Poultry A I an. a cement cn a Farm. 
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thoieaftei killing all at two years, with judicious selection and systematic looking after eggs, some 
piofit may be got instead of the present general loss. But we arc here considering the cases in 
which it has been determined to make poultry a part of the regular business of the farm. 
Regarding arrangements, the general principle will almost suggest itself. As the mere laying 
stock will only need food twice a day, and (having free range) are better fed on grain only scattered 
very widely, they should be obviously planted in the more distant locations ; while the more 
substantial buildings near home will be devoted to the chickens and breeding-pens, which need 
more constant and special attention. Water may be provided at any spot in a range found 
convenient, as the fowls soon know it; and often a drain can be cut to form a small pool, or a brook 
utilised, so as to save all trouble in this respect. Supposing, then, that there are a number of 
houses about a farm, and chickens reared at the homestead, sufficient to occupy an attendant, his 
day will be something as follows : — He must be up early, and first clean out all coops and artificial 
mothers, and feed the young chickens ; also feed the breeding-pens, which, perhaps, may be penned, 
up in smaller ranges, and so need more early care. Then he will start on his first round, with 
sufficient grain to feed all, if necessary slung on a yoke. On his return journey he will scrape up 
the night manure at each house and store it in the covered tub kept on the spot, and bring back 
in his pails any eggs already laid, noticing if any hens are on the nest, and if any appear sickly. 
If necessary, the cleaning may be divided, only half being cleaned on alternate days. By this time 
the chickens will want another feed, after which will be the general clean-up of the breeding fowls’- 
houses and all round the homestead; indeed, a good number of chickens will always find duty for all 
spare time. A mid-day collection of eggs is desirable, if practicable, but is not always so ; but all 
through a general watch should be kept for the best-laying pullets, *in order to select these for 
next year’s breeding, which is very important. Towards evening another round must be taken tc 
feed the laying stock, at the same time gathering the rest of the day’s eggs ; the chickens having 
their last feed the last of all, and being then made snug for the night. As far as possible each 
flock of fifty fowls or so should be able to be dealt with as a unit — that is, the birds should be 
hatched nearly at the same time and of same parentage. The modern command of artificial 
hatching and rearing makes this easy, and its advantages are very great : when a few fowls 
stop laying, and prepare to moult, it will be known that the rest are likely to follow, and it the 
killing age has arrived for that lot they can be dealt with at once, without further loss of time. 
Where numbers are not sufficient for this, the ages should be clearly denoted by rings, in the way 
adopted by one of our correspondents already cited, so that all of the same age can at least be 
dealt with together. This one simple point is half the battle in managing large quantities of poultry. 
Kept on this system, the only rent fairly chargeable to the poultry consists of the interest 
upon any sums spent in houses, fencing, and utensils, or upon the capital specially invested. 
The land itself is better for them, and other stock no worse. The right kind of superintendence 
or labour will be the real difficulty, next to that of providing proper fencing for keeping flocks 
separate ; and this last, on many large farms, is not great, fowls having a very strong sense of 
locality, and keeping pretty readily in their own field, if the hedge or other fence is fairly good, 
and the house is not near that of the next nearest flock. Ordinary farm poultry are taught to 
wander by not being properly fed and having to search for their food ; and a feed twice a day will 
be found to make a wonderful difference in this roving disposition, and to solve half the difficulty. 
No attempt is here made to discuss what is generally known as “ poultry-farming,” or poultry 
kept on land solely devoted to their use ; because if such is ever successfully carried out, it 
will be by practical men who know what they are about, and gradually work up to the practical 
conditions; and it never can be done by such as have to write for “advice” or go by written 
