Vol. LXXXI. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co.. 
333 W. 30th St.. New York. Price Oua Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK. MAY 27. 1922 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 2G. 1870. at the Post 
Ofllre at New Yurk. N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1379 
No. 4092 
How We Raise Farm Turkeys 
A BUSY TIME.—June is the most important time 
of all the year with the turkey flocks. At no 
time can we afford to let interest lag. nor fail to 
perform such daily duties as are sure to require 
careful and very close attention. Showers suddenly 
appear, and the birds while small and still un- 
feathered must not he allowed to get wet. At this 
time most, of the eggs should have been hatched, 
although a second laying should now he coining if 
the hens have not been allowed to incubate. Wo 
have gone carefully over the care of the mature 
birds through laying in a previous paper, also told 
you how to set the hens and keep lice down. Now 
Bart III. 
you will not have any trouble. See that there are 
no cracks large enough for young turks to crawl 
out, or they will get. lost and wander away in the 
grass. - Put in a shallow drinking pan; an earthen 
one is best, but do not use a common saucer, as it 
is too shallow and broad. A tomato can cut down 
with the tin shears makes a very satisfactory drink¬ 
ing receptacle, and if you put in a small stone to 
prevent very small birds from getting into it. that 
will help keep them dry, and dryness is all-im¬ 
portant. 
FEEDING.—For the first feed we give fresh 
chopped dandelions, onion tops or nettles. The lat- 
exception of thick sour milk, which can be fed once 
each day in a shallow dish. Supply plenty of sharp 
small gravel or coarse sand. I always strew the 
bottom of all turkey coops once a day with this, as 
we have a hank on the farm. Every two hours is 
right to feed the young, but only a little, always 
keeping in mind that turkeys should be hungry at 
every feed, and that in a natural state they get but 
a tiny bit of food, but get it often. If the weather 
is warm and the sun shines, get the birds in the 
grass when two days old. If cold, or storm threat¬ 
ens. keep them in until it is warm. 
OUT ON THE RANGE.—You will notice by fol- 
A Group of White Toms that Act as Brooders for Young Turks. Fig. 293 
we come to the actual rearing of the flock, which is 
the all-important thing. 
HOUSING THE POULTS.—After the young are 
out of the shell, and all are dry, which will usually 
lie in 12 hours, it is best to remove the mother with 
her brood to a roomy coop, which has been prepared 
in advance. I find that better success comes with 
coops placed over a solid bottom than where it rests 
upon the ground. The reasons for this are obvious. 
First, there is less danger from skunks burrowing 
under it; then, too. the birds are not so subject to 
dampness, as the bottom is always dry, and if 
cleaned each morning, as it should be, and a liberal 
quantity of sand or clean dry earth placed over it, 
ter are preferred, and when you have so often won¬ 
dered what these prickly things were made for, now 
you know, for there is nothing better, nothiug so 
good, as these very objectionable “prickers." What 
there is about them I cannot say, but this 1 learned 
years ago, and if you will not be skeptical, and give 
them a trial, you will be surprised with results. I 
put on heavy gloves when I cut them, and then chop 
them with the cleaver very line on the meat block. 
The young birds will dive into them and devour all 
in sight in a few minutes: nothing is better for first 
feeding. In a few hours you can start with bread 
and milk, sweet and clean, and squeezed quite dry. 
Do uot feed sloppy foods iu auy form, with the 
lowing your flock that the young will hunt for rock/ 
places, where they search out every crack and 
crevice in an effort to dislodge a bug. Then, too, 
they seem to have a mysterious craving for the dry 
moss-like scales that are always to be found on 
tuese stony places, and I have often watched them 
pick and eat every bit of this mineral scale that 
was in sight. It seems to be the mineral matter 
that they crave, and this starts them along in fine 
shape. In a very short, time the feathers over the 
shoulders and wing feathers will appear. If fed 
sparingly you will note that the wings keep pace,' 
with body feathers for growth, but when fed too 
touch bread and milk, or boiled egg, they start an 
