American Agriculturist,'June 7, 1924 
How to Sell the Roosters 
Getting Better Prices by Caponizing 
T HERE are millions of chickens 
raised every year and one-half of 
I these are cockerels that are marketed at 
I a loss or price that barely pays the cost 
I of feeding. This is undoubtedly due to 
I the fact that the largest per cent, of 
I them is placed on the market as broilers 
| during the months of May, June and 
I July, creating a great surplus over the 
I demand in weather that is unfavorable. 
| There are many other cockerels that are 
I not sold as broilers which are kept on 
I farms and allowed to grow staggy, being 
sold in the fall for prices that will not 
pay cost of production. 
We can largely eliminate the great loss 
by caponizing our surplus cockerels, 
especially ones raising such breeds as 
Reds, Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, 
Brahmas and other large breeds, as they 
make very profitable capons. The large 
commercial poultry raisers that keep the 
smaller breeds such as Leghorns, Anconas, 
etc., can supply the broiler market at 
prices that are profitable, if we raisers of 
large breeds will caponize our surplus 
cockerels. 
Demand Always Good 
The raising of capons can not be other 
than profitable as there is a far greater 
demand than supply at fancy prices. 
They are ready for market during 
December, January, February and March, 
a time of the year when other poultry is 
very scarce as well as all other kinds of 
meat. Capons usually weigh twice as 
much as hens of the same age and will sell 
for twice as much per pound, making them 
four times more valuable and their cost of 
feed is very nearly the same. Capons can 
be kept in more crowded conditions than 
other kinds of poultry. They grow much 
larger and faster than roosters and pro¬ 
duce a very tender meat that sells for 
much more than any other poultry on the 
market. 
Now I hear some saying, “Why are not 
more capons raised if this is the case?” 
I will give some of the reasons why, and 
try to show that they are mostly ground¬ 
less. 
First. There are many people that do 
not know what a capon is. Capons are not 
raised on many farms because the poultry- 
men do not realize what profit they bring, 
and for this reason most of the markets in 
our small towns and cities do not have 
capons for sale and the buying public 
does not know what they are. If we 
would raise more capons and put them 
into these markets we would find that 
there would soon be a great demand for 
them at fancy prices, for as soon as the 
Bird in position to make incision 
peopfe once tried them they would insist 
upon having them due to the excellent 
quality of the meat. 
Second. Many have tried caponizing 
with the old-fashioned tools which re¬ 
sulted in many slips and have given up. 
There are tools so perfect that any person 
over ten years of age can successfully use 
them. They are not very expensive, 
usually one or two good capons will pay 
for them and the}!' will last a lifetime. 
Each set of tools is furnished with com¬ 
plete instructions for using them. 
Third. The main reason why more 
capons are not raised is because many 
people think the operation difficult or 
cruel. This is not true. Every poultry 
raiser has seen cockerels fight one another 
time and again, tearing their combs, 
cutting each other with their spurs or 
perhaps putting out an eye. That is 
what I call cruel to allow them to grow 
into unprofitable fighting roosters when 
they could have been caponized at an 
early age and made into highly profitable 
capons. After being caponized their 
habits are entirely changed. They are 
peaceful and satisfied in any surroundings. 
Let’s raise more capons and stop the 
cockerel loss. Some at least for our own 
use.—L. W. Dickson. 
How We Handle Our Capons 
Mrsj»George Weiss 
Y^JE begin hatching in December or 
* ' not later than January for the best 
capons for the market, selecting eggs for 
hatching from hens, not pullets, and from 
a large breed of chickens. We have 
worked on several kinds and find the 
Rhode Island Reds the best. Rocks are 
also good and really appear better when 
placed on the market. Of course, the 
larger the better. We select uniform 
eggs and mark them one, two, three, four 
in quarters, giving them a quarter turn 
morning and evening. You will have 
stronger, healthier chicks. Never touch 
the egg with grease or coal oil on your 
hands, as it will kill the germ. 
When the chicks are hatched, we take 
them out of the incubator, being very 
careful to keep them out of a draught, and 
keep them without water or food for at 
least 24 hours. During this time you can 
leave the capon foster-mothers shut up 
in their individual coops to let them get 
used to their surroundings before you 
give the baby chicks to them. We allow 
each capon mother 15 or 20 chicks. If 
they are leary about taking the chicks at 
first, take them away for a while, then try 
them again until they do take them. As 
a rule you will have very little, if any, 
trouble with them as the foster-mothers 
are always broody. They will care for 
{Continued on page 548) 
The Outlook for the Dairyman 
*47 
Fatter pigs £ 
fatter profits 
H OGS need animal food to build 
flesh and bone. Dold-Quality 
Digester Tankage is 60 % animal 
protein. Mix with grain or feed 
separately in hoppers or slops. 
Gives better results than grain 
alone; saves one-third cost. Tankage-fed 
hogs show more pounds when marketed—and 
more profit per pound. Experience proves it. 
Write for FREE booklet on DOLD- 
QUALITY Poultry and stock foods 
JACOB DOLD PACKING CO. 
Dept, aa BUFFALO, n.y. 
DIGESTER 
TANKAGE 
TheLow-fcrrt'r 
Priced M V! _ 
ENSILAGE CUTTER 
Built for the Fordson 
A LOW-PRICED, highest-quality, self-feeding 
dependable cutter. Fills your silo quickly 
with fine ensilage with a “Fordson” for 
power. Has satisfied Fordson owners everywhere. 
Find out about it now. Sold by all Fordson 
Distributors. Get our catalog of silo fillers to fit 
all powers and pocketbooks. 
Swayne, Robinson & Co. 
102 Main St.. Richmond, Ind. 
in use 
over 
MINERAL 
COMPOUND 
FOR 
Booklet 
Free 
neglect' 
Will Ruin 
Your Horse 
Sold on 
Its Merits 
SEND TODAY ^ 
AGENTS 
WANTED 
MINERAL REMEDY 
$3.25 BOX 
guaranteed to give 
satisfaction or 
money refunded. 
SLIOBox sufficient] 
for ordinary case* 
Postpaid on receipt of prlceJ 
Wrltefordescrlptlve booklet 
CO. 451 Fourth A*e., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
annually but has been taking only 2 or 3 
million pounds in the last few years. 
Per capita consumption has declined 40 
per cent, from- pre-war. France, Bel¬ 
gium and Switzerland took less Danish 
butter in 1923 than in 1922. Economic 
restoration in Europe would do much to 
take up the slack in foreign consumption. 
In any case, these changes will take 
time so that the pressure from foreign 
dairy products, especially butter, is not 
going to lift at once. But, it hardly 
threatens a major crisis in the dairy 
industry and it is a fair question whether 
this competition has not already reached 
its peak in the first three months of 1924, 
when the net import balance in terms of 
whole milk was about three times as 
heavy as in the same months a year ago. 
At least, it does not seem probable that 
foreign competition will become much 
more severe in the distance that one can 
see ahead with reasonable distinctness. 
Higher tariffs on butter and cheese would 
help, of course. 
Business Depression Not Severe 
The third factor in the dairy situation 
this spring, the change in the industrial 
outlook, was effective directly through 
fhe falling off in consumption in some of 
the eastern manufacturing centers and 
indirectly by making dealers cautious in 
buying butter for storage. 
There has been fear that a severe 
depression with much unemployment 
was setting in. The downward trend in 
{Continued from, page 540) 
industry and trade has been in progress 
long enough to give a fair line of sight, 
however, and make possible a sounder 
judgment as to its future course. In 
general, it seems that a moderate amount 
of unemployment can be expected for 
several months, but we are hardly headed 
for a major depression such as that of 
three years ago and a trade revival should 
occur within a year or sooner. Such 
business depressions as in 1904, 1907 and 
1914 did not seem to force the price 
curves for dairy products down very far. 
Domestic Consumption Can Increase 
Furthermore, the tendency to increase 
the proportion of dairy products in the 
diet as a result of educational campaigns 
is a partial offset to the influence of less 
favorable employment conditions and 
reduced purchasing power. Per capita 
consumption of dairy products in terms 
of whole milk has increased from 831 
pounds in 1919 to 996 pounds in 1923, 
according to a recent survey by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 
This gain of 20 per cent, consisted mostly 
of fluid milk and butter. There is room 
for further expansion. Cheese consump¬ 
tion is still quite small, as some European 
countries eat four or five times as much 
per person as we do. Lower prices for 
dairy products will tend to stimulate 
consumption. Oleomargarine output has 
been expanding in the last year as a 
result of high prices for butter and this 
competition will decrease. Reduction of 
the high cost of distributing milk in the 
big cities would be a great help. In hard 
times business always learns how to do 
things more efficiently. Possibly a period 
of moderate depression may help to solve 
this distribution problem. 
Outlook Not So Black 
The upshot of all this is that the out¬ 
look is hardly as black as it appeared 
when values were crumbling away this 
spring. Prices for dairy products are 
unlikely to remain very long below a level 
at which the real dairyman with good 
cows-and in position to raise most of his 
own feed can make a profit. This may 
be hard to believe for some of those 
who at present are being forced to take 
extremely low prices for milk, but such 
extremes seldom last long. On the other 
hand, it is to be expected that prices for 
dairy products will average lower in 1924 
than in 1923 and that the margin of 
profit in dairying will be narrower than 
it has been. This means that greater 
efforts should be made to reduce produc¬ 
tion costs by eliminating poor cows and 
other means. 
And finally, in casting up his balance 
sheet, the dairymen should not forget to 
enter in the credit column, the value of 
the dairy herd in maintaining soil fertility 
as against the soil-robbing tendency 
of some other types of farming, and such 
other advantages as the relative freedom 
of the dairy business from the weather 
hazard. 
24 
95 JfnwdcafK 
Upward CREAM 
SEPARATOR 
On trial. Easy to run and clean. 
Skims warm or cold milk. Differ 
ent from picture which shows large 
size easy running New L. S. Model. 
Western shipments fromWestern points 
MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN 
Write today for free catalog 
AMERICAN SEPARATOR CO. 
Box 7052 Balnbridge, N. Y. 
H r A \i BT 6 Is your horse afflicted? 
™ AA V E> 9 Use 2 larae cans. Cost $2.50 
Money 5aofc if not satisfactory 
One can at $1.25 often sufficient. In powder form. 
NEWTON’S 
A Veterinary's Compound 
for Horses, Cattle, Hogs. 
Worm Expeller, Conditioner, 
Indigestion, Heaves, Coughs, 
Distemper. 65c and $1.25 
cans. At dealers or post-paid. 
The NEWTON REMEDY C0„ Toledo, Ohio 
LOS 
We sell DIRECT-FROM-THE 
FACTORY. Keep the salesman’s 
salary and the agent’s commission 
in your own pocket. 
INTERNATIONAL SILO CO. 
Dept. 12 MEADVILLE, PA. 
READ the 
BABY CHICK 
Advertising 
On Pages 548 and 549 
