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Show AN OSTRICH FARM. Some Tacts A ..., I a New Mve Stink Industry. A writer in l'iie Poultry Monthly savs: "While attending the Los Angeles Kennel Ken-nel club show, I could not resist the temptation temp-tation of driving out to the ostrich farm, at Santa Monica. The enterprising owner deserves considerable credit for his pluck. Several of these enterprises have proved financial failures. One was recently disposed of at a great loss. The one we are about to describe is acknowledged acknowl-edged by all to be a success. The farm consists of four acres, divided into about twelve small lots, with a five acre outside out-side run not in use at present. There are forty-three birds on the farm at present writing, valued at from $:Su0 to J 100 each. The birds are fed on alfalfa, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, oranges and such like food. The males are not very quarrelsome, but occasionally fight across the fences, doing but little damage, dam-age, however, as they have very little power in their beaks; their defense lies wholly in their feet.. 'The attendant showed ns several inch planks broken in two pieces by a kick. The adult birds are robbed of -their beautiful plumes every seven months. The process of plucking must be anything but pleasant, as it takes four men to hold one bird. The young birds on the farm, sixteen in number, about nine months old, were raised at Santa Barbara. They have found it impossible to raise them at Santa Monica on account of the proximity prox-imity to the sea about 500 yards. Those hatched at Santa Barbara are all hatched in incubators. The feathers of the adult birds bring from $50 to $ 100 per pound. Fans and feather ornaments are made on the premises and form no small portion por-tion of the profit. The proprietor also charges twenty-five cents admission to the grounds. t "We fail to see any reason why this industry in-dustry cannot be made to pay a very large profit. . If the young ostriches can be raised at Santa Barbara, they certainly certain-ly can be raised elsewhere." Before- the Chickens Are Hatched. The boys and girls who like carpentry ought not to be content with slatted boxes; they might build for their March broods snug houses, easy to clean, and to move along the garden rows 'and secure against rats, cats, dogs, foxes, minks, weasels, snakes, owls and hawks. Good coops, if generally used, would save ?very year many thousands of chickens. Light boxes furnish good, cheap lumber for thi3 work. j A most important place now is the hatching room. Though incubators f eem best for market chickens, and or-fiinary or-fiinary laying stock, I believe we-will ?lway3 find best as high class fowls jthose hatched in March or later under L-strong, fluffy hens and reared by watch-ful watch-ful hrn. mothers in the open air qr in n i.tntaity-elte.l. It-13 often better "to set several hen ; at once. If eggs for hatching hatch-ing are kepi iu a temperature of from I 50 to 70 d.-ys., and turned eveiy day, tdiey can bo saved for two weeks with-out with-out the yolks adhering to the shell. Have quiet rooms for the sitting hens, with clean nests and dust baths. If there are eggs found in the nests so dirty the t they must be washed, it is well to wash-.them after dark when there is no danger of the hen leaving them to be fatally chilled. There should be frames with which to fasten each hen on her nest for the first few days of sitting, but after that they will not often be needed. -I have had fourteen hens sitting in one room, free to leave their nests at any time, and all so quiet that one could hear no sound but that of the sitters turning their eggs. They do that very often. It sounds as if they did it roughly, but they seem never to break one. Exchange. |