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Show MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR SPRING WORK m m mmm mL.mm i m f p " j n im n a. mi i fTTT77 i i il-f? -'TV ! H ) r - v :..:--:?- . f'..w'.:.:c.ix..:. v :woy .. .-J , . v , " S N " 1 I I s' - v v T a, S An Excellent "String" of White Wyandottes. Perhaps you have been raising poultry poul-try for many years but with indifferent indiffer-ent success just fooling along with a few hens, of many different breeds, feeding any old thing, in old, tumbledown tumble-down houses, alive with mites and lice, and unclean. Maybe you have wondered why you have not had the success that some of your neighbors had and perhaps are discouraged and ready to say there is nothing in the poultry business. This is true if you continue in the same old way, but if you will follow a few simple rules, which every successful suc-cessful poultry raiser must follow, you cannot help being successful in just the degree of painstaking care with which you carry on the work. In the first place you must have clan, well ventilated poultry houses. These do not cost much and on the average farm they can be constructed of old boards and by the labor of a handy man, in one or two days. The houses must be provided with clean nests. Build the houses whenever when-ever possible, facing the south, leaving leav-ing the front open except the covering cover-ing of small mesh wire to keep out predatory animals. If you intend to use incubators and brooders provide a comfortable brooder brood-er house which can be closed up to shut out the cold, damp drafts of early ear-ly spring. Set your incubator in a warm place in the attic, the cellar, or in some room well protected. Next, we want to impress you with the fact that you cannot raise good chickens from poor eggs. If you are satisfied with the mixed breeds, good, bad and indifferent, there is little advice ad-vice to give you as to their management. manage-ment. If you propose to raise good chickens, chick-ens, fowls that will lay the greatest number of eggs, or produce the greatest great-est number of pounds of meat, select your breed, and then buy purebred matured will naturally produce more birds and stronger birds than eggs from pullets who are still in a state of growth. Sometimes it is true that pullet eggs hatch out well, but they do not produce birds with the vigor and stamina that come from mature eggs. And you will find that the chicks from pullet eggs will be more subject to disease and more will die. If you have a good breed and raise your own eggs, separate the best hens of your flock and select the best eggs from these. Never set an egg from a hen that is puny, or that has had a touch of disease at any time, or that is any way deformed, no matter how slightly. If you use an incubator, you must watch it day and night, and after you have learned all that the manufacturer tells you in the directions on the machine, ma-chine, you must use your own common com-mon sense and comply with the varying vary-ing conditions of climate. When the youngsters come out of their shell they, too, must be watched every day ,and be cared for in every detail all the time. Young chickens cannot be raised by any person who is frequently away from home for long intervals. One must be on the job all the time. The most important thing in starting start-ing young chicks is to refrain from feeding them a single atom for at least 36 hours. Nature has filled their little stomachs before they left the shell and if they are stuffed as soon as they appear, many will die. Give them plenty of water and after af-ter thirty-six hours feed them lightly on fine rolled oats or coarse cornmeal. Then, just as soon as they show strength and vigor, let them run on the tender, short grass for a little" while every day. Watch for lice from the start, and if any are found on the heads or under eggs. You can only get these by buying buy-ing from breeders whose integrity is unquestioned, and who are ready to guarantee that their eggs will produce pro-duce birds true to type. Insist upon having eggs from hens and not from young pullets. Eggs from a hen that is fully grown and the wings, touch the spots lightly with lard or vaseline. Having started right by following the above directions, your success depends de-pends upon the fidelity with which you manage the flock until they become fledged or are ready to be sent to the market. |