ifflt.I •*«!rltwb ."n.1 ! f ®I|E ^. ^. 7tai pbrarg ^0rti| QIaroIma ^tat^ QIolkgB 5P457 '-ORTH CiPCJ',A S^iTE IMVERSITY LIBRARIES III cnrkncno/1-7 -r pm tB\^^ This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. It is due on the day indicated below: '^tt"l fi^ o^i€- i^f rt^ ao^3 im\%. mi <^W\^^ Making Copyright, 1907 Orange Judd Compaq New York Printed m U. S. A« Introduction The market is full of poultry books and poultry literature, but many of these works are out of date or have been written by people who know more of theory than of practice. Others, again, have had certain hob- bies to advocate. The amateur, who knows little or nothing about poultry, in reading one or more of the so-called standard works often gets erroneous ideas which prove costly when carried out, so that before learning by experience to keep poultry successfully he either loses much necessary time and money, or gives up discouraged. The author, who claims to be only a practical poultryman, has no theories to advance, no hobbies to ride. He has aimed, in preparing this work, to draw largely from the experience of practical poul- try keepers and to present a brief hand-book of poul- try keeping, which will be a safe and convenient guide for those who keep a few or many fowls. That he has succeeded in this, even in a small way, is very gratify- ing and the words of commendation from those who have read the first edition show that the way to profit- able poultry keeping has been pointed out to many amateurs. 38187 — Qontents CHAPTER I PAGE Profits in Poultry I Not a quick-get-rich scheme—Where figures lie—What it costs to keep a hen—Conserva- tive and actual profits—Starting in the poul- try business. CHAPTER II Care of Poultry 20 Cost of producing eggs—A laying competi- tion—The sex of eggs—Selecting best layers —An amateur's experience—Forcing the molt—Care of poultry manure—Best size of flocks. CHAPTER III Where to Keep Fowls 46 Buildings of many kinds—Arranging the in- terior—Yards and fences—Nests and appli- ances—A well-arranged poultry farm. CHAPTER IV Breeds and Breeding 82 Principles of correct mating—Pure-bred poultry on the farm—Crossing pure breeds Serviceable cross-bred chickens—Breeds anr" varieties of poultry — CONTENTS VII CHAPTER V PAGE Feeds and Feeding 119 Feeding for eggs—Fattening poultry for market—Composition of feeding stuffs. CHAPTER VI Hatching and Rearing the Natural Way 149 Setting the hen—Brood coops for hen and chicks—Care of newly hatched chicks Water for young chicks—Removing the hen. CHAPTER VH Artificial Incubation 166 A bit of history—Setting the incubator Turning the eggs—Proper heat—Testing the eggs—Moisture—Feeding incubator chicks The brooder—Handling brooder chicks Brooder houses—Homemade brooders. CHAPTER VIII Broilers, Capons and Roasters 206 Best breeds—Philadelphia broilers—Capons and caponizing—The soft roaster industry. CHAPTER IX Tha Market End 224 Fancy vs. utility—Storing eggs for winter Shipping live poultry—Dressing and ship- ping poultry —— Vlli CONTENTS CHAPTER X FAOB Waterfowl 234 Commercial duck breeding—Care of young ducks—Handling- breeding stock—Winter quarters for ducks and geese—Killing and picking—Breeds—Keeping geese for profit The care of breeding geese—Feeding and fattening—Picking—Breeds—Cross breeding ^-Breeding and keeping swans. CHAPTER XI Turkeys, Guineas, Peafowls 265 Selection and care of breeding turkeys Keeping turkeys in confinement—Feeding and care of young turkeys—Marketing tur- keys—Guineas—Peafowls. CHAPTER XH Pigeons and Squab Raising 278 Squab raising a fad—Where to keep pigeons —Pigeon lofts and houses—Pheasant rearing. CHAPTER XHI Enemies and Diseases 286 Asthenia — Blackhead in turkeys—Bowel trouble—Bumble foot—Cholera—To avoid colds—Consumption—Cramps—Crop bound —Douglas mixture—Egg bound—Feather eating — Gapes — Hawks — Leg weakness Lice^Mites—Limber neck,—Rats—Roup Sore heads—Scaly leg—Skunks—Venetian red—Worms. List of Illustrations PAGE Money makers on an American farm .... Frontispiece Types of good and poor layers 32 The original scratching shed house 48 Ground plan of scratching shed house 49 Nest boxes 50 Curtain front house 51 Cornell two-pen house 52 Frame of Cornell house 53 Side view Cornell house 55 Front elevation Cornell house 56 Ground plan Cornell house 57 Messrs. Perry's well-arranged house 60 Daniel Lambert's inexpensive house 61 Interior view D. J. Lambert's house 62 House and yards at New York experiment station 63 A forty-five-dollar house of the author's 64 Barrel stave house 65 A novel house for winter layers 66 House in a Boston suburb 6y A corner in the hallway 68 House with pens on both sides 69 Mr. Hayward's A-shaped house 70 Framework of a small house and yard 71 Runway to second story 72 Good interior arrangement 74 Well-planned interior 75 Plan for dark nests y6; Maine trap nests 78 Pair Light Brahmas 94 Black Langshan pulLet 96 Pair Single Comb Brown Leghorns 98 Rose Comb Black Minorca . o lOO X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGTi Pair White-Faced Black Spanish loi Ancona pullet I02 Houdan cock 103 Barred Plymouth Rock cockerel 105 ; Hen 106 White Plymouth Rock hen 107 Pair of Golden Wyandottes 108 Pair Silver Laced Wyandottes 109 White Wyandotte cock 1 10 Pair Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds Ill Mottled Java cock 112 Buff Orpington cock II4 Cornish Indian cock I15 Red Pyle Game Bantam; White Cochin Bantam 117 Feed trough 121 Self feeder feed box 123 Self feeder 124 Clover cutter 127 Grit boxes 128 ; Grit crusher 129 Protected nests for sitting hens 151 Old-fashioned A coop; Coop with run and shelter 152 Coop with wire covered run 153 Convenient box coop 154 Framework of coop and run 155 Ventilated coop for hen and chicks 1 56 Protected coop for early chicks 1 56 Utilizing old barrels for coops 1 57 Shade board 157 Coop for two broods 158 Feeding trough for chicks 162 Covered feeding pen for chicks 162 Chick fountain 164 Outdoor summer shelter for chicks 165 Cat-proof shelter for chicks 165 Size of air cell during incubation 173 The completed hatch 174 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XI PAGE A modern incubator cellar 176 Plan of simple brooder house 184 Brooder house for farmers 185 Sectional hot water brooder 186 Sidehill brooder house; Individual brooder house 187 Author's colony-brooder house 1 88 Inexpensive colony-brooder house 189 Small brooder houses on the range 190 A Rhode Island colony-brooder house 191 Built of two piano boxes 192 An Indiana colony-brooder house 193 Cornell colony-brooder houses and yards 194 Cornell colony-brooder house 196 Frame of Cornell colony-brooder house 197 Dr. Woods' brooder 198 An improved brooder 202 Heater parts for brooder 203 The Tillinghast homemade brooder 204 Hot water brooder and tank 205 Pen of capons 213 Caponizing table with weights 214 Position of fowl on operating table 215 Set of caponizing tools 2x6 Caponizing tools 217 Spoon forceps 217 Colony house for south shore roasters 221 Shaping rack and fowl 229 Water tank for ducks 238 A few Pekins on a California duck ranch 240 Pekin duck 246 An object lesson in duck keeping 247 Indian Runner drake 248 Toulouse gander 258 An Embden gander 259 Flock of Brown Chinese geese 260 XII LIST OF ILtUSTRATIONS PAGE Gray African geese 261 Enclosed roosting- shed for turkeys 267 Group of Bronze turkeys 2y2i A perfect Bronze turkey hen 274 Pair of Pearl guineas 276 Mating coop for pigeons 278 Pigeon house and fly 279 Pigeon loft in second story 280 A five-hundred-mile record Homer 281 Pigeon house and covered fly 282 Interior view of pigeon house 283 Hawk trap 297 Protecting roosts from lice 299 CHAPTER I JProfits in Poultry NOT A QUICK-GET-RICH SCHEME Father: "Now, see here! If you marry that young pauper how on earth are you going to Hve?" Sweet girl: "Oh! we have figured that all out. You remember that old hen my aunt gave me?" "Yes." "Well, I have been reading a poultry circular, and I find that a good hen will raise twenty chickens in a season. Well, the next season that will be twenty-one hens ; and as each will raise twenty more chicks, that will be 420. The next year the number will be 8400, the following year 168,000, and the next 3,360,000. Just think! At only fifty cents apiece we will then have $1,680,000. Then, you dear old papa, we'll lend you some money to pay off the mortgage on this house." She had figured it all out like many another person has and got rich on paper, but, unfortunately, the hen died. In no line of work or business are such large fortunes made (on paper) in so short a time as in poultry keeping. Here is how an incubator manufac- turer puts it in his catalog: "Suppose one starts with fifty hens, for example. If the hens are properly selected, and one year old, they should yield from twenty-five to forty eggs per day from December until June; say 245 eggs per week. These eggs, placed in incubators weekly, should insure at least 175 chicks per week, after the hatching begins. As broilers are usually marketed when three months old, one would N. C. Slulc College : 2 MAKING POULTRY PAY need to keep constantly on hand about 2000 chicks.