Poultry Keeping
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A Dry Mash
Will you give a formula for a dry mash? Wheat bran, 500 pounds; middlings, 200 pounds; cracked corn, 200 pounds; charcoal, 20 pounds; alfalfa meal 200 pounds; bone meal, 150 pounds; blood-meal 100 pounds; meat cracklings, if ground, 200 pounds... A Point On Mating
I have fine roosters a year old this April; would you advise keeping them for mating with the same hens next season, or do you advise selling each year and getting fresh stock? The young males will be all right to mate with the same hens next ... Age For Mating
At what age may a cockerel be mated with hens? ... Bad Food For Chickens
My chicks are about three weeks old and have always been strong and sturdy, but when taken sick first appear a little dumpish, then the head seems a little heavy and the neck lengthens out. As the disease advances they become staggery. ... Bowel Trouble In Chicks
What is the cause of bowel trouble in young chicks, and what to do for it? Bowel trouble in very young chicks is usually caused by a chill. It is very hard for us here to believe chicks get chilled because, not feeling the cold ourselves, we ... Cannibal Chicks
What can I do to cure my chicks of eating each other? Some kind of animal food is necessary when the chicks begin to pick toes, wings and vents. But the meat must always be cooked, the least bit of raw meat drives them wild as does the blood t... Caponizing
Can three to four month old cockerels be caponized successfully in summer, and if so, what care, feed, etc., do they require afterwards? The birds should be between two to three months, not over four, unless some very large variety that mature... Chicken Pox
My one and two-year-old fowls are getting scabby combs. It starts with a round blackish spot and swells into many spots, finally nearly covering one side of the comb. Sometimes accompanying this is the closing of one eye, and later both eyes. ... Clipping Hens For Cleanliness
My hens foul all the feathers below the vent; they appear healthy, but do not look nice. What can I do? Take a pair of scissors and clip the fluff away from that part of the abdomen, give a teaspoonful of olive oil, and notice of they have any... Cloth For Brooding Houses
Would some good grade of white cloth on a frame do as well, or would it be better than glass, for a brooder house, or would it keep out too much sun-heat? Cheesecloth, not heavy cloth, would be better than glass, so far as the sun is concerne... Cockerels Of The Larger Breeds Should Not Be Mated Before A Year Old
... Cure For Feather-eating
What is the cure for feather-eating? ... Dipping Fowls
How do you dip hens to kill lice? To dip fowls you must have a very warm day, or a warm room where you can turn them in to dry. I have know people to use tobacco stems, but it requires good judgment as to the right strength to use. The dips us... Disinfectants
What can I use to disinfect poultry belongings? Sulphuric acid spray is good, but you will need to be very careful that you do not get it on the hands or clothing. Get 16 ounces sulphuric acid (50 per cent solution), water 6 gallons. Have the ... Feather Eating Is The Result Of Idleness Or A Shortage Of Green Feed
The best way to cure it is to furnish the fowls with exercise. Boil some oats until soft, and when cooked stir in salt enough to taste and about a quart of good beef scrap; feed this for breakfast several mornings together. Make them scratch for the r... Feeding Hens For Hatching Eggs
Should soft feed be given to the mothers of chicks intended for broilers? How about dry mash? How would you advise feeding animal protein? Cut out all ground feed, except perhaps a little wheat bran. While you may not get quite as many eggs, ... From Nine Months To A Year Is The Proper Age To Mate A Leghorn Cockerel
... Grains For Chickens
What variety of grain adopted for poultry food will be the best to grow, with and also without irrigation? Wheat is a standard grain for poultry feeding, and Egyptian corn is also largely used. Indian corn is also satisfactory, under the gener... Largely Compiled From The Writings Of Mrs W Russell James And Mrs
... Limber-neck
A very peculiar disease is taking off my fowls. The head of the fowl bends down to the breast and the fowl looks like dead, there is also a slight discharge from the mouth. The head and tail droop and if the fowl could stand up they would almost... Liver Disease
I have hens which seem well in every respect up to the time of their combs changing color, when they die within three days. The combs turn a faint yellow, almost white; they are heavy, have their usual appetite up to the lost 24 hours. I have tr... Melons For Fowls
Have "stock melons" or "citrons" any merit as a green food for laying hens? Are the seeds of the above injurious to hens or cows? Stock melons are desirable for chicken feeding if other succulent materials are scarce, but they are inferior to ... Neither Plant Likes Dry Heat Or Dry Soil
... Open-front Chicken Houses
In what direction shall I face open-front poultry houses? North or northeast is the proper direction to face the open fronts of poultry houses and coops in the Pacific Coast climate. The prevailing winds are from the south and southeast in the... 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... Poultry Diarrhea
Will you kindly tell me the cause and cure for bowel trouble among hens? The "quick cure" for chick diarrhea has not yet been found. Prevention is the only sure remedy. The first treatment in diarrhea (which must not be confused with simple lo... Poultry In The Orchard
Kindly advise me about keeping hens in an orchard. I would like to know if they will injure the trees in any way if kept in large numbers. In what way would they benefit the trees? From the point of view of the trees there is no doubt that the... Poultry Tonic
What is a good poultry tonic? The following is a very good tonic for general purposes: Tincture of red cinchona, 1 fluid ounce; tincture of chloride of iron, 1 fluid drachm; tincture of flux vomica, 4 fluid drachms; glycerine 2 ounces; water, ... Preserving Eggs
What is a good way to preserve eggs for home use? In a cool cellar, eggs will keep very well in a mixture of common salt and bran. Use equal parts, mix well, and as you gather the eggs from day to day pack with big end down in the mixture and ... Quick Roosters And Laying Hens
How can I get the young roosters off quick and the hens to lay in winter? These two happy results come from correct methods of poultry keeping from the ground up. To get the cockerels off quick, they must be hatched from strong-germed eggs, i... Rape And Vetch For Chickens
What time do you sow rape and vetch and are they good for chickens? They surely are good for chickens or for any other stock that likes greens. They are winter growers in California valleys and should be sown in the fall as soon as the land is... Roup In Turkeys
My turkeys have a disease that is spreading rapidly. They commence with a running at the nose, have swelling under the eyes which are filled with pus. This is clearly a case of cold developing into roup. Get one ounce of permanganate of potas... Roup Treatment
... Rupture Of Oviduct
I have had two other hens die suddenly when on the nest. The second one - we opened and found one egg broken near the vent and another with shell formed ready to be laid. Rupture of the oviduct was probably the cause of the hens dying on the ... Sunflower Seeds For Poultry
What is the food value of sunflower seed as a ration for fowls, mostly laying hens? Should it be fed whole or crushed? Sunflower seed is rich in oil, having the same proportion as flaxseed; otherwise it rates in value the same as grain. A litt... Susan Swapgood
... Teaching Chicks To Perch
What is a good method of breaking in young brooder chicks to use the roosts? At from six to eight weeks old the chicks should be taken from the brooder quarters to the colony houses and range, or wherever they are to be located, and at this t... The Droppings Are Loose And Very White
The fowls were victims of jaundice, which is a form of liver disease and caused by over-feeding on rich starchy foods that also cause fowls to become overfat. However, at the end of the laying season and the beginning of the molt the poultry keeper ... To Destroy Fleas
My barn, is full, of fleas I tried to destroy them by using creso-dip, but did not kill them, all. Fleas can only be permanently checked by destroying their breeding places which are in the dust! and dirt that accumulate in cracks and corners... Up To A Week Ago The Chickens Had Been Exceptionally Well In Every Way
Now they seem to have a cold and a running at the nose and with it a bad odor. It was suggested that this might be the beginning of roup, but I see no swell-head. The distinguishing characteristic of roup is not so-called "swell head" or other form... White-yolk Eggs
Why are eggs watery and light-colored? The trouble is in the feed somewhere. Too much green feed, especially green feed that springs from wet, soggy ground, will sometimes make the eggs watery. Or if you are feeding more mash feed than dry gra... Your Chicks Have Eaten Soured Food Decayed Vegetables Or Tainted Meat
Baby chicks are just like other babies and the same care should be used that their food be always sweet and fresh. Wet food should never be given chicks, nor raw meat nor anything the least bit tainted or stale. Put a teaspoon of coal oil in each pint...