4 
Cou)RADo Experiment Station 
CHARACTER AND VARIETY OF CROPS 
The statement is frequently made that grain is high in price in 
Colorado. This is true only where 'feed is bought at retail from month 
to month. Wheat, our staple poultry feed can be purchased at thresh¬ 
ing time at $i.io to $1.30 per hundred pounds. Much of the corn 
used for feeding purposes is shipped into the State, but can be bought 
at the same average price in the fall, and barley and oats will average 
the same. 
There is not a grain or product needed for poultry feed that can¬ 
not be economically produced in any section of Colorado where com¬ 
mercial poultry raising can be profitably carried on. Corn is imported 
in large quantities because of the enormous sheep and cattle feeding 
interests. 
HATCHING AT HIGH ALTITUDES 
This Station has shipped eggs to all parts of the state. One 
setting of 15 eggs went to Parshall, Colorado, altitude 7,600 feet, 
from which 12 chicks were hatched. These eggs were carried in a 
commercial carton, not in a shipping case. During two days they travel¬ 
ed 360 miles by rail and street car, including a trip over the Con¬ 
tinental Divide, then 14 miles in a wagon over rough mountain roads. 
We have had a report of 39 chicks from 45 eggs under hens at 8,500 
feet, so that altitude is not the obstacle to good hatches it is so com¬ 
monly considered to be. 
LOCATION 
The price of land, the market, and prices of feed are the chief 
factors to consider in choosing a location. Railroad facilities are ex¬ 
cellent and one should be near a railroad if he is doing a wholesale 
business, as shipments should be frequent and time is money. If de¬ 
livering products to the consumer, one should be near his trade. This 
means higher prices for land which may offset the higher prices re¬ 
ceived for the products. 
AMOUNT OF LAND REQUIRED 
Do not crowd, better go farther, pay less per acre and buy more 
acres. Crowding is the father of many evils and has driven many out 
of the poultry business. Rotation is as necessary in this line of 
agriculture as in any other. Fowls should never be allowed to run 
over the same ground indefinitely, but the soil should be turned over 
and cropped as often as possible. Fences are an abomination and the 
fewer the yards the better, but where yards are necessary, they should 
be large enough to permit a horse and plow to enter. The labor prob¬ 
lem, like a ruler’s crown, causes much uneasiness, can easily be 
made to blot out the profits, and horse labor is both cheaper and better 
than man labor where it can be used. Land of a rolling nature can 
often be bought at a lower price because of the difficulty of cultivation 
or the character of the soil. These conditions may be an advantage 
to the poultryman, especially if the land is porous enough to dry off 
quickly after a rain and still is suitable for producing good crops of 
