rOUI/l'RY SF.CTION. 157 



Care and Management of Poultry on the Farm. 



I fear thai the pouitry end of the fanning busine,ss Is \cry much neglected. 

 The hen on the farm has Ijeen considered a necessary evil, left In forage for herself 

 and lay a few eggs in the season when prices are lowest. In cold weather it is 

 more work to care for the chickens, and with no winter eggs furthcoming, they are 

 considered unprofitable. During the hatching season it is believed that about so 

 many chickens die anyway, whether they have good care or not 



This is a great mistake. There is no question that farmers can make more 

 money out of poultry than the person who is raising poultry on a small place. 

 Many waste products of the farm can be turned into profit by marketing poultry 

 and eggs. It is an occupation in which the farmer's wife can share. For this 

 reason it behooves the farmer, or his wife, to give the matter of poultry raising 

 most careful thought and attention. Modern methods and experiments have proven 

 that with proper care, administered with a liberal amount of common sense, the 

 rate of loss among chicks is very small, while the prolits are greatly increased. 



Poultry raising on the farm is becoming of more and more importance. The 

 farmer is learning that it is good business policy to secure and keep pure bred 

 fowls. A great many farmers have already started to raise pure bred cattle and 

 hogs, and well bred horses. If it is policy to secure cattle with high records, why 

 not keep pure bred fowls from a good laying strain and add to the income from this 

 source? It costs no more to maintain a flock of high-grade poultry than it does 

 one of mongrels, yet the increase in market value, whether oi eggs for hatching, or 

 meat for table tise, more than compensates for the original high cost of securing 

 pure bred fowls. 



To realize the most profit from poultry on the farm, a breed of fowls should 

 be selected that are rustlers, that will go out into the yards and field and pick up 

 at least a part of their living during the summer months. Besides being good layers, 

 they should have a good market value after their usefulness as egg producers has 

 passed. The different varieties of Plymouth Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes or 

 Rhode Island Reds are among the general purpose fowls. If good breeding stock 

 is made the basis of the flock, and they receive the proper care, the egg basket will 

 be well filled, and the poultry department pay a good profit both summer and winter. 



POULTRY HOUSES. 



The two main factors in the successful raising of poultry are proper housing 

 and proper feeding. Of these, perhaps, the most important is the housing. The 

 comfort, health, and productiveness of the fowls depend almost entirely upon hous- 

 ing. Dry, well ventilated houses, with plenty of light and sunshine, are necessary 

 if the best results are desired. More diseases and losses are brought about by 

 dampness, filth, and foul air, than by any other cause. Poultry will withstand severe 

 cold much better than they will warm, poison-laden air, hence good ventilation is 

 necessary. A house situated where it gets but little sunlight is unfit for poultry. 

 Without sunshine, young chicks will make but a sickly growth and the older stock 

 will soon degenerate. The cloth front houses are fast becoming popular among the 

 best poultry raisers. This style of house gives plenty of fresh air without the 

 drafts that are so dangerous to fowls. 



The poultry house should be placed on ground that is always well drained and 

 a sandy soil is preferable. Low, ill-drained clay soil, where water stands on the 

 surface, attracts filth and causes disease. It makes a poor footing and consequently 

 harder work while tending the flock. On the higher, well drained ground, it is far 

 less difficult to keep the house dry and clean. We prefer a location with a gentle 

 slope to the south or southeast. It is desirable that the building be exposed to the 

 sunlight' as long as possible on winter days and at the saine time be sheltered from 

 the cold north wind. 



The amount of floor space allowed for each fowl depends upon the breed, the 

 style of house, and the amount of confinement. Large hens require more space 

 than snaall ones. Fowls that are confined a great part of the time, need more floor 

 space than those that have free range. Ordinarily for hens of inedium size, in 

 flocks of twelve or more, three to six square feet of floor space per hen is suf- 



