

 told him if he would let him have enough eggs to make his 

 Christmas cake he would give him a sitting of White Rock 

 eggs in the spring. He said eggs were cheap in the spring 

 and that he did not want White Rocks anyway, that the 

 Reds were good enough for him. 



The above seems to be the general verdict wherever 

 they are tried. I have found them to be early and persistent 

 layers. Hens brooding chicks will usually begin to lay when 

 their chicks are about four weeks old and still take care of 

 them until they are old enough to be weaned. 



Fine Broilers At An Early Age 



The chicks grow rapidly and make fine broilers in less 

 time than any other breed I ever tried. Recently I culled 

 out a lot of brooder chicks that were about nine weeks old. 

 These chicks had been fed mostly on grain with a view to 

 making bone and muscle, as I expected to get a good many 



pullets for fall and winter laying. A poultry dealer gave 

 me thirty-five cents a head for them in the yard. The culls 

 were the cockerels that I did not think would bring three 

 dollars or better this fall and the pullets that appeared to 

 be slow in developing. It was no big thing, according to 

 the accounts I see published of what a good many poultry- 

 men are doing, or many of the estimates of what can be done, 

 but it is better than I was ever able to do with any other 

 breed. 



Fertility of Eggs High 



Another thing is their vigor. The cocks have the 

 activity and vim of the old pit games, which were the first 

 pure-bred fowls I ever raised. I took a nine pound yearling 

 cock under my arm the other day to move him from my 

 lower yard to one of the upper ones and he challenged the 



V^ vS-C- RHODE.- I,3LA/^D "RED 



