1012. 
~S& 
The Henyard. 
THAT HEN CONTEST. 
The article in The It. N.-Y., page 717, 
“What Ten Business liens Did,” is inter¬ 
esting, but it fails to convince me that 
they have done what Dougan claimed for 
them. My old cow Peggy in eight months 
has given milk enough to come to $240 at 
the regular retail price of six cents per 
quart, which is not a fancy price, certainly 
not as fancy as 45 cents per dozen for the 
eggs. And Peggy is not a high-priced cow 
nor a purebred, just plain cow. If I fig¬ 
ured as Dougan has it could be made to 
make a better showing, something like this: 
Peggy's milk was largely used by babies, 
these babies have largely increas'd in 
value, hence Peggy should have the credit, 
say several hundred dollars at least. Al¬ 
though something of a hen man, 1 still be¬ 
lieve the cow to be ahead. c. e. w. 
New Hamburg, N. Y. 
It. N.-Y.—We believe the figjires given in 
that hen article are correct. What did the 
food for that cow cost? At the price given 
“Peggy" would have to give 8.000 pounds 
in eight months—not at all a remarkable 
yield. As for the value of these babies, 
you probably could not buy them at $500 
a pound. This comparison is not fair. No 
charge was made for the eggs which were 
put into the incubators, and only market 
price was charged for the young stock. We 
shall try to organize a new contest soon, 
and perhaps C. 13. W. will want to enter. 
Chickens and Stable Manure. 
Is stable manure of benefit for chickens 
to scratch in? f. o. 
Glen Head, L. I. 
Chickens obtain a considerable amount 
of food from the undigested remnants of 
grain found in stable manure, and they 
certainly seem to derive a great deal of 
pleasure from this form of exercise ; it has, 
also, been considered their privilege for so 
long a time that it is a question whether 
to deprive them of it might not be con¬ 
sidered unwarranted interference with their 
vested rights. As to its being a physical 
benefit to them, I am rather inclined to 
think that it is,-whatever may be its ef¬ 
fect upon the sensibilities of those who 
enjoy a fresh egg for breakfast. m. b. d. 
Purebred or Mixed Fowls. 
Will the chicks hatched from Brown Leg¬ 
horns eggs be purebred, provided the Brown 
Leghorn hens and rooster arc purebred, 
Where two Black Minorca hens are kept in 
• lie same pen? G. s. t. 
Pennsylvania. 
The presence of Black Minorca liens in 
the flock of Brown Leghorns, with a Brown 
1/eghorn male, will in no way affect the 
progeny of the Brown Leghorns, and the 
chicks hatched from them will be pure¬ 
bred if their parents are. Any chicks 
hatched from eggs laid by the Black Minor- 
cas, however, will be half-breeds, and you 
run considerable risk of getting both the 
eggs and your ideas of heredity mixed if 
you hatch from your flock. m. b. d. 
Feeding a Leghorn Flock. 
I have 1G0 yearlings and 80 two-year-old 
hens, and about 1,000 chicks ranging in 
age from three days to three months, all 
hatched from eggs of the 80 old hens. This 
flock was started four years ago last month 
with 10 hens, and those hens, witli plenty 
of hard work, represent the total cost of the 
present flock. Last Winter we fed a feed 
called "Lay or Bust” but this Spring have 
been feeding a dry mash composed, by 
xveight, of two parts bran, one part each of 
brown middlings, beef scraps, gluten, corn- 
meal and one-half oil meal or linseed. Oy¬ 
ster shells are kept before the hens at all 
times and so is this dry mash and hens 
have free range; also feed eight quarts oats, 
five quarts wheat qnd five quarts cracked 
corn daily; in two feeds, morning and 
night. Hens laid well all Winter and laid 
10,413 eggs in April and May. The breed 
is S. C. White Leghorn. Hens are not lay¬ 
ing as well now. They began the month 
with 174 and to-day, the 17th, gave us 125, 
but there is an epidemic of broodiness in 
the bunch, for which 25 are in confinement 
to-night. Hens are kept clean and are free 
from vermin of any kind. They are plump 
and seem to bo in good order and feeling 
well, though I have thought they were not 
as active as usual lately. In’ April we 
notietd a few with a purple discoloration 
on the comb, mostly confined to the blade. 
It was not constant, came and went; last 
month it was more general and this month 
there is still more of it. Am I feeding 
too much of something or is there some¬ 
thing they do not get? This purple tint 
comes and goes and some days is hardly 
noticeable. To me it suggests poor circula¬ 
tion. We have just began feeding “split” 
milk or separator milk. This is fed clab- 
berd and all they will eat, keep it before 
both hens and chickens at ail times. Is 
this economical—as a food or manner of 
feeding—at 35 cents per hundred? They 
eat about 400 pounds in three days. Hens 
consume about 100 pounds per day. Some 
is made into “Dutch cheese” for smaller 
chicks. Should I make any changes in my 
dry mash while feeding this milk, and is it 
best to give them all they will take? I 
have been feeding milk about 10 days. 
Underhill, Vt. L. c. a. 
The results that you have obtained are 
good evidence of proper management of your 
flock, and it is evident that you need little 
advice as to their care. The only changes 
that I would suggest in your method of 
feeding would be to cut out one-half or 
more of the beef scrap from their dry mash 
while you are giving them all the skim- 
milk they will eat, and also to limit the 
amount of clabbered milk given the young 
chicks, as they are apt to fill up on this 
and refuse to eat as much grain food as 
they need for their proper development. I 
should regard 35 cents per hundred as a 
rather exorbitant price for separator skim- 
milk, and should prefer to use beef scrap 
for a portion of their high protein ration. 
Skim-milk contains a little less than three 
per cent of protein, while a good grade of 
beef scrap should contain 60 per cent or 
more, making the former at 35 cents per 
hundred a rather expensive source of this 
important element of food. It doubtless 
THE RURAL 
has some other virtues, however, which 
gave it a somewhat higher food value 
than its protein content alone would indi¬ 
cate. The color of the comb is a good in¬ 
dex as to the condition of the fowl, and a 
permanent discoloration such as you de¬ 
scribe indicates serious disorder. The tem¬ 
porary discoloration that you mention 
would suggest to me the possibility that 
the fowls were being overfed and possibly 
not getting sufficient exercise. m. b. d. 
Fall-Hatched Pullets’ Eggs. 
Having seen many inquiries in regard 
to Fall hatching from pullets’ eggs, and 
having tried the experiment, I think that 
my experience may be of interest to others. 
The two pullets used were six months old 
when mated. September 14. At this time 
they weighed 5 Vi and six pounds. The 
cock used was 14 months old and weighed 
seven pounds. As these birds are S. C. 
W. Orpingtons they were considerably under 
weight. October 5, 24 eggs were set. Test¬ 
ing showed 100 per cent fertility. Twenty 
chicks hatched, one of them appeared weak 
and was immediately put out of the way. 
They were hatched in a small incubator and 
brooded in a “cold" brooder. They were 
brought into the house nights for the first 
10 days. They also had their first morning 
meal indoors for 10 day,s. This, however, 
was to give them the benefit of artificial 
light and thus lengthen their eating hours, 
as they left the brooder an hour earlier 
than they would have done out of doors. 
After the tenth day they were left in 
the brooder house night and day. Constant 
attention was necessary because of the fear 
of chilling. It was two weeks before they 
could be trusted to use their brooder, 
and the credit of their perfect condition 
is due to my wife. 
At eight weeks of age we divided them. 
10 cockerels and nine pullets. At 10 weeks 
five of the cockerels were sold as broilers, 
four of them were kept for breeders and for 
Fall showing. Their growth at this time 
was remarkable and they seemed capable 
of eating and digesting any amount of food, 
which built up large frames and heavy 
plumage rather than fat. Their capacity 
for food proved to be a stumbling block 
with the pullets as the Spring came on. 
We should have changed their feed earlier, 
for two or three of them developed a 
slight leg weakness. All corn was taken 
from their ration and they were fed almost 
entirely on oats and green stuff and a 
little green bone. All log trouble disap¬ 
peared in a couple of weeks, but thev had 
lost a few weeks of growth. The first egg 
NEW-YORKER 
from those pullets was laid April 13. They 
were then five months and 17 days old. 
Within two weeks they were all laying. 
From April 13 to .Tune 13 the nine pullets 
laid 200 eggs. At seven months of age 
the pullets weigh from five to six pounds, 
the cockerels weigh from seven to eight 
pounds. They are still growing. H. b. 
Hempstead, N. YV 
Chickens and Mulched Orchard. 
I just received The R. N.-Y. for June 22, 
and note on the first page your illustration 
Fig. 275 entitled "Chickens help mulch cul¬ 
ture in the orchard.” I believe it is a gener¬ 
ally accepted fact among fruit growers that 
hens disturb mulch in apple orchard, dig 
it up and let it dry out. The mulch theory 
is, as you know, that the mulch should lie 
undisturbed that it may hold and conserve 
the moisture and also, that by remaining 
undisturbed; it will rot away at' the bottom, 
and that the feeding roots will come up to 
the rich humus resulting from the decay 
of the mulch. All of these results would 
be lost if the mulch were scratched and 
torn around by chickens. I therefore think 
that the statement under cut. Fig. 275, 
that chlcke’ns help mulch culture in the 
orchard is incorrect and misleading, and 
believe that in fairness to the much method 
the statement should be corrected. 
Ross Co., Ohio. l. b. yaple. 
It. N.-Y.—There is much truth in that. 
What we had in mind was that poultry in 
an orchard—when there are not too many 
—fertilize the grass and increase its growth. 
Grass and weeds grow to great size whore 
chickens run. Of course when confined to 
pens the poultry will tear up and destroy 
sod, but when there is range enough the 
grass growth will be increased. 
Egg-Eating Dog. —Solution for dipping 
egg such as requested could be made by 
putting two tablespoonfuls powdered cay¬ 
enne (rod) pepper into six or eight ounce 
bottle, add four ounces grain alcohol; cork 
tightly, shake twice daily for five or six 
days; strain through thin, closely woven 
cloth into cup. Keep well covered in cold 
place when not in use to avoid evapora¬ 
tion. No water or moisture should come 
in contact with preparation as this would 
precipitate the “oil resin” held in solution 
by alcohol. To apply solution put egg in 
liquid, lift out with spoon, hold for few 
moments between finger and thumb till 
nearly dry. j. T , c . 
New Jersey. 
Live Stock in Sprayed Orchard. 
T have an old apple orchard which 
would seem to make a capital place when 
enclosed for both pigs and chickens, but 
would materials usually contained in sprav 
for apples be detrimental to the chickens 
either old or young? j. h. 
\Ve have answered this question several 
times and have had some discussion of it. 
hen reasonable care is taken there seem:; 
to be little danger that spray materials 
will hurt the poultry. 
Guinea Pigs.— Referring to your article 
on page 717 concerning what 10 business 
hens did, I notice that no estimate has 
been made of the cost of labor, and that 
Mr. Dougan's principal source of revenue 
comes from the young stock that he was 
able to raise. Under similar conditions I 
believe I could bent his record with a pair 
of guinea-pigs. As an authority please read 
Mr. Butler’s book entitled “Pigs is Pigs." 
Michigan. chart.es staff. 
R. N.-Y.—We have read the hook. When 
we start that new contest the guinea-pig 
men may enter. 
For a good many years frozen meat has 
been brought to England from a dozen dif¬ 
ferent countries. This meat is frozen solid 
and thawed out upon its arrival in England. 
Heretofore this thawing has so burst the 
tissues of the meat that it was easy to dis¬ 
tinguish it from fresh meat. Now it is 
said a new process for taking this frost 
out of meat has been discovered. By this 
process the thawing is done so that tiie tis¬ 
sues are not destroyed, and in many cases 
such meat compares favorably in appear¬ 
ance with fresh British meat. 
That is a crisp, concise, excellent letter 
from R. M. N„ page 712, lnit will live 
hours labor suffice for eight or nine cows 
each day, and what about labor in trans¬ 
porting product to railroad and deteriora¬ 
tion in value of cows, teams and other 
components? When we have settled the 
question of large or small farms, and it 
will be settled in favor of the former, thus 
economizing labor, machinery, marketing, 
purchasing, etc., then and not till then 
will the matter of farm loans be adjusted, 
by the loan of a considerable sum to be 
placed in the care and joint responsibility 
of the farm company, issuing stock anil 
conducting its business as other commer¬ 
cial transactions are. it seems to be for 
gotten that such banks (so-called) have 
existed in Russia and Germany for years, 
but the governments in each case have had 
to help them in tight times. 
Rhode Island. w. williams. 
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