January 11, 1910 
68 
Why Not Have Eggs When Eggs Are 
High? 
“You can’t make hens pay at present 
prices of feed.” This is a statement re¬ 
cently made to the writer by a friend who 
is considered a very successful dairyman, 
and who is manager of a big estate de¬ 
voted to several 'branches of farming, in¬ 
cluding poultry. This same man. when 
asked about his dairy work, said he could 
show fair profit notwithstanding the high 
<;ost of feeds and high-priced labor. These 
apparently contradictory statements made 
by a farming enthusiast point out a very 
vital factor in the success of any line of 
farming, and equally so of any other 
business. This man had for years writ¬ 
ten and talked on the merits of the dairy 
eow when carefully selected, bred, fed and 
managed. He had advocated the economy 
of home-grown feeds to reduce the ex¬ 
pense of keeping the cow. He had, in his 
frequent writings, urged the value of cash 
crops to supplement the dairy herd. But 
when it came to poultry he had no use 
for it on the general farm. Here, then, 
lies a big factor in the success of any 
farmer in his chosen specialties. If he 
likes a certain kind of stock or a certain 
kind of crop, he will be almost sure to 
succeed. If he does not, well, he would 
better let the other fellow raise it. 
For many rears it has seemed to the 
writer that the farmer with a small herd 
and with a few cash crops was just the 
person to make a good profit from poul¬ 
try, if he would devote a similar degree 
of’ studv and care to the fowls that he 
does to his cows. The farmer can grow 
much of the feed needed, and lie can mar¬ 
ket that feed through the birds at a good 
profit. Besides this, a considerable por¬ 
tion of the grain grown is a cull product 
not directly salable. 
Now, what about feed prices as com¬ 
pared with egg prices? During the past 
three years feed has just about doubled 
in price. During the same time the price 
0 f eggs has more than doubled. Labor, 
of course, has advanced, but on the farm 
much of the poultry work can be done by 
the children or other members of the 
family, without high-priced labor. 
The writer has always found good pro¬ 
fit from poultry on the farm. Last Spring 
I decided what would be the outcome 
from war-time poultry raising. Four hun¬ 
dred White Leghorn chicks were bought 
from a good practical breeder and were 
ordered to be hatched only from eggs com 
ing from yearling stock. One of. the ig- 
gest mistakes in poultry raising is m the 
use of pullets as breeders They are 
weakened by heavy production and ai 
often not sufficiently well developed to 
fhe e next° n imiSnSt fStor to goo^Ttock! 
The introduction.of the coal stove brooder 
is the biggest improvement in ieai | 
chicks vet brought into use. Provides 
steady * heat and allows the chicks to 
crowd nearer to or further away from 
the heat center as conditions require. Oae 
mistake that is often made 1'",“^”'- 
i,i<r the heat too soon, ''hen .June wea 
ther’eomes we are likely .g, think 
he-it should be needed, lhat was vum 
the^writer lost out last June, when as 
late as the twentieth there was «n ex 
ceptionallv cool day and night, a week o 
10 davs after brooder fires had been al¬ 
lowed go out. The results gave a loss 
of JO strong chicks, which were smothered 
bv Hacking on one anothei m the enor 
to find more heat. During the same e\ - 
nin- thT owner was toasting his shins 
efore a "lowing fire in the fireplace,, but 
S'd iot think abort his (anther eg. 
Such losses are just a part of thegam 
of chance and I determined that tne 
balance o£ the flock should have extra 
Ca Dood feed, with plenty of skim-milk to 
take the place of beef scrap and plenty 
of chance to exercise kept the chicks on 
« e gate from this time oil. When about 
SJht weeks old the cockerels could be 
identified, and were separated and placed 
in email houses to be forced tor the 
August hotel trade. This local trade gave 
a "ood market, and 85 cents each for bled 
•uni picked cockerels, brought down the 
cost of the remaining pullets very con¬ 
siderably. About August first the loss o 
the earlier supply of slum-milk made 
necessary the adoption of a dry mash 
mixture with 10 to 15 per cent of beef 
i n place of the dry masli without 
beef 1 scrap 1 that had proved useful so far 
We felt that rapid forcing was not 
necessary. Former experience had shown 
that Leghorns brought to laying condi¬ 
tions at six months of age and reaching 
LTt age early in November were more 
cemii as steady Winter layers than 
those which started laying earlier. One 
point of care wherein we feel part of oui 
success may be found was in eg 
housing for the Winter. « 
can be got accustomed to their win 
to, homes before cold weather comes 
‘The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
they will settle down to business early in 
November and usually keep at it for the 
Winter. This former experience was ver¬ 
ified this year. On October 12th the 
birds were placed in one large room, for¬ 
merly a stable. They showed their usual 
restlessness for two to three weeks, but 
as cool, bright weather came on, about 
November 1st. the birds began- laying. 
On November 11th they helped celebrate 
peace by becoming six months of age 
the age when the owner felt, they should 
begin to pay their own way. One hun¬ 
dred and seventy pullets, which made up 
the flock after culling out eight or 10 un¬ 
dersized ones, were then laying 12 to l.> 
eggs per day and in a few days were up 
to 15 or 20. and from then the race for 
profit was well under way. 
\t this time the flock was well settled 
on* their Winter ration of mixed grains 
age early in November. Third, early 
housing for " inter in not too warm, open 
front, dry houses, the doors of which may 
be closed when the nights become cold. 
Fourth, plenty of dry litter in which to 
scatter the grain to encourage exercise. 
Fifth, liberal feeding of green food a 
variety of grains and a well balanced dry 
mash with not less than 20 per cent of 
beef scrap. Sixth, a good market for eggs 
where people are willing to pay good 
prices for strictly fresh, clean eggs, not 
over three days old when brought to mai- 
]. p t. CIIAS. A. PHELPS. 
Saratoga Co., N. A’. 
¥ ¥ Y ¥ Y 
Suspected Roup 
Will you tell me what, is the matter 
with mv chickens and what to do tor 
A spoonful a day 
¥ 
Her W EIGHT ONE WUHD [ ' 
IS 
Is 
¥ 
Keeping the Hens Interested in Their Job 
and dry mash, and this with plenty of 
waste cabbage or cauliflower, plenty of 
water and active work in the littei, 
helped them set the music in tune that 
always accompanies, production. I he 
-ain was steady until it reached oo per 
of their number early in the early 
of December, while for . the latter 
of December it was a little better 
this. 
interview with the college experts 
cent 
part 
half 
than 
An 
had given the owner a “stunt” to measure 
up to, because they had declared that, a 
•JO per cent production from the sixth to 
the seventh month would be a good re¬ 
sult. The end of the seventh month, how¬ 
ever. showed a production of 2o% per¬ 
cent for the past 30 days, with a profit 
of $42.25 above the cost of feed, all feed 
being charged at cost prices, even that 
produced on the farm. 
What’s the secret of good egg produc¬ 
tion at a fair profit when eggs are usually 
scarce’ First and foremost, good stock 
from a laying strain of yearling hens 
Second, chicks that are well grown and 
vigorous and that come to six months ot 
them? They have one side of the head 
swollen just a little; seemed just pulled | 
around the eye; cold in the eye and eye 
watery. w. n.". 
Your description certainly indicates the j 
presence of chronic roup in the flock, the j 
disease subsiding in warm weather and re- | 
curring with the damp, colder season. 
You will probably be unable to rid your 
flock of it until you dispose of all atlectod 
birds, and possibly the whole flock, and 
restock with healthy birds. As the dis¬ 
ease is highly contagious, it is. of course, 
necessary to rid their quarters of the 
contagion by thoroughly cleaning and 
disinfection. It would be useless to put 
healthv birds into infected quarters and 
expect them to remain free from the dis¬ 
ease. It is possible that a thorough 
clearing out of all fowls that slimy any 
signs of the disease and a renovation ot 
the poultry quarters would suffice to free 
your flock from the infection at this stage 
of the trouble. Darkness, dampness and 
filth hold the disease; sunlight, fresh air 
and cleanliness combat it. M d - 
to make 20 kens lay! 
SLEEKENE 
Mix it witk the mask! 
M IX just a tablespoonful of 
8 LEEKKNE—that’s all—in 
the wet mash and you’ve a real 
tonic for twenty hens. Or in 
dry mash, a half a package to a 
whole bushel of the feed. Do this 
and as sure as healthy hens lay 
more, you will get more eggs! 
Poultry, to he most profitable, 
must be given something besides 
ordinary food now and then and 
most of all . when winter shuts 
them off from Nature’s remedies. 
When putting money into hens, 
why not put in a little more and 
then got all the money you can 
out of them? 
Use Sleekene and watch the 
fine results! If your dealer can’t 
supply you. send his name and 50 
cents' and a full sized package 
will be sent postpaid. 
Made only by 
G. C. Hanford Mfg. Co. 
3C4 Oneida St., Syracuse, New York 
Y Y Y X 
FEEDS AND FEEDING, by Henry and 
Morrison. Price, $2.50. The best book on 
this subject. For sale by Rural New-Yorker 
Better and bigger crops are needed tins year. Get extra 
bushels from every acre by giving every seed a chance to 
“start off” right. Distribute the seed evenly at a uni¬ 
form depth. Give each grain an even chance at 
moisture and perfect germination. The 
Favrtrife Force Feed sows the grain in the soil at the bottom of the dull 
furrow No spilling on top or half way covering. No clogging or leav- 
”g empty toowf. All the seed sprouts .grows .wd npens evenly. 
Made m plain grain and fertilizer styles and in all sizes. 
F8l^^c^5 , Favorite Tractor Drills 
Adjustable Hitch for use with any tractor. Power lift enables oper- 
time and labor saver to the farmer. 
Send for the Farmers’ Favorite Catalog 
Farmers’ Favorite Grain Drills have been on the 
market for more than 50 years and are used in eve y 
grain growing country in the world. 
Call on your dealer and have him show and explain 
These and other special features and the ments 
the Farmers’ Favorite Gram Drill, which is sold 
under the strongest possible warranty. 
The American Seeding-Machine Co., Inc. 
Springfield, Ohio 
HFF#=I== 
