POULTRY HINTS.

Lake County Press, Issue 2136, 20 September 1906, Page 7

POULTRY HINTS.

Novel" raise more chickens than you can take care of well. Sand is not grit, and it docs no good to mix with feed. Change the poultry from the old yard, fouled by droppings, to it piece of fresh grass land. Keep the wttter vessel scrupu'lously clean, and keep it in a shady placefowls like cold witter. The best, layers are early risers and early morning layers, and of an active disposit ion. Don't, feed to much soft food. The gi/./ard must have work. Once a day or live times it week, is plenty. Sunshine, plenty of it. let into the house to keep things dry, will do a great deal towards preventing roup. Don't forget, that unfertile eggs keep much longer fresh than eggs laid by hens running with it cock. Don't forget that cocks as well as hens cat a lot of food, and no cock is necessary except during the hatching season. The close-feathered, medium-sized hens of the Leghorn type are nonsitters, good foragers and great lay-

The. man who handles poultry on the farm will find more money in it than he supposes. The hens bring in cash every day, while in other branches of farm work you have to wait six months or a year before realizing anything.

A good diet for ducklings a week old to the marketable age is mash composed of two-parts mai/.cmcul, and one each of bran and pollard, mixed with liver soup or some other form of animal food. They should also have plenty of green food and grit chickens may be fed on this mash, adding when a month old, boiled ottts or wheat tit midday, and i\v\ cracked grain at night.

Do not depend upon mongrel bred, chance-mated stock from which to grow pullets for next winter's laying hens. Select the best laying hens on your place and use only their eggs for hatching, flood laying pullets cannot be grown from eggs laid by poor laying hens. Like produces like, good laying pullets comes from good egg-producing hens. Feeding too often is a serious mistake. If the hens arc in good condition for laying they will thrive much better if compelled to come off the roost in the morning and scratch for their breakfast than if they walk up to a feed trough and fill their crops. Use troughs or fountains that can be easily cleaned. Some troughs become slimy, though the water appears clear. To clean such troughs, use a broom and soapsuds, rinsing with char water. If this is done once a week, and the troughs Idled with fresh wilier every morning, the hens will be amply, supplied with all the fresh water i tU-(\. Por duck... the trough should have si,us of lath an oss the t op, to piev fill I hcni from filthy witter. When feeding grain <'i any kind to it Hock it should be scattered k\>',quite ii space, so as to insure opportunity for all the fowls to get a suitable portion. Howls are like human beings in many respects; some are hoggish, others ill matured, some domineering and some exceedingly meddlesome. When the allotment of food is spread out in a small space some of the fowls exercise all their undesirable traits to ilie annoyance of others. When the food is properly distributed these busy bodies have to attend to their eating or lose their chance by running around, an-' they soon [•••cognise tin- situation, so that the result is the whole dock- can eat their rations in comparative quiet. In poultry keeping, as in e\cry other business, it is absolutely necessary to start right. Let your yards be right . clean, well drained and sufficiently large. Let your houses be right, sweet, airy and Well ventilated. I ,ei your feeding be right : licit her too much nor 100 short . and well balanced as to ingredients. Above all, let your birds be right. Do not run away with the idea thai all pure-bred fowls are perfect. A good lay ing mongrel is infinitely superior to a poor laying thoroughbred. Select your breeders from yards famous for producing eggs rather than feathers. A good, weighty body is worth more than a strictly exact comb. Hiweii feed is esselll inl It) Ihe successful raising of poultry. Where there is ii deficiency it should be supplied. Rape, barley . lucerne, cabbage or lettuce are excellent for this purpose. A good supply for the poultry can be kepi up in this way. There are two systems by which these are supplied, I hat is. eit her cut them up with a chaff-cutter or by some other means, and give round to the fowls at midday for preference, or mix up in the morning mash. Tile other system is lo grow these crops in close proximity to the yards and let the low Is run out on to them for a couple of hours each day ill turns. After the crops have got a sufficient star! to admit of this being done, both tlese systems are followed according to convenience on the Grantham stud Poultry Harm. Dubbing Powls. —Obtain a sharp pair of scissors (slightly curved scissors are best), and get an assistant to hold the bird, the hitler holding Hie bird firmly agaiiu-t the body with one hand and the comb in the other. The operator should now lake hold of the loose skin of the ear-lobe, insert the point of his scissors, and dissect the outer portion, leaving no loos,- skin behind. Having done this on both sides, the wal ties should next receive attention. Take each one singly, and cut close lo the face-skin do not, however, cut into the littler, nor the skinthroat. : and, lastly , lake Ilie comb off. This is best performed by commencing ill the back and cutting towards the beak. Dress the scissors firmly down on the head, following ihe curve of the head, anil retno\ ing the comb iis close as possible In Ihe head. If this is done correctly, bill little else will be necessary, except perhaps lo give a couple of snips each side of Ihe front . to remove any, slight excrescence thai may still remain. II is a good plan lo hold I lie bird's head under a tap of cold water for a few seconds, and. with a dry cloth, w ipc ii a little, ami m the evening apply » lji ' lr vaseline This latter will enable the scabs that f,,rm to fall oil much sooner than Would have been the (lis-- il nothing tuui In*-" aim lied to if.