POULTRY RAISING. — NO. 3. 
301 
POULTRY RAISING.— No. 3. 
As I intimated in my last number, that a for- 
tune may be made in the business of extensive 
poultry raising, I will now proceed to lay the 
plan before the public, as many persons are in- 
terested in this branch of domestic employment 
To keep a large number of fowls, so that they 
shall be equally as profitable in the ratio of 
numbers, as a small number, where such small 
number have a large range, is impossible. Here, 
at the onset, is a damper to the feelings of those 
engaged, or about to engage, in the business ; 
but I cannot help it. I am going to give you 
what I consider to be facts in the premises, and 
if my assertions can be controverted, I hope that 
I shall not be spared. If I give not facts, let 
others show wherein I err, and let us have this 
question decided, namely, " Is it practicable to 
keep fowls profitably on a large scale 1 What I 
mean by a large scale, is keeping not less than 
500 laying hens, to be increased to several thou- 
sands, in the same ratio of profit. 
By purchasing all the food required for fowls, 
I have proved to my satisfaction that it is a very 
poor, unsafe business to embark in ; but where 
one raises certain kinds of food expressly for 
them, having a small farm for that purpose, 
my views are very different. And here I would 
observe, that'to think of going into this busi- 
ness first, by obtaining some of the numerous 
foreign breeds of fowls among us, that are re- 
commended as " great layers," and then rear a 
stock from such breeds, is useless. Let people 
say what they may about this or that breed for 
laying, I do not believe that there is any foreign 
breed of fowls in existence so good for exten- 
sive breeding and laying, as some of our do- 
mestic kinds. The present great outcry about 
particular " highly valuable breeds," is of about 
the same relative importance as the great noise 
made" some years ago about the Morus mulii- 
caulis, that ended in smoke. Again, the in-and- 
in breeding that it would require to keep any fa- 
vorite breed pure, would soon produce their ruin. 
[Indeed ! Where are your facts. — Eds.] 
Now to my subject. You want about 25 acres 
of good land, five of which are well enclosed 
with a close board fence five feet high — no pick- 
ets. Every fowl must have one wing clipped. 
A shed should then be constructed around the 
entire five acres, the board fence forming the 
back of said shed. This shed may have a roof 
of boards six feet in length, and the entire line 
of front to be closed in with a glass window 
every twenty feet, at least, and a door, say 
every forty feet. At the back side of this 
shed, a single row of nest boxes should extend 
the whole length, so constructed that the hens 
will be out of sight, as the person in attendance 
passes along in front, opposite the boxes, and 
only about a foot from the ground. Perch 
poles should be placed the whole length, also — 
only one continuous perch, because in the cen- 
tre of the enclosure, the building containing 
their food, should be placed, containing all nec- 
essary conveniences. 
The great difficulty in keeping large num- 
bers of fowls successfully, is their coming into 
too close contact with each other, and especially 
in roosting. The healthiest fowls are those that 
have no shelter at night save the canopy of the 
heavens. Who ever saw a diseased fowl that 
had always lodged in the branches of trees 1 
Now, we must obviate close proximity, and 
hence, I recommend the single, continuous 
perch. In the warm season, the sheds should 
be well ventilated — doors and windows kept 
constantly open. A rear ventilation should 
also be effected by grated windows, as near as 
every twenty feet, at least. The perch should 
be placed low, as the foul air, caused by res- 
piration, is the better carried away, so that it is 
not received into the lungs a second time. The 
dung should be removed often, and lime and 
ashes strewn upon the ground in the sheds. The 
entire inside to be well whitewashed, and the 
outside would be better by being served in the 
same manner. One or two acres of this en- 
closure should be plowed up as often as once 
a- week, from April to December, to afford worms 
for the fowls — the balance to be in grass. The 
number of fowls that can be kept in such an 
enclosure, and all roost on the continuous perch, 
allowing one foot for each, is about 1,900; but 
fowls do not actually require over six of eight 
inches. 
A stream of water should run through the 
yard, and a load of ashes, old mortar, charcoal, 
and gravel should be placed at convenient dis- 
tances. An infirmary must be constructed at a 
distance, for sickly fowls, so that they may be 
separated in small numbers. At evening, once 
a-week, every fowl should be examined on the 
perches, and any illness may be detected by the 
dullness of the eye, or the lightness of the body, 
and any not in perfect health, to be immedi- 
ately removed. Here lies a serious danger: 
There are many diseases that are contagious 
among fowls, and a few days are sufficient to 
spread desolation in the best poultry yards in 
the country. 
The food of fowls must comprise Indian corn, 
and oats to some extent, as a daily fare ; besides 
these grains, we may feed them on what costs 
the least. Potatoes are my fare, and it is only 
through the cheapness of this root and the ruta 
baga, that I am enabled to say that I am truly 
of the opinion that a fortune can be made in 
raising poultry. Aside from the foregoing kinds 
of food, fowls must have flesh, in some shape. 
If you cannot turn worms out of the earth for 
them, you must get the offal from the butcher. 
There is no use to attempt to get along without it. 
It is not on every 25 acres of land that I say 
2,000 fowls can be kept to advantage. It must 
be a soil that will usually produce from 200 to 
300 bushels of potatoes per acre. In Oneida 
county, we do this without a pound of manure. 
2,000 hens will produce annually, 150,000 eggs, 
worth $1,500, taking all seasons into account. 
This estimate is based solely on laying eggs. 
The profit on chickens may be considerable, if 
the location be near a large city. The next 
point is, what will it cost to feed these fowls. 
To buy grain, it will cost the price of 1,000 
bushels of corn, and the same of oats, say 
