3011. 
THE HURAI> NEW-YORKER 
liJ45 
The Henyard. 
A Bunch of Happy Hens. 
The basket of eggs in the picture, Fig. 
503, page 1231, is about as misleading as 
some of the poultry advertisements we read. 
The picture of basket of eggs is stuffed 
or watered as lots of stock is, but at the 
time the picture was taken I could have 
filled it and had enough left to set a hen. 
My flock, October 1, numbered about 600. 
Since then I have made some sales and 
reduced the number to help make grain 
bill smaller. The scrap from the table will 
not go far in feeding a flock of this size. 
1 cannot keep them in the backyard unless 
the backyard has several acres in it. I 
think a flock of this size would eat if they 
could get it as much grass as a cow would 
eat. I judge from a piece of green rye I 
turned some hens and chickens in to help 
themselves and in a few days they made it 
look like 30 cents. But they did not eat 
as much grain. Cabbage is good, beets, 
kale and sprouted oats; change feed often 
and look out for lice. Keep carbolic acid 
and kerosene mixed, one pint crude carbolic 
acid and one gallon kerosene, on hand and 
use freely on houses; sure death to lice. 
Clean droppings boards often and keep your 
eye on any hens that look sick or droopy, 
and remove them from the llock. 
I keep R. Rock and R. C. R. I. Reds. I 
have a fine strain of Rocks and the best 
laying hens I ever have kept. I do not 
keep all in small flocks, but one gets better 
results if kept that way. One yard of 
B. Rock hens laid many weeks five dozen 
eggs. When I say I have good B. Rocks I 
am saying just what I have. The old 
hens are laying and shedding feathers at 
the same time, and I have been able to 
keep all my retail customers in good fresh 
eggs all this Fall when eggs have been 
scarce and high. I get now 55 cents a 
dozen. The feed is mixed, oats, wheat, 
cracked corn, whole corn, corn and oats 
ground together and the best beef scraps 
I can buy. I feed a warm mash in the 
morning and give oats and wheat in the 
litter to keep them scratching, and take 
the chill off the drinking water, and see 
that they have plenty of good clean water. 
I buy very few of the many things ad¬ 
vertised for poultry to make them lay, and 
many things too numerous to mention to 
make the poultryman successful. One thing 
I have done for the year past is to stamp 
my name on every egg sold, and I find it 
has paid me for so doing. I have been 
able to get good customers for cash. Too 
many people are led to believe they can 
keep a large flock of hens in the back¬ 
yard and feed them cheaply and get large 
returns. I think it is not so, or at least 
I find to be successful one must love to 
care for them and try to make them tame, 
and not get frightened at any little thing; 
give good care and feed and just stay by 
them, and in the morning when the sun 
shines in upon them and they are scratch¬ 
ing in the litter of dry leaves and rye straw 
and hay chaff you will hear them singing 
that good old hymn : 
“All hail delightful morn.” 
Massachusetts. iioracb g. case. 
Study of a Hen Record. 
A neighbor of mine has 200 yearling hens 
that laid their first pullet egg on January 
1, 1911. He is making a claim that from 
January 1 to October 1. they laid an aver¬ 
age of 294 eggs per week, 42 eggs per day. 
He seems to be very proud of this record, 
but it does not seem to me to be very high. 
What do you think? What do you think of 
the value of burnt wheat as a poultry 
food ? m. b. p. 
Stillwater, N. Y. 
I think the record of your friend’s flock 
is about the average for pullets of mixed 
breeding and having moderately good care 
without any especial effort on his part for 
heavy laying. I have found in such cases 
where a few birds begin laying in January, 
that an average of 10 eggs per day from 
200 hens well into March is often the rule. 
About that time the general run of them 
get busy and they are laying eight or 10 
dozen eggs a day. Then they begin to 
want to sit; that is, the early layers do—- 
and possibly will manage to keep this rate 
up through June. Through the Summer 
they may fall off to the extent of laying 
40 down to 20 eggs a day. Now let us 
figure; from January 1 to October 1 is 
nine months, and at 42 eggs per day he 
took in about 10.500 eggs. From January 
1 to March 15 he ought to have got an 
average of 10 eggs per day, or 750 eggs. 
From March 15 to June 30. I think for 
pullets, 100 eggs per day would be fair, 
making 10.500. From that time on through 
moulting, they must have’ dropped off to al¬ 
most 10 eggs a day again, but ought to have 
averaged 20, giving us 1,800 more. This 
brings us to a total figured at 13,050 against 
an actual number of 10.500. Now this 
rather explains why the chicken business 
doesn’t turn out more millionaires; simply 
because when eggs are high the average 
flock of 200 is turning out a measly 10 eggs 
a day with feed at its highest, and this 
must be a rather high average for that time 
of the year if their Spring laying can only 
bring them up to 42 for the nine months. 
Now, it isn’t reasonable to suppose that 
your neighbor got more than an average 
of 16 cents per dozen for his 10,500, or 
some 900 dozen eggs, or $144 from 200 
hens for the nine months when they were 
laying. The remaining three months of the 
year will hardly help much, and out of 
that he pays for his pullets and their 
feed and care. How much per head do 
you figure he makes? And yet when I say 
that I believe it is an average record, I 
am simply stating what I believe to be true, 
that the average keeper of 200 hens is 
keening 150 too many, and getting mighty 
little for his investment. As to burnt 
wheat, some people claim good results from 
using it, but I think too many records 
like the above are made from not feeding 
enough good sound grain to profitable hens. 
1 would rather not use it unless you are 
boarding a flock for your health and want 
to do it as cheaply as possible irrespective 
of egg production. Your friend deserves 
credit for having the nerve to keep an ac¬ 
curate record ; we need more light of this 
sort. r. b. 
Feeding for Eggs. 
I would like advice relative to feeding 
hens for egg production. It. I. Reds and 
W. r. Rocks. I have two formulas; would 
like to know whic*h to use for best results. 
Both are dry mash. 
No. 1. 
One measure of cornmeal; one measure 
of Alfalfa meal; one measure of ground 
oats; % measure of beef scraps; two meas¬ 
ures of mixed feed. 
No. 2. 
Whole oats, 45 pounds; cornmeal, 20 
pounds; bran or Alfalfa meal, 15 pounds; 
milk albumen, 20-100. 
Massachusetts. H. p. d. 
Your formula No. 1 is very good, and I 
think it will prove satisfactory for laying 
hens. Of course, like everything else, a 
formula for dry mash must be changed oc¬ 
casionally if the condition of the birds re¬ 
quires it. You will no doubt get better 
results by increasing the amount of beef 
scrap as soon as your hens get to laying 
heavily. Your mixed feed is supposed to be 
bran and middlings, equal parts. If the 
ration as a whole proves to be too laxative 
you may have to add some more fine mid¬ 
dlings which will correct the trouble. If 
this point is overlooked or neglected it may 
cause your stock to get off condition and 
result in serious loss. If you find the ra¬ 
tion too fattening for Plymouth Rocks and 
Rhode Island Reds you can increase the 
Alfalfa and ground oats; but for the smaller 
breeds like the Leghorns this would not be 
necessary. I have never used anything 
like your formula No. 2 and cannot recom¬ 
mend it, as it appears to be more expensive 
than is necessary, and I can see no reason 
why it should produce any better results 
than the first formula. C. s. G. 
An Acre of Hens. 
How many hens, Wyandottes, can be kept 
on four acres (good grass and shade), with 
all the advantages of free range? How 
many chickens can be raised each year in 
addition? M - G - D - 
New Jersey. 
This is a difficult question to answer, 
because so much depends on conditions. 
An acre is 209 feet square. If it is good 
strong grass land, 100 to 150 liens might 
be kept on an acre without destroying the 
grass or undulv fouling the soil. I think 
it would be better to plow up part of the 
land, plant corn and let the hens run in 
it after the corn is eight or 10 inches high. 
Hens need some bare ground to scratch 
and wallow in. Young chickens do much 
better on bare ground unless the coops 
and yards are moved every day or two. 
The grass becomes matted down and fouled 
with the droppings, while with bare ground 
they are scratched in and mixed with the 
soil. Dr. Buchanan Burr would put a two- 
story “barn” in the middle of the four 
acres, run fences from each corner of the 
"barn” to the corners of the lot, and plow 
and seed rye, barley, oats, etc., in each lot, 
letting the hens run in one lot until it 
was fed down, then change them to another 
and reseed the first, and so on; and he 
would keep one thousand fowls on the four 
acres, and claim he had all the advan¬ 
tages of free range. geo. a. cosgrove. 
Farm Poultry Storage. 
The price of chickens is very low at this 
time of the year. Would it not pay to put 
them on ice until early Spring or late 
Winter, and if so can they be packed with¬ 
out taking the inside parts out, or must 
these be taken out? Would it make any 
difference whether the chickens were dry- 
picked or not, and how should they be 
packed ? a. h. 
New Jersey. 
Foultry stored commercially to keep sev¬ 
eral weeks or months is frozen solid. In 
farm practice this would bo possible only 
in a very cold snap. Packing in cracked 
ice or storing in boxes in an ordinary ice¬ 
house would be suitable for only a short 
time. There is very little difference in 
keeping quality between dry-picked and 
scalded, provided the scalding is not over¬ 
done. In some places the law forbids the 
sale of dressed poultry unless drawn, but 
otherwise it is customary to put away just 
as killed, with head and feet on and insides 
intact. One important thing is to be sure 
that all animal heat is out before packing 
away. Considerable poultry shipped to 
market is spoiled because packed while 
warm. Chemists have learned during the 
past three years that poultry stored for 
several months, even under most favorable 
conditions may develop qualities that are 
unwholesome if not dangerous to life. 
Cases of ptomaine poisoning from stored 
poultry have been frequent. It stands next 
to storage fish in this matter. On the 
whole we do not consider the storage of 
poultry advisable unless there are facilities 
for getting a temperature that will freeze 
the fowls solid. 
Cost of a Henhouse. 
Will L. B. Thatcher of New Jersey tell 
us what it cost for boards, frame, paper 
and roofing paper for his Corning style hen¬ 
house 40x16? How high is it in front and 
rear above the four-foot posts? What time 
did it take to build it? If his house, 40x16, 
houses 300 hens, would such a house COxlG 
house 500 safely? w. L. C. 
Dwight, Mass. 
The Corning house is nine feet above 
posts in front and seven feet in rear, out¬ 
side measurement, it will take about 125 
feet of boards and frame timber, and 50 
feet of roofing paper per running foot of 
house. A carpenter built ours for $1.56 
per running foot. A good two-ply roofing 
paper costs us one cent per foot. With 
lumber at $25 per 1.000 it would make 
this house cost about $5.25 per running foot. 
Unless W. L. C. is an experienced poultrv- 
man I would not advise him to start with 
over 300 birds in this proposed 60-foot house. 
He may be able to increase the number 
each year, and after a few years reach the 
500 mark. The number of birds that may 
be safely and profitably carried in a house 
is dependent upon many things, some of 
which are style of house, breed, weather 
conditions, and more than all, the experi¬ 
ence and judgment of the poultrvman. Of 
the weather we have no control. Here we 
have many days in the late Fall and early 
Spring of rain, dampness and humidity. 
when even the few sunbeams look wet. 
This is what will test the house and the 
poultryman's ability. The house and litter 
has to be kept dry, and the air sweet and 
fresh. Maintain this condition in the house 
and 500 birds will be as safe and profitable 
as 300, 200 or 100. L. B. THATCHER. 
New Jersey. 
In reply to your request for the truth 
about Indian Runner ducks, February 8 I 
bought a trio for $6.28. One of the ducks 
began laying February 14, the other one 
March 15. The first one to November 16 
laid 213 eggs, the other quit October 16 
after laying 147 eggs. We hatched out 
under hens 140 ducklings, of which we 
lost about half; rats, turtles, and the hens 
tramping some. These young ducks have 
laid 17 eggs, none laying at present. We 
have eaten some of the drakes, the meat 
fine-grained, juicy and of excellent flavor. 
The canvasback has nothing on the Indian 
Runner roasted. R. w. s. 
Ilollidaysburg, Fa. 
I am very much interested in the “In¬ 
ternational Egg-laying Contest.” I think 
those who wait for the Leghorns to “shut 
up like a jack knife when zero weather 
comes” may get left. I have kept an egg 
record on seven Buff Leghorns the past 
year and will give it commencing December 
4, 1910, and ending December 3, 1911 : De¬ 
cember, 1910. 18 eggs; January, 1911, 138; 
February, 139; March, 139; April, 148; 
May, 125; June, 75; July, 98; August, 87; 
September, 84; October, 30; November, 31; 
December, 2; total, 1114; average, 159.01. 
Not a large individual record, but the point 
is they laid in the Winter, and were kept 
in an open front house, with a curtain at 
front kept closed nights and stormy days 
when the wind was in the south. 
Massachusetts. c. c. M., jr. 
The following are prices obtained for 
farm produce, etc., in this section of the 
country: Good fat hogs, $5.90 to $6 per 
100 pounds ; fat cattle, $6.25 to $6.50 ; fat 
lambs,_ $4.75 to $4.85; wheat, 95 cents; 
corn, 53 cents; chickens, 12 cents a pound; 
eggs, 33 cents a dozen ; country butter, 24 
cents a pound; Timothy hay, $20 a ton; 
clover, $15; Alfalfa, $18. We seldom have 
auction sales in this part of the country. 
There are a great many buyers of live 
stock, hay, grain, etc., throughout all this 
section, and we might further say that this 
part of Ohio is noted for its fine cattle, 
hogs, wheat, corn, hay, poultry, etc. Nearly 
all the farmers here are working along mod¬ 
ern and scientific lines, being of the pro¬ 
gressive kind, and a very great per cent of 
them, due to their progressive manner of 
farming, are owners of automobiles. This 
should be pretty good evidence to you that 
this is a thrifty section of our great com¬ 
monwealth of Ohio. j. a. H. 
Greenfield, O. 
T Me Send 
You Proof 
There Is nothing like being snre. 
I will prove that my famous incu¬ 
bator—price only 87.55, freight pre¬ 
paid, sold onl,2,or 3 months home 
;—will out-liatch any machine made, no 
matter what kind or price. Don’t you want 
be sure! Why pay more than my price for 
any machine defeated by my 
World’s Champion 
140-Eggx e $n55 
Incubator 
which is easiest to operate, surest of 
results. Let me send you proof in my 
big portfolio, “Hatehinic Facta”—it carries all the evi. 
dence—tells you how to start in the poultry business on- 
a profit-making basis at a small outlay. Has double walls 
and door—and dead air Bpace 
all over, copper tank, hot 
water heater, self-regu Iator,‘ ‘Ty- 
cos’’ thermometer, egg-tester, 
safety lamp, nursery, high legs. 
My 140-chick Brooder 
double wall,hot water, top heat 
84.85 Guaranteed best brooder 
made. $11.50 gets complete 
outfit when ordered together, 
freight prepaid. My portfolio 
proves all. If In a hurry order 
k riglit from 
th is ad on Home Test Plan —thou, 
sands do. I guarantee satis¬ 
faction or return money. 
JIM ROHAN, President 
Belle City Incubator Company 
_ Box 48 Racine, Wis, , 
> 
A WINNER 
In 1911 
National 
Hatching 
Contest 
¥.85 
140-Chick Brooder 
Mrs. J. B. Stevenson, of Lockney, 
• with her 140 ckk Ironclad wins 
U? Valley Farmer’s Bitf Hatching: 
Iron test. Her records were 142 i-ggs 
?®t, 3 tested out, 137 chicks hatched: 
143 egg-s set. 6 tested out. 135 chicks 
hatched. Think of that! You can 
now get these famous winners— 
Egg Incubator 
Chick Broador 
BOTH $1Q— 
Ironclad 
Box 90 
If ordered together. 80 Days Frtight 
trial—6 year Guarantee. Order Paid 
direct—money back if not sat- * , 
isractory. Incubator is Caiif. fcaSI 0T 
Redwood covered with Galvan- Rnpbipc 
ized iron, triple walls, copper 
tank, nursery egjr tester. Set up ready 
to run. Brooder with 
wire yard. Roomy well 
made. Order from this 
adv. Catalogue Free, g\mw§ 
Incubator Co. > 
Racine, Wls. 
POULTRY COURSE 
THE 15777 ANNUAL 
Poultry Class of the Rhode Island State College 
will be held January 3 to February 16 inclusive 
We teach all branches ofpoultry keeping, Class Work, Lect¬ 
ures andDcmonstrations,Pen Practice, Incubator and Brooder 
Operations for each student. This is a chance to learn poultry 
keeping and a good place to live for six weeks this winter. 
Terms moderate. Write for particulars. 
Pres. Howard Edwards, Kingston, K. I. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
KEYSTONE POULTRY FOODS 
Increase profits. Expert poultrymen use 
them year after year and will accept no 
substitute. Profit by their experience. Use 
Keystone Poultry, Pigeon and Chick Foods, 
m ifdm Exactly as represented. Ouce tried, always 
■V used. Write for Free Souvenir, and book- 
let. Do it now. 
Taylor Bros., 10 Market St., Camden,N. J. 
k >l AK A-81IEL SOLUBLE 
^Roughest grit on earth. In¬ 
creases egg production. 
. The original silica grit. 
, Avoid substitutes. Ask 
your local dealer or 
send $1.00 for two 
100 -lb. bags f. o. b. 
Box J 
GRIT 
cars. Agents wanted 
EDGE HILL SILICA ROCK CO. 
Now Brunswick, N. J 
POULTRYMENif a ^fo| c d s e t s a cri? i for I1,nstrated 
EAST DONEGAL POULTRY YARDS 
ling 35 varieties. 
MARIETTA, PA. 
MacKellar’s Charcoal 
For Poultry is best. Coarse or fine granulated, also 
powdered. Buy direct from largest manufacturers of 
Charcoal Products. Ask for prices and samples. Est. 1844 
R. MacKELLAR’S SONS CO., Peekskill, N. Y. 
S. C. W. LEGHORNS 
Hatching Eggs from selected yearling breeders. 
Choice breeding stock at reasonable prices. 250 
acres devoted to Leghorns of exceptional quality 
and vigor. Send for circular. JIT. PLEASANT 
FARM, Box Y, Havre de Grace, JId. 
SINGLE COMB WHITE LEGHORNS 
Choice lot Yearling Hens, Early Pullets and Cock¬ 
erels; any quantity at attractive prices; bred-to-lay 
kind. SUNNY HILL FARM, Flemington, N. J. 
Cnflfl Single-Combed White Leghorns, Barred 
U U U U P'y™ 011 *! 1 Rocks, Imperial Pekin Ducks, 
Bronze Turkeys and Guinea Hens at 
nght prices. Yeanlings, pullets, cocks or cockerels. 
Order at once for best selections. Largest success 
ftil poultry plant in the vicinity of New York City. 
Agents Cyphers’ Incubators. 
BONNIE BRAE POULTRY FARM New Rochelle, N. Y. 
S, C. WHITE LEGHORNS^XAS! 
erels for breeding. Price right for quality. 
WHITE & KICK, YOKKTOWN, N. V. 
inf! YEARLING WHITE LEGHORN HENS 
IUU and Pullets—White Orpingtons, White Ply. 
Rocks, Rhode island Reds. E. G, TUCKER, 
Jefferson County, Philadelphia, N. Y. 
S. C, WHITE LEGHORN“Si 
true Leghorn type and from the heavy laying 
Sterling’’ strain. 200 grand utility cockerels, some 
good enough to exhibit. 100 two-year old hens. Write 
us. W. STERLING & SONS, Cutchogue, N. Y. 
BREEDING COCKERELS”^ h ™]“ 
horn youngsters of exceptional vigor from hens of 
excellent egg yields, for utility purposes, at $2.00 to 
$5.00 each. Maple Glen Poultry Farm, Millerton, N. Y. 
Of) EGGS $1.00—Leading varieties, 52 breeds. Prize Poul- 
AU try, Pigeons, Hares, etc. Booklet flee. large illus. 
trated descriptive Catalog 10c. F. G. WILE, Telford, Pa- 
B UFF ROCK PULLETS, Cockerels, Hens and Cocks. 
Large, healthy, vigorous stock. Grand size ami 
color. Heavy layers. Four Acres, Nutley, N.J. 
QPFHIAI (BARRED ROCKS AND PARTRIDGE COCHINS 
J Pullets $2.00, Cockerels $3.00 to $5.00. 
flCCCD | Some good enough for exhibition, 
urrtn (and all good utility stock. .'. 
MINCH BROS., Route 3, Bridgeton, N 
J. 
B ARRED ROCKS, Runner Ducks, Toulouse Geese. 
Bred-to-lay strains. Nelson’s, Grove City, Pa. 
MAMMOTH PEKIN DUCKS-^M” 
ing and vigor—trio, $6.00; one drake, $4.00; ducks, 
$1.50 apiece. Trio Berkshire Pigs. 12 weeks old, 
$20.00. Cherry Hill Fruit Farm, Toboso, Licking Co., Ohio. 
Rose Comb Reds-Indian Runner Ducks 
High-class breeders and young stock for show, 
utility and export. May return at my expense if not 
satisfactory. Sinclair Smith, 602 Fifth St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
T HE FARMER'S FOWL— Rose Comb Reds, best winter 
layers on earth. Eggs, $1.00 per 15. Catalogue 
free. THOS. WILDER, Route 1, Richland, N. Y. 
flRP NfiTflKK Cockerels, Pullets, Hens and 
Urirl llu I URO Cocks from heavy laying strain 
Will make excellent breeders and show birds. All 
Stock guaranteed. Prices reasonable. 
F. F. ANDREW, Philadelphia, Jeff. Co., N. Y. 
S. C. BLACK ORPINGTONS 
Prices reasonable. E. W. SLATE, South Hammond, H. Y. 
White Holland Turkeys-SM^^fSi 
breeding; hundreds of unsolicited testimonials 
from all parts of U. S. Early orders for best 
prices. H. W. ANDERSON, Stkwartstown, Pa. 
B est white Holland turkeys, white Wyandotte cock 
erels and Toulouse Geese, for sale. Prices low for 
quality. £, SCHIEBEB, R FI) 2, Bucyrus,0. 
Beautiful White Holland TURKEYS For Sale 
WILL SELL NOW at $4.00 aud $5.00. 
LESLIE VOSBURGH, R. D. 1, Locust Place, Canajoharie, N. Y' 
GIANT BRONZE TURKEYS ^r,?^ 
Pullets. Grand Stock at Farmers’ prices* 
H. J, VAN DYKE, GETTYSBURG, Pa. 
P URE BRED BRONZE TURKEYS FOR SALE-Prize winners. 
Stamp. Mrs. Harriet Chumbley, Draper, Va. 
I?0R SALE —100 White Wyandotte Pullets hatched 
March andl April, laying 3 doz. per day, $1.50. 
each. Address Chas. Carr, Egg Harbor City, N. J. 
KEAN’S WHITE WYANDOTTES 
Extra fine Cockerels ready for sorvice, $3.00 each. 
Pullets, $2.00 each. Guaranteed to satisfy the most 
fastidious. Also Choice Indian Runner Brakes, 
$2.00 each. E. FRANKLIN KEAN, Stanley, N.Y. 
MAK 
HENS 
Lots of eggs by feeding green bone fresh cut, because It is rich In protein and all other 
.egg elements. You get twice the eggs—more fertile; vigorous chicks; earlier broilers; 
heavier fowls; MAMMPG LATEST DAur PIITTCB cuts all kinds 
bigger profits. ITIftlllW © MODEL DUIlk UU I I til of bone, with 
adhering meat and gristle, easy, fast and fine. Automatic feed; open hopper; never clogs. 
Book free. 1j)vJays’ Freo Trial. No money In advance. 
W, Mann Co,, Box 15 IN/IiIford, Ma 
