Plucking Ducks And Geese
Categories: Poultry KeepingI would like to know about how, when and how often to pick old ducks so
as to get the feathers for pillows and not kill the ducks, either. Will
they lay any eggs while growing new feathers?
Neither ducks nor geese should be plucked until after the laying season
is over, which will be in July. Just before the moult, when the feathers
begin to loosen, they may be plucked again. Those most considerate of
the
inconvenience the fowls. At no time must they be plucked unless the
feathers are "ripe"; that is, dry at the root, so that no bleeding or
injury to the skin is caused. An old stocking is drawn over the head of
the victim, and the bird held in the plucker's lap on a burlap apron;
then the soft feathers on the body are quickly and very gently removed;
but those on the side of the body which support the wings should not be
taken. Great care should be exercised not to injure the skin or
pinfeathers or pull the down. To grow new feathers quickly and resume
laying are matters which depend largely upon the condition of the bird
and the feed. The latter should consist of some 15 per cent of animal
food.
More
-
Permanent Pastures
There is a large total area of land that can be brought into profitable production of food only by means of pasture grasses. A small part is too low and moist for tillage, but a larger part is too rough or too infertile. It can be made to yield profit... Phosphoric-acid Requirements
Soil analyses show that the content of phosphoric acid in most soils of this country is relatively small. The results of experiments with the various constituents of fertilizers are in accord with this fact. Fertilizer experiments at the various stat... Physical Analysis
Chemical analysis is costly and unsatisfactory as a guide to fertilization. Physical analysis by a competent man may have distinct value, and especially to one lacking experience with his soil. The mapping of soils by national and state authorities ha... Physical Benefit Of The Roots
While the roots and stubble contain less than two fifths of the total plant-food in a clover crop, one may not safely infer that the removal of the crop for hay reduces the beneficial effect of the clover to the soil fully 60 per cent, or more. The r... Pie-melons And Pigs
I have 14 sows which were fed almost entirely on pie-melons and milk, not much of the latter. Out of the 14, only 3 sows have saved any pigs; the rest lost all the young they had. Four or five sows that for the last three weeks have had no melon... Pigs In The Orchard
I have an orchard of Bartlett pears about fifteen years old, located on sediment land. I desire to set this to alfalfa, and to feed the alfalfa by letting hogs eat it off, thereby leaving the droppings on the land. What I wish to know is this: W... Pigs Losing Tails
We have five pigs, 17 days old, and when they were farrowed they had rings around the roots of their tails, and now their tails are dropping off. This is caused by interference with circulation before birth. Apply tinct. iodine around the aff... Pigs Out Of Condition
Of a litter of pigs weaned about a month several of them have itchy scabs on their legs, ears and noses, and those having white feet show reddish spots through the hoofs. They did not get it until after they were weaned. They are fed on soaked w... Places For Apples
What quality is it in the soil in the vicinity of Watsonville that makes that country peculiarly adapted to the culture of apples? Are there not other portions of the State where apples could be produced on a commercial basis? It is not alone... Plant Corn In Warm Ground
I also put in a lot of corn and none of it came up. The ground was damp and rather cold, as well as being alkali. Corn should never be planted in cold, wet ground - in fact, very few seeds should be. Besides, corn has no use for alkali. ... Planting
The land should be fitted as it is for corn. Light, sandy soils require little preparation, and too often the seeding is made in a woefully careless manner, the chief dependence being placed upon sufficiently deep covering to insure germination. The g... Planting Bush Fruits
What is the best time to set out blackberries and Loganberries? Any time after the soil is thoroughly wet down and you can get good, mature and dormant plants for transplanting. This may be as early as ... Planting Deciduous Fruit Trees
In order to gain time, I have thought of planting apples and pears this fall, in the belief I would be just that much nearer a crop, than though I waited until next spring. The land is sandy loam; no irrigation. Would you advise fall or spring p... Planting Fruit Trees On Clearings
We wish to plant orchard trees on land cleared this winter: manzanita and chaparral, but also some oaks and large pines and groves of small pines. We have been told that trees planted under such conditions, the ground containing the many small r... Planting In Mud
Why does ground lose its vitality or its growing qualities when it is plowed or stirred when wet, and does this act in all kinds of soil in the same way? We are planting a fig and olive orchard at the present time, but some were planted when the... Planting Trees In Alkali Soil
My land contains a considerable quantity of both the black and white alkalies, the upper two feet being a rather heavy, sticky clay, the next three feet below being fine sand, containing more or less alkali, while immediately underneath this san... Planting Whole Potatoes
One man states the only way to cut seed is to take a potato and cut the ends off and not divide the potato any more; or, in other words, a whole potato for each seed. Good results are obtained by planting whole potatoes, but in that case ther... Plants Will Tell About Alkali
Please give information as to the application of gypsum to my soil which is somewhat alkaline. I do not care to have an analysis made of my soil, and believe that you can advise me without it. If your soil is too alkaline for the growth of pla... Please Give Information About Growing Filberts
Filberts have been largely a disappointment in California and no product of any amount has ever been made. Good nuts have been produced in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range. Theoretically, the places where the wild hazel grows w... Please Inform Me How To Plant Jersey Or Cow Kale
Jersey kale can be planted by thin scattering of seeds in rows 2 1/2 feet apart so as to admit of cultivation, or the plants can be grown just as cabbage plants are and set out 2 1/2 or 3 feet apart, the squares to admit of cultivation both ways. T... Plowing From Or Towards
Which is the proper way to plow an orchard? First to plow to the trees and then to plow from them, or to plow from the trees and then to them, and your reasons? I have had many arguments with my neighbor farmers. There is difference of opinion... Plowing In Young Orchard
How near can I plow to two-year-old orange trees safely? You can plow young orange orchards as close to the trees as you can approach without injuring the bark, regulating depth so as not to destroy main roots. Destruction of root fibers which... Plowing Straw Down
The practice of plowing straw under as a manure is unsafe, when used in any large quantity per acre. It rots slowly, and while lying in the bottom of the furrow it cuts off the rise of water from the subsoil which is a reservoir of moisture for use du... Plucking Ducks And Geese
I would like to know about how, when and how often to pick old ducks so as to get the feathers for pillows and not kill the ducks, either. Will they lay any eggs while growing new feathers? Neither ducks nor geese should be plucked until after... Pneumonia In Pigs
What is the disease which may be said to confine itself, with few exceptions, to young pigs weighing 100 pounds or less? Its symptoms are at first sneezing and a mild cough. These quickly change to hard coughing and labored breathing, which as t... Pollen Must Be Of The Same Kind
Do peaches, nectarines and apricots set fruit with the pollen of one another, and are the various peaches, nectarines and apricots self-sterile, or will most kinds set fruit with their own pollen? We do not count upon pollination between diffe... Pollination Of Almonds
I have Drake's Seedling almonds. Some people have told me that I must plant some hardshell variety between them, otherwise they will not bear. It is not necessary to plant hardshell almonds near Drake's Seedling trees in order to have them bea... Pollination Of Bartletts
Would Clapp's Favorite be a good pollinizer for the Bartlett as well as the White Doyenne? The white Doyenne and the Clapp's Favorite usually begin to bloom three or four days later than the Bartlett, but the Bartlett period extends about ten... Pollination Of Black Tartarian
There are many old Tartarian cherry trees around our district that have only borne a few cherries in years. There are Bing, Royal Ann and Early Purple Guignes here with these, but they seldom, if ever, bloom with the Tartarian at the proper time... Pollination Of Pears
Is it necessary in growing the Comice pear successfully, to put some other pear near for the purpose of pollination in order to make it successful? Will the ordinary Bartlett pear do for pollination? The Comice pear blooms with the Bartlett, a... Pollinizing Plums
How many rows of Robe de Sergeant prune trees should be alternated with the French prune (the common dried prune of commerce) to insure perfect fertilization of the blossoms? The French prune is self-fertile; that is, it does not require the ... Poor Feeding Depraved Appetite
I have three cows. They have been fed alfalfa hay all winter and are in very good condition and seem otherwise in good health, and have salt to run to. Every time they chance to come to the yard they will pick up on old bone and chew it for perh... Possibly Too Much Water
My trees are four years old and are as follows: Peach, fig, loquat, apple, apricot and plum. Last year they had plenty of blossoms, but I got no fruit. I always watered them twice a week in summer. You are watering your trees too much; stimula... Potato Balls
I find in potato writings of forty years ago that the seed from the potato balls which form on the tops of the plants is recommended for growing the best potatoes. In later books I find no mention of them and all are advised how to cut the tuber... Potato Growing
In what locality are the best early potatoes grown in California? Can they be raised on wheat lands without irrigation as an early crop? Early potatoes are grown in regions of light frosts in all parts of the State - around the bay of San Fran... Potato Planting
How many sacks of potatoes are to be planted to an acre, and how many eyes are to be left in a seed? If, for instance, we plant seed with three eyes, how many potatoes should we get from that vine? Potatoes are planted all the way from five to... Potato Planting
I have ten acres of land in Placer county which I propose to put into potatoes next spring. It has been recommended to me to put potatoes in as early as January. It seems to me that January is rather early; however, it is said that this land is ... Potato Scab
Can potatoes be treated in any way before planting to prevent the new ones from being what is called "scabby"? There are two successful treatments for scab in potatoes. One is dipping in a solution of corrosive sublimate. Dissolve one ounce in... Potato Scab
I think most of my potatoes will have some scab. Will you please tell me if my next crop would be apt to have scab, provided I got good clean seed and planted in the same ground? It seems demonstrated that a treatment of the seed will practica... Potato Yield
What is the yield per acre of potatoes on the best land around Stockton, Cal., where work is done properly; also what is the yield for potatoes along the coast? The average yield of potatoes in California, taking the whole acreage and product... Potatoes After Alfalfa
I have been a successful potato grower in Ohio. I have the best alfalfa soil and it is now in its fourth year of productiveness in that crop. I would like to grow potatoes in a small way. Proceed just as you would at the East in getting potato... Potatoes After Corn
When potatoes are grown in the corn belt, a five years' rotation of corn, potatoes, oats, wheat, and clover, or corn, potatoes, wheat, clover, and timothy, is one of the best. When a late potato crop is grown, there is not time for seeding to wheat in... Potatoes And Crimson Clover
In some potato-producing sections in warm latitudes it is a not uncommon practice to grow potatoes year after year on the same land, seeding to crimson clover after the removal of the crop in August, and plowing the clover down early in the spring. R... Potatoes And Frosts
Can I keep frost off of potato tops by building smudge fires! I would like to plant about February 1, but we usually have a few light frosts here during March. If I were to turn water in the field when too cold, would that keep the frost off, an... Potatoes On Heavy Land
Will potatoes grow well in adobe land, or partly adobe, that has not been used for seven years except for pasturing? Although potatoes enjoy best of all a light loam in which they can readily expand, it is possible to get very good results on ... Potatoes Should Be Planted Early
I have Early Rose potatoes planted about May first. The tops look fine, but there are few potatoes and small, and, though not developed, have commenced growing a second time, sprouts starting from the new potatoes. When should I plant and what c...