342 



Breeding and Rearing of Turkeys, [august, 



breeders having to some extent overcome the popular pre- 

 judice based upon the supposition that whiteness of plumage 

 is necessarily synonymous with delicateness of constitution. 

 The appearance of the white birds is very attractive on account 

 of the contrast afforded by the red and blue hues of head and 

 neck and the black tuft of the male upon the white plumage 

 of the breast. White turkeys are as a rule fine in bone and of 

 a delicate flavour, but they are also relatively small in size. 

 A very useful cross may, however, be made by running a 

 bronze male of medium size with white hens. The young 

 birds are curiously speckled in appearance, but have been 

 found hardy, and comparatively easy to rear, attaining a 

 useful marketable size if exceptional weight is not required. 



Housing. — The natural instinct of adult turkeys is to roost 

 in trees, but this is inadmissible in a country more or less 

 overrun with foxes. Delicateness and disease, however, are 

 the direct result of badly ventilated or overheated sleeping 

 quarters, and a special form of house is necessary * for their 

 proper accommodation. Although some special features are 

 essential the construction of a suitable house is really very 

 simple. In common with all forms of fowl houses the floor 

 must be dry and the erection generally draught and rainproof. 

 The roof should, if possible, be thatched. The arrangement 

 of the perches is important ; they should be broad, but not 

 too broad for the birds to grip, and must run from end to 

 end of the building, each perch being about 2 ft. higher than 

 the one below and 2 ft. farther back, so that the birds cannot 

 roost one over another. 



Turkeys always prefer to remain on their perches until 

 let out in the morning, when it is their habit to fly straight 

 out and alight on the ground at some distance in front of the 

 house. For this reason, and to prevent the birds damaging 

 themselves, the whole of the front of the house must be made 

 to open in the manner of folding doors. These doors should 

 consist of strong frames, hung on hinges and covered with 

 wire netting. It is only from stock housed in a healthy open- 

 air manner that a healthy progeny can be expected. 



The Breeding Stock. — Many of the failures in the past have 

 been primarily due to in-breeding, and the use of immature 

 stock wanting in stamina. The use of well-bred and well- 



