848 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
August 19, 
The Henyard. 
DRY MASH FOR GROWING CHICKS. 
I wish to ask a few questions about poul¬ 
try. I have 14 White Leghorns and 14 
White Wyandottes, all eight weeks old. They 
are all thoroughbreds, and are the nucleus 
from which I wish to build up a large flock 
next Spring. Can you give a good dry mash 
ration for them? Should both breeds get 
the same? Should the ration be varied 
from month to month? Will the Leghorns 
do well in confinement—say eight in a yard 
5x10? L. L. F. 
Portland, Ore. 
While the chicks are growing the same 
dry mash may be fed to both Leghorns and 
Wyandottes; that is while they are from 
two to five months old or until the Leg¬ 
horns begin laying. The Wyandottes will 
not lay until they are a month or six weeks 
older. Here is a good formula to feed while 
the chicks are small: Eight parts wheat 
bran; three parts wheat middlings; three 
parts cornmeal; four parts sifted beef 
scraps; one part bone meal; one part fine 
charcoal; four parts ground Alfalfa. 
<Iround Alfalfa can now be obtained from 
most grain dealers, and it supplies to some 
extent the necessity for green food, but does 
not wholly do so. The bone meal may be 
left out if not easy to obtain, as the bran 
furnishes a large amount of mineral matter, 
but the bone is an additional insurance 
against leg weakness, which often occurs 
in rapidly growing chicks. The dry mash 
should be kept where the chicks can get 
at it as often as they wish and whole 
grain fed night and morning, one part oats, 
two parts cracked corn, two parts wheat. 
Barley may be substituted for the oats oc¬ 
casionally to give variety. In buying oats 
prefer those that have dark colored kernels 
among them; that shows that they have not 
been “bleached.” Bleached oats are said to 
be responsible for the death of several 
horses in this State, Connecticut, and a 
prominent poultryman here writes that in 
trying to sprout oats for his fowls he 
found that some of the bags of oats would 
sprout only a few kernels, the main part 
would sour and mold, and hens to which 
the sprouted ones were fed, wasted away 
(“went light”) and acted as they would if 
under the influence of a slow poison. lie 
suggests that this may be responsible for 
the almost universally poor hatches this 
Spring. These oats are large, very even in 
color, no dark ones among them. 
tVhen the pullets are put in Winter quar¬ 
ters next Fall the manner of feeding will 
depend on whether a large number of eggs 
are wanted, or fertile eggs and strong 
chicks. If the latter, then the pullets 
should be fed more scantily, oats and bar¬ 
ley making a large part of the ration with 
very little meat and plenty of green food, 
cabbage or mangel beets. A pint of dry 
grain fed in deep litter to 25 fowls in the 
morning will give them exercise until noon, 
when the dry mash hopper should be opened 
and let the hens help themselves. At night 
dry grain again, of which half should be 
whole corn, especially if the weather is very 
cold. 
As L. L. F. wishes to use his chicks for 
breeders next Spring it is not necessary 
to give a forcing ration for eggs. The 
Wyandotte pullets should be fed less corn 
than the Leghorns as their tendency to take 
on fat is much greater. When they are 
laying well, one-half of the ration for the 
Leghorns may be corn or cornmeal; for the 
Wyandottes not over one-third, and the 
quantity of beef scrap should be increased 
until it forms one-eighth of the whole ra¬ 
tion. The feeding problem is one that must 
be learned by experience. No intelligent 
dairyman feeds all his cows alike, and the 
amateur poultryman will find some of his 
fowls becoming too fat on a ration that 
just keeps the rest of them in good laving 
condition. The remedy is to put the extra 
fat ones in a pen by themselves, and feed 
scantily of oats and barley, cutting out 
the corn until they are in proper condition 
again. Hens will lay when so fat that there 
is a chunk of “leaf lard” each side in their 
abdomen as big as a man’s hand, and the 
fat on their back an inch thick (this is no 
exaggeration, I have had such), but the eggs 
are less fertile, often thin shelled, and if 
fertile, do not produce as strong chicks. 
GEO. A. COSGROVE. 
A Case of “ Limberneck.” 
What ails my chickens? They appear 
to be well one day, next morning they 
will be on the roost with their heads hang¬ 
ing down, and will soon fall off, and last 
maybe two days, and die. They have free 
range, and those that roost in trees are 
affected the same. They seem to lose con¬ 
trol of their necks altogether; their feath¬ 
ers get lose and will come out bv handfuls. 
They are in good flesh and will lav eggs 
while they are lying around. Those that 
are not so bad will try to eat, but seem 
as if they cannot open their bills. j. g. 
Hancock, Md. 
The case mentioned is clearly what is 
known as “limberneck.” a form of ptomaine 
poisoning caused by the hens eating decay¬ 
ing meat of some sort. It may tie nothing 
more than a dead rat or a 'rabbit lying 
about unburied, but the result is just as 
deadly. There is no direct cure for ad¬ 
vanced cases. Epsom salts in the drinking 
water will purge and possibly save those 
only slightly affected. I cannot too severe¬ 
ly condemn the custom of leaving dead 
fowls and vermin about the place for buz¬ 
zards and other scavengers to clean up, a 
custom altogether too common in Maryland 
and the South. Be sure to bury everything 
dead, and bury it deep for your own sake 
as well as your poultry. Given the right 
conditions a single dead rat can ruin the 
work of years, as in the present case. 
R. B. 
The following is the egg record of 25 of 
my S. C. W. Leghorn pullets for six 
months: January, 412; February, 453; 
March, 508; April, 506; May, 499; June, 
484; total, 2,862. This is an average of 
114 eggs per hen. These pullets were 
hatched about the middle of May, and 
housed in a 10 by 10 foot portable poultry 
house in September, and have not been 
outside of the house since. p. s. m. 
Pennsylvania. 
Express Company and Baby Chicks. 
One of our readers ordered a shipment 
of baby chicks. They were to come C. O. 
D. When they got there one-fourth of the 
number were short. The express agent 
said that six had died, and he threw them 
out, and he makes the buyer believe that 
he .has got to pay the full C. O. U 
charges. Then the express company re¬ 
fused to settle for the dead chicks, and the 
shipper having received his money washes 
his hands out of all responsibility. In 
such a case should he in your judgment 
settle for the chicks? Have you ever 
known of such a case and what would you 
do in such an event? 
If the buyer can prove that shipper con¬ 
signed chicks one-fourth short would say 
that settlement could be forced in case 
number involved would justify action. In 
ordering baby chicks the buyer should first 
be reasonably sure he is purchasing from 
an honest poultryman (one who does not 
make a practice of selling his culls when 
first hatched and reserving the strong ones 
for himself), and in second place to be 
reasonable also and expect to find a small 
percentage dead upon arrival, the number 
depending upon distance shipped. Of course 
in this case 25 per cent might have died 
and been thrown out (agent claiming ship¬ 
ment short), but proof is necessary. A 
shipper’s responsibility ends upon delivery 
of goods to the agent or agency chosen by 
the buyer for the transmission, unless 
otherwise agreed upon. Unless the amount 
hero involved is large would advise the 
buyer to take no action. People buying 
large numbers of day-old chicks should 
visit hatchery and see their chicks boxed 
and shipped. This would prevent their be¬ 
ing imposed upon by shipper and they 
could also hold express companies respon¬ 
sible for negligence. I know of one ship- 
men of 5,000, 2,000 of which arrived dead. 
Unless they were delayed in transit it is 
probable chicks were too weak, and conse¬ 
quently worthless. w. h. Tomlinson. 
Connecticut. 
In the above case, when the shipper had 
delivered the chicks to the express com¬ 
pany, and they had receipted for them in 
good condition,, his responsibility ends, and 
the responsibility of the express company 
begins; they should deliver all the chicks, 
both the living and the dead. Failing to 
do that the express company is clearly lia¬ 
ble for the missing chicks. How does any¬ 
one know but that the express agent stole 
the six missing’ chicks? If all he has to 
do is to say that “so many died and he 
threw them out,” the agents could stock 
up with chicks pretty easily. It may be 
quite true in this case that the chicks died, 
but the agent made a bad mistake in open¬ 
ing the package and taking out the dead 
chicks; and if the express company signed 
for 24 chicks and delivered but 18. they are 
clearly responsible for the missing ones. I 
have shipped live fowls to New York and 
had a hen die on the way, and the con¬ 
signee shipped the dead hen back in the 
(otherwise) empty crate, although he is an 
old friend of mine and knows that it would 
never enter my head to doubt his word. 
The shipper should not settle for the miss¬ 
ing chicks unless he guaranteed safe deliv¬ 
er!/ ; if he did, then it is up to him to make 
good, and collect from the express com¬ 
pany. If I should ship a dozen baskets of 
peaches to a consignee, and the express 
company deliver 11 full baskets and one 
basket nearly empty, would they consider 
it a good defense for the agent to say that 
the peaches in that basket were rotten and 
he threw them out? I rather think not, 
but the principle would be just the same 
as in this case. geo. a. cosgrove. 
Connecticut. 
Express Companies Have the Advantage. 
Although I have never shipped or re¬ 
ceived baby chicks my express company ex¬ 
perience with other classes of live stock 
leads me to believe that the party in this 
case is without recourse. Unless he had 
some previous guarantee from the shipper, 
promising the safe delivery of all or a cer¬ 
tain percentage of chicks shipped, he had 
no business accepting the shipment from 
the agent or paying cash due. That pay¬ 
ment released both carrier and shipper 
from all responsibility unless there was, as 
before stated, some written understanding 
with the shipper. That this was a C. O. 
D. shipment gave the purchaser every ad¬ 
vantage if he had only not paid. I refer 
you to the clause in the United States Ex¬ 
press Company’s contracts, covering this 
case and just such an agreement or one 
very similar to it the shipper must have 
signed. It reads, “If any sum of money 
besides the charges for transportation is 
to be collected from consignee on delivery 
of property”—C. O. D. collection—“and 
the same is not paid within 30 days from 
the date hereof, the shipper agrees that 
this company may at its option return said 
property to him at the expiration of that 
time, subject to the conditions of this re¬ 
ceipt and that he will pay charges for 
transportation both ways and that the lia¬ 
bility of this company for such property 
while in its possession, for the making of 
such collection, shall be that of warehouse¬ 
man only.” So in any case the express 
company was responsible to the shipper 
only, and up to the minute the payment 
was made the shipper was the only one 
whom the purchaser could hold responsible, 
since the chicks were still the former’s 
property and he had delivered only three- 
fourths of them. Not one person in a hun¬ 
dred would have been hard-hearted enough 
to leave those baby chicks to the tender 
mercies of an express company, but such 
is business, or rather express-made busi¬ 
ness. 
If the person had refused payment, the 
question of damages would have lain be¬ 
tween the company and the shipper, and on 
reading their contract I can understand 
very readily why the shipper, once he had 
his money, was so willing to wash his 
hands of all responsibility. If the said 
shipper, after signing this contract, could 
find any accident not provided for and for 
which the company declares itself not re¬ 
sponsible, he surely could show any camel 
an easy way through a needle’s eye. The 
only thing they do agree to make good is 
loss due “to fraud or gross negligence” on 
the part of employees and the burden of 
proof lies on the complainant. They dis¬ 
claim all responsibility for loss due to the 
inability or refusal of their carriers, the 
railroad and steamboat lines, to handle the 
matter at any point along the road. They 
refuse it again “unless the shipment be 
properly packed and secured for transpor¬ 
tation.” And so on down through an end¬ 
less number of risks, and as if these were 
not sufficient protection to the company 
they are not to be held liable for loss due 
to “an act of God," and this last might 
cover a multitude of mischances. And if 
by any means six dead baby chickens could 
be proven innocent of breaking the long 
list of regulations preceding, that last 
clause surely has got them—“an act of 
God.” To my mind, there is only one so¬ 
lution to such a state of affairs, namely, a 
postal express, run in the interest of its 
patrons, and willing to insure them against 
reasonable risks, settling claims fairly and 
promptly. What we want here as else¬ 
where is true reciprocity of interests be¬ 
tween the carrier and its patrons. 
Maryland. reuben brigiiam. 
Crossing Brahma and White Rock. 
Do you think I can produce a breed of 
white fowls with the size of the Light Brah¬ 
ma and some of the characteristics of the 
White Rock by crossing the two breeds? 
My object is to get it fowl larger than the 
Itock with the characteristics of the Brah¬ 
ma. Were the Brahma white with clean 
legs she would be any ideal fowl. Poultry 
keeping with me is a side issue. I have 
no nearby market for broilers, but a 
good market for roasters, and depend largely 
for my profit on them. I raise nearly all 
my own feed, and fowls have unlimited 
range. I intend to try caponizing. Would 
this breed, provided I can bring it to my 
standard, make a good capon? 
New York. a. j. h. 
I would advise A. J. H. that if he wants 
roasters and capons, the Brahma-White 
Rock cross would be excellent—that is, the 
first cross. _ But as he says he wants a 
Brahma with white plumage and clean 
legs, his best plan is to pick for lightest 
feathering and whitest birds among his 
Brahmas. This will be slow work, but 
sure. Crossing with the White Rock will 
not give him what he wants, since the 
M lute Rock, being a “sport” from a darker 
variety, will more than likely throw darker 
birds than any of his Brahmas, and in any 
event be very hard to “fix” to the type of 
bird he wants. The White Indian Game 
is a large, meaty bird, and nearer what he 
wants for crossing, but one not easy to get. 
I would rather depend on selecting the 
Brahmas he already has. as crossing to 
make a new breed is at best a lottery, u. b. 
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“Pusley” as Hen Food. 
I think I can go you one better on the 
disposal of “pusley.” You might mulch vour 
orchard with wheat bran, which also 'con¬ 
tains nitrogen. 1 am told, and make cold 
slaw of your pusley for the shut-in chick¬ 
ens, if you have any. If I could raise a 
crop intentionally that grew with such lux¬ 
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chickens, I should think I was doing a 
good tiling. With a big handful in one 
hand, a knife (butcher or jack) iu the 
other, and a board leaning against my knee, 
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lengths, and almost grow fat myself watch¬ 
ing how they enjoy it. Simply pulled and 
thrown over to them, they seem to get very 
little good of it. It is about all the greens 
that 80 half-grown shut-ins have had for 
the past month, and they have thrived won¬ 
derfully. E. N. B. 
Referring to your remarks about “pus- 
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ravenously, and the result was in increase 
of 50 per cent in egg production, and a 
decrease of 50 per cent in grain used. My 
small chickens in brooders will leave their 
chick feed and pick at it. F. H. 
Peekskill, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—As a boy on a New England 
farm we ate “pusley” cooked with boiled 
pork as “greens.” It was good, too. This 
weed is said to contain nearly as much 
nitrogen as Alfalfa. We know that it 
makes young trees jump. 
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