t 
Vol.  LXXXII. 
Published  Weekly  by  The  Rural  Publishing  Co.. 
333  W.  30th  St..  New  York.  Price' One  Dollar  a  Year. 
FEBRUARY  17,  1923 
Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter.  .Tune  26.  1879,  at  the  Post 
Office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1879. 
No.  4730 
ATCHFUL  WORKING.— The  finest  and 
most  particular  work  on  a  poultry  farm, 
and  the  work  which  requires  the  closest 
study,  most  watchful  care  and  strictest 
attention  to  details,  is  that  of  hatching 
and  raising  the  young  chicks  in  the  Spring. 
To  some  beginners  this  may  seem  a  very  simple 
problem,  while  to  others,  who  look  at  it  as  it  really 
is.  it  appears  to  be  a  very  interesting,  although 
complex,  part  of  the  business,  which  must  be  studied 
and  learned  by  both 
theory  and  practice,  the 
same  as  any  other  occu¬ 
pation  or  profession,  as 
upon  a  poultryman’s 
ability  to  hatch  and 
raise  a  large  percentage 
■of  strong,  healthy  chicks 
depends,  to  a  great  ex¬ 
tent.  his  future  success 
in  the  profitable  pro¬ 
duction  of  eggs  and 
market  poultry.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  past  20  years  I 
have  successfully  raised 
all  the  way  from  a  few 
hundred  to  several 
thousand  chicks  every 
year,  and  in  this  article 
it  is  my  purpose  to  de¬ 
scribe  the  methods 
which  I  have  found  by 
experience  to  be  the 
most  profitable  and  sat¬ 
isfactory. 
IMPORTANT  CON¬ 
SIDERATIONS.  —The 
six  most  important  con¬ 
siderations  for  this 
work,  none  of  which 
can  be  neglected  if  suc¬ 
cess  is  to  follow,  are, 
briefly:  The  man;  the 
breeding  stock ;  the  in¬ 
cubators  and  brooders : 
the  houses ;  the  feed : 
the  environment.  The 
man  is  placed  first,  be¬ 
cause  everything  de¬ 
pends  upon  his  ability 
to  see  that  all  the  work 
is  done  properly  and  on 
time,  seven  days  and 
seven  nights  every 
week,  for  the  night  work  is  just  as  important  as  the 
clay  work  in  connection  with  incubation  and  brood¬ 
ing.  and  any  man  who  objects  to  working  more  than 
eight.  10  or  even  12  hours  a  day.  should  not  attempt 
the  poultry  business,  as  it  often  requires  IS  hours 
a  day  of  hard  work  during  the  busy  season.  A  man 
should  really  love  the  work,  and  literally  live  with 
the  chicks,  in  order  to  make  the  best  success. 
BREEDING  STOCK. — The  breeding  stock  comes 
next  in  importance,  and  must  be  well  matured,  pre¬ 
ferably  two-year-old  hens,  mated  to  cockerels  at  the 
rate  of  one  cockerel  to  12  hens.  All  hens  used  should 
have  passed  through  a  molt  and  rest  period  of  two  or 
three  months  previous  to  the  hatching  season.  This 
breeding  stock  must  be  fed  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
give  them  plenty  of  exercise  when  confined  to  houses 
in  cold  weather,  and  large  yards  or  free  range  must 
be  provided  when  weather  is  suitable  for  outdoor 
exercise.  The  feed  should  consist  of  grains,  greens 
and  animal  food  in  a  palatable,  digestible  form,  and 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  up  body  weight  as 
much  as  possible,  and  produce  a  good  number  of 
eggs  at  the  same  time.  For  this  purpose  milk  in 
some  form  should  be  fed ;  also  sprouted  oats  or  bar¬ 
ley  for  green  feed.  This  combination  of  milk  along 
with  sprouted  oats  or  barley,  in  addition  to  the  regu- 
White  Leghorn  that  Laid  258  Eggs  in  One  Year  at  Vineland,  N.  ./.,  Contest.  Owned  by  C.  8.  Green < 
lar  ration  of  mash  and  whole  and  cracked  grains 
seems  to  have  a  very  beneficial  effect  upon  the 
strength  of  the  germ  and  growing  embryo  in  hatch¬ 
ing  eggs,  and  this  strength  remains  with  the  chicks 
after  hatching,  to  help  them  through  the  tender 
stages  of  their  lives,  and  without  which  a  much 
larger  percentage  would  give  up  the  ghost  before 
reaching  the  broiler  size.  Too  much  emphasis  can¬ 
not  be  laid  on  the  importance  of  good  healthy  breed¬ 
ing  stock  fed  on  a  good  standard  ration  of  which 
sprouted  oats  or  barley  and  milk  in  some  form  are 
important  ingredients.  The  grain  feed  should  be 
scattered  in  good,  loose,  clean  litter  on  the  floor  of  the 
house,  at  least  three  times  a  day,  about  two-thirds  of. 
the  grain  being  fed  at  night,  one  hour  before  dark. 
As  a  rule,  no  artificial  lights  should  be  used  for 
breeders,  although  in  some  cases  it  may  be  advisable 
to  use  lights  moderately,  say  one  or  two  hours  a  day, 
during  January,  February  and  March.  By  turning 
on  the  lights  at  five  or  six  in  the  morning  during 
the  short  days,  the  birds  are  able  to  eat,  drink  and 
exercise  during  the  cold  early  hours  of  the  day,  and 
no  harm  can  result,  but  excessive  use  of  lights  has 
been  the  cause  of  much  loss  and  poor  results  in 
hatching  and  brooding.  Probably  90  per  cent  of  so- 
called  incubator  trouble  is  directly  traceable  to  the 
breeding  stock  which 
produced  the  eggs ;  so 
to  get  good  hatches  of 
strong  chicks,  look  out 
for  your  breeding  birds 
first. 
INCUBATORS  AND 
BROODERS.— The  next 
thing  is  proper  equip¬ 
ment — good  incubators 
and  brooders.  It  is  not 
economy  to  buy  cheap 
machines,  unless  you 
are  a  judge  of  the  arti¬ 
cle  you  are  buying  and 
know  what  it  will  do. 
No  one  can  meet  the 
strong  competition  in 
the  poultry  business  at 
the  present  time  with¬ 
out  up-to-date  machines 
of  a  proper  size  for  the 
work.  Unless  you  can 
depend  on  purchasing 
day-old  chicks,  or  live 
where  you  can  be  sure 
of  getting  custom  hatch- 
'  ing  done  when  you  want 
it,  sufficient  incubators 
should  be  secured  to 
hatch  at  one  time  all 
the  chicks  you  want  to 
raise,  or,  if  that  is  not 
possible,  two  hatches 
may  be  made,  always 
keeping  in  mind  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  best 
time  for .  hatching 
chicks,  especially  on  a 
farm  where  other  work 
is  also  carried  on,  and 
it  is  much  better  to  get 
t  h  e  incubation  and 
brooding  work  out  of 
the  way,  with  one.  or  not  more  than  two  hatches,  at 
just  the  right  time,  as  soon  as. Spring  opens  up.  than 
to  prolong  it  during  the  season.  You  get  better 
hatches  and  better  chicks,  and  your  chicks  will 
thrive  better  if  all  are  the  same  age  and  hatched  at 
just  the  right  time  in  April  or  early  May  in  this 
latitude,  and  earlier  as  you  go  south.  Be  sure  to 
select  a  good  incubator  from  those  advertised  in  the 
farm  and  poultry  magazines,  and  if  possible  one 
which  is  recommended  by  people  you  know.  Then 
run  it  according  to  directions,  and  you  will  have 
very  little  trouble  in  getting  a  good  hatch. 
COLONY  BROODERS.— The  coal-burning  colony 
brooder  stove  has  solved  the  brooding  problem  on 
many  farms,  but  with  the  present  uncertainty  in  re¬ 
gard  to  coal  deliveries  many  poultrymeu  will  no  doubt 
