Frpruary, 1908 
A Reason for Poultry Failures 
LTHOUGH some of the most remark- 
able successes in the poultry business 
have been on Long Island it is also probably 
true that there have been more failures there 
than in any other place of the same size in 
the world. 
You can go to almost any town on the 
island and the old resident wil] tell you about, 
and frequently show you, the ruins of a 
$10,000 plant that went to the wall in spite 
of the enormous demand for poultry products 
in the New York market. In most cases 
these failures were caused by over-ambitious 
persons who undertook to manage large 
plants before they knew how to properly 
care for an ordinary barnyard flock. 
In many cases, they spent a large part of 
their capital in building expensive houses 
and buying stock, only to find that the 
houses were not constructed to suit the 
climate and that the poultry was not of the 
right breed to meet the market conditions. 
Then more money is spent for incubators 
and brooders, in the management of which 
they have had little or no practical experience. 
Thousands of eggs are spoiled, hundreds of 
chicks die, and the first year shows a heavy 
loss. If the ambition to “get rich quick on 
poultry” is not sufficiently subdued by this 
time, another season will probably see the 
business closed down at a much heavier loss 
than it would have been after the first year. 
The only men who are making money by 
raising poultry for the New York market are 
those who have given at least several years 
of careful study to the business by keeping 
a flock of not more than two hundred birds 
for pleasure or by working on poultry farms 
owned by other successful poultrymen who 
understand the climatic and market con- 
ditions of the locality, in addition to thorough 
knowledge of breeding, medical treatment, 
feeding economy, etc. 
Those who have not had _ professional 
poultry training should at least take the pre- 
caution of keeping for one year a balance 
sheet that would show every expenditure and 
income including their own labor figured at 
local labor rates. Then let the business ex- 
pand as rapidly as balance sheet profits 
watrant. 
There are plenty of poultry farms in the 
West on which experience and knowledge 
can be gained as well as it could be near 
New York. But it undoubtedly would prove 
a great advantage to spend at least one winter 
on one of the local farms to learn the methods 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
of feeding housing, etc., in this climate, if it is 
intended to locate in the vicinity of New York. 
New York. Otis BARNUM. 
Buying vs. Raising the Poultry 
Food 
Ge crops cannot be profitably grown 
in the Eastern states for feeding poultry. 
First, because the land is too high priced 
and too valuable for something else; second, 
because cost of raising grain crops is too high. 
This is not a grain country, and what little 
grain is grown is produced almost entirely 
by hand labor. We cannot compete with 
the West and other parts of the country where 
grain is produced on a large scale, and by 
means of machinery, from start to finish. 
Where several acres are available corn 
might be grown on one to two acres, because 
that will yield more grain; the stalks make 
good fodder, and, chopped into short lengths, 
will do for scratching material. Besides, 
there is more or less handwork about raising 
and harvesting corn any way. Then, by 
planting this corn early, you might get it 
off the land in time to sow the stubble to 
wheat. This is an excellent grain for hens, 
and if it is not convenient to have it threshed 
it could be fed to the hens in the bundle, 
letting them do their own threshing, and 
have the straw for litter. On another acre 
grow oats, and feed them in the bundle also, 
if desired, though the straw makes poor 
litter. An acre could be used to good ad- 
vantage in growing clover, mangels, rape, 
millet, and some other crops for green stuff, 
sowing a variety for succession. I would 
plant an acre each to potatoes and cabbages 
instead of growing grains. The small 
potatoes make excellent feed for the hens 
when cooked and mixed with ground grains, 
and all the small, soft, and immature heads 
of cabbage can be fed to good advantage. 
The marketable potatoes and cabbages at 
present and usual prices would buy more 
grain than could be grown on ten acres. 
New Jersey. 1%, lak, We 
How to Make Hens Lay 
T IS a mistaken idea to expect eggs if 
proper care is not given the hens. 
Any person thinking he will get eggs in 
winter by giving a couple of corn feedings 
a day will be very much disappointed. Feed 
only the best materials, avoid tainted meat 
and sloppy food, and always give plenty 
of grit, charcoal and oyster shells for the 
hens to pick at. 
Last spring, I hatched out fifty-three chicks, 
all prue bred. They were Single Comb White 
Orpingtons, Barred Plymouth Rocks and 
Buff Cochins. My pet choice was the 
Orpingtons, so I disposed of the other breeds. 
These Orpingtons were hatched the 23rd 
day of April, 1906, and the first one com- 
menced to lay the first week in October. 
I sold all but eleven pullets, three cockerels, 
and one cock. f only let one cockerel or 
the cock run with them at once, keeping the 
others penned up. I only commenced to 
keep a record since January 1st, 1907, but 
27 
they averaged about the same during the 
previous month. During January, from the 
1st to 31st, these pullets laid fourteen and one- 
half dozen eggs, which I think is very good. 
I feed a hot mash in the morning consist- 
ing of one-third bran, two-thirds crushed 
corn and crushed oats. To this is added 
one-sixth part of clover. These ingredients 
are mixed thoroughly together in a dry 
state, afterwards adding boiling water so as 
to make a ball, still keeping the food in a 
dry state so that when squeezed in the hand, 
it is not sticky but readily crumbles when 
dropped on the ground in the shed. 
Their midday meal consists of an even 
mixture of wheat, buckwheat, oats, sunflower 
seeds, barley, and Kaffir corn. This is 
thrown amongst short litter sweepings from 
the hay loft, and at night, before going to 
roost, they are fed all the whole corn they 
care to eat. I also feed them fresh meat 
scraps, ground through the mincer, every 
other day, at the same time grinding some stale 
bread crusts. After mincing a few handfuls 
of bran, using bran in proportion to meat, I 
find the bran acts as a separator for the meat 
and after thoroughly mixing the meat will 
resemble pills about as large as a string bean. 
I also suspend two cabbage heads every week 
for them to peck at. During very severe 
weather the drinking water is warmed. It 
The single comb White Orpington averages halfa 
pound more than the heavy American breeds, and 
equals them as a layer; but they are white skinned 
is surprising how much water they will drink 
when the chill is taken off. 
The house is open to all weathers and over 
the door, which faces southeast, are two 
holes about six inches square for ventilation. 
These are never covered up even when the 
temperature is below zero. The house is 
8 x 8 ft. and nine feet high in the front and 
seven in the back. The hens have a large 
open shed facing southeast, in which to 
exercise, and in fair weather they have free 
range. 
New Jersey. Cuas. H. RICcE. 
