CONTENTS

Chapter

American 2 The 3 Which 4 The House, The Food Problem, 6 Hatching, Brooding, 8 Young 9 Maturing
1

Poultry,

Pa ge
'

5
11

Start,

Variety,

16
'

Poultry

23
32 37
41

.... ...
.... ...
Tests,

'

'

'

Stock,

'

45

the Stock,

49
54
61

Diseases,

'

'

1The
2

Markets,

'

The Show Room, 3 Fancy 4 The Townsend

Stock,

'

66
69
75

'

Poultry Secrets,

'

'

86

Copyright 1912

POULTRY SECRETS
REVEALED
=BY=

CHARLES

F.

TOWNSEND

WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK

President of the National Poultry Association, recognized as an authority on all poultry subjects

1911

NATIONAL POULTRY MAGAZINE

BUFFALO,
N. Y.

/ X

FOREWORD.
In
this little

book I shall talk

to

you, so far as possible, the same as I would do if you could drop into my
office

from time
culture.

to time.

assume

that you are a novice, a beginner, in

poultry

Therefore if this book falls into the hands of an old breeder he will probably cry out that he finds very little that is new be-

tween
I

its covers.

Well,

what

of it?

am not writing for Experience. I am writing for Inexperience. The

old breeder can shift for himself.

The

beginner needs help. And so, if I save one lone reader from loss from discouragement / shall feel that I have not labored in vain, and that captious critics, if they appear, may all go hang!

Fraternally yours,

THE AUTHOR.

fl.A3091<2

Q.J.J.A^OW^.

CHAPTER

AMERICAN POULTRY
Poultry raising
statistics
is

the biggest business on earth.

as

Government
Cotton
is

incomplete

they are

prove that the poultry industry

of the world surpasses every manufacturing business.

no

longer king.

Beef, pork and mutton are left far in the rear.

will

Wheat

was passed long ago; and even "King Corn"

place

be found in second

when

the poultry industry

is

properly tabulated.

And
trade.
It

this

great industry

is

a profitable business, giving better

returns for the

money

invested than any other line of legitimate

has been proven over and again that the cost of producing
is

poultry meat
beef,

no greater, pound for pound, than that of producing

pork or mutton.

At the same time the market

reports,

month

by month, show that the selling prices are overwhelmingly

of the poultryman.

in favor

The

live

weight prices for the best grades of

poultry run on the average from two to three times as

much

as the

highest prices paid for the best grades of cattle, hogs or sheep; while
in the lower grades the difference is
still

greater.

In addition to the

handsome

profits

made by growing
still

fowls for
If

market we
cents

find

that the egg trade yields

greater results.
is

the average yearly cost of producing a dozen eggs

placed at 12y 2

which

would probably be a reasonable estimate

and

if

under

improved conditions and improved breeding the average pullet lays

which can be marketed at prices that will level up to 25 cents per dozen, the profit in commercial eggs is self evident. And under circumstances of which any live man may take
10 dozen eggs in a year

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

profit

advantage this

may be

largely increased.

The demand

for

reliable fresh eggs is always

ahead of the supply.

There are many

consumers who

will gladly

pay 50 cents per dozen on yearly contract

for dependable eggs.

Such customers must be sought; but once found

they will stick, so long as the breeder does his part.

Eggs
from
fifty

for hatching

pay

still

better, since

one

may

obtain anything

cents to

fifty dollars

per setting for such eggs.

The

tide

of trade in this line begins flowing in February, reaches its flood in

April and slowly ebbs until the end of June.

The eggs

for hatching

trade can be

made very

profitable

if

one has good birds and a good

business head.

To be a successful poultryman
follow

no

matter what line one

may
You

requires

good judgment, and a capacity for hard work.

cannot learn to raise poultry by sitting at ease in your city home,

even though you should "bite" at every "system" swindle or fraudulent

mail order poultry "school."

These "system" hawks and "school" rats

prey upon the ignorant, the lazy and the credulous,

misled by big promises in flaming advertisements.

who have been

The successful breeder has learned that the only school that can be depended on is the school of experience. The man who has graduated from this school
is

equipped for success in the poultry business

and

will not be misled

to

by advertisements of systems or instructions

poultry for a two cent stamp.

by mail on how

make money on

As

to location: your best location is

where you
is

are.

The poultry
all this

business has this advantage

that

there

no place in

broad

land where poultry and eggs will not yield handsomely.

east and west,

North, south,
to the

from Maine

to California,

and from the Yukon

Gulf the poultryman

is king.

The

cattle breeder is confined to the

is

west and parts of the south; the pork raiser

largely limited to the

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

central states; the sheep herder
is

equally restricted; but the poultry-

man

has the whole nation for a

for

field.

Of course one must breed in

Thus the Boston market demands brown eggs the browner the better. The New York market, with equal lack of reason, demands white shelled eggs. In catering to the first the so-called Mediterranean breeds would not be as profitcertain localities certain

markets.

able as the so-called

latter

American or English

varieties;

while for the

"Leghorn" eggs are most in demand.

is

With these exceptions

an egg

an egg,

size

and quality being the only points that count.

Therefore start at home.

The beginner

is

often puzzled to

know whether

it is

best to start

with birds, eggs or baby chicks.

very careful analysis of each shows

If

that each has certain advantages and also certain disadvantages.

the beginner can invest say $75 for a trio and from $100 to $150 for a
pen, that will be the best

way

for

him

to start.

He can

raise his

own

chicks and, by careful line breeding, can in due time establish his

own

strain.

But under no circumstances should a

start be

made with
In

cheap birds.
buying a

Like begets like and cheap birds beget cheap birds.

trio or pen,

always go to a breeder of established reputation.

The reason is obvious: the man who has been in business for many years, whose stock has won the blue at the leading shows, must necessarily know his business. More than that he must necessarily be a man of honor. The lesser breeder may, and often does, have
excellent stock.

And
it

if

his birds are of the line royal, the experienced

buyer

may

find

advantageous to deal with him.

But

in such cases

the beginner takes a chance which he would not do in buying from

an old time breeder.

If

one cannot afford to buy

first class

adult birds, a very good

way

to start is

by the purchase of a number of half grown chicks.

Birds

of good quality, six

weeks

of age

and upwards, which have passed

beyond the dangers of their baby days, may sometimes be purchased

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Such birds of course have not been culled

at a very reasonable price.

and the beginner should have an experienced breeder look them over when they have reached the age of six months and select those that
are
fit

to retain.

The remainder should be marketed

is to

at once.

The most common method

eggs are from

start with eggs.

This

is

satisfactory

provided certain precautions are taken.

The
stock.

first is to

know
to

that the
varieties

thoroughly

matured

While some
unwise

mature earlier than others, yet as a rule any bird under one year of age.

it is

breed from

Pullet eggs are usually smaller,

weaker and
is

less fertile

than those laid by hens.

In the

Another precaution

against ordering eggs too early.

mad
if

rush for early hatched

chicks, the beginner takes a long chance

he purchases eggs laid

true, are able to get

before the
fertile

first

of April.

The big breeders,

it is

eggs sometimes in February and frequently in March.

Neveris

theless April

and May are the best hatching months.

And June

better than February.

When

buying eggs for hatching, the greatest danger

Distance
is

lies

in the

handling they receive en route.

not objectionable.

In

sending out eggs for hatching from our test pens

lent returns all the

we have had

excel-

way from Maine

to California.

Careful packing

has had

much

to do with this;

careful handling, over direct lines of

communication, has had more.

ble,

One should buy

then,

whenever

possi-

from a breeder who can ship by a single express

line so that

no

transfer to another

company

will be necessary.

Eggs carry best when

packed in strong baskets and safely cushioned on hay or excelsior;

and the buyer should

manner.

insist that his

eggs should be packed in that

Generally speaking, the breeder should not be blamed

to hatch.

if

eggs

fail

eggs for

The buyer should know, and admit the fact, that in buying hatching he takes a chance. But the chance, however, is

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

largely in his favor.

This

is

particularly so

when buying And high

the higher

priced eggs.

Some prominent breeders

get as high as four or five

as this price
is

dollars each for eggs

from their best pens.

such eggs are really the cheapest in the end; because the chances
are that any bird hatched from such eggs will be immensely valuable.
It is

customary

to duplicate poor hatches at half price.

But the
and
will rot

buyer should learn the difference between an egg that

one that
is

is fertile

not.

Most beginners imagine that eggs which

is

during incubation are infertile; the fact

rotten egg
died.
is

quite the contrary, for the

almost invariably one in which the germ has started and

is

This death of the germ

It

something for which the breeder

is

nowise responsible.

may

be caused

by

rough

handling,

from

alternate heating and chilling,

faulty hen.

from a faulty incubator, or from a

that because a hen sits steadily
to

One should not suppose

she

sits

properly.

hen may stick

her job so closely that the

eggs are not sufficiently aired.

In such cases, and they are of frequent

occurrence, the life-giving oxygen does not reach the egg in sufficient
quantities and the

germ

dies.

In using incubators faulty thermostats

is likely

occasionally allow a wide variation in temperature; this

to

prove fatal to the germ especially in the earlier stages.

should exercise

Therefore one

common

sense

when making claims

for infertility.
features.

The baby chick industry has some commendable

buyer
is

The

saved

all

worry over cranky hens or cranky incubators.

if

He
little

can count his chickens before they are hatched; and

all

he could raise

that he counts, his troubles would be

nil.

Unfortunately these

chicks are exposed to

many

dangers.

Packed closely for shipping they

susceptible
to

are liable to suffer from chilling, over-heating, and for want of fresh
air.

Any

of these

causes will

make them

disease,
all

particularly to the deadly white diarrhoea.

this

But

if

they escape

and are properly cared for on their

they should not do well.

arrival, there is

no reason

why

10

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

At certain times
of the year, notably at the close of the hatching

season, the beginner

may

often take advantage of bargain sales.

The

females purchased at such sales

year; but
will
if

may

not lay

many eggs

the following

mated

to a vigorous cockerel, the

few eggs they do lay

be of high value.

The beginner must needs expect discouragements. But he should remember that it is only in the school of adversity that one wins the
highest honors.
able business.

Poultry keeping

is

an honorable, healthful and

is

profit-

Properly managed there

nothing that will yield

better returns for the time and

money

invested.

CHAPTER

II

THE START
Well begun
is

half done;

and

this

saying holds true nowhere

more than
avoided
a
trio,
is

in

the

poultry

business.

bad beginning

in

poultry

culture usually

means

a bad ending.

The most common

fault to be

that of beginning on to large a scale.

Better success with

than failure with a thousand; and the

if

man who

begins with

a thousand birds, or even with a hundred,

a tyro, almost invariably

meets with

failure.

The reason why

with inflated ideas.

so

many

fail

at the outset is that they begin

tales told

They read the Munchausen some fabulous

fall

by irrespon-

sible knaves, exploiting

"strain,"

and having no knowl-

edge of the facts in the case, they

believe, the stories told

easy victims.

They

read, and

by various "system"

men

describing in rosy

colors

how

profits

running from six dollars upward per hen can be

made by wholly inexperienced people; they pay their hard-earned money to alleged poultry "schools" for the purpose of learning by mail, in their city homes, "how to conduct a large poultry plant";
they figure, unwisely, that
profit of
if

a single hen pays yearly a legitimate

All

even $1.50, a thousand hens will pay correspondingly.

these things lead to failure.

poultry culture.

There

is

no royal road to success in

The way

to learn to raise poultry is to raise poultry,

and by that
idea of

is

meant from small beginnings.

Do not

start with the

making a fortune immediately.

is

Mr. U. R. Fishel, whose stand-

ing today financially

"felt his

of the highest, started with a

dozen birds.

He

way," treated his customers right, and grew as his business

12

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Lester Tompkins, the noted breeder of Rhode Island Reds,

grew.

Sam. Noftzger, the originator of the beautiful and useful Partridge Plymouth Rocks, and in fact almost every noted breeder began growing poultry along the same lines. The wise tyro, therefore should follow
their example.

One The

of the
I

capital do

need for a

most common questions put to an expert is "How much start." The next is "Where should I locate?"
afford,

first is

answered by saying: "Whatever amount you can

bearing in mind the stipulation of starting small"; to illustrate:

A
how

beginner wrote

me

that he had $75 to invest in birds and asked

many

could send

him

for the

money.
then

told

him that
on
a
to

would send
that

him a trio anywhere

with
this

of thorough-bred stock equal to

in

any that he could purchase

explain

the

country.

went
on

trio

he

would

get

started

sure

foundation,
first class

and that another year he could have a good sized flock of

birds instead of a large flock of culls,

he immediately saw a

light.

Had he

invested his

money

at the outset in dollar birds, his "strain"

to the

would have been dollar birds

culling, in three years'

end of the chapter.

On

the other

hand, by starting with three birds of exceptional value, and by careful

time he had a flock of birds that placed him

among
I

the

money makers.
The novice should be

am

writing this book for the beginner.

told the plain, blunt truth.

He

should have facts, not fancies.

Many

humbugs and some downright swindlers have crept into the poultry business, and the brassy claims made by these harpies have led many people to invest beyond their means by arousing hopes
arrant

impossible to realize.

We

shall publish facts so that the beginner

may

start with his eyes open.

healthful and profitable. It takes one out of and body busy, and if properly managed gives better returns, dollar for dollar, than any other business.

Poultry raising

is

doors, keeps brain

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The "back yard" breeder can make a
from
bis birds.

13

living

and

a good living

He

won't

make thousands

of dollars yearly

on a few

square feet of land, as one notorious faker claimed to have done,

unless, like that unsavory person, he pitches Truth overboard and,

through misleading advertisements, beguiles the credulous into paying

enormous prices for

But there
is

third-rate stock

and eggs.

a multitude

of
it

breeders today
legitimately,
in

who
city
first

are

making
village.

plenty of money, and making

and

And

the secret of this

is

to breed intensively,

from

class stock
birds, but

of a single variety.

Such breeders may not raise many

they can raise good ones and get good prices; and as their expenses
are low their profits will be high.

But town

lot

breeding

two hundred birds

To properly care for under such conditions requires more downright

is

not easy work.

labor than would the care of a thousand on free range.

Birds

in

constant

confinement must have

grit,

constant

attention.

Green food, animal food,

fresh water
dry.

lime, charcoal, dust baths

and pure,

must be supplied. Houses must snug and Vermin must be held in check. On free range much of this
be kept clean,
is

labor and expense

unnecessary.

But remember: Fowls on free range never pay as much per head
as they do in confinement.

The reason

is

that free range birds are

often left to hustle for themselves; and while they

may

be healthy

and vigorous they do not make as quick growth nor lay as many eggs
as restricted birds.

Under absolutely "natural" conditions no hen would lay except The native jungle fowl lays fewer eggs in a year for reproduction. than a well-bred pullet lays in a single month. The "200 egg" hen is

14

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

in small flocks,

common
will be

even though she

is

not

and

probably never

a commercial

fact.

The town lot breeder can, and usually does, know his birds individually. Thus he can mate properly as will be described later on

and from his small flock produce a high percentage of

Selecting

first class birds.

some popular

variety,

and breeding only

for the fancy, a

good living can be made on a half acre.

The average farm

grels.

flock is a

nightmare

jumbled mess of monis

majority of farmers

still

think that poultry

something
This

for the
is

"women

folks" to "fuss with" but of no real importance.

It
is

a great mistake.

safe to say that there

is

not a farm of

ordinary size where general crops are grown, that, properly managed,

would not pay far better with poultry than with anything

else.

The

town breeder must buy everything

raise everything

for his birds.

If

The farmer can

at both ends

or an equivalent.

he has the ability he can breed

both fancy and market poultry, and thus

of the business.
fail to find
all

make money

There are very few places where poultry and eggs

is

a ready market at good prices; and fancy poultry

to California.

bred

the way from Maine

On
run

the farm the birds should not be cooped or penned to keep

of the garden.

them out
free.

No.

Fence

in the

garden and

let

the birds
roosting

Neither should they be

made feathered tramps,

under sheds, in barns or out-buildings.

to loaf about the kitchen door looking for table scraps.

Nor should they be allowed Even that

|3,600 in one season

alleged breeder,

from 30 hens,
tance.

who pretended to have made by feeding them on table scraps,

did not allow

them

to

befoul his kitchen steps.

His mythical "feeding" was done at a

dis-

lies

The farmer should adopt the extensive or colony system. Therein the secret of success with farm poultry. Colony houses large

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

enough for forty or perhaps
fifty

15

chicks can be built at trifling cost,

I

or purchased, ready to put together, for a few dollars.

use the
less

Buckeye colony houses because they

I

last for years

and cost

than

could build them.

little

While allowing a good out door run they keep

themselves these

the

chicks warm, dry and comfortable, and

enough

to look out for

when they are large buildings make admirable

roosting houses.

for

With the colony system a large number of chicks may be cared without much labor. They may be hopper fed and watered from a
little

barrel so will need but

raise hundreds while the

attention.

The farmer,

therefore, can

town breeder raises dozens.

called, is

Commercial breeding, so
this

merely specializing.

Generally

runs into "egg farms," with "broilers on the side."

of these great "farms" in the vicinity of

There are

many

New

York, Philadelphia

and Boston; and on the Pacific Coast, in California, there are others
equally great.

These

big

commercial on broad
well.

plants

When managed
things, they

lines,

money makers sometimes. by men who are big enough for big
are
of success with twenty thousand

pay

The secret

hens

is

the secret of success in any other big enterprise.

The
is

ability

to place, organize

and conduct such an extensive business

unusual,

demanding, as

it

does, qualities that only the

few possess.
is

Fancy breeding, as the word suggests,

mental or toy birds.
of the business fairly profitable.

the breeding of ornato

There are enough buyers

of

make

this

branch

Indeed there are bantam breeders

year.

who make a great deal demand at all times for

money every

And

there

is

a fair

the Polish in

all its varieties,

together with

the Frizzles, Silkies, Sultans and other "odds and ends."

The secret
Standard

of success with these bizarre birds is to breed to the

advertise.

and

CHAPTER

III

WHICH VARIETY?
The beginner constantly asks the question: "Which is the best breed?" And the oft repeated answer is: "There is no best breed." Naturally some breeds are better than others. No matter how
beautiful a variety
is

may

be, unless it possesses practical qualities, it

only a toy of no use save to the dyed-in-the-wool fancier.

Polish, the

Hamburgs, the

Silkies, the Sultans, Frizzles,

The and Bantams

are

all

of this class.

Among them

are

but none of them are suitable for

or eggs.

many odd and beautiful birds the man who goes in for meat

The "meat"

breeds, including birds raised for capons, can

be bred successfully only where food products are available at the

lowest market prices.
the Cochins,

These varieties include such massive birds as

Brahmas and Langshans. They are large of frame, slow in growth, and require far more food to reach a market age than do any other breeds; but where food products are cheap they can be grown successfully and will pay great profits. Where eggs, and especially white eggs are required, the Leghorn naturally holds first place. These birds grow rapidly, mature quickly, and if care is
taken to secure a good laying strain, they are, under such conditions,
the best fowls for the white-egg farmer.

The well deserved popularity of the American and English breeds rests upon their general utility qualities. The Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Orpingtons, and to a lesser extent the Wyandottes, are really general purpose fowls. The fact that the Wyandottes, with some notable exceptions, generally lay smaller eggs than either of the other varieties, and that they run smaller in size, has

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

served to lessen their popularity with the practical poultryman.
broilers,

17

As

however, the Wyandottes

fill

every requirement; and when

properly bred they are very satisfactory egg producers.

The beginner,

however, will find that the white variety will give the best satisfaction

as

a layer

owing

to

the fact that the comparative ease of

breeding to standard requirements has enabled the admirers of this

variety to give

more attention

to utility points than

has been possible

with other Wyandottes.

The Rhode Island Reds, both Single and Rose Comb, are
The
difficulty

im-

mensely popular, both with the fancier and the market poultryman.
of

breeding this variety to the Standard gives the

fancier an opportunity to extend himself to the limit.

And

it

has

been a fortunate thing that the Rhode Island Reds have been in the

hands of practical
have been unable

men

to such

an extent that the standard tinkers

to ruin this breed.

The consequence

is

that the

Reds have retained their

in the

utility qualities

along with their popularity

show room.
eggs,

They are

docile,

bear confinement well, lay large,

brown
birds.

mature early and are exceedingly popular as market

rank high.
In the tests for laying they have
prices, rankif

As

layers, they

been among the leaders.

As fancy birds they bring high

ing with the Plymouth Rocks and Orpingtons.

The beginner,

he

takes care to buy his stock or eggs from

will

men who

are dependable,

make no mistake

in taking

up

this breed.

The English Orpingtons are

size,

strictly first class birds.

Massive in

stately in style, these birds are

among

the aristocrats of the

feathered world.
tinted eggs,

Rapid in growth, maturing

early, laying

good

sized,

and plenty of them, their popularity

is

in England,

and

their

growing popularity in America,

they
are winning a

easily understood.

And

despite their

handicap in being touted by some of the worst fakers in the business

still

commanding

position because of their intrinsic

18

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

There are three standard varieties There
is

merits.

the

White, Buff and

Black.
variety;
in

no difference in the meat or egg value of either

there

although the lingering American idiocy against dark legs

chickens

though
It is

is

none

in

turkeys

has

prevented the
This absurdity
is

Blacks from having the vogue of the Whites and Buffs.

is

rapidly disappearing and therefore the Black variety

growing in

favor daily.

one of the best of

all varieties,

especially for the

town

fancier.

In starting with

Orpingtons, especially the White variety, one

caution.

should

exercise

much

The

American
first
it is

standard

differs

materially from the English.

The

latter,

very properly, puts type

prize to a bird that

above

all else.

An
is

English judge will award

may

be bad in comb, legs and eyes, provided

strong in type.

An

American judge
in

too apt to consider these minor points;

is

and as a

result the blue ribbon

too often awarded birds that are Orpingtons

name

only.

This fault must be and will be corrected; therefore

the beginner with Orpingtons should buy his stock or eggs from

men

who breed

to

the English type

like

William Cook and Sons, the

originators of all the Orpingtons.

The Plymouth Rock

is

the American bird par excellence.

Large,

lusty, quick growing, early maturing, equally at

home

in

pen or on

range, a great layer of big eggs, unsurpassed as a market bird, this

active breed
varieties
of
is

typical of

American snap and

of

go.

There are many

has
its

admirers.

Plymouth Rocks, each The old reliable Barred variety

the

which

ardent

fully popular

is a business bird, wonderwith the farmers of America, and equally popular in the

show room.
and females
light,

Its

only objection in the eyes of the small breeder,

is

is

the fact that double mating

of the

necessary in order to produce males

of color.

same shade
It is

The males naturally run

the females dark.

necessary therefore, as a rule, to breed

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

from dark birds
in

19

order to produce dark males, and from light birds,

especially from a light male, in order to produce females of standard

color.

This prevents

many

small breeders,

who

lack the necessary

room, from handling this variety; but the market breeder,

who

cares

nothing for fancy points, finds in the Barred Rock a variety that suits

him from the ground

The
Buff,

up.

Columbian and Penciled varieties are

all

excellent,

but none of them has achieved the popularity of the others.

The White Rocks, thanks

larity.

to

men

like Fishel,

Graves and Owen,

backed by their own intrinsic good

qualities,

have a world-wide poputo a large

size,

They are phenomenal

the most popular of

layers,
all

grow

and are

among
leaders.

market breeds.

As egg producers

their remarkable

freedom from broodiness places them among the

showed that four exhibition White Rocks laid 861 eggs in one year an average of 215 each. And in three included "a large number of birds, no ''broody" years' tests, which was ever seen. The White Rocks breed white and stay white. Storm
official tests

Our

or sunshine has no effect on their plumage.

this variety

We

have had birds of

taking up the

reach an age of four years and moult out to a snowy

whiteness.

The beginner

will

make no mistake

in

White Rocks.

The

latest edition of the

Rock family and one that

all, is

is

apparently

destined to become the most popular of

the Partridge Plymouth Rocks.

the

As

is

usually the

of especial merit is produced, there are several

new beauty breed, case, when anything who claim to have

of North

originated this wonderful variety.

that the honor clearly belongs to
chester, Ind.

But careful investigation shows

Samuel A. Noftzger,

Man-

His strain appears to be the only one containing no

Partridge Wyandotte blood.

20

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The Partridge Plymouth Rocks possess many qualities held by no other breed or variety. Our official trap nest records show that they have outlaid all others thus far tested. A pen of six birds laid the astounding number of 1,321 eggs in a single year, an average of 220 Their eggs are uniformly large and very even in shape and each. color. This fact alone makes them particularly valuable to the egg
farmer because of the labor saved in sorting for the market.
are easily broken up
if

They
the

they become broody, a couple of days confineif

ment usually being

best of mothers.

sufficient; while
is

allowed to

sit,

they

make

Their plumage

remarkably beautiful, a combina-

tion in the male, of lustrous greenish black, bright red

and mahogany

in the female the color is a beautiful blending of mahogany, brown and black and both male and female are produced by single matings. Therefore the amateur and professional will find that the Partridge Plymouth Rock is not only a bird of beauty but one of the greatest money makers in poultrydom.

brown;
soft

The remaining standard American breeds Buckeyes, Dominiques and Javas are birds of quality. The first has been rather unjustly called a "mahogany bay" imitation of the Rhode Island Red. As the Buckeyes differ from the Reds in size, weight and color they should

be judged on their

own
is

merits.

The Dominique
attention than
it

a grand old

breed and deserves

far

more

receives.

Lighter in weight and easier to breed to

color than the Barred Rocks; early maturing

and exceptionally good

as a layer;

free from the incubus of double mating

the

beginner

would

find this

an excellent variety.
Mottled, has

The Java, both Black and

Americanized.

become

thoroughly

large, vigorous breed, sadly neglected.

The

foolish
is

prejudice against dark shanks and the "booming" of

responsible for this, since the Java
is

new breeds

an excellent variety, both for

eggs and market.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

21

The Dorkings, Minorcas and many other varieties are worth "taking up" and there is a chance for the right man to make a fortune
with any of them.

Ducks, geese and turkeys occupy separate and distinct

poultry culture.
it

fields

in

As they

differ entirely

from the gallinaceous fowls

book of
this sort without
I

would be impossible
it

to handle

them

in a

extending

far

beyond the prescribed

classes

limits.

Therefore

will pass

the subject for the present, merely saying that under proper conditions

either of the three

can be made to yield handsome

returns for the

money

invested.

CHAPTER

IV

THE POULTRY HOUSE

One
housing.
of
of

of the secrets of successful poultry culture is that of proper

It is

probable that as
this line as

many

failures

have resulted from lack

knowledge along

from any other cause, as large sums

In

money have been wasted on expensive but improperly built houses. trying to make the birds comfortable they have been made uncomDouble walls, elaborate ventilators and heating systems have
to the cost only to the detriment of the birds.

fortable.

added

There are but four requirements in a well

tight roof, a dry floor,

built poultry

house

freedom from draughts and proper openings

for the air

and sunshine.

The house should be

costly, but
if

cool in

summer and
from

warm enough
the cold.
If

in winter so that the birds will not actually suffer

it

The house need not be

is

should be substantial.

the roof

covered with a good material,

if

the walls are lined with

is

fairly

heavy weight tarred paper,

the floor

built of solid concrete

to

keep out the vermin, and covered with plenty of clean straw for
if

scratching, and

ventilator
if

windows

are

supplied,

of

the

style

described in this book, and

will be

the fowls are not overcrowded, there

will be

freedom from sickness, and the birds

happy and con-

tented.

Under such circumstances they

style

will

do well and pay well.

The
stances.
other.

and

size of the

house depends wholly upon circumis

First let us consider the house that

used more than any

24

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The Town Lot House.
Thousands of "back yard breeders" are housing their birds im-

properly and wondering

why

their chickens

don't pay.
is

In nearly

every case the houses are unsanitary, and that, alone,

enough

to

condemn them.
In
off in

many
made

cases the so-called "houses" are either spaces penned

dark and drafty barns, or else they are some freak "system"
of pine sticks

coops,

and muslin, and sold

to the inexperienced,

at outrageous prices.

The barn "house"

and
vigor.

is

bad.

The

by

"system" coop

is

worse.

In the former the birds lack sunshine

which

means a

loss of health

working wholly out of doorsfor these "houses" are merely cheap boxes the birds are certain to be neglected
In the latter
in

bad weather.

In driving storms of

snow or rain

it

would take more

than Spartan fortitude to care for even one of these unhappy pens.

For a few birds on a city or village

probably the best.
of these houses,
factory.

lot the

"No- Yard" house

is

Careful tests have been

made

of several varieties
satis-

and we found that the Buckeye house was very

birds.

An abundance

of fresh air without drafts, easy to clean

we

found

it

an excellent building for a dozen

The Sectional Laying House, made by the same company, was also tested with good results. By changing the windows to the inside a very easy job we turned them into the Tanner Ventilators used in all our houses. This method of ventilation is absolutely perfect. The foul air is forced out and pure air is drawn in, while no draft is apparent in any part of the building. The buildings are thus made

cool in
lutely

summer and warm in winter. Moreover the houses damp proof a matter of great importance.

are abso-

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The Secret Cement makes the best
can be kept clean and
it is

25

of

Dry Cement Floors.

It is

flooring.

better than dirt because

it

is

vermin proof.
and

It is is

better than

wood because
it

far cheaper, absorbs no filth

permanent.

But

has had
not con-

the objectionable feature of being

damp

and

dampness

is

ducive to good health.

this

dampness.
In the

All

have been faulty

Many methods have been tried to overcome in one way or another, at least,

for poultry houses. solved.

After various experiments the problem has been

Townsend Model House

using

a combination of the

Buckeye sectional houses

of

the

foundation walls and floors are

proof.

made

cement and are absolutely damp

is

The

secret of this conIt is

struction

very simple, and the cost

is trifling.

accomplished

by mixing
cement.
is

six

pounds of hydrated lime with each hundred pounds of

to put

part of

And this need not be used in the bottom course. Our method down about two inches of five parts rough gravel and one Edison cement. Make this very wet, tamp well, and follow at
laid.

once with a second course

from a half-inch
unknown.

to

an inch in thickness
rests

three parts of sand or fine gravel to one of cement with the hydrated
lime as stated; and dampness
six inches
is

The house

on walls

thick and carried about a foot below the surface.

The

building

is

not only

damp

proof but vermin proof as well.

The beginner

will hardly

undertake the erection of buildings for a

large commercial plant.

Such buildings include laying houses, incubator and brooding houses, breeding and colony houses and their man;

agement
this.

is

utterly impossible for the tyro.

Make no mistake about

upon

One

of the secrets of successful poultry culture is based

the

common

sense idea of making haste slowly.

No

sensible

would try to build a mansion

sensible

man would

try to

until he had learned to cut a rafter. "manage a large poultry plant," as one

man No

"teach-you-by-mail" concern promises, until after a long experience

with more or less insane incubators and more than less hysterical
hens.

26

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Let us next consider a house that
is

used by tens of thousands,

of

which not one per

cent, is

used properly.

The Farm Poultry House.

Any farmer can make money with his poultry. Every farmer should do so. And of the several reasons why they do not, the first is
that the birds are improperly housed.
It

may

be well enough to allow the young stock to roost in the

trees during the late

summer months and

early

fall.

But by October

the birds should be provided with proper quarters and taught to

occupy them.

The average farmer neither knows nor cares anything about the fancy. If he takes any interest in the subject which he rarely does, not knowing that poultry might pay better than all his crops com-

is

bined

but

if

interested at

all,

he merely wants birds that

a

will give

him both eggs and meat.

Usually his stock

mess

of mongrels.

His hens "steal their nests" and vermin steal the chicks.
a tenth of what he might do.
barns, under sheds

He matures
can

These

find shelter as best they

in

anywhere
Of course.
light in

and everywhere, except where they

should be.

Hardy?

The few that survive must be hardy.

is

They are generally

weight and their egg yield

lighter

the
A

price paid for such "hardiness."

The farm poultry house may be

built at

very

little

expense.

south or east side of a barn or other outbuilding makes an excellent

location provided of course that the ground
is

high and dry.

Let the
with

house have a front slope, place the roosts at the rear, on a

nests at the side.

level,

Be sure

that the roof

is

tight

and have a door at

the high side with one or more windows in the low front.
14 feet deep

building

by 14 feet wide

will

accommodate about 40

birds;

and any

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

27

farmer who can saw a board and drive a nail can erect such a house
at a cost of less than $40.

This makes a good house at

little

cost

wherein the birds

may have

proper shelter during the long winter.

The Fancier's House.

The man who breeds

birds

for "points,"

who

goes in for exhibition

should

plan his house accordingly.

Breeding stock requires

special handling.
is to

One

of the secrets in producing

good show birds

times; and a

keep the breeding stock in

is

tip top condition at all

proper house

one of the

first essentials.

Breeding pens that are expected to throw fancy stock are usually
of small size

from

six to eight females

so

that less house

room

is

needed.

As the breeders must be under

daily observation, to be sure

that each female "nicks in" with the male;

lutely necessary;

as trap nests are absoattention

is

as the birds, in short,

demand unusual
turf,

during the breeding period, the "long" or continuous house

if

best

one breeds at

all

extensively.

yard of strong

with a shel-

tered, southern exposure, is

an absolute necessity
to get

if

early chicks are

fair

wanted.
of

For the breeder who expects

his birds
bit of

even a

percentage

March chicks must have

on the turf during the winter

is

whenever a

green shows.

This

a breeder's secret and

is

well

worth remembering.

The Townsend House.

After

much

study,

and many consultations with our Mr.

J.

S.

Tanner, of the Advisory Board,

tects in America,
I

who

is

one of the best working archi-

have planned and built the model house described

a

herewith.

This

is

new house

for

some

of the tests

which

am
In

conducting in the interests of the National Poultry Association.

planning
following:

it

had several objects

in view.

Among them were

the

n K

W
1

N
1

N
1

w
1

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03
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IT
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1

"H3

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rv
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(0
1

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Y
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'

+>

F/^
V

<+-

W
r\

3 O
_

w
B

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Perfect sanitation, to insure good health.

29

Thorough

ventilation, without drafts, in all weather.

An

absolutely dry floor, and one easily cleaned.

rat, bat, cat,

house that should be

mouse and mite

proof.

Cool in

summer and

fairly

warm

in winter.
all

"one man" house where a single helper could do

the

work

in

a short time.

This demanded automatic watering, feeding, ease of

cleaning and rapidity in gathering eggs from scores of trap nests,

making, at the same time, the necessary records.

convenient, dry and vermin proof feed room.

it

This was something of a contract, but,

carried out.

has been successfully

The fixtures and appliances used in any poultry house will depend upon the owner's taste and pocketbook. The only vital necessities

are sanitary fountains or other easily cleaned receptacles for water;

boxes for

grit,

oyster shells, charcoal and beef scraps;

fairly

low

perches; fairly dark nests, a dust bath, and dropping boards that

may
and

be cleaned easily.

Given these, with plenty of scratching

litter

the hen that will not be a hustling, laying, paying bird

the market.

is fit

only for

Main house,
as indicated.

22 x 30.

Feed room, 12 x

16.

"P"

is

passage way.

"A,"

pens, clear, 6x9.

"D," trap nests.

"B," bins.

"W," windows.

Doors

"F," feed troughs for dry mash, etc.

"PR," Sanitary

Perches.

This house

is

22 x 30 over

all,

the feed

room being
There

16.

The
is

entire building rests

on

inch concrete walls and the floor

is

of

concrete, two inches thick with a half inch top.

a four-foot

alley-way 30 feet long through the main house.

Trap nests are con-

30

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

is

veniently placed, and under the nests

that

a clear space allowing fowls

is

much

extra scratching room.

Each pen

furnished with a Norto feed

wich Automatic Feeder which allows the birds

at the same time gives plenty of exercise.

themselves and
feet

Each pen has 54 square

matched

and as the dropping boards are wide enough for double roosts each

pen

will hold

from

8 to 12 birds.

The
5 1-3

partitions are solid

is

pine,

extending to the roof.

In each pen there

a four light window, each

pane being 12 x
each.

16.

This allows

square feet of glass to each pen.

In the monitor top are swinging

windows having three 9 x 12 panes in These windows swing out and are regulated from the passage
is

way.

The house, therefore

well lighted.

The pen windows are supplied with the Tanner ventilator method, a simple, yet effective way for admitting fresh air at all seasons without drafts, and for carrying off the foul air. The windows are
arranged as follows:
the sash,
is

On each

side of the opening, fitting closely to

nailed a three-cornered board, the length being the

same

as the sash, and the broad end, at the top, being from 8 to 12 inches

wide.

The sash is placed between these boards, the bottom resting on the window sill and the top against a stick nailed to the side
boards near the top.
the building
is
if

double current of air

air.

is

thus set in motion, and

always supplied with fresh

The

entire

window may

be

lifted

out

necessary, or closed tight in zero weather, being then

held in place by a cupboard catch.

of the opening keeps out intruders.

strong screen on the outside

The house

is

eight feet above the walls at the highest point, and

four feet at the lowest

the

wall being nine inches above the floor.

The watering
air pressure

is

automatic, the water being conveyed from an

full of

tank so that the pans are always

clean water.

In

the

summer

they can be flushed as often as desired.

In the winter

they can be automatically emptied at night to escape any danger from

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

freezing.

31

The house is cool in the summer, however, as with the wireprotected doors and windows wide open, there is a constant circulation of air. The house is relatively warm in winter because there is no
dead,

damp

air to chill the birds.

The

old fashioned

and unsanitary dropping boards are not used

fall into

in this house.

The night droppings

is

the litter and as this

is

changed weekly there

no odor.

The house was built by taking ten of the sectional houses made by the Buckeye Incubator Co., of Springfield, Ohio, and putting them into position facing each other five on a side. The fronts were held in reserve. The high sides faced at a distance of six feet, the partitions resting on boards nine inches wide. An additional roof was built, carrying it up so as to allow for the "Monitor" top. The fronts were utilized, so there was no waste of lumber. This made a first class house at far less cost than had we bought the lumber and built

outright.

And

if

one uses

but-

two houses

it is

equally available.

CHAPTER V
THE FOOD PROBLEM
We may
buy the best eggs
in the world.

We may
culls.

get from

them

chicks that are marvels in health and vigor; but unless they are fed
right, these chicks will

never be anything but

We may

buy mature birds of the best quality; we may give them

but unless

ideal quarters;

we

feed

them

right they will not lay well

nor throw good stock.

The secret

of

proper feeding has been well kept.

tell

The

real

breeders will usually

you what they feed

in

a general way; but

sells

they do not give you the essential facts.

The fake breeder, who

tell of

eggs from a fake "strain"

may

tell

you of feeding 30 hens on scraps

"feed" at a few cents

from his table; and a "system" man may

per bushel.

You cannot copy

sort.

the legitimate breeder for you don't

of sense will have anything to do

know

the particulars; and no

man

with the other

The
is

secret of proper feeding cannot be told in a sentence.

of
it.

There

too

much

The beginner may be

will

told
will

what

to feed his chicks.

Possibly

it

be right; probably

it

be wrong.

The proper food

varieties.

for the
still

Mediterraneans won't do at
different is required for the

all for

the Asiatics; and something

American and English

But
hatched!

in the beginning of things, the

laid

knowing breeder feeds for

chicks long before the eggs are

from which those chicks are

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Clinch that fact.

33

Now
It is

let

us go into details.
first

the

of January.
14.

Your birds are properly mated, as

well.

described in Chapter

Very

Now

you are ready

to

feed

your breeding stock

not

for record laying, but for record chicks.

You
ing sort.

are breeding

some Mediterranean variety

food.

Leghorns, Anconas,
the contrary they

anything you please, of the small, nervous, fast growing, quick matur-

These birds require no nerve

On

need fattening food

plenty

of corn, milk, vegetables.

Get your Leg-

horn hens as fat as you can

they

won't take on too

note the increased size and vigor of their chicks.

chicks come, crowd them to the limit.

much flesh and And when the

and

See to

it

that they have plenty

of granulated bone, chick grit, green stuff, fresh water, sour milk,
exercise.

The

latter is a

mighty important

factor.

Keep the Chicks Busy!

I

have grown some immense Leghorns, and the way

did

is

this:

After the chicks were "nest ripe"

after the hatch is completed

that

is

not earlier than 48 hours

First,

begin operations.

they get some

chick grit

just

a pinch for each one

with

some

of the medicated

charcoal prepared by the Des Moines Incubator Co., of Des Moines,

Iowa, and water in a chick fountain.
their first supply of the

An hour

or two later they get

Gritless
I

Chick Food prepared by Park

I

&

Pollard of Boston, Mass.

would say at the outset that

have gone far
afield in

use the

Park

&

Pollard foods solely because they give better results at less

cost than any others

best.
I

and

my

search for the

keep the chicks in Buckeye colony houses either with hens or

Lullaby brooders in lots of from 15 to 30

depending

on the season.

34

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

large, snug, dry

These houses are

and vermin proof; and they make

homes
houses.

for

the

chicks until transferred to the laying or breeding

After the

second

day the

youngsters
is

are

given

the

Gritless
floor.

Chick Food in ground alfalfa which

spread thickly on the

liberal supply of this food is scattered in the alfalfa

and they are kept

is

busy thereby.
a

chick mash, called "Growing Food"

supplied after

week or ten

days.

There

is

plenty of animal food, so necessary

to chick growth, in this combination.

When

the youngsters are about a

month

old a coarser

grain

the Intermediate Chick Food

is

substituted for the gritless, but the

growing food

is

used until they mature.

in

The chicks are confined

cats, rats

well

shaded

runs until they

are

weaned, when they go on free range.

This prevents any loss from

and other vermin. But

this
is

Scratching for grain gives exercise.

not enough.
daily.

Odds and ends of food must be thrown

occasional earth

into the

pen many times

gives

Bits of bread or boiled potatoes, leaves of lettuce or Swiss chard, an

wormit

matters

little

what, so long as

it

them

something

to race, chase

and scrap over.

In breeding the Asiatics, and, to a certain extent, the Orpingtons,

Rocks and Reds,

accordingly.
little

different preparations are necessary.

These larger

breeds, being less active than the Mediterraneans,

must be handled

No

fattening food

no corn mealno "Johnnie cake."

These are the

corn, oats

and oat meal, wheat and bran.

staples.

For
best.

all

purposes the Park

It

&

Pollard Screened Scratch Grain answers

contains enough corn to keep up steam during the cold

weather, with a well blended variety of other grains.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The chicks

35

of these larger varieties should have, in addition to the

food already described, a considerable amount of oat meal which

may

be boiled or made into oat cakes.

change.

The chicks

will relish this for a

mind that your object is to keep them growing, but growing in the right way. Keep them busy every minute. Never allow them to "hump up" and mope. A brief set back is enough to
Bear
in

turn a promising chick into a worthless

cull.

Therefore keep them

growing.

The secret
that
it is

of feeding for eggs is

easily mastered.

Have your

pullets butter fat

when they go

into the laying house.

Remember

as impossible to get figs from thistles as eggs from a scrawny,

half-starved bird.

In feeding for "commercial" eggs

will induce laying in the late fall

it is

necessary to give food that

and early winter when eggs com-

mand

top

prices.

For

this

purpose foods rich in animal protein,

blended with the right amount of carbon

be supplied.

like corn for instance must

The "standard" foods wheat, oats, corn and barley were formerly used, exclusively. Then somebody began feeding a "wet" mash, made up of bran, middlings and so forth, and mixed
with water.
It

This produced "results" by increasing the egg yield.

likewise produced, in

trouble

especially
food
is

many cases, when vegetable

disastrous results

protein

was

causing bowel used getting birds

In our
results

"off their feed"

and out

of condition generally.

A mash

necessary.

wet mash

is

unnecessary.

laying tests with various breeds

we have produced remarkable

with never an ounce of wet mash.

One method
six

of feeding

whereby such records as

1,215

1,321 eggs laid

1,165 by

by six Partridge Rocks in one year,

follows

by six Leghorns,
in

Reds, and 863 by four White Rocks

each

one year

was

as

36

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The
pullets
I

were kept growing

to say

until

matured and up

to weight.

And here

want

most positively that the fellow who adver-

tises that his "strain" lays at

3% months
many
mendacity

is, if

possible, a bigger fool

than knave.
proves

The

claim, like

others

made by
go

reckless people,

how ignorance and

it is

together.

The

most

precocious Leghorns do not lay at such an age.

is

And any
is

bird that

forced to lay before

able to stand the strain

ruined both as

a layer and breeder.

When

the pullets were placed in the laying or breeding house

they were fed

or two each

as

a rule

small amount of scratch feed

handful

in

the morning, and a heavier feed in the afternoon.

half,

Meanwhile the Dry Mash and Growing Feed, mixed half and

was kept before them all the time until they began laying; then the Growing Feed was dropped. Now and then as often as they seemed to relish it some steamed alfalfa was given them, with occasional

extras in the vegetable

way

cabbages,

potatoes, apples, beets, etc.

Pure water in clean vessels,

bone

grit, charcoal, shells

and some granulated

there
when

you have

it.

This method means a great saving of time and money.

that
coop,

It

means

birds are properly housed

all

not

in a ridiculous "system"'
to the elements, but

where

the

work

is

done while exposed

one

in a real poultry

house

that

man may

care for dozens or hun-

dreds.

It

means strong and healthy

sort.

birds and a big egg yield, with no

condiments nor forcing of any

Don't waste your

money and

ruin your birds with any of the

so-called "egg makers," "patent foods," or on any of tho "hundred-

eggs-for-a-cent" swindles.

Nobody gives something

for nothing.

And
is

the knave

who

advertises real food at a few cents a bushel

no

better than the so-called "breeder"

of prize birds at 50 cents per 15.

who

advertised eggs from a flock

CHAPTER

VI

HATCHING
It

looks so easy!
all

Apparently

that

is

necessary

is

to put a

hen

in a box, along
it

with some eggs

or load an incubator, light the lamp, and let

fail

go

Then, when the eggs

to hatch,

how easy
if

it

is

to

blame the

breeder and demand free eggs;

there
is

and

he won't supply them

as

no reason why he should unless they were unquestionably

it is

infertile

what a pleasant pastime

editor.

to write a letter of accusation

to

some

The beginner should undertand one thing

far a dishonest breeder

clearly:

No matter how

may

go to get trade, yet the worst of them

do not send out "doctored" eggs, nor rotten eggs, nor infertile eggs.

On

rare occasions
filling

some notorious humbug may buy up pages

of space

and by

that space with shameless falsehoods

will

may

rob beginners

thereby.

But the worst of these knaves

it

send hatchable eggs.

Why
often

is

then that good eggs, bought from reliable breeders, so

fail to

hatch well?

There are several reasons.

One

is

that the hen often sits too well.

Impossible?

Oh

no.

Eggs must have plenty

is

of fresh air.

Oxygen
There

a vital necessity. a secret worth remembering,

is

38

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

If

the hen
of

is

set in a close,

musty room;

if

she hugs her nest

little

as

some
if

them do
is

and

if,

as a result,

what

fresh air might

reach the eggs

smothered, so to speak, the hatch will not he good.

And

the eggs are "all rotten" you

may

be sure that they were

all fertile,

but that they had died for want of the necessary oxygen

to sustain life.

The

secret of getting good hatches with hens

is this:

Set the hen out of doors, on

fresh air can reach her.

new laid eggs, where plenty of pure, You may place her on the ground with a
and a dusting place
with
is

narrow cover at one end,

charcoal and
to set a
grit,

corn, water,

under cover, at the other.

that she
is

This

the ideal

way

hen

provided

a strong, lusty bird.

Never
blood

set a

hen on the ground unless she

is

full

of

good red

vigorous, "sassy" creature, ready for a fight at any time.

The

"nice, quiet hen," the lady-like hen, the

poor vitality hen, should

off

never be used;

but

if

you must chance such a one, keep her

the ground, and don't expect

many

chicks, nor good chicks either.

See that the hen doesn't

she should remain
off

sit

too "tight."
If

longer and longer.

If

As the hatch progresses she knows her business

she will time herself.

she doesn't, you must extend the time

gradually from five minutes to half an hour

depending
is

upon the

weather.

As a matter
lice

of course

you

will

see that she

If

kept free from

while incubating and brooding.

she neglects to dust herself

as

some

of

them do
green

then dust her yourself.

stuff to eat,

Give her grain and perof

haps a

little

but no

mash food
will

any

sort.

There

is

another reason

why some eggs

not hatch

strong

chicks even under the best of hens.

Hit or miss mating by ignorant

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

breeders

39

who do not undertand

the

art;

weak

stock,

shown by

narrow breasts, thin

with no knowledge of
If

legs, dull eyes

and pinched heads; cheap eggs

bought from cheap men;

its

stock purchased from

unknown breeders
it,

blood lines;

all

these lead to poor hatches.

you want to succeed, and save money while doing

buy the

best

the

best from an honest man.

half dozen eggs from Lester

Tompkins' best pen at four dollars per egg would be much cheaper
than a hundred cull eggs at four cents each.
applies to all our really great breeders

And

the

same

truth

men of honor and intelligence,

who grew

into the business

from boyhood.
by incubators we face other problems.

When
may

it

comes

to hatching

We may

buy the best incubator made

oil

if

there
to

is

a "best."

We
can
the

use the best

and follow directions

the letter.

We
fill

regulate the heat, and supply plenty of moisture.

incubator with the very best eggs obtainable.

We may We may start

two
filled

machines at the same time and

with fertile eggs.

from a
live,

or

test out so that one may be And when the chicks come we may get a hundred hundred eggs or we may not get one. Every chick may every chick may die.

What Many
First,

causes this wide range?

things.

and most important:

of oxygen!
that.

Lack

Remember

LACK OP OXYGEN.
The "heavy"
air

of the

cellar;

the burned

out air of a
in
all

small

room; the breathed out air of a living room;

of these the

eggs are deprived of the life-giving oxygen to a greater or less extent,

and the hatch suffers accordingly.

40

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Another
cause
of
failure
is

in

buying the

worthless

so-called

"incubator" eggs

the

sort that costs

to the

from two
to
fill

to four dollars per

hundred.

It

is

an insult

machines

an incubator with
For the best and

such trash.
fill

Unless you can afford to buy enough good eggs to

the

machine you better depend on hens.

freshest eggs should invariably be used in machine hatching.

Hot

air

and hot water machines are both used

either will

Under proper

conditions

give satisfaction;

under improper conditions

neither will do so.

close,

ill

ventilated
is

room

is

the worst place for an incubator.

well ventilated cellar

the best.

And

don't be timid about cooling the eggs.

They need

it.

Don't use a turning tray.

Turn by hand.

quarter turn

is

enough.

But do

it

three or four times a day.

And

finally,

bear in mind that the eggs must have fresh

air.

This

does not

mean

that a current of air should blow over the eggs; for

that would dry

pure fresh air

are to thrive.

them out and ruin the hatch: but it does mean that must reach the eggs if they are to hatch and the chicks

CHAPTER

VII

BROODING
Let us suppose that your hen has about finished her work.
infertile

and spoiled eggs have been removed.

in

If

The any eggs were

broken the nest has been cleaned and the remaining eggs carefully

washed
dusted.

warm water. The hen has been well fed, watered and The incubator eggs have been properly turned, cooled and

ventilated.

Very good.

if

Most of the eggs came by express and escaped butchery on the way; they came from good, virile stock; if the weather conditions were

right

if all

the

many

"ifs"

have been favorable, then you

will

have

a good hatch.

Are your troubles over? Not exactly.

They have

just begun.

Reports of tests made by intelligent

men have shown

over and

over that seventy-five out of a hundred chicks hatched would be a high average to reach maturity.

Barring accidents every chick should, in theory, reach adult age.

But accidents

come and
fact that
of a

it

happen and they must be considered. Sickness will cannot be ignored. Therefore we might as well face the
will

any

man who

brings an average of seventy-five chicks out

hundred

to maturity has

done exceedingly

well.

42

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

And what
is

the result of this well doing?

Breeding and feeding.

These are the two stumbling blocks that

trip the beginner.

The The

latter has

been considered; now for the former.

is

secret of successful brooding

easier

shown than
widely.

told.

The two methods

failure does not

natural

and

artificial

vary

Success or

depend on

in either case just

Good management means success as surely as poor management means failure.

either.

Let us
If

first

consider the natural method.

one raises only a few chicks a good "mother" hen makes the

best brooder.

She

will teach,

hover and protect them.

little

The dreaded
If

white diarrhoea win rarely trouble her

flock.

she "runs"
will leave

with them in a roomy pen

as

she should do

rats and cats

them
flock.

alone.

And

so,

barring accidents, she will raise most of her

But a good hatcher

hen, that
is

is

not always a good brooder.

An

excitable

forever rushing about, will tread

will crush them.

many

chicks to death;

and a clumsy, awkward hen

I

never

let

a lot of valuable chicks out on free range until they are

I

large enough to care for themselves.

don't believe in furnishing

chick meat to cats or rats.

The roomy Buckeye colony houses, with large covered runs, allow plenty of exercise. They give shelter in cold or stormy weather, and
a cool, well ventilated retreat on hot days.

When
six

the hen

is

re-

moved they make

are vermin proof.

ideal

homes

for the

growing youngsters, and they

by three
feet,

Although each house measures

with liberal head room, yet two

men may

carry one of them with ease.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

In early spring no

43

hen should be given more than a dozen or fifteen chicks; but as the days grow warmer the number may be increased. In June thirty-five are none too many.
In

warm weather

be sure that houses and runs are placed where

they will be shaded from the mid-day sun.

And bear one

thing in mind

would repeat

it

again and again

Yarded chicks must have plenty of green food.

What

kind?

Oh, any kind!

Lawn

clippings,

clover,

dandelion leaves, lettuce.

Twenty-five cents worth

Anything green that they

for a

will eat is good.

of Swiss chard thinly planted in

rows
to

will furnish

enough green

stuff

hundred chicks from May

December; for
off.

this plant puts out

new

leaves as fast as the older ones are broken

Artificial

brooding
could the

is

a necessity in this commercial age.

of chicks be furnished to

In no

other

way

immense number

meet

existing demands.
Artificial

brooding
first.

is

not recommended to the beginner.

if

Better trust

the old hen at

lars

But
it

one

is

bound

to try

it,

in the

name

of dol-

and cents, try

on nothing

earlier than

The secret of successful one word warmth.

artificial

May hatched chicks brooding may be summed up

in

must supply steady heat, of the right degree, or trouble will begin; and once started it goes rapidly from bad to worse. A chick
will live,

We

though not thrive, on poor or insufficient food: but

it

will

neither thrive nor live without proper heat.

Without going into

details,

which

is

unnecessary,
is

will explain that the

chemical changes wherea high temperature. too high for a given

by food
If this is

made

to

sustain the body

little

demand
if

lowered, even for a

time, or

44

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

ceases and trouble follows.
chicks

period, proper digestion

The dreaded

white diarrhoea in

little

and many functional disorders in

mature fowls may be traced

to chilling or overheating.

The beginner
brooder house.

will hardly

go to the expense of building a regular

brooder
is

And
it is

yet, if a

used in cold weather

no

matter whether
it

a heated or "fireless" machine, the

room

in

which
stove.

is

placed must be warmed.

Don't depend on the heat from the

oil

brooder lamp; and never, under any circumstances, use an

The

first

is

wholly inefficient;

the second vitiates the

air.

coal

stove, large

enough

to

keep the room comfortable during the night,

should be used
all

the

object being to retain an even temperature at

times.

In buying a brooder always discount the capacity one-half.

is

Thus,
it

if

a "guaranteed 200 chick" machine you

may
50.

safely place 100 in

at

first,

afterwards reducing the number to

"fireless" brooders

There are numerous

inexpensive.

on the market.

The Buckeye

Fireless, used in colony houses, is excellent for 25 to 50 chicks.

it is
.

And

For occasional use the Lullaby, made by Park

has

&

Pollard, of Boston,

many

advantages.

It is

adjustable,

and

will take care of

it is

any num-

ber from one to a score.

is

For emergencies
$1.50.

invaluable.

And
where

it

sent,

charges paid, for

In

making

test hatches,
I

might have only a few chicks of one variety,

little

have found that

this

brooder answers every requirement.

to

Take particular care

or twice a week.

keep the brooders clean.

it

use ground
it

alfalfa for a bedding, stirring

up every morning and renewing

once

CHAPTER

VIII

YOUNG STOCK
At
last

your chicks are weaned from hen or brooder.

longer in danger of white diarrhoea or any other baby illness.

They are no You

They know enough to go in when it rains; and if caught out in a sudden shower it won't harm them. You draw a long breath at the thought that your work is done.
no longer need coddle them.
Don't deceive yourself.
*

poultryman's work

is

never done!

The secret

of success with chicks after they are able to care

for themselves is to keep

them growing every minute.

is

Therefore you

should get them out on a good run whe,re there

plenty of green stuff

and plenty of shade.

But be careful that you do not bar out the sunshine.
at least every day.

The colony

houses should be so placed that the sun can get at them for an hour

Keep the houses

clean.

see to

it

that every house

is

thoroughly

sprayed with Zenolium or the Park

a week during the summer.
lice
it is

&

Pollard liquid lice killer once

Give the youngsters a dusting with good

It

powder every week or ten days.

means work,

of course, but

work that pays.

Clean out the
litter

on the

floor of the
is

colony houses as often

as

once in ten days.

This duty

too

often neglected after the

chicks get on range.

46

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Don't be in too big a hurry to have them roost.
Better wait until

they are three-quarters grown.

Then there

will

be no danger of

crooked breast bones.

The chicks need

will bar out vermin.

lots of fresh air.

Therefore hook up both win-

dows and keep them open day and

night.

The

stout wire screens

Be

sure, however, that the door is closed every

night.

One

single lapse

may

cost you twenty-five valuable birds.

Don't neglect the birds because they are "on range."

their fountains are full of fresh water daily.

See that
that.

Remember

Too

often chicks that run free are left to find water as best they can.

On stormy days
youngsters

provide a liberal amount of scratch grain

find

that the Intermediate Chick

Feed

is

of especial value

so
is

that the

may keep

busy.

The

secret of getting quick

money on young stock

sell

to

bring

the chicks to broiler size in the shortest time possible.

get your broods out early enough you can
broilers in

If

you can

your January hatched

March as the trade does not demand birds weighing more than a pound each. As the season advances the weight increases, and the price decreases. In May the demand is for birds weighing
from two
to three

pounds each.

And

right here let

me

sound a note of warning.

Don't take stock in any miserable "system" faker

that he can teach you

who

advertises

how

to raise

two pound broilers

in eight weeks.

Like those fabulous pullets that lay 26 eggs per month when six

months

old; like "feed" at 15 cents per bushel; like

making

$7,500 a

year on a plot 40 feet square

as the

same knave claimed he could do

all

these are palpable falsehoods.

broilers

You cannot get commercial

weighing two pounds at

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

eight weeks.

47

While an occasional extra precocious chick may

it

hit

that weight at the age,

cannot be done with any general

flock.

In fact, the beginner, unless most favorably situated, should be

cautious about going into the broiler industry.

is

If all

goes well there

good money in
whatever.

it;

but

if

the chicks get any setbacks

if

they are

not kept on the jump

profit

then

they will not reach a broiler age at any

The beginner,

if

he has the very best stock obtainable

to start

with, will be able to

make

quite a tidy

sum from

his surplus birds.

Along in December or January he should have them leg-banded and

scored by a competent judge.
are the best;

This will enable him to

will

know which

and the judge

also price

up the stock for him.

Then,
to

if

possible, get

an experienced breeder of the variety in hand

for the

mate up such pens as are wanted

coming season.

The beginner
birds
value.

will often be-

amazed

to find that his highest scoring

especially in the

males

are

passed by in favor of birds of less

The experienced breeder may not be able to score the birds as the judges can do, but he knows how to mate, which the judge does
not know, unless he chances to breed that variety.

Having matched his pens the beginner may now advertise and
sell his

surplus stock.

And he

will be agreeably disappointed to find

90, will
is

that his second birds

better prices than
if

even

those running under

bring

much

sold unscored.

The reason

that a reputable

judge has given his birds a standing, and thus a value, which they
could not attain otherwise.
If

among

these birds are any that score especially high, and the
if

chances are that he will have them

the parent stock

is right,

the

beginner will do well to insert a modest advertisement in a

poultry magazine stating that he has such birds for sale.

first

class

He

should

48

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

score,
will

name the breed, variety, strain and sex, also the who rated them, with the price of each. He
difficulty

and the judge

little

have but
will

in disposing of such

birds;

and while he
will

not obtain

any such prices as a great breeder gets for stock of the same grade,
yet his expenses, being so
profit.

much

less,

leave

him a handsome

The beginner
mer.
After

will do well to continue

first

hatching through the sum-

May

the

demand

for eggs drops off

and the trade

is

practically dead

by the

first

of June.

But there

is

always a demand

for stock.

And while
it

the chicks hatched in mid-summer

may

not

do as well as those turned out in April and May, yet they will pay far
better than

would

to sell eggs for market.

first will

Pullets of

hatched as late

as September

be laying in March.

many varieties And while

good

their eggs should not be used for breeding they will bring very

prices for househould use.

secret of getting young stock up in weight quickly is found partly in feeding and partly in care.

The

One should remember that growing chicks tire of the same food after day. Give them a variety. Today boil up small potatoes and see how they will scamper for them. Tomorrow give them boiled potatoes chopped up and mixed with bran. The next day give them some Growing Food dampened with sour milk. And so on.
f'-'Y

Mixed

in thus with their regular food the youngsters will relish these

extras and will thrive amazingly.

In caring for the youngsters one

must combat two ends

in

lice

and

overcrowding.
fight.

The former may be kept

check by a never ending

be roomy quarters for a

Overcrowding of course results from hatching more chicks

than one can accommodate.

What would

hundred week-old chicks

adults.

will be

crowded quarters for a half-dozen

When

the chicks are weaned no more than twenty-five should

be kept together.

Make

this a positive rule,

and

live

up to

it.

CHAPTER

IX

MATURING THE STOCK

It is

common

saying that the early layer

"saying" this
is

is

the payer.
cir-

Like

many another

true or not, according to

cumstances.

pullet that begins laying too early is likely to "soldier" during

the winter

"eating her head

winter payers

off"

when eggs

are highest.

Early hatches are necessary for market birds; but for winter
layers

and

the

pullets should not begin

work before

November.

Too early laying

is

often followed by a late moult

and that means

good-bye to eggs until the following spring.

The secret
right time

of producing

heavy winter layers

is

in hatching at the

according to

the breed-

and

in bringing the pullets to the

pink of condition late in the season instead of early.

One

of the

most absurd claims made by a certain alleged breeder,

was that pullets of his pretended "strain" laid when less than four months old! Had this been true it would have proven that his birds were worthless. The Orpingtons which this person handled are

large biras;

and while

this breed is a wonderfully fast grower,

and

can be forced to lay as early as the Leghorns, yet no legitimate Orpington breeder ever attempts
it.

He knows

better.

No
she

pullet of

any variety should lay before she

is six

months old

if

is to

be used thereafter as a breeder.

50

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Forcing means ruin.
abnormal.
gained only at the expense of the

Precocity
vital

is

It is

powers.

If

you are running an egg farm, and replenish your stock by buying
lot of pullets

new

every year, you

may

slaughter the innocents

sell

forcing early maturity, forcing heavy laying, and

the broken

down, played out birds the next summer, just before they begin to
moult.

But you cannot breed successfully from such

nervous Mediterranean breeds

birds.

The
if

light,

may

be hatched in June
in

with excellent results.

They should begin laying

December, and,

properly housed and fed, will continue laying through the winter.
in the

Winter layers
first

American breeds must be got out

earlier.

The

of

May

is late

enough.

Crowd your

pullets for size.

Get them "on their legs," large of

first,

frame, big of bone.

If

Give them muscle

and meat

later.

the youngsters look "leggy" you

may

be sure that they are

doing well.

The "gawky"
laying hen.

pullet usually

makes the

biggest, healthiest, best

Better retara laying than hurry

it,

except as noted.

Unless running
to another, after

an "egg farm"

would move the pullets from one pen

fall,

housing them in the

so that they would not lay too early.

Let the young birds have free range as long as possible.

If

not

overcrowded they can be kept

in colony

houses until the middle of

October, and sometimes even later.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The
eggs
so-called
"utility"

51

pullets

meaning

those kept merely

for

should

be housed earlier than the choice stock that has been

reserved for future breeding.

The cockerels
quarrelsome
them.

of

course should have been separated from the

pullets as soon as they

became annoying.
so

If

the cockerels

become

and
that
3

they are apt to do

put

an oid male among

He

will act as a

peace-maker, preventing any serious fighting.

Be sure
The ordinary

the
6

growing stock has plenty

colony house,
if

of

roosting room.

by

well ventilated, and provided

with two roosts, will accommodate from 12 to 20 pullets, as they

approach maturity.
night.

The

late

The great thing is to avoid over-heating at summer and early fall days require that especial

attention be given the youngsters.

In these days keep up an unending warfare on lice and mites.
If

troubled with insect pests they will not sleep well

If

which
will
air.

means

a set-back.

overcrowded they become overheated, and

be almost

certain to catch cold on going out in the cool morning

To the egg farmer the

year.

first

year of a hen's

life is

the profit making

After that she should be marketed.

Buy or

raise pullets yearly

to take the place of the old birds.

If

the beginner has high grade

stock he

will

find

some good

breeders and perhaps some strong show birds

when

his youngsters

mature.

These birds require different handling from that given the

layers.

Take the
that a pullet

pullets, for instance.

is

The experienced showman knows

Bear
to do with

at her very best just before she begins laying.

it

that fact in mind, as

has

much

your pullet winnings.

52

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

To have your pullets "show ripe" that is, at their best when exhibited they must be hatched at the right time, and matured in the

right way.

Supposing you plan to show in October.

small, quick maturing Mediterraneans

If

you breed any of the

you can get your pullets

if

and

cockerels, too, for that matter

into
in

show shape

hatched any time

between the middle

birds

shown

in

of March and the middle of April. But the same December should not see daylight before the first of

May.

And
if

the pullets to be

shown

January

will, if

properly matured,

do best

hatched in June.
their shells earlier.

The American and English breeds must break

Pullets of the Rock, Red, Wyandotte^ or Orpington classes should

not be shown by novices in the

fall exhibitions.

Such birds must be

hatched, as a rule, in February; and there are few beginners

who have

proper

facilities

for

keeping winter hatched chicks on the jump.

Better wait until March or April and get out birds for the winter

shows.
Cockerels
should have an earlier start than pullets.
It

takes

longer to get them right in weight and plumage.

And here
heeded

want to say something to the beginner that will if enable him to write Success, where otherwise he would spell
I

Failure

NEVER FORCE YOUR BIRDS FOR THE FALL SHOWS!

show birds; by tempting them with frequent feedings; by coaxing them with tid-bits scraps of meat,
stuffing your promising

By

sweetened bread, boiled and sugared

the weight on late hatched birds, and

rice,

and so

forth,

you may put

may win

the blu^ in October.

But note the

result:

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Your
in

53

stuffed

and untimely fattened birds

digestion, with

will

go

off

their feed

January.

With impaired

every organ weakened

will

by the strain of over-feeding, your prize winners

stock,
if

throw you scrub

indeed they breed at

all.

More

likely the best of

them

will

be dead by spring.

Congestion in one form or another

troubles, acute indigestion,

these

and other

ills,

for roup, bowel are congestive will

carry

off

the flower of your flock.

is

In maturing your birds there

nothing better than a liberal feedlitter,

ing of the Park

&

Pollard Scratch Grain in deep

with their

Growing Food

in hoppers.

To the

latter

you might add their Fattening

-Food during the last week before your show birds go out
Give them plenty of milk to drink, with grit and charcoal
in the
etc.,

the

ratio

being four quarts of Growing Food to one quart of Fattening Food.

mixing some
alfalfa, beets,

mash

and plenty
let

of bulky green food

rest.

cabbage,

and

then

nature do the

CHAPTER X
DISEASES
Prevention
is

better than cure.

ills.

Indeed, with a few exceptions,

there are no "cures" for poultry

These things are necessary for health: good stock, proper housing,
little

feeding,

and cleanliness.

Given these, and there will be very

sickness in any plant.

is

Good stock

the principal thing.

Birds that are bright, alert,

with keen appetites;

with clear eyes, red combs, smooth plumage,

clean legs; the male that crows, "talks", digs, fights; the female that
scratches, "sings" and lays.

Such birds are healthy, and

will beget

healthy chicks.

Breeding

stock

should

be

mature.

To be on the
it

safe

side,

no bird should be placed in the breeding pen before

is

a year old.

While most varieties are laying long before

lay eggs
fit

this,

there are few that

old

for hatching at an earlier age.

The two year

hen lays

eggs that are larger, and better in every

way

for breeding purposes.

There
is

is

no danger from judicious inbreeding.

Indeed, inbreeding

absolutely necessary to produce certain results.

BUT BE CAREFUL.
If

the breeder
been,

is

heedless or ignorant;

if

he uses birds that

if

are,

or have

afflicted

with any disease;

both parents have a

is

similar fault

in any of these cases inbreeding

dangerous.

Never use a bird for breeding that has been sick. Remember this rule and live up to it. A slight ailment a trifling cold or "off" on

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

feed

55

is

not a bar.

But anything serious shouid remove the

It

afflicted
this,

bird forever

from the breeding pen.

the bird
is

takes

courage to do
it

especially

if

a high scoring male.

But

pays.

It is
is

usually a waste of time and

ill.

money

to "doctor"

any bird that

it.

seriously

Better use the axe at once and be done with

little

If If

from healthy stock,

fail to

chicks will be healthy

is

when

hatched.

they

remain so the breeder

at fault ninety-nine times out

of a hundred.

There are various causes for disease, among the most common
being the following: Unsuitable location of buildings, lack of sunshine,

dampness, vermin, impure water, lack of

food and of fresh air and exercise.

grit

and charcoal, of green

is

And

there

no excuse for any of

them.

The dusty "dusting boxes" are not used in our testing house. If the birds are dusted with a good lice powder about the first and seventh of each month there will be no trouble with body lice and no need of choking the house up with unsanitary dust. The worst lice are those that infest the roosts and nests. These can be kept in subjection by using plenty of Zenolium or the Park and Pollard Liquid
Lice Killer.

Be careful about the drinking water, and equally careful about the
vessels that hold
it.

The

latter should be cleaned daily

thoroughly

cleaned
floors.

and that, in winter as well as in summer. Look after the of dirt which they should not be you must dig up and
too,
If

cart off six or eight inches of the filthy surface

dirt.

and replace with new

April and October.
If

This should be done twice a year

say in

board floors are used, which are expensive, they should be scraped
clean three or four times a year, disinfected, and covered with plenty

56

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Cement
floors should

of sand.

be cleaned twice a year, and covered

with two or three inches of sharp sand and six or eight inches of oat
straw.

Look
the space

after the runs.

Unless you have the "no yard" houses

which
If

are often the best

is

you should see that the runs never get

it

foul.

limited let

be spaded frequently
to late
fall.

two

or three times
in

per month

from

early spring

Each time mix

Sunflowers or
If

liberal quantity of oats.

This will start the birds digging, and will

field

also suply a limited amount of green food.

corn

might be grown, thus supplying both shade and food.

the runs could be sedded

large enough
alfalfa

down

in a stout

lawn grass or

for

green food

is

a necessity.

All the foregoing is in the

way

of preserving health.

Don't dose the birds.

Charcoal

especially
But
if

the medicated the droppings

charcoal

will

usually keep

the bowels regular.

seem

too hard, a little linseed

meal, mixed with bran in a moist

mash

will be effective.

In considering a few particular diseases that no very sick bird should be "doctored."

it is

best to say at once

Kill

and bury

it;

bury

it

deep; or cremate

it.

The most common and

"white diarrhoea."
indigestion,

fatal disease of small chicks is the deadly

it

In

almost every case

is

really

an intestinal

resulting from

many

causes

the
I

most common being

chilling or over-heating.

There

is

no "sure cure" for this disease.

have carefully tested

many

alleged "cures," but have found nothing reliable.

its

When

a chick

cannot digest

food;

when

it

"pastes up," becomes

droopy, and

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

"peeps" dismally, the best thing
it

57

is to
it

end

its

misery; for

if,

by chance,

recovers from a bad attack

will

always be a stunted, worthless

bird.

But while
ventable.
right;

this disease is generally incurable, yet

it is

easily preto

And

the "secret"

so

called

of avoiding

it is first,

hatch

second, to brood right; third, to feed right.

Careful tests show that artificially hatched and brooded chicks

are

more

liable to attacks

than are those hatched by hens.

if

This should
the

not be the case, and would not be the case

we understood

business as well as the hen does.

We
But

don't.

We

never can.
equalize matters

if

we would

we

should use incubators and

later.

heated brooders early in the season, and employ hens

Chilling
is

fatal.

tireless

brooder

is

all

very well in

warm
Have

weather; but any

man who

offers to sell a

'system" for keeping chicks

in a heatless brooder, out of doors, in zero weather, is a knave.

nothing to do with such a person.

Keep the chicks comfortably warm,

directed,
trouble.

don't

overcrowd, feed

as

and your early hatched birds

will

seldom have any bowel

While

chilling is

fatal,

over-heating

is

equally so.

Chicks can

safely endure

much more heat

in late winter or early spring than in

the summer.

Therefore "mother" your late hatched chicks with hens

or tireless brooders.

The

fine

spun theories of salaried people; the "tweedle

diarrhoea.

dum and
it.

tweedle dee" arguments over the source of this disease have no practical value.

You can prevent white

You cannot "cure"

58

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Fowl cholera
is

a contagious, rapid and deadly disease.

Symptoms

are great thirst; loss of appetite; high fever; drowsiness; comb, face,

and wattles seem bloodless; excessive diarrhoea; death.

There
is

no cure.

The treatment is preventive. Disinfect thoroughly and often. Promptly remove all infected birds. Give them water to which creolin has been added a teaspoonful to an ordinary wooden bucket. For

individual treatment with valuable

birds that are

under suspicion,
established, then

give

a small dose

one-thousandth of a grain tablet of mercury

If

bichloride every two or three hours.

the disease

is

promptly

kill

and cremate the

is rare.

bird.

Genuine cholera

Therefore note

all

the symptoms.
is

that means, a congestion. But a cold not often roup. When the bird stinks that's the proper word, for the roup present with the usual marks a stench when this smell "odor" of a bad cold don't hesitate.
Roup
is

is

a cold

is

CHOP OFF ITS HEAD!

All the roup "cures"

on earth

will not

make such

a bird

fit

for

breeding.

She
it,

is

almost certain to transmit the disease, or a tendency

to contract

even though she herself should apparently be "cured."

If

Don't "fuss" with a roupy bird.

the distemper

you do you are

liable to catch

for
if

it

is

very contagious.
the usual exciting cause of roup.

A
is

neglected cold

is

And

a cold

easily cured

taken in hand at once.

As soon as you hear any wheezing or sneezing among your birds you should begin operations. A dollar cure for dime or less may

be had as follows:

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Mix a teaspoonful of pure creolin take a hand pump one that throws a
in a gallon of water.
fine

59

At night
cough and

mist

and
They
to

spray about the

will

roosts so that the birds sneeze.

Never mind.
Pour a

may inhale the Make a thorough

kerosene
oil

creolin.

job of

it.

Repeat every night

for a week.

little

enough

make

a film

over
pill

their drinking water.

night.
in a

Give each sick bird one grain quinine

at

Repeat once or twice.

it

Place enough permanganate of potash

a deep red.

cup of water to color

it

Dip the bird's head in the

Repeat.

solution keeping

there ten or fifteen seconds.

If it is
if

Give this

treatment twice daily so long as need be.

this
is

nothing but a "cold"

treatment will cure.

If it
is

grows worse,

the peculiar roup odor

present, then the hatchet

the only safe and sure "cure."

The disease

called gapes

is

caused by worms in the windpipe.

old,

It

mostly affects chicks from one to four weeks

very hard to treat effectively.
If

and therefore

it

is

any of your chicks are drooping, sneezing, coughing, going about

with their mouths open, look for gape worms.

They are thready

creatures from an eighth to a half inch long and are found clinging to
the chicks windpipe.

The only thing

remove each
patience, you
to a

to

do

is

to

separate the sick from the well and

new

location.

And
If

the old ground should never

be used again for young chicks.

you have the time,

If

skill

and

may remove

the

worms by hand.

not,

you might
air-slacked
in this so

place the afflicted chicks in a box or barrel and let

some

lime

sift

over them through a piece of bagging.

little

Use care

that the

fellows will not strangle.

Enough could be written about other ills affecting poultry to fill a book as large as this. The writing of such a book might help a man employed by an endowed state college or station to kill time; but it

60

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

little

would be of

or no practical benefit.

To

illustrate:

might

pre-

pare a long article on tuberculosis,

filled

with words of "learned

length and thundering sound," beginning with the ^'diagnosis" and

ending with the "concomitant"

cure for the disease
it

fatality.

But as there
discuss
it.

is

no possible

would avail but

little to

dry, well-ventilated houses that are free

To sum up Breed from healthy, well-mated stock. Provide roomy, from drafts. Feed as directed. Keep the premises clean and the birds free from vermin. If these
:

rules are followed there will be very little sickness.

And

finally:

LET THE WELL BIRDS ALONE!

Don't try to increase their growth or egg production with "tonics,"

"condiments," "egg food," or any other atrocities.

it.

If

you

do, you'll rue

CHAPTER
The
word:
Advertise

XI

THE MARKETS
secret of selling eggs and stock at a profit

may

be told in one

And
in

the secret of continuing to sell year after year

may

be told

one word:
Quality

Advertising will

sell;

but unless the quality

is there, to

back the

advertising, there can be no

permanent business.
in

Knaves have bought space

but only for a time.

magazines from fawning publishers,

for a time;

and by thus sharing their plunder have robbed the public

Their fraudulent claims and

''strains,"

backed

by no real quality,
one after another.

have been exploded, and they have disappeared

There

is

a right

way

to sell,

and a wrong way

is

to sell.

in selling market eggs the ordinary hit or "farmer" method. Eggs gathered and sold at odd miss usually miss fresh or spoilednever assorted for shape, size or color times
The wrong way
stale,

and bartered at the village store

over long after
it

at the lowest rate.

Stock carried

has ceased to pay.

Young stock

sold

when

prices

are at their lowest.

The
eggs,
like
is

right

way

to sell

what

is

known

as "commercial" poultry and

to take pains

lots of

pains

and

do business in a business-

way.

62

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Get your hatches
off early.

Push the young stock hard.

Broilers

weighing from a pound and a half to two pounds command high prices
early in the season, while late hatched broilers are often a drug in

the market.

Hens should be fattened and

sold

if

you run an egg farm

Roasters, as a

in
rule,

their second year, before they begin to moult.

should be confined to the larger breeds, and

may

be grown

at a profit only

where food

is

cheap.

Egg farming may be very profitable or it may be a financial graveyard. The secret of avoiding the latter is to satisfy the public. If white eggs are wanted, give them white eggs. with equal If they foolishness demand brown eggs, then the eggs must be brown.

But whether white or brown, the eggs must be

graded
to size-up evenly.

fresh, clean,

and

And

the larger these fresh and clean eggs

are, the better prices

they will bring.

in cartons holding one dozen each.

Eggs should be neatly packed

for your farm, or yards,
label

These cartons, or boxes, should be labeled, with some catchy name

and sold under a dated guarantee.

typical

would read

like this:

HIGHLAND FARM,
John Doe, Proprietor,
Roeville, N. Y.

STRICTLY FRESH EGGS.

GUARANTEED.
The eggs
in this

carton were laid

19.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Having got your
get busy.
If

63

labels

and boxes ready, pack a few dozen and

reach of a city of fair size your market
is

you

live within

right there.

Make
is

a personal canvas, starting in on the afternoon

that the label

dated.

"Eggs

laid today" is a big puller.

Try

it.

You
at

will

be amazed to see
prices.
Sell

how

quickly you can

work up a route and

it

advanced

for cash only.

Make
debts.

a positive rule

No money, no eggs!
winner in the end.
If

Thus you avoid bad

that.

hard sometimes, but never mind

Live up to

it.

The You

rule
will

may

be

be a big

you go in for "blooded stock" and

sell

eggs for hatching, you will

face a different problem. In the beginning you

must have good

birds.

Your stock or eggs

to go

must come from a noted breeder unless you want

years of needless
toil.

through long

Show your
made.
-

stock;

first

at

the

smaller

shows.

As your

skill
is

increases, branch out.

Don't be afraid to go where the big noise

Stand on your feet as soon as possible.

flagrant faker

But don't imitate that

who

advertised that he had "originated a strain" before

he had raised a single chicken.

Advertise.

But don't

lie.

Don't say that you have a ten thousand

thing.

dollar hen, for there never

was such a

Don't say that your flock

"averages 256 eggs per hen," for no "flock," nor even a pen, ever did
that.

Don't say that your six months old pullets are "all laying 26
In brief, don't try to fool people certain to be found out.

eggs monthly," for they are not.

with any such

are.

silly lies.

You are

They

all

And then you

will

wish that you had emulated the Father of our

country.

But don't hide your

light.

64

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Advertise.

Talk
in the

big.

Tell

what you have done.

it is

Make

a noise.

That

is all

way

of business, and

legitimate business.

Don't scatter your shot.

Better put a good advertisement in one

little

prominent magazine than a

If

card in twenty.

you have a good "selling face," have a cut made from your
it.

photograph and use

or a "confidence"

But

if

you look

like a poet, or a prize fighter

man as

the best of us

may

do

then keep your face

out of print.
Advertise.

But advertise according

to the season.

Don't offer eggs in October, baby chicks in November, nor stock

in April.

Eggs
and
fall.

for hatching should be advertised in late winter

and early

spring; baby chicks from early to late spring;

stock in the

summer

At the outset you cannot expect

paid old breeders.
setting is better than thirty cents.

to

secure the prices that are

But don't give your eggs away.

Three dollars a

The

secret of getting better prices for your stock

is this:

Have

a
to

competent judge score them and furnish a score card numbered

correspond with the leg-band on each bird scored.

Have

this

card

made

out with ink or an indelible pencil, and signed and dated by

the judge.

This gives each bird a standing and a value.

Advertise.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

65

Let people know that you are offering birds for sale that have

been scored by Judge So-and-so, and that you

scores, and advertise that fact.

will furnish the score

card with each bird. Have the judge put a price on each bird as he

All this gives confidence,

makes
it.

value,

and

will

sell

your birds

where nothing

else

would do

And
Keep

finally

right on advertising.
tell

Before, and during the busy months,

what you are

doing.

In

the dull months

tell

what you are going

to do.

Then do

it.

CHAPTER

XII

THE SHOW ROOM

Why
tion?
let it

do the most successful breeders show their birds in competi-

It is

troublesome and costly.

Why

not

tell

what they have, and

go at that?

The reason for exhibiting is that people must not only be "shown," but they must know who has the winners.
Moreover, the poultry show
is

a great inciter of public interest.

We

catch the hen fever in the show room.

the authority, and the
country.
full

The "American Standard of Perfection" only authority on show birds recognized

breeder should

is

in this
it

Every

own

a copy of this book as

gives a

description

of every recognized variety.

One cannot breed

exhibition birds without

a Standard.

The value

of the poultry show, both

is

from an educational and

busi-

ness viewpoint,

very great.
in

The beginner learns more by observation than he could

of study elsewhere.

months

Show your

birds.

You may not "win

the blue" nor a ribbon of any color; but you

will get in line for future winnings.

Begin cautiously.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Don't rush your birds
city the first year.
off to

67

New

York, Boston or any other big

Start in at the fall fairs.

for
it is

Here

is

where many a fancier

is

born,

at the fall fairs that thousands of people get their first ideas

of thoroughbred poultry.

Groom your birds carefully. See that they have clean feet and legs. Some of your best birds may be in moult. Never mind. The youngsters may not be up in weight. All right. Show them just the same, for many of your rivals will have the same trouble.
Of course you want
that will aid you:
to

win at the

fall

shows, and here

is

a secret

See that the birds shown

time.

in

the

fall

were hatched

at the right

Thus the adult birds

exhibited, say, in September,

should have

been hatched late in the previous year.

stock should be hatched about the

This will throw their moult

back so that they may be in good feather at that time.

first

The young
fall

of April,

and should be well

up in weight by September.
earlier than the middle of

Don't get birds out for the

shows

March, for you don't want the pullets to

This fact
is

begin laying before they are shown.

very important.
if

pullet is at her best just before maturity.

Therefore
lay,

she begins

her "egg song," and you think she

is

ready to

discourage her

from so doing by changing her from one pen

to another.

The beginner

is,

at the outset, puzzled greatly over the question

of choice of breeds.

Frequently he
It is

is

advised to take up with some

one of the rarer varieties.

urged that by so doing he will have

to

much

less competition

and therefore a much greater chance

If

win

the coveted blue ribbons.

the winning of ribbons

was the

sole object

68

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

If

of poultry culture, such advice might be good.

in

there was any credit

little or no opposition, such advise might be good. But as prizes are but incidents, and as a winning where there is no competition is merely a walk-over, such advice is decidedly bad. To

winning with

show without competition

is

wasted

effort.

One may learn

far

more

by losing in competition than by winning without competition.

Don't go in then for the freaks.

You

will find that the

Plymouth

Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Orpingtons, Leghorns or Wyandottes will

give you plenty of variety.
In fact there are 27 standard varieties of

these five breeds, and about a dozen more that have not been admitted
to the Standard.

For a secondary group we have the Brahmas, Cochins, Dominiques,

Dorkings, Houdans, Langshans and Minorcas.

These are

all

standard

and valuable breeds.

all

But the beginner

first

will find that

any of the more

popular varieties from the

those in the
It is

group will be in greater demand than

last.

impossible in the scope of a single chapter to give the

multitude of secrets for preparing and showing birds.

Each breed,
All
this

and indeed each

will be

variety,

requires

particular

treatment.

found in

my

special

book on the subject entitled "Show

is

Room

Secrets."

In this book every Standard breed and variety

is told,

taken up
to breed,

separately and the beginner

for the first. time,

how

grow

to weight, and condition birds to win.

Winning
go by favor.

is not,

as

some

believe, a

matter of luck.
will

Nor do

prizes

There have been and there

dishonest judges.

be some dishonest

showmen and

But the fakers are few and juggling

is

judges are fewer yet.

The standard

high and the showroom demands

of

that exhibitors and judges shall be

men

unblemished reputation.

CHAPTER

XIII

FANCY STOCK
No man
ever had a well developed attack of "hen fever" without

desiring, sooner or later, to

show

his birds

and win some

prizes.

That

is

a proper ambition.

Moreover,
lowed.

it is

an ambition that leads

to fortune, if wisely fol-

Please keep in mind that last phrase:

If

wisely followed.

emphasize

it

because too

many

beginners do not follow wisely.

cost depending

All

show

birds are expensive

the

upon

quality.

The perfect
I

bird would score one hundred points.

is

But no such bird has

ever been seen, and there

no probability that one ever will be seen.

have scored a multitude of birds; but even in the highest scoring

varieties

solid
I

Wyandottes,

White Leghorns or White have never found one that would come within several
colored birds the

like

points of perfection;

while in some of the parti-colored varieties

solid color

which naturally score lower than those of

that will go over ninety.
varieties

it is

a rare bird
difficult

Indeed there are some particularly

score.

which seldom reach that

For

this reason

one should

bear in mind that what would be a comparatively low standing for

one of the easier breeds would be very high for another.

point white bird

ninety-six

may

be had, but don't look for

it

in a

Rhode Island

Red.

70

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

There
is

nothing in which the beginner

is

more
I

likely to

form a

wrong idea of value than in exhibition $75 and another, from the same hatch

birds.

have sold a bird for

for $5.

Why

should there be such a wide difference in price?

it.

The

be-

ginner cannot understand

other too cheap.

He

thinks that one

is

too dear or the

The answer
individual value.

to this puzzle is that, not considering the breeder's

is

reputation or the value of his strain, every bird

judged by

its

own

Beginners are prone to think of birds as of dollars coming from

the mint

that
it

each

is

as good as the next; or, admitting a difference,

slight.

he thinks
It is

should be

true that "strain" has value.

is

A bird bred

by a

man

of acknowl-

show value than if bred by a novice. Thus I would rather have a ten dollar White Rock bred by U. R. Fishel than one apparently worth fifty, of whose antecedants I knew nothing. The former would throw stock of a known value. The latter would carry one immediately into the unknown; and the chances would be that such stock would have market value only and poor
edged standing
far
likely to

more

value at that.

And

here

is

a fact worth remembering. a fatal mistake

The beginner makes a

to

mistake usually
results nor

in

buying, at the outset, birds of

exceptional quality.

He

does not

know how

mate for the best

bird.

how

to raise the youngsters that

come from the mating.

Consequently he would be courting disaster to buy such a

None
quality to

of the really great breeders will sell a bird of the highest

an inexperienced man, unless he has a manager who knows

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

how
to handle

71

such stock.

They know

those
birds

men

of quality

that
show

otherwise failure would result; and they place reputation above dollars.

The beginner should buy good stock

if

good enough

to

need be

but

not thousand dollar birds, nor hundred dollar birds.

dollars, or a

trio at a

hundred

pen

at a

hundred and
go.

fifty,

properly

mated

for best results, is as high as

any novice should

And he may

well begin with cheaper birds than that.

A common
ner

mistake

and

this is

a "secret"

known

to every ex-

perienced fancier

is

that of the amateur

who buys

a blue ribbon win-

especially a maleand places him at once

Don't do
it.

in a breeding pen.

Birds must be shown.

Public interest demands

it.

Show

birds

must be used
avoid
for
it

at the

right time

as

breeders.

But

if

you possibly can

best.

do not place the birds you have shown in your breeding pens
after;

weeks

months would be

better; a

whole year would be

Why?
Well, here
of experience:
until
is

another "secret", also well known to every breeder

bird that has been

No

shown

is fit to

use as a breeder

he has had a thorough rest and

is

again in condition for breeding.

Show
same.

"condition" and breeding "condition" are not always the

Often they are very far apart.

bird, of the variety

is

where
not
fit

weight counts, which has been stuffed to make that weight,

for the breeding pen
until restored to a

normal condition.

The
beginner

selling of

show stock

is

an art not easily mastered.

The

may

as well understand at the outset that he cannot get the

prices paid to

men

of established reputation.

He may have

as good

72

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Kaufmann
The

individual birds as Fishel, Tompkins, Cook, Tecktonius, or

and Windheim.

But

if

he charges as

much

for stock as these well-

known breeders
no business.

charge, the buyer will, naturally, go to them.

beginner, therefore, must

make

his prices low at

first,

or he will do

One
ing

secret of success

which

is

a "secret" only to the more observ-

is

that of advertising.

One

of the "secrets" of successful advertising is to tell the truth.

Don't imagine that because some big swindler buys his

print, filling

way

into

page after page with

lies

about his "strain"

which

he

"originated" by the simple process of hiring somebody to buy

birds for

some

him

don't

imagine,

say, that

he

is

successful.

He may
is

carry on his nefarious business for a time, but, sooner or later, he

pays the penalty.

Don't imagine that the poultry business

too,

all

crooked, and that you,

must be a

crook, because

some "system"

knave
There

is

advertising, with apparent success, that he has

made

tens

of thousands of dollars with poultry

is

on a few square

feet of land.

but one end to

all

such cheap rascals.

Either they quit sud-

denly or land in the penitentiary.

Lying never pays.

Therefore
tell

the truth.
will find that the "Classified" advertisements
re-

At the outset you

pay the
best.

These cost a few cents per word, and give better turns for the money invested than can be had in any other way.

From November
setting

to

May, inclusive, you should advertise eggs for

also

stock,

if

you have any for

inclusive, advertise

your breeders

From June to which you may have for

sale.

October,
disposal

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

73

and also your young stock. Give prices for single birds, pairs, trios and pens. Make your prices low. Advertise in a few of the best
poultry magazines.

Don't expect too

much
if

at

first.

You won't get

But
if

rich

in a month, nor a year, nor in several years.

truth, if
little

you

tell

the

you carry out every promise,

it

you give your customers a

the best of

every time, you will surely

will lead to

build

though
when

perhaps slowly
the "get-rich-

up a business that

fortune

quick" knaves are "broke" or wearing stripes.

Even

in

your small advertisements be careful what you say.

Don't brag.

You may have a wonderful

this pullet is a "flock"

pullet with

an apparently authentic
if

trap nest record of 256 eggs in a year.

Even

so don't pretend that

and advertise that your "flock has an average

of 256 eggs in a year."

Be modest.
Look through the advertisements
of

men who have made

they boast.

a worthy

name
to

in poultrydom,

and notice how

little

Isn't it better,

then, to copy such

men than

to follow

some ignorant faker who

tries

push himself ahead by stupid bragging and untruthful boasting?

If

you are in doubt, then your experience

will

will give the answer.

You
nings

need printed matter.

neat circular giving your winbirds

if

you have made any

or of the

from which your stock

came; a modest letter-head and envelopes to match; labels for your

egg boxes.

These you

will

need at the outset.

The

circular

and

letter-

heads should be of the very best quality best paper, ink and workmanship. As soon as possible have photo-engravings made from good
photographs

for

pictures are great pullers.

in the eyes of

Never use "stock"

cuts.

They cheapen you

most people.

74

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

Occasionally you will meet with dishonest buyers.

They

will tell

you that the eggs were broken, that they were

did not hatch.

infertile,

that they

Never mind.

You may not

the doubt.
price.

believe

what they
let it go.

say, but give

them the

benefit of

Duplicate their order at half price,

or, as I

often do, at no

Pocket the loss and

It will

pay in the end.

To make money on fancy stock one must be content to make haste slowly. The trade along this line is wholly a matter of confidence. One must gain that confidence before it has a financial value but, when once established it is an asset of the greatest value. The good-will of a business like that built up by Fishel or Tompkins or Cook is worth an immense fortune; for, in each case, it has been built up by years
;

of painstaking labor, in

which truth and square dealing have been the

built.

foundation stones on which their fortunes are

CHAPTER XIV
POULTRY SECRETS
A
secret
is

something studiously concealed.

Many

widely adverinvesti-

tised "secrets"

have been sold at high

prices,

which proved on

gation to be merely well

known

facts.

One

of the worst of these fakes

was a

little

booklet advertising a so-called "original strain" of birds,

eked out with a few facts stolen bodily from a produce firm's year
book, which this firm sent out gratis!
to sell a catalogue of his

In this "way" the kna^e

pretended "strain" at a dollar each.

was able The only

original

thing in the whole wretched swindle was the advertising,

to prepare,

which the fellow hired somebody

lishers accepted

and which heedless pubthey

not thinking, possibly, that in taking his money

were

r.haring his plunder.

Other alleged "secrets" were those of the various "systems" some good, some bad, mostly bad, because they promised impossibiliOne fellow had a "system" for making more than sixty dollars ties. yearly from each hen! Another swindler of the same sort advertised that his "system" would enable "six people to make a good living from
six hen*!

Aided by his stool pigeons

this petty cheat

robbed thou-

sands of unsophisticated people before he was finally taken in hand.

The poultry business

because
it

offered a rich field for these contemptible crooks,

took the authorities some time to close

down on them. And

in the interim the industry suffered and thousands were plundered,

directly

and

indirectly.

Many
breeders.

of the secrets discussed in this

book are known

to various

Some

of

them have been disclosed and are secrets no

76

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

They are published with such additions or improvements as
Others are

longer.

experience dictates.
for the first time.

new

discoveries

now made

public

MATING SECRETS.
The great breeder
wonderful Orpingtons
is

one who has learned how

to

mate

his birds

for best results for eggs,

;

meat or

exhibition.

Percy A. Cook, with his

Fishel with his massive, snow-white, non-sitting

Plymouth Rocks; Lester Tompkins and Kaufman and Windheim with the Rhode Island Reds; Parks, the "bred to lay" Barred Rock man;
Young's White Leghorns and Tecktonius with his superb Buff Leghorns
are instances of what can be done in scientific mating.

Let us consider the proper mating of certain varieties:

Barred Rocks.

The

secret of mating this grand old variety for

is this:

producing big birds and big layers

Breed to the female

line,

using light colored males, and always from two-year old hens.
big, active

Select

hens that have large, red combs, and are broad between
feathers,

the legs;

whose

on each side of the comb "stand out" instead on at night.

Select those that lay best the

of lying smooth; the singers, eaters, scratchers; the first off the roost
in the morning; the last

second winter, rather than those that have laid themselves out in their
pullet year.

In other words, breed

from those that are on the up grade

instead of down.
bullies the hens.

Do not use a male that is too heavy, nor one that And be sure that his dam was a good layer. When
is

the breeding season

food.

near give muscle making, strength building

vitality,

You want abounding

rather than quantity, in the eggs

laid for hatching.

In order that the fertility

may

be good the male should be a well

developed cockerel or a lusty

breeders.

yearling.

Old males
to all breeds

are not good

These rules are general and apply

and

varieties.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

By breeding
skill

77

to the

female line you will get good pullets both for

utility

and exhibition.

You may use your very

is

best hens for breeding

the

required being in the selection of the male.

He

should be lighter

than the hens but be careful that he

bird.

not a '"washed-out" open-barred

The barring should be

sharp, regular, with as strong barring

on the

flights as is possible to get in a pullet-bred

male.

He

should

be a rangy bird, standing well up on well spread legs, with a four

or at most a five point comb.

Don't use a "logy" bird, and for that

is

reason be very careful in selecting one that

birds are liable to be sluggards.

over weight, for such

See that he has a good red or bay

eye and be sure that he comes from a good laying strain.

Leghorns.
Single
In no breed
is vitality

so quickly depleted as in the

to

Comb White

Leghorns.

Bred primarily for eggs, pushed

first

the limit, then cast aside after the

year,

it is

only natural that

some
thin,

played out stock should get into the breeding pen.

the result
is

When

this

happens
Utterly

disastrous.

The chicks are weak,

is

"leggy," with

"crow" heads, long, drooping wings and pinched breasts.

lacking in stamina, their growth
the dreaded white diarrhoea.

slow and they

fall

easy victims to

White Leghorns observe one cast-iron rule: Breed only from two year old hens, from strong, alert birds that were not forced
In breeding
to

unusual laying in their pullet year.

The foolish craze for extra low tails has caused some breeders to throw White Minorca blood into their Leghorns, with the resulting pale legs and flat backs. It is bad practice. Remember, the Standard
calls for a tail only five degrees lower in the

Minorca than

in

the

Leghorn.

And

a judge
tail

who knows

his business will penalize a

Leghorn

with too low a

as surely as

if it

be too high.

Breed from

erect, bold,

upstanding birds.

And

get your breeders

as tame as possible.

78

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

The buff color in all varieties is a difficult proposition. Buff is a "made" color a combination of red, white and black. To blend them into that "rich, golden buff," required by the Standard, demands skill and experience. White is the hardest to combat. There is onlyone way,
in
if

you do your own mating, and that

is

to

spend a season
I

making

test hatches.

The work

is

so intricate, so difficult that

advise the beginner to purchase either tested birds from a reliable

breeder, or else secure eggs from such birds

Rhode Island Reds breed very true to type, and very untrue to The "secret" of securing good color in these birds varies with color. the different breeders. Each has his own. But the following general The Standard calls for red undercolor rules are necessary in all cases
:

throughout

in both sexes.
if

But

if

your birds are sound in hackle, wings

in the undercolor of the female.
is

and

tail,

and

the male and female are reasonably matched in surface

color you need not fear a little

smut
if

Indeed,
it

it

will

be an advantage

the male

a clear, bright red, as

will prevent the chicks from running into

buffs.

In mating Reds weight.

it is

best to use a male that

to get stilty,

is

under exhibition

Otherwise you are likely

"gamey" cockerels.

Houdans are not as popular in America as their merits deserve. They are good layers of large eggs, non-sitters and excellent table
fowls.

In breeding this variety regularity of plumage should be carefully

considered.

Too often
five

this is overlooked.

The Standard requires that

This proposition should be

the surface plumage in each sex should be glossy black, and that about

one feather in
mens.

be tipped with white.

carried out regularly.

I

To secure

it

breed from evenly marked speci-

have got the best results from males that were somewhat
It

lighter than the females, though this does not follow in all cases.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED.

would appear, therefore, that each breeder should
the best method with his

79

find out for himself

own

individual flock and

mate accordingly.

SECRETS OF SELECTING LAYERS.

It is

a trite but true saying that the hen that lays

is

the hen that

pays.

Among

the very best "bred to lay" pullets there will be some

that will never pay for their keep.

Such birds should be marketed

to

along with the

culls.

But the trouble has been

It will

distinguish the

prospective layers from the loafers.

ally difficult

be found to be not especiis

when

the secret

is

known.

And here

the secret:

Three things require especial consideration when selecting future

layers.

Observe them in order:

First

General
Shape.

appearance.

Second
Third

Conduct.
The
pullet that will lay well always looks well.

Appearance.

Her

comb

is

bright red, eyes are brilliant, feathers glossy.

As noted, the

feathers on each side of the

proven to been clearly explained, but results have been noted.

Shape.

This has comb be a sure indication. The "why and wherefore" has never
stand out like brushes.

A
a

wide and deep abdomen, a long and broad back, well

red comb, bright eyes, broad, full breast, a duck-like

spread

tail,

full,

walk

all

these indicate the layer.

Conduct. The pullet that will lay well always eats well. She is scratching from dawn to dusk the first to get busy in the morning,

80

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

She never
it.

the last to quit at night.

gets out and hustles for
pullet never

loafs

time waiting for food; she

fat.

Don't be afraid of

The

lean,

scrawny

makes a

layer.

Breeders and Winners.

In theory, the bird that "wins the blue"

should be the best for the breeding pen; but this does not always
follow.

first

prize

pen

of

Barred Rocks, for instance, would make

very sorry breeders.

is

And

in several other varieties the

"show" male

usually unsuited for breeding.

Of course there are exceptions.

The

all

Grand Championship Pens of Lester Tompkins, from which he sold the eggs he could spare, at $4 each, were also wonderful breeding

pens.

One point should always be kept

should ever go into a breeding pen.
the strain from which the bird comes.

in

mind.

No unknown
is

bird

This means that you should

know

And

a "strain"

not "origi6 coop.

nated" by purchasing birds from other breeders, nor in a

by

THE SECRET OF FERTILE

Nothing annoys a buyer more than

EGGS.

to find a lot of infertile eggs

among
than

those purchased.

And

surely nothing annoys a breeder

more

to find that

eggs

possibly

from his choicest pen

are

running

infertile.

How
What
I

can this be remedied?

is

the secret of fertile eggs?

shall tell you.

will be well to tell the
is fertile

But before doing so

it

beginner once again

is

the difference between an egg that

and one that

not.

What
Yes?

did you say?

"If it rots it is infertile."

Did you say that?

Well, you are wrong.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

An
infertile

81

egg

will not rot

during the period of incubation.

Therefore,
If

?n egg rots while incubating you may be sure that

it

was
that

fertile.

have told

this fact again

and again.

repeat

it

now

it

may

not be forgotten while considering this subject.

Fertile eggs!

Don't

expect them by following any

will not do.

of

the

alleged

"sytems."

Merely alternating males

"secret."

Yet

this

has been sold as a great

Breeding old males

to pullets or cockerels to

hens

will not,
it.

of itself, produce the results.

No "system"

of feeding will do

We may
fertility

as well admit at the outset that the hundred per cent,

is

seen in wild fowl

very

But
as

to get the highest fertility

uncommon among domestic possible we should follow nature

birds.

so far

we

can.

ing season

age of

To that end we should separate the sexes until the breedis on. We should use only mature birds for breeding. The maturity varies with the Dreed and care. The Mediterraneans,
mature earlier than the Asiatics; and well fed birds that
like the

of course,

have been kept growing every minute with high grade food,

Park and Pollard Chick Grain and Growing Food, will mature quicker
and produce far more
hustle for themselves
quantities.
fertile

eggs than those that have been

left to

fed

poor or improper food and

in

limited

Generally no male should be used for breeding before he

old.

is

a year

And hens
Watch
If

are always better than pullets.

the male.

he gives attention solely to one or two of his mates you should

alternate

either

him with another or remove

his

favorites.

The

former plan

is best.

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

See that the breeders have plenty of green
of doors
stuff,

83

and get them out

whenever you
exercise.

can.

Make them

You

will get

no

fertile

eggs from drones.

EGGS
The The

IN

WINTER.

secret of getting eggs in winter depends upon three things:

right strain, the right hatching, the right care.

Winter laying
as difficult as
it

is

unnatural.

seems.

Hens must be bred to it. This is not The Leghorn is not considered the best of

winter layers.

Yet a pen of four exhibition Buffs, bred by F. A. Tecktonius, of Racine, Wis., laid in our test pen as high as 22 eggs in
seven days in February.
Since Leghorns can be bred to such winter

laying, the heavier varieties

may

surely do as well or better.

is

How

is it

done?

Well, here

the secret: Hatch your birds so

that the pullets

may

begin laying late in the autumn.

Stuff

them growing every minute.

laying too early!
I

them

daily.

Don't

As chicks keep let them begin

have made the

is

last rule emphatic.

pullet that begins laying

too early

apt to "soldier" in December and January

when eggs

are

highest in price.

Keep the
hector them.

pullets busy.

Don't allow any old hens nor males to

Feed them

to the limit

with the right kind of food

and

you

will get the eggs.

BREEDING EXHIBITION BIRDS.

One exception, as noted, is that of the Barred Plymouth Rocks, when shown in mated pens. Such a pen would not breed winners. You must double
Like produces like
a rule;

as

but there are exceptions.

84

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

to

mate these birds using one pen

produce exhibition males and

another to produce exhibition females.

if

And

at that

you

will

be lucky

you get one really high grade show bird out

exhibition birds

of a hundred chicks.

Indeed, this follows true with most breeds.

And

that

is

the reason

why high grade

The secret
that the male
versa.

command such

big prices.

of getting exhibition birds of

any variety

is

to

mate

your birds so that one sex

may compliment

the other

meaning thereby
and vice
Secrets,"

must supply any shortcoming

is

in the female,

The subject
It is

too extensive to be treated fully in a single

chapter,
to

thoroughly covered in
is

my

book "Show

Room

which the reader

referred,

if

interested in this branch of the

poultry industry.

DYING
It is

IN

THE SHELL.
number
of well developed

most discouraging
for this in

to find that a

chicks, almost ready to hatch, have "died in the shell."

Low

vitality

may account
want
of

some

cases;

but usually the chicks die for

breath smothered
of oxygen!

in the shell.

Lack

There you have

it.

Par more incubator chicks die from

hens.

this cause than are lost

under

The secret
I

of prevention is to supply

more oxygen.

have saved many chicks that were leady to pip by dipping the eggs in hot water for a moment then removing them quickly so that the air might work in through the opened pores of the shell. A better
way, especially with
incubator eggs,
is

to

use

the

Oxy-Vitalizer,

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

invented by Dr. Merkley of Buffalo. This
is

85

an inexpensive attachgreatly

ment which may be applied to any incubator, and which increases both the number and vitality of chicks hatched.

EGG EATING.
This
is

a vicious habit.

An egg

eating hen will demoralize a

whole

flock, for the trick is easily learned.

Various "cures" have been suggested.

beak;
filling

Paring down the offenders

an egg shell with nauseous compound; leaving china eggs

about; any of these methods

may

prove effective.

And they may

not.

Prevention

is

better than cure.

Provide nests that are so high in front

that eggs cannot roll out.

Place a number of china eggs in the nest.

Use trap nests and have them quite dark. Furnish plenty of oyster shells, beef scraps, bone and green food. Gather the eggs often, and
feed scratch grain in the litter at short intervals.

Keep the hens

busy and they wont have time

to learn

bad habits.

HOW TO GET MORE

An
number.
fowls
all

PULLETS.

excess of pullets

is

desirable,

and for unknown ages men have

sought to find a

way to obtain them. There have been "ways" without The shape of the egg; the time of the moon; the sizes of the were sure to work until tried.

After a careful series of tests

satisfaction of

it

has been demonstrated to the

very large and active

many

people that mating a reliable cock that will be

two years old

late in the following spring, to

old,

females that are at least one year

five to forty of

and by allowing from twenty-

such females to one such male the offspring will be

pullets

by a good majority.

CHAPTER XV
THE TOWNSEND TESTS
For a number of seasons
I

have been conducting a series of im-

portant tests in the interests of the poultry industry

Unlike

all

other tests at

home
fee

or abroad there are

to advertise a

no

ulterior

motives in these.

They are not conducted

is

newspaper
breed-

nor a college.
their

No admission

charged.

Breeders who enter

good birds

and

only birds of quality are accepted

such

ers receive, as they deserve, the full benefits of the publicity achieved.

These

tests are not confined to laying as are others.

They cover a
hatching,

multitude

of

interesting

and valuable questions

laying,

vitality, fertility,

diseases, feeding, growth, housing,

appliances and

so on and on.

These
breeders

tests are absolutely inpartial.

If

the birds entered by famous

late

make

big showings

as

have those of U. R. Fishel, the

Robert

C. Tuttle,

Lester Tompkins,

Wm. Cook
is

and Sons,

F. A.
If

Tecka

tonius and others of their class

breed,

it

their good fortune.

first
S.

new
iof

unknown and unheralded, wins

or

honors as did a pen

Partridge Plymouth Rocks entered by

A. Noftzger, well

and good.
is

Known

unknown, big or

little;

all

are free to enter; and there

no charge for so doing.

These
way.

tests are practical.

Facts are sought, not fancies; results,

not theories.

And

the results thus far have been satisfactory in every

Among

the facts established are these: That

little

chicks do not

require feeding five or six times a day.

We

fed once a day, and the

POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED

chicks thrived exceedingly.
unsanitary.

87

That dropping boards are needless and

We have done away with them entirely. That if given the same chance a good, healthy Leghorn will eat as much as a Rock with this difference: that the Leghorn wastes surplus food in needless exercise, while the Rock wastes it in needless fat. That the claims
of a

made
hens

whole family of six living

off

the product of half a dozen

of tens of thousands cleared yearly from half an acreof pullets laying at three months or "flocks" averaging "258 eggs yearly per
of
baby chicks thriving out of doors
in fireless brooders during
false.

hen"

zero weather

that

such claims were absolutely

That there

is

no "best" variety, although some are better than others.

is

That laying That sex

in the

.more a matter of breeding and feeding than of breed.

can be influenced to a considerable degree.

shell chiefly for lack of

That chicks die

oxygen; and

many more

equally valuable and

interesting.

These

tests will be continued for

an indefinite period, for there

are multitudes of facts yet to be established.

Therefore
If

shall be pleased to

hear from breeders at any time.

you have a popular variety that you want tested; or an old variety

that has been neglected; or a

tion

new
I

variety that
will help

is

fighting for recogniI

let

me

hear from you, and

you so far as

can, and

without any cost to you.

the

The same

offer applies to

anything new in

way

of appliances or products.
to visit

Meanwhile you are cordially invited

me whenever
If

possible.

My

testing plant

is

open for inspection every day.

If
all,

you are an old

breeder you are surely welcome.

you are a beginner you are doubly

welcome.
as possible

thank you one and

it is

and hope to see as many of you

whenever

possible for you to come.

FEB

1912

One copy

del. to Cat.

Div.

KtB

1912

National
Poultry Magazine
Buffalo,

New York

The one
afford to

Poultry Publication you can't

be without.

Bright,

Newsy,

Up-to-date.

A real Magazine, interesting

different.

because
has
a

it's

The

National
that
is

Beginners' department
to

worth many dollars

you each year.

The Women's,

Foreign, Pigeon and

Bee

departments are conducted by experts.

Valuable information each month.

Sen d for a sample Cop])

It
is

free

50c a Year

Three Years for $1.00

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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