■Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
917 
The Henyard 
Putting Chicks of Different Ages Together 
I am putting in 1.000 day-old chick.s. 
I have the first lot in a room 20x1(5, \yith 
a colony brooder at one end, advertised 
to take care of 1,500. I wish, if possible 
and not objectionable, to put the other 
500 younger chicks with these. I don’t 
believe it will do to put them in at once, 
and I shall put them temporarily, at 
least, in a pipe system I have, with 
hovers 3x.3. Is it advisable to put 
them with the others after a few days? 
Will they fall into the circle with the 
older ones at night? The room is about 
all open to the south, with curtains, and 
when the chicks are able to go out they 
will have a good-sized peach orchard. To 
continue using the small hovers makes 
much more work, and not so good a place 
for them when they get out. F. ii. 
It is never advisable to put chicks of 
different ages together w’here the differ¬ 
ence in age is more than a few days, and 
even where the chicks are of the same age 
they develop better if the more robust 
can be by themselves where they will not 
overrun their weaker fellows. It is prac¬ 
ticable to separate them into compara¬ 
tively small flocks, howevei-, when using 
the colony brooders. Small mesh poultry 
wire partitions may be run from the 
brooder stove outwards dividing the space 
about it into sections, say four sections 
for 1,000 chicks. The partitions need be 
only sufficiently high to prevent the chicks 
from jumping over while small and _ in¬ 
terfere little with their care. The chicks 
may then be sorted according to their size 
and strength and the weaker ones will not 
suffer from contact with the more vigor¬ 
ous until all are old enough to run- to¬ 
gether without serious disadvantage. 
There is no age. however, at which it is 
not a decided advantage to have the less 
robust youngsters by themselves; they 
will develop much faster if not bullied by 
older or stronger mates. M. b. d. 
Lame Poultry 
I have lost several large hens; they 
begin to get lame in one leg, then both, 
and sit around: do not look sick other 
ways, but finally die; not thin at all. 
One had a swollen foot and we opened it 
and let out some liquid, but she died soon 
after. killed a rooster just beginning 
to limp. I noticed a couple of round sub¬ 
stances like fat in the gizzard and two 
larger ones in other places, but all organs 
looked healthy. Was not fiit. A little 
month or six-weeks chicken is lame now. 
What can I do? C)ur roosts were too 
high but have been lowered. X. 
New York. 
Inability to use the legs, or apparent 
lameness, precedes death from several 
causes. One of these is the so-called 
“liver trouble” found in hens of good 
flesh, or even fat. I know of no cure 
after the .symptoms become suffiiently i)ro- 
nounced to attract attention. These dis¬ 
eases of the digestive organs are fost('red 
by confinement and heavy feeding and so 
are partially due to modern methods of 
forcing egg production. The swelling of 
the foot was jirobably due to “bumble 
foot,” an ab.scess of the foot caused by in¬ 
fection through a scratch or wound and 
said to be provoked by bruising from 
jumi)ing to a hard floor from over-high 
perches. High perches, however, need 
hardly be invoked in view of the vigorous 
use of the feet in scratching and the cou- 
secpient liability to slight injuries. 
Ar. B. I). 
Selecting Lawers 
1. Herewith please find a clipping. I 
do not recall the date of its jmblication, 
therefore, do not get the full value of some 
of the advice given. Do you know of 
any better way to judge the merits of a 
T.eghorn hen than that sjiecified in this 
clipiiing and not trap-nest her? I am 
about to cull my flock of hens that were 
hatched in March and April, 1017. and 
decide Avhich ones I wish to keeii for the 
coming Winter, and do not want to keep 
any slackers. Will the ear lobe turn yel¬ 
low while the hen is imdting and then 
change back to white again at the fini.sh 
of the molt? I notice quite a number of 
my hens are losing the feathers on their 
heads, but I cannot find any lice. Is this 
the first sign of imdting or is it some other 
trouble? I would like to cull all of my 
flock before they start to molt, but will 
not be able to do it for the lack of time. 
Will you advise w'hat are the best meth¬ 
ods to adopt in judging a hen after she 
starts to molt? The shanks of most of 
the hens are thoroughly bleached out, 
while a certain numher of them still rc*- 
tain some of the yellow. What does this 
indicate? 
2. We have lost quite a number of pul¬ 
lets this Spring after they are from six to 
ten weeks old. They will not ('at, tin* 
comb turns very dark, the feathers puff 
uj) and the wing and tail feathers are 
extra long. Nearly every case is fatal. 
What is the trouble, and is there any 
remedy? w. ii. ii. 
New York. 
'I'he methods of .seh'cting laying hens 
SDokeu of in the enclo.sed clipping are 
those recognized as of value, outside of 
the use of the trap-nest. The ear lobes, 
of a yellowish color in healthy White 
Leghorn hens that are not laying, grad¬ 
ually lose this yellow pigim'utalion in 
good layers and becomes pearly white as 
the color is “laid out.” It regains the 
color during the season of rest. The loss 
of feathers about the head and neck is 
frequently due to the depluming mite, a 
parasite that burrows into the skin at the 
base of the feathers and causes them to 
become broken and lost. Rub some bland 
grease well into the skin over the affected 
parts. The retention of yellow in the 
shanks of a hen. like that in the ear lobes, 
indicates that she has not laid well. Oth¬ 
erwise the color would have disappeared. 
Bear in mind that the disappearance of 
color is a gradual process, and that it 
leaves the shanks and beak last. 
2. A dark comb indicates ill health, but 
does not characterize any one disease. 
These pullets may have had any one of 
several dise.ases. 
You will be well repaid for your trouble 
if you send to the Cornell College of Ag¬ 
riculture, Ithaca, N. Y., for Extension 
Bulletin 21, “How to Select Laying Hens.” 
This is illustrated in colors and gives the 
information for which you ask in detail. 
It is a bulletin that will be appreciated 
by every owner of hens who takes any 
pains to make them profitable, and is free 
for the asking. M. B. D. 
An Unusual Chick Trouble 
In reference to communication of H. L. 
regarding the loss of a number of appar¬ 
ently healthy young chicks. I think your 
advice sugg('sting an autopsy is excellent. 
A Cl 00(1 Crop of Eggs. Fig. J/SJ 
I had an experience of a .similar nature a 
few years ago. I found 10 to 12 dea{l 
each morning for several days in succes¬ 
sion : no visible cause. I dissc'ctcd three 
of them, looking for bowel trouble, and 
found the colon of each subject packed 
tightly with felt, which had been picked 
from the curtain of the hover. I removed 
the curtain and rei)laced it with denim, 
and the trouble disappeared at once. The 
exi)erience was related to the agent of the 
brooder company who said he would call 
the maker’s attention to it; how('ver, they 
continued to use the material, I later ob¬ 
served. E. M. G. 
Rolled Oats and Cornmeal for Chicks 
In the enclosed clipping does the writer 
refer to whole or rolled oats, and are raw 
rolled oats harmful to little chicks? That 
is what I have b('en feeding. I give them 
plenty of sand and water. Is cornmeal 
too strong a food for young chicks? 
Pennsylvania. mbs. e. m. 
The clipping enclosed undoubtedly re¬ 
fers to the u.se of boiled whole oats as a 
l>oultry food. Boiling would soften the 
hull and probably make them more palat¬ 
able. Rolled oats, or oatmeal, is one of 
the best foods for young chicks of any 
age. It is, of course, expensive, but may 
b(' added to the ration of very little (’hicks 
that do not consume a large (juantity of 
food. It should not be cooked, but may 
be fed alone or mixed with finely crack(;d 
corn and cracked or whole wheat. Corn- 
me:il may be fed alone to young chicks 
or with other ground grains ancl milling 
by-[)roducts. like wheat bran and mid- 
diings. E(h 1 alone, it is better to scald it 
by mixing with boiling water to a crumbly 
('onsistency and allowing it to cool or to 
make it into a sour-milk johnny cake. 
Where only a few chickens are raised, the 
making of johnny cake for flie very young 
ones is not an impracticable job. 
M. B. D. 
Floor for Henhouse 
Which sort of floor do you prefer for 
a henhouse—earthen, wooden, cement or 
coal ashes? A. F. 
New York. 
I know of no other material having so 
many advantages for a floor as concrete; 
its only defect is its cost. Coal ashes 
would make a good floor if made dry by 
raising the level of the floor well above 
the surface of the ground outskle. or 
otherwise providing proper drainage. The 
defects of such a floor would be that the 
fowls would wallow great holes in it; 
that rats could and probably would drill 
holes through it. and that, unless well 
underdrainecl, it would be damp. So far 
as the comfort of the fowls is concerned, 
a dry coal ash floor would suit them 
nicely. m. b. d. 
Poison Ivy and Turkeys 
Can you tell me whether poison ivy will 
kill young turkeys? We had a beautiful 
flock', in fine condition, getting along 
splendidly, and now, when about six 
weeks old. they are dying, one after an¬ 
other, without any apparent cause. They 
are in good flesh, have no bowel trouble, 
run on a good range, have not been wet, 
and are well housed, with fresh feed, 
water, grit. etc. But near their house, 
and accessible to them when turned out, 
there is a young growth of poison ivy, 
nice and green and tender, very tempting 
to them. Have you any information on 
the subject? E. T. B. 
New York. 
This has been referred to a number of 
successful turkey raisers, but not one of 
them ever heard of such a case. No one 
considers it likely that poison ivy killed 
these birds. 
Cure for Cannibal Hens 
I have had same trouble with hens as 
,T. P. P., New, York, with chickens, pick¬ 
ing each other until they die. Out of a 
flock of 50 confined in a small place, they 
picked wounds in three hens so large they 
died ; three more were so badly picked I 
had them killed. Twenty-six had skin 
picked off and wounds started about the 
size of a nickel; some picked to the bones 
on back close to tail. I experimented and 
found a sure cure by slightly warming 
pine tar and smearing thickly on every 
place where feathers were i)icked or skin 
broken; also filled the raw and sore 
places with tar. After a couple of picks 
into the tar they did not try it again. It 
stayed on from two to three weeks and 
completely healed the sores. mbs. r. s. 
New York. 
An Auto Trip from New England to Iowa 
On a beautiful May morning we. mean¬ 
ing my wife, a two-year-old .son and my- 
s('lf, left Haverhill. Mass., in our small 
car, headed for Waterhjo, Iowa. AVe 
ho])('d to arrive at AA^aterloo in better 
shape than did Napoleon, and we did. 
One of the objects of making the trip in 
the car was to get a better idea of the 
country than could be obtained by riding 
on tlm train. The writer beliwes that 
for those readers, at least, who hav'c not 
taken this cross-country trip a descriptive 
narrative may i)rove of interest. 
It was our i)urpose the first day to 
m.ake Pittsfu'ld. Mass., about 1(10 miles. 
Our trip during the forenoon took us 
through many of Massachusetts’ smaller 
cities, and very little country landscape 
was .seen. Tin' main |)oint of inteia'st 
through which w(' passed was Camp !)('- 
yens, oiu' of I Tide Sam’s cities of sol¬ 
diers. In the afternoun we came to the 
P>erkshire Hills and rode over the Mo¬ 
hawk trail through Grc'enfield to Pitts¬ 
field. The scenery through the Berkshires 
is truly beautiful, and j)roved to be tlu' 
most picturesque part of the trip. The 
trail has heen so improved that it makes 
ii v('ry good automobile road. There are 
hills to climb a mile to two miles long, 
and once the little car got hot under the 
collar and had to be cooled down with 
soiiH' of the cold spring water that runs 
out of the ledges by the roadside. The 
views from the hilltops are wonderful in 
that one can look off over the vall<*ys_to 
more rocks and hilts simidy covered with 
tre('s. There is little tillable land to be 
seen. All is just as nature has made it, 
trees and ledges, hills and valleys. 
I.eaving Pittsfi('ld the next morning we 
were soon in New York, crossing the 
Hudson at Albany. Here we were much 
Impressed by the beautiful buildings, prin¬ 
cipal among which was the State Capitol. 
AVe traveled along the Erie Canal and 
the New York Central lanes to Ptica, 
where we spent the might. The country 
through which we jiassed was i)articularly 
ndai)ted to dairying. The country, while 
very rolling, is devoid of great tracts of 
ledges and forests, and in their jdaces 
are the fertile fields and pastures. The 
pastures show an abundant growth of 
gra.ss, iirincipally Blue grass and clover. 
Farm buildings are in excellent condi¬ 
tion and silos are everywhere. That milk 
can be produced much cheaper in this sec¬ 
tion than in Southern New England is be¬ 
yond qiK'stion. The pastures look as good 
as many of the less fertile fields in New 
Englami. A solid train of from 25 to 30 
milk cars passed us coming up from New 
A'ork City iuto this veritable milk oasis 
after a part of her daily milk supply. 
’Phe cows look well and the herds are 
quite large. The cows are practically all 
black and whites. 
Going on from TTtica next morning we 
headed for Rochester, N. Y., by way of 
Geneva. The trip continued through the 
fine dairy country we had seen the day 
before. AVhen w’e reached the Geneva 
Experiment Station I found one of my 
front wheels was fast “losing its bear¬ 
ings.” Dr. Smith, dairyman at the ex¬ 
periment station, helped me get this fixed 
up. A thunder shower and the lateness 
of the hour prevented us from .spending 
much time on the experiment station 
grounds. 
The next day we made our way to Buf¬ 
falo, coming through a more level country 
than we had yet seen. There was con- 
siderahle Sweet clover by the roadside 
and in the pastures. The soil is very 
mellow’, and farmers seemed to be plow’- 
ing, rolling, and drilling oats without 
doing any harrowing. The dandelions 
must be a troublesome weed in this coun¬ 
try, as field after field w’as literally yel¬ 
low w’ith them. The road continued good 
to Buffalo, and w’e found considerable 
brick pavement, the boulevard from Buf¬ 
falo to Niagara Palls being constructed 
entirely of brick. The Falls w’ere a great 
sight and their splendor grew on us the 
longer we stayed. Although it was near¬ 
ing the first of .Tune, we .stood on a snow¬ 
bank fully 30 feet high at the base of the 
American Palls. The busy city of Buf¬ 
falo" was our haven that night. 
AA’’e w’ent on from Buffalo through Erie, 
Pa., to Conneaut, Ohio, the next day. 
This day took us through, the great grape 
country. There w’ere acres of vineyards 
on either .side of the road. After leaving 
Buffalo the roads were very bad, being 
full of pits caused by so much heavy traf¬ 
fic in the early Spring. AA''e met swarms 
of new cars being driven over the road 
from Detroit to the East, no less than 
70 like our owm being among the number 
met in a single afternoon. A number of 
S(|uads of big covered army trucks w’cre 
also met making their way East. At 
Conneaut our w^■^tches were set back an 
hour to corresixmd to central time. 
The next day’s journey took us through 
Cleveland to Premont, Ohio. AAh' were 
particularly impressc'd by Ch'veland’s 
beautiful parks and by the vastness of 
Lake Erie, which to us looked like the 
Atlantic except for the muddy app(>arance 
near the shore and the absence of the 
broad sandy beach. 
The next day took us through Toledo 
to Bryan, Ohio; three nights in New 
York and three nights in Ohio. A'erily it 
is a long distance across these tw’o States. 
AA^ith the excei)tion of some dairy farming 
around Cleveland and Toledo most of the 
land is devoted to wheat grow’ing. The 
country was much more level than any¬ 
thing we had seen. In the vicinity of 
Toledo in particular the land is more 
level than it is here in Iowa. The wheat 
fields looked to b(' in excellent condition. 
AA''e passed through more wlu'at country 
the next day, and came to La Porte. Ind., 
that night. I>a Porte is a i)lace of lO.OflO 
or 12.000. and is a good example of all 
the Aliddle AA'estern towns. They all look 
alike in that there is one long busim'ss 
street, with some short cross streets, de¬ 
pending on the size of the town. All 
have exactly the same street lighting sys¬ 
tem. There is much more busim'ss in the 
AA’'estern town of this size, because they 
arc relatively few and far betwe('n. and 
they must minister to all the surround¬ 
ing country. It was Saturd.ay night that 
we were in La Porte, and the streets 
were lined with farmers’ automobiles. 
There were actually more peojih' on tlu' 
street and more bu.sim’ss was being done 
than I have seen in many an East('rn city 
of 75,(K)0 to 100.000 population. 
Sunday we drove as far as DeKalb, 
Ill. Th(' country was similar to that we 
had s('en for two or thia'e days; that is, 
slightly rolling with just enough variation 
to it to break the monotony. In Illinois 
the wheat fields got h'ss frequent, and 
there were corn fields in large numht'rs. 
I.eaving DeKalb we found we had dirt 
I’oads the la'st of our way. This dirt is a 
sort of a hlack clay loam, the sanu' as the 
soil in these fields through which the 
roads i)ass. Tlu'y are good in dry weather 
but v('ry slippery when wet. AA'e had the 
misfortune to run into what jiroved to he 
the beginning of 10 days of rainy weather 
for Iowa. However, we managed to get 
along and crossc'd the AIississi|)pi River 
on the high bridge at Clinton. Iowa. Even 
as far up in the country as this i)oint it 
is “some river.” and is dotted here and 
there with little islands. AA’'e were now 
in Iowa, the country of corn. oats, hogs 
and beef cattle. 
AA'e stopped at DeAA''itt over night, con¬ 
scious of the fact that we had one day 
more only to travi'l. «nd what a day it 
was! Alore wet weather and moia' mud. 
AA"e went forward, sideways, and even 
backwards. It actually took six houi’s to 
go 45 miles. There is ahsolutely nothing 
like it in the East for roads that can com¬ 
pare with thes(' whcTi wet. AV(' finally ar¬ 
rived at AA’^aterloo, Iowa, a very busy city 
of 35.(X>0. .After spending a day in 
AA’'aterloo getting instructions we came 3() 
miles nortlu'a.st to Oelwein, Iowa, where 
the writer is engaged for the Summer as 
Navy butter inspector, prior to taking 
up liis duties as associate proRssor of 
dairying at Iowa State C(dl('ge in Sep¬ 
tember. He will endeavor to t('ll you 
more about Iowa and his work there in a 
later lett('r. It was a gia'at trip, and as 
my young son say.s, the auto had the 
“choo-choo” cars beaten for showing us. 
the country. ir. f. judkin.S. 
