SOMETHING LIKE A POULTRY FARM !

Otago Witness, Issue 2589, 28 October 1903, Page 50

SOMETHING LIKE A POULTRY FARM !

The American Fancier de-,ciil>ea tho poultry establishment at Sidney, Onio, as follows, add ttig the- very justifiable obs-ervation that it i» probably the largest business of its kind in the world :

The buildings which comprise the plan consist of two main structures and a num ber of smaller inclofiure&. All are of brick

construction, with slate roofs, and more than 100,000dol has been expended in buildings and equipment, exclusive of the cost of the site, which comprises 140 acres. The hatohery, or broiler plant, is 480 ft in length. The main portion of the building is built in the form of the letter U, and has a periphery of 840 ft. In the basement of tho other part are 30 incubators, each containing 300 .eggs, so that there is a total of 9000 eggs daily in a state of incubation. The filling of th© machines is so timed that one incubator will discharge its brood each day, and thus the plant may be said to have a daily hatching capaoity of 300 chickens. From the incubator cellar tho small chickens are taken to what is known as frho "nursery," which constantly shelters 6000 young ohiokens, ranging :n age from 1 to 20 days. When the chickens have attained the age of 21 days, they are lowered by an elevator to the ground floor and put in the U-shaped part of the building, which is divided into 60 pens. The chickens advance one pen each day, so that at the end of two months they have completed the circuit and are ready for traneferenco to tho shipping department. It may be noted in this connection that tho U-shaped building k constantly tenanted by about 21,000 chickens, ranging in age from 30 to 90 days. The egg-house is 537 ft in length, and similar in construction to the building above described. It is bisected lengthwise by a four-foot aisle, on each side of which are 30 pens containing 50 hems apiece. The 3000 high-grade Leghorn fowls produca daily 200 dozens of unfertile eggs for culinary purposes. The eggs for the incubators are produced by 900 high-grade Plymouth Rock fowls. As indicating the proportion of loss, it may be stated that out of every 450 eggs which go into tho incubators, an average of 300 perfect broilers is obtained. Connected with, tho egg-house is an egg-washing and marketing room, where the date is stamped upon, each egg sent to market.