11)12. 
THE RURAI> NEVV-YORKEK 
1713 
The Henyard. 
Roosts for Chicks. 
There is one thing I wish the hen men 
and women, too, would discuss. Many ad¬ 
vocate that young birds be encouraged to 
roost early so they will not contract 
crooked breasts. Many others do not let 
them roost until they begin to lay, and 
for the same reason. Which is correct? 
WYANDOTTE. 
My own practice is to provide perches, 
raised about 12 inches from the floor of the 
colony brooder house, for the chicks, abont 
as soon as they manifest a desire to leave 
their hovers and roost upon some elevated 
place. Whether or not this prevents 
crooked breast bones, I cannot say, but I 
do know that there is less danger from 
overheating and chilling, or from smother¬ 
ing, if the chicks are upon a perch than if 
crowded together upon the floor. in fart. 
when my chicks take to their perenes as a 
regular nightly procedure I feel that my 
brooder troubles for tbe year are about 
over. m. b. d. 
Hatching Turkeys. 
Is it safer to trust young turkeys with 
an ordinary ben or with a brooder? Is 
any special care required of turkey eggs 
under a hen, and is it all right for the hen 
to come off once a day, or is this too fre¬ 
quent? Is bread and milk as good food as 
any for tbe beginning? What are the prin¬ 
cipal elements of food for chickens in the 
rations prescribed by the Cornell Agricul¬ 
tural Experiment Station, especially as to 
mash? F. w. e. 
A motherly hen of one of the larger 
breeds will prove a more satisfactory foster 
mother for young turkeys than will a 
brooder, particularly as it is somewhat 
n.ore diflicult to teach young poults to eat 
than it is chicks. The former are inclined 
to run about with their heads up, peeping 
for food, and to require considerable atten¬ 
tion from an attendant to teach them to 
eat unless they have the example of a 
mother to follow, and a hen is apt to prove 
superior in this respect to a turkey mother. 
No special attention is required for turkey 
eggs under a hen other than would be 
given hen eggs, and once a day is not too 
often for a hen to leave her nest. Great 
care should be taken to rid a sitting hen 
of lice before the poults hatch, and this 
may be accomplished by thoroughly work¬ 
ing some good lice powder into her feathers 
at least once each week while she is sit¬ 
ting. remembering that it takes four weeks 
for turkey eggs to hatch. Bread crumbs, 
moistened with milk, make an excellent 
food for the first few feeds given either 
poults or young chicks) The mash recom¬ 
mended by the Cornell Station is composed 
of three parts each, by weight, of wheat 
middlings, wheat bran. cornmeal and 
sifted beef scrap, to which is added one 
part of bone meal. This is fed both dry 
and moistened with either skim-milk or 
water. For cracked grain, they nse the 
1-2-3 mixture, composed of one part, by 
weight, of pinhead or steel cut oatmeal, 
two parts of fine cracked corn, and three 
part* of cracked wheat. K. b. d. 
Feeding Leghorn Chicks. 
On page 591 Geo. A. Cosgrove states that 
White Leghorn chicks are hard to raise, 
as the plumage develops so rapidly in 
some chicks that they are not able ap¬ 
parently to oat and assimilate enough food 
to withstand the drain upon the system. 
This I believe is a common fault with Leg¬ 
horn chicks if not given proper feed, but 
speaking from my own experience, I am 
sure they are able to .eat and assimilate 
enough food to develop all parts of their 
body normally if their food is of the right 
kind. I presume Mr. Cosgrove is speaking 
of brooder chicks, as I never saw an ab¬ 
normal development of feathers on hen- 
brooded chicks if free from lice and on a 
grass range. I believe this is because the 
lien provides for her chicks not only bugs, 
worms and insects, but more important 
than these, tender shoots and rootlets of 
grass, which the chicle needs to be able to 
assimilate the heavy grain feeds. Since eve 
have substituted dried flsh in place of 
beef scrap, 10 per cent in both chick feed 
and masb and fed all the sprouted oats 
they would eat, we have had no long- 
feathered hang-wing chicks whatever. We 
can feed more dried fish than beef scrap, 
and it is a safe feed. The sprouted oats 
are so succulent and tender that very 
young chicks can eat quantities of them 
and prefer them to all other food. I be¬ 
lieve that few brooder chicks get enough 
green food; most grasses are too tongh for 
small chicks to eat. f.. b. thatcher. 
New Jersey. 
Experience With Duckwing Leghorns. 
It is well known that all theories and 
practices have failed to place a dependable 
supply of fresh eggs on the market during 
the cold months. We poultrymen could all 
have become rich ere this if the hens would 
only lay in Winter. I have followed a plan 
from January 1 which I think will interest 
the hen men. I am interested in pushing 
a new breed of Leghorns known as the Red 
Pyle, and one pullet laid 232 eggs during 
the year 1911 ; 97 of these were laid be¬ 
tween September 1 and April 1, the six 
off months. In order to make room for 
more of this breed, I disposed of several 
other breeds and had my flock of Duck- 
wing Leghorns on the block, but failed to 
sell them, as this breed is too small to be 
worth anything commercially, and fly like 
quail; they had to be caged, so to speak. 
Such a place was found in an isolated house 
standing at the northeast corner of the 
barn. The roosting room would make a 
good ice box, and on the end of this is an 
open shed in which the nests and feed 
trough is placed. Along the front of these 
two rooms runs a shed roof covered with 
wire in front. Mild weather prevailed in 
late Fall, followed by zero w'eather ever 
since. I had my stock all going nicely dur¬ 
ing the mild weather, but when the cold 
struck them they shut up like a jack-knife. 
all but this despised pen of little Duck¬ 
wing Leghorns. Naturally I began to look 
for a reason. I then remembered that in¬ 
stead of feeding them grain nights, I had 
follow'ed a lazy man’s way of getting the 
corn shelled off the cobs after they had 
gone through the sheller, and had been 
dumping them in this pen, finding it easier 
to pick out the cobs than shell the corn. I 
also noted these hens were busy among the 
cobs until dark, and went to roost with a 
crop full of corn, and figured that in di¬ 
gesting this corn they generated enough 
heat to withstand the cold and came out In 
their airy shed the next morning and went 
to work. 
After that I went through the houses 
each evening with a basket of corn on the 
cob, breaking each ear in two parts and 
dropping them In every pen. The result 
was that I was able to take advantage of 
the few nice days around February 20 and 
gathered in five days enough perfect eggs 
to fill a 390-egg incubator which tested 92 
per cent fertile. I have since wondered why 
It would not benefit the hens to be com¬ 
pelled to pick ail the corn fed them from 
off the cob. This may be an incentive for 
the hen men to raise more corn, and one 
way to raise good corn crops is to dis¬ 
tribute the droppings from the henhouses 
around each hill of corn, then cultivate 
thoroughly and often. geo. e. howell. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
Aphtha in Fowls. 
What should I do in the following ease? 
My rooster got sick a week ago. He can¬ 
not call the hens, nor crow, and has very 
great difficulty iu breathing. Inspecting 
him I found hard yellow patches inside of 
lower beak: looking down throat cannot 
discern anything. In three days patches 
have disappeared, but other symptoms re¬ 
mained the same. e. z. 
Elizabeth, N. J. 
There are two diseases prevalent among 
fowls, viz., chicken pox and aphtha or 
thrush, either of which may cause tbe 
symptoms that you mention. Chicken pox is 
a disease of warm climates and is com¬ 
paratively rare in the North. It manifests 
itself by the formation of yellowish, wart- 
like sores upon the head and face of the 
affected fowls, and sometimes within the 
mouth. The sores may remain localized to 
these regions, or. iu the more severe cases, 
may extend to the feathered portions of 
the body. Aphtha is characterized by the 
appearance of yellowish white patches 
within the mouth aud along the course of 
the gullet. In mild forms of either infec¬ 
tion the eruption may spontaneously dry 
up and disappear within a short time. In 
the more severe cases it extends to other 
portions of the body, and the fowls become 
weak, emaciated, and finally die from ex¬ 
haustion. As these diseases are contagious, 
the affected fowls should be promptly re¬ 
moved from the flock, the eating and drink¬ 
ing utensils should he disinfected with 
boiling' water, and their living quarters 
should be whitewashed. Unless the fowls 
are of more than ordinary value, individual 
treatment is hardly worth while, but should 
it be desired, the sores within the mouth may 
be frequently cleansed with a saturated solu¬ 
tion of boric acid, aud those upon the ex¬ 
ternal portions of the body may be an¬ 
ointed with sulphur ointment or carbolated 
vaseline. Tbe sick fowls should, mean¬ 
while, be placed by themselves aud fed 
upon easily digested and nourishing food. 
M. B. D. 
Cannibalistic Chicks. 
My chickens are three weeks old, incuba¬ 
tor, and were 114 when hatched. They 
are in a brooder house 4x8 feet, and have 
a ran ixs feet. They are fed on chick 
food, whole wheat, dry mash containing 
bran one part. Alfalfa one-half part, wheat 
middlings one-fourth, oil meal one-fourth, 
and beef scraps one-half. The mash they 
have had in front of them since they were 
one week old and eat a lot of it. They 
are growing fine, are lively and healthy. 
The trouble is they are eating each other. 
I noticed last week that they were running 
after one and picking at its feet. 1 found 
that they had picked the skin and tiesh 
off half way up its leg, We at once picked 
out 20 of the largest and put them in a 
coop by themselves. This did not stop the 
trouble, and we have had several killed, 
and have removed about 15 that they have 
started to pick. We had the same trouble 
last year; had 14 killed iu one day. The 
chickens are White Leghorns and a fine 
strain for laying, so do not want to change 
them. We have raised incubator chickens 
for several years past, and never had this 
trouble until last year. Can you tell me 
what is the cause of this trouble and how 
to stop it? There are several chicken men 
around here who raise incubator chickens, 
and if they tell the truth they never have 
this trouble in such a degree and do not 
know what to do for it. g. w. l. 
Rutherford, N. J. 
Cannibalism among young chicks is one 
of the most annoying vices to which they 
are subject, as it is difficult to break up, 
and when once started, is liable to cause 
serious loss. I do not believe it to be due, 
as sometimes stated, to lack of animal 
food, since the chicks with meat scraps 
constantly before them are liable to ac¬ 
quire the habit. Neither is the vice al¬ 
ways troublesome, and many poultryrnen, 
as suggested by the inquirer, are seldom 
bothered. This vicious habit seems to be 
the result of too close confinement, and of 
idleness upon the part of the ehieks. Hav¬ 
ing nothing better to do they are apt to 
begin picking at each other, and having 
once started blood, they seem to become 
crazed by its taste, and will follow tiieir 
victim until it has been killed and eaten. 
The remedy is to give them sufficient range 
to keep them busy, aud promptly to remove 
any injured chicks from the flock. This 
trouble, in an aggravated form, having ap¬ 
peared this season iu one flock of about 
200 owned by the writer, he was com¬ 
pelled, in sheer desperation, despite the 
cold and wet weather, to turn them en¬ 
tirely loose upon free range before lie 
could stop the losses which threatened to 
destroy the entire brood. m. b. d. 
Poultry and Lantern Light. 
While there are a few who have but 
little spare time to keep poultry, below is 
my experience at keeping poultry by lautern 
light. I leave my home at 6.15 A. M. aud 
return at 0.30 p. M.. so my time is limited. 
I keep S. C. White Leghorns, about 50, in 
a converted open-front wagon shod, about 
II by 10 feet in size. My first pullets’ eggs 
came last September, the 28th, and since 
then my birds have laid steadily; even the 
coldest weather in January did not shut 
them up. Half my birds are pullets, the 
other half are yearlings. For eight months. 
September to April inclusive, wo have had 
3013 eggs. Prices have ranged from 55 
cents (November 15 to January 1) to 30 
cents present price. At present I have 125 
chickens, and have sold even more; my best 
hatch was 87 chicks from 150 eggs. 
As to my method of feeding, during tbe 
Winter I have had beef scrap contiuually 
before them, also commercial dry mash. At 
6 A. M. I throw their grain in a litter 
abont eight inches deep, using about eight 
quarts of grain, wheat, corn and oats. They 
have oyster shells and grit before theni. 
and have their drinking fountains filled 
with fresh clean water every morning. 
There is a cement floor in the house to 
keep out rats, three inches of fresh saud, 
and then the litter, composed of leaves, 
straw and old hay to make it eight to 10 
inches deep. My wife brings in the eggs 
before dark. and. except for a final inspec¬ 
tion at night and cleaning the droppings 
boards once a week, this is all the care 
they have had. 1 have never used sprouted 
oats, and not over 25 pounds of green 
ground bone all Winter. I contemplate 
raising some cow beets as greens for next 
Winter, as I am sure it will increase their 
egg yield. My chicks this year were 
hatched about March 21, and it is on these 
I am relying for Winter eggs. I dispose of 
nearly all to private customers who take 
them regularly each week, selling but few 
to tbe groceryman. My incubator has been 
running since February 1. and with three 
hover lamps and that to look after when I 
return at 9.30 I*. M. (for a month and a 
half we worked in the shop till 9 I’. M. 
three nights a week) I hardly get time to 
read. philip t. brown*. 
Massachusetts. 
Guinea Fowls as Broilers. 
1 would like information in regard to the 
raising and disposing of Guinea fowls. We 
are contemplating raising the fowls to sell 
as six-weeks squab broilers. j. f. e. 
Lawn. Pa. 
Experience has taught me the best way 
to raise Guineas is to set the eggs under a 
hen. A good-sized hen will cover 17 eggs. 
It is best to allow the liens and young 
Guineas free range from the start as the 
young birds thrive on insect food, an as¬ 
paragus patch is an ideal place for them. 
I have never sold any Guineas as six- 
weeks-old broilers and do not know of any 
market for same. Unless you are sure of a 
market for them at that ago I would not 
engage iu the business very extensively, 
for I am inclined to think the market 
for them would be very limited. There is 
always a market for full-grown Guineas, 
and if you sell them direct to the con¬ 
sumer I think yon will find it profitable. 
G. G. I. 
Hens in Town. 
Does it pay a mau to keep chickens in 
town, where they have to be kept in close 
quarters? If so what kind is the most 
profitable? n. h. n. 
Berwick, Pa. 
Whether or not chickens can be profit¬ 
ably kept in town depends upon other con¬ 
siderations. as well as upon the amount of 
room available. Where sufficient space is 
to be had. however, a few hens should 
well repay the average town dweller. The 
chief danger to be avoided is the tempta¬ 
tion to keep too many fowls for the space 
at band, and it should be remembered that 
no one has any moral right to keep fowls 
unless he can confine them to his own 
premises at all seasons of the year. Where 
only a few fowls are kept for family use 
some one of the larger breeds like the 
Wyandottes or R. I. Reds are usually pre¬ 
ferred, they being more easily confined in 
small quarters, and furnishing meat for 
the table as well as eggs for the larder. 
m. b. d. 
Another Hen Record. 
I am much interested in the Hope Farm 
man’s hen test, page 364. as it gives me 
something of an opportunity to verify or 
disprove the statement I hear so often, that 
a flock of several breeds or “allkinds” 
lay better than those of one particular 
kind. We have 32 Barred Rocks, not quite 
purebred, but a good strain, 10 pullets, the 
rest one to three years old. We have a 
double-boarded and paper interlined hen¬ 
house built ou the west skle of the barn, 
with a double window towards the south. 
The hens are shut in at night, but it has 
frozen in here nearly every night this Win¬ 
ter. During the day the hens have tbe 
run of the cow shed with all of the ad¬ 
vantages of ti»e “open front’’ henhouse, 
minus tbe curtain. For feed we give two 
quarts of buckwheat in the morning and 
the same at night, with the addition of one 
quart of wheat or its equivalent in corn 
during the extremely cold weather. For 
the dry mash which we keep before them 
we had 1 % bushel of corn, one bushel of 
buckwheat and one of oats, ground together 
and mixed with its bulk of bran, with a 
little oil meal added. We have had no 
regular supply of meat scrap, just the waste 
from one dressed hog, and one beef butch¬ 
ered at home. We gave them lime from a 
mortar bed, and all of tbe burned bones 
which we could find about tbe place. Since 
February 15 they have had oyster shells. 
For green feed they have had from one to 
two quarts of potato parings daily (and 
they never leave any) ; water warmed two 
or three times a day to keep it from freez¬ 
ing; occasionally a very few table scraps 
when the dog was not hungry. The old 
hens* began laying December I. and laid dur¬ 
ing the month 92 eggs ; during January 87. 
Pullets began in February, 194. The' pul¬ 
lets were seven months old then. During 
six weeks in January aud February the 
mercury went down to zero sometime dur¬ 
ing each 24 hours, and once or twice 32 
degrees, below zero, but the hens were 
scratching in the shed every day. I have 
not had a sick hen except one which was 
crippled by her band getting too tight, 
which leaves 31 hens for the test. 
And now to start even with the Hope 
Farm hens. February 15 to 29 the hens 
laid 127 eggs: during March, 414; total, 
541. Cost of feed since January 1. about 
SG2; value of eggs laid, .813. Prices of 
eggs have ranged from 30 cents down to 18 
cents a dozen. p. t*. 
Mancelona, Mich. 
When you write advertisers mention Tim 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“souare deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
MacKellar’s Charcoal 
For Poultry is best. Coarse or fine granulated, also 
powdered. Buy direct from largest manufacturers oi 
Charcoal Products. Ask for prices and samples. Est. 1811 
R. MacIvELLAR’S SONS CO., Peekskill, N. Y. 
$10 Per 100 
200-Egg Strain 
S. G. RED GHIX 
LIMITED NUMBER S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS AT $9.50 PER 100 
AFTER JUNE 10. IF ORDERED NOW 
Full count guaranteed on delivery. 
HATCHING EGGS CIRCULAR FREE 
PA VIS POULTRY FARM, B erlin, Mass. 
BABY CHICKS 9c Each 
From Free Range Selected 
S.C.WHITE LEGHORNS 
Prompt delivery. A hatch every week. Write for 
prices on three-weeks’-old chicks. Safe arrivnl 
guaranteed. Circular free. CHA 8. R. STONE, Baby 
Chicken Farm, Staatsburg-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
WASSON SQUARE GARDEN 
PRIZE-WINNING STRAINS VlKf'W, 
d s , 
dottes, Barred Rocks, Eggs $1.50—15* 'imported 
Light and Dark Brahmas, Eggs $2.50—15. Catalog 
gratis. F. M. PRESCOTT, Riverdale. N. J. 
FIRELESS 
"s'u e ! s "» DAY-OLD CHIXK. 
taylor” "poultry YAEDsfLvossf n. y. 
WHITE WYANOOTTES-g'ST^ 
white, vigorous birds. Customers praise their win¬ 
ter laying. Free range. Have won for six years. 
Eggs 85* fertility. 100, $5.00; sitting. $1.00. 
WILLIAM O. RIJRR, - Fairfield, Conn. 
RaT»V CV»ir-L*« S.C. W. Leghorns, Barred 
“ , Uy Rocks, R. C. Reds. Strong, 
livable. From vigorous, thoroughbred, range 
breeders. Safe delivery guaranteed. Circular 
free, WESLEY GRINNELL, Sodcs. N. Y. 
B UFF WHITE LEGHORNS-S. C. R. I. Red Eggs, 90c. per 
15. *1.50 per 30. $2.75 per 00, $4.00 per 100. Cata¬ 
logue free. JOHN A. ROTH, Qunkertown. Pa. 
S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS HATCHING* *EGGS 
Orders booked for future delivery. Young and old 
stock at attractive prices. Best laying strains. 
SUNNY HILL FARM, Flrmington, N. J. 
CHICKS and HATCHING EGGS 
FROM THE FOLLOWING SELECTED BREEDERS 
S. C. W. Leghorns Barred Plymouth Recks 
S. C. R. I. Reds 
B0NNTE BRAE POULTRY FARM.NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. 
C C. WHITE LEGHORNS, the large white kind, bred 
for heavy laying. Hatching eggs, little Chicks, 
breeding stock. Estab. 1904. Price List mailed. 
Abovo Poultry Farms Co., Inc., Chatham, Morris Co.. N.J. 
BABY CHICKS 
—from our bred-to-lay S.C. 
, , - . -- 1 W. Leghorns. Chicks aro 
hatched right, are full of vitality and can .ship them 
safely any distance. Will guarantee safe arrival. 
Eggs foi* hatching from our choice matings of W. i\ 
Rocks, White Wyandottes and our imported Salmon 
Faverolles. Prices and particulars on application. 
Everoreen Poultry Farm, Chappaqua, Westchester Co., N. Y. 
Fawn and White Runners White Eggs 
Eggs for hatching, June and July, from best pen, 
k> tor $2.00; 50 for $0.00. High class utility stock 
mated with Walton drakes,.50 for$3.50, 100 for$0.00. 
Order direct and get Baby Duck Culture Free. 
CHERRY BULL FARM, Pitistown, N. J. 
TURKEY EGGS— h- Ri-ds, M.B. NanasniiRolt nmt White Hollands. 
1 I irit No. I, all breeds, $.1 for 12; yard No. 2, all breeds, $2 60 
for 12. B. P. Rocks, R. I. Reds and S. C. lilk. Mlnorcas’ Errs S3 
cent* for IS, $4 for 100; Mammoth Pekin, I. H. Duck Errs $1 f„ r 13 . 
\\ . I?. CARLE, - - li, F. 1>. 1, .Taeobsburg, Ohio. 
R. I. Reds, Houdans, Indian Runner Ducks 
stock for UTILITY, SHOW or EX- 
FOBT. Eggs for hatching. Mating fist on request. 
SIN CL AIK SMITH. Southold, Suffolk Co., N. Y. 
P0SE BROWN LEGHORN EGGS 
DO MB_ 
Sl.OO per 13. 
for 
_ „„„ , . __r - --- hatching. 
LFON SAGE, Crown Point, N. Y. 
THE FARMER'S FOWL— Rose Comb Reds, best winter 
' ea , , ; t :V; Eggs. *1.00 per 15. Catalogue 
free, THUS. WILDER, Konte 1, Richland, N. Y. 
P0ULTR 2c . stam P for Illustrated 
C USTOM HATCHING-S3.00 a compartment in our HALL 
MAMMOTH INCUBATORS. Each compartment hohls 150 
E0 ?,? W- Leghorn Hatching Eons for sale-SI.50 per 
PMtrlPi ?Gnn |ler h Unri . red J ei S „'„ C ' W '. Lenl,orn ^7*010 
CHICKS-515 00 per hundred: S130 per thousand. See our 
Swine ad. MAPLE GLEN POULTRY FARM, MILLERTON N Y 
F. D. 24, 
Athens, Pa. 
Maple Cove Poultry Farms a . .. 
Eggs and Baby Chicks from mature breeders of 
exhibition quality, in S.C. White Leghorns, Wyau- 
dottes. Rocks & Ernden Geese; R.I. Reds,P.Cochin*, 
B. Rocks and B. Leghorns. Breeders at all times. 
S, C. White Leghorn BABY CHICKS 
and HATCHING EGGS. Free range, farm bred 
No order too large or too small. 
“CHICKS THAT MAKE GOOD.” Circular 
VANCREST POULTRY FARM, Salt Point, Dutchess C.„ N. Y, 
i¥6T8 single comb white leghorns 
1 earliug Hens (Rancocas Strain) $1 each 
Address Spring Garden Farm, Roseland, N. J. 
Farm Bred Poultry 
OF SHOW QUALITY 
Barred Rocks Partridge Cochins 
White Rocks Partridge Wyandottes 
500 Selected Birds in Our Breeding Yards 
CRCC $1.50, $2.00 amt $3.00 per wttlii*. 
■UQO $7.50 to $15.00 per hundred 
MINCH BROS. 
BRIDGETON, N. J. 
ETOD Q A I CT-250 S. C. White Leg- 
■ Lb Eb horns; thorough- 
bred Young & Wyckolf strain; bred for laying, one 
year old; $1.25 apiece. Satisfaction guaranteed. 
J. M. WAY, Hockessin, Delaware, R. F. I>. 
BIG BARRED ROCK EfiGS HATCH 
We can please you. One customer reports 13 chicks 
from one sittiug. 13 eggs, $1.50: 26. $2.50: 52, $4.00. 
Book Free. Lambert's Poultry Farm, Apponaug, R. 1. 
