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THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER
Thursday, October 26, I9ii'
Advice to Beginners in the
Poultry Business.
Opportunities for making a suc
cess of poultry raising in the South
were never better. We need more
men who will grow poultry—not
the scrub stock that we now see
adorning the barnyards of so many
Southern homes, but thoroughbred
and better poultry that will demand
the best prices, and will always
find a ready market. We are buy
ing millions of dollars worth of
poultry products from our North
ern brothers each year and having
them shipped to us at fancy prices.
Why not just reverse this? Let’s
grow all of the poultry that we need
to consume and have some to ship
out. We have an excellent oppor
tunity for doing this; we have the
soil, the climate, the feed, or we
can grow it, the means, and the
brains so why not use them.
In the growing of poultry as in
any other business there’are many
drawbacks and it is principally of
these obstacles and how to over
come them that we wish to speak in
this article. To start right in the
poultry business spells success in
most instances. To start with poor
methods a breed not suited to pur
pose ; appliances and houses that do
not meet the requirements even
though they be expensive, will us
ually result in failure. A great
amount of time, money and
opportunity is lost every year in
making mistakes and afterwards
trying to rectify them, which means
more loss of time and money. So
let the beginner above everything
else endeavor to start right.
In all of the operations of the
farm there is much carelessness,
but we believe that in no depart
ment is there so much carelessness
and inattention as in the growing
of poultry. This business is built
of little duties and attentions to
the daily need of the stock. Care
lessness and inattention to these
details and duties will work out
failure.
When only a few chicks are to be
grown and the range is spacious,
the need of care will be lessened,
and this number will somehow look
out for themselves, but where the
number of chickens goes into the
hundreds and the range is limited it
needs our constant attention and
care to bring the chicks to proper
maturity.
The feeding question is little
thought of, but, nevertheless, is
very important. Chicks should be
fed regularly; the ration should be
properly compounded giving all the
essential nutrients. A few days of
improper feeding will knock off
the entire profit that has been made
on the stock during the whole year.
Nothing should be trusted to luck,
we should know exactly what the
birds demand, and supply it in a
way that they may get the most out
of it. They should be given con
stantly grit, water, scraps, a succu
lent food, dust baths and other es
sentials for the comfort of the
young stock.
Many breeders take care to
bring up a good flock of birds and
then leave them to the mercy of in
vading rodents and other vermin.
W'e should go through every house
at night, see that every bird is all
right and comfortably situated; all
doors and windows which have not
been screened should be closed,
but let the buildings be well venti
lated.
Do not trust to the wire fence
around the house; many of the in
truders will dig under or gain en
trance by different methods, so do
everything in your power for pre
vention.
Another cause for much loss is
the unbusiness-like methods ap
plied. An account of all expendi
tures and incomes should be care
fully kept. The breeder should
know at all times just what his as
sets and liabilities are, and how
much gain or loss. By knowing
this he can plan to prevent this loss,
or he finds out how to make the
business pay him most. It may
sound unreasonable, but there are
many poultrymen who claim to be
successful, who could not, if you
should ask them, tell you what
their feed cost them last month or
last year; they could not tell you
how much they made last year—in
fact, they know very little about the
financial side of their business.
Such a state of affairs should not
exist—the poultryman should know
a.s much about his business as the
'ranker, merchant or manufacturer.
Many failures are due directly to
the lack of foresight and prepara
tion. No man should make the mis
take of growing more birds than he
has ample room for, and yet this
mistake is a common cause of fail
ure. It is any easy matter to take
care of 500 or 600 small chicks on
a few small lots, but as they grow
to maturity these quarters will be
come entirely too small, filth will
begin to accumulate, a few days or
weeks of rainy weather will follow,
and disease will soon come causing
loss, and discouragement is usually
next on the program. To avoid all
this the breeder must have enough
foresight to make the proper plans,
and prepare enough roof, or about
ten times as much when the fowls
are grown as when they are a few
weeks old.
Another great mistake is made in
not keeping constantly in touch
with the current market prices for
market poultry. By a careful study
of market conditions, the poultry-
man can plan to have his stock
ready for the market when the
prices are highest, or he may find
out that there are other markets
he can get besides the one near
him. Many times where prices ad
vance, the grower holds his stock,
thinking it will go still higher, and
while he is waiting the “bottom
drops out of the market” and he
loses heavily.
In the construction of new hous
es, pens, etc., the same lack of fore
thought is often shown. In build-
ing your houses, take time, study,
plan, investigate and find out what
sort of house will give best results.
Count the cost before you build,
and build a house that can be run
in the easiest possible way and save
time and labor for the attendant.
Consider well its location, both for
summer and winter. The chicks
need plenty of shade during the
summer, but they must have much
sunshine during the winter to get
best results.
In feeding, much is often lost be
cause we try to economize in the
quantity and quality of food used
to rear our poultry, as it is not a
matter of how long it will take to
feed out a bag or two of feed, but
how quickly we can make them eat
and digest it, for the quicker the
right sort of food gets into the di
gestive system the quicker it will
come out as growth upon the bird,
and the quicker it can be exchanged
for cash. We should never buy
damaged grain or food for poultry
because it may be a few cents
cheaper. It is false economy. The
real economy in the feeding of
poultry so as to obtain the best re
sults in the shortest possible time
for market poultry and for the pro
duction of eggs, is to buy the best
grade of every thing and then to
blend it in the right proportions so
as to get out of it all the food val
ue it contains.
Let the grower always take due
precautions. It is as important in
thfe business as in any other, and
much loss is due to the failure to
make the proper plans and allow
ances. There are so many contin
gencies that can not be put down
to take place at any given time that
all we can do is to be ready for
them when they come. Some morn
ing it looks like rain, and precau
tions must be taken to get all the
chicks under shelter as soon as the
rain begins to fall, if they are to
be let out at all that day. Some
man might be left, ready to look
after them immediately. More
chickens arc lost annually through
out this country on account of the
neglect of taking the proper pre
caution against emergencies of all
kinds than from any ’other source-
We have attempted to point out
a few of the avenues of loss to the
man who begins to raise poultry.
These are a few, but there are
many more which it will be well
worth while to study carefully. lu
conclusion, let me say, if you wish
to succeed in growing poultry, you
must be in love with the work, give
it close and c'dreful attention, use
the breeds best suited to your con
ditions and your tastes, and use
good business judgment in all of
your operations.—^^W. M. Brownr
Dixon, Tenn., in Industrious Hen-
Lay in the winter’s supply of
road dust or sifted coal-ashes, as h
will be needed for dust baths.
A load of gravel scattered
around houses and coops would
greatly contribute to the health of
many a flock.
A hen will eat at least a bushel J
of com a year if she can get it. Put
aside that amount for each one, and
see that each one gets her share.
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