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 MRS, A.BAJLEY 
 
Western 
 Poultry Book 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. A. BASLEY 
 
 TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO AND fiOW TO DO IT 
 THE CHICKEN BUSINESS FROM FIRST TO LAST 
 
 WITH 
 
 Questions and Answers 
 
 Relative to Up-to-date Poultry Culture 
 
 Published by 
 
 MRS. A. BASLEY 
 
 Los Angeles, California 
 
 PRICE ONE DOLLAR 
 
 The Neuner Company Press 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 1910 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 In the hope of helping beginners and others of my friends in the poultry 
 business, and in response to urgent requests for a book on poultrj' culture from 
 my pen, I wrote a small volume a year ago. The whole edition was sold in 
 a year, and on account of the interest taken in it and the demand for some- 
 thing more. I have re-written it and added chapters on breeding in line, fireless 
 brooders and other new features in the poultry business. 
 
 The book is a sjniopsis of many chapters of my "Woman's Work in the 
 Poultry Yard" and other talks on poultry, and embodies the personal, practical 
 experiences I have been through myself in manj- years of pleasant work in 
 the poultry yard. Its object is not necessarily to urge anyone into the business, 
 but to encourage and help beginners and especially newcomers on the Pacific 
 Coast, where conditions differ materially from those in the East and where 
 there is an increasingly' large demand for both poultry and eggs; where the 
 poultry business is about as profitable as any that can be undertaken and a 
 good living maj' be made in the pure air and sunshine by any industrious man 
 or woman. 
 
 Having for many years been lecturer at the Farmers' Institutes in the 
 Extension Courses of the University of California, for two years instructor in 
 poultry husbandry at the poultrj' school of the University of California, and 
 having been editor or associate editor of four agricultural and other news- 
 papers on the Pacific Coast, many questions have during this time been pro- 
 pounded to me relating to the poultry business, its difficulties, the troubles 
 of poultry raisers and the ailments of fowls. Some of these questions will be 
 found in tliis book with the answers to them, also remedies for the diseases or 
 ills of fowls in this climate. 
 
 Hoping and feeling sure that my little book may prove a help to all its 
 readers, I am, 
 
 Verv cordiallv vour friend. 
 
 (OCI.A2'6Tll.i 
 
Airs. A. Basley 
 
Copyriyht \mO by 
 Mrs. A. Basliv 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Common Sense Poultry Houses 9 
 
 What Variety to Choose 18 
 
 Eggs for Breeding 27 
 
 Eggs for Market 30 
 
 The Feeding Problem 34 
 
 Sample Rations 35 
 
 Feeding Beans 39 
 
 Sprouting Oats 44 
 
 Breeding-in-Line 45 
 
 Fertile Eggs 53 
 
 Testing Eggs for Incubation 56 
 
 Natural Incubation 59 
 
 Artificial Incubation 64 
 
 Care of Brooder Chicks 69 
 
 Fireless Brooder 73 
 
 White Diarrhoea in Brooder Chicks 74 
 
 Vigor 71 
 
 One-Day-Old-Chick Trade 79 
 
 Broiler Ranches 80 
 
 Summer Work 81 
 
 Trap Nest 85- 
 
 Grit and Gizzard 89 
 
 Pests of a Poultry Yard 92 
 
 Diseases of Poultry (Roup) 95 
 
 Town Lot Fowls 98 
 
 Moulting Season 101 
 
 Value of Economy 105 
 
 Preserving Eggs 109 
 
 Capons 112 
 
 Turkeys and How to Raise Them 116 
 
 Ducks and their Varieties 124 
 
 Something about Geese 131 
 
 Basley Formulas 134 
 
 Questions and Answers 135 
 
 Cause and Cure of Sickness 137 
 
 Lice, Mites, Ticks and Worms 159 
 
 Feeding in General 165 
 
 Egg Question 173 
 
 Hatching with Incubator and Hen 176 
 
 Yard Room 183 
 
 Mating and Breeding 184 
 
 Miscellaneous Questions 185 
 
 Turkey Questions 190 
 
 About Ducks and Geese 195 
 
classifij:d index 
 
 Acute Indigestion 148 
 
 Age for Mating 184 
 
 Air Puflf 137 
 
 Airing Eggs in Incubator 176 
 
 American Class 19 
 
 Analysis of Hen and Egg 32 
 
 Analysis of Beans 41 
 
 Animal Food 165 
 
 Apoplexy 137 
 
 Artificial Incubation 64 
 
 Asiatic Class 21 
 
 \\l(.'sl>ur3' Ducks 125 
 
 B 
 
 I'.ad Meat 166 
 
 I'.alanced Ration 31-100 
 
 HaUl Head 138 
 
 Hasloy Formulas 134 
 
 lu-ans. Feeding 39 
 
 Bedbugs 92 
 
 Beet Tops 166 
 
 Blind Chicks 138 
 
 Blood Meal 166 
 
 Blood Spots in Eggs 1 74 
 
 Body Lice 159 
 
 Breeds and Classes 18 
 
 Breeding 45-184 
 
 Breeding Chart, I. K. Felch 49 
 
 Breeding Chart, Mrs. Metcalf 50 
 
 •Breathing Difliculty 146 
 
 Broiler Ranches 80 
 
 I'.roilors, Ration for 36 
 
 llroken Glass and China for Grit.. 171 
 
 Brooders 182 
 
 Brooders, Fireless 73-187 
 
 Brooder Chick, Care of 69-182 
 
 Broken-down Hen 189 
 
 Broncliitis 138-142-152 
 
 r.uff Orpington Ducks 128 
 
 Bumble Foot 137 
 
 Burglar Alarm 183 
 
 C 
 
 Cancer 1 39 
 
 Canker 96-139 
 
 Cannibalism 1 39 
 
 Capons 112-185 
 
 Capons as Mothers 114 
 
 Capons, Training 114 
 
 Catarrh 94-144 
 
 Cat and Hawk Proof Coup 133 
 
 Caponizing 112-113 
 
 Care of Brooder Chicks 69 
 
 Care of Fertile Eggs 29 
 
 Castor Bean Bushes 185 
 
 Charts for Breeding 49-50 
 
 Chart for Marking Chicks 52 
 
 Chicks Choking 141 
 
 Chicks Dving in Shells 178 
 
 Chicks. Rations for 71-72-189 
 
 Chicken-pox 140 
 
 Clioosing Eggs for Hatching 29 
 
 Colony Houses 9-16 
 
 Ciinil) Discolored 141 
 
 Coml) White 142 
 
 Common Sense Poultry Houses... 9 
 
 Composition of Hen and Egg 32 
 
 Congestion of the Lungs 143 
 
 Cold in the Head 141 
 
 Cooling Eggs 66 
 
 Corns on Feet 1 37 
 
 Cough and Sneeze 141-142 
 
 Crippled Chicks 1 77 
 
 Crop n 
 
 Crop r.ound 144 
 
 Crude Oil 186 
 
 D 
 
 Diarrhoea, White 75 
 
 DitTercnt Breeds 18 
 
 Dipping for Lice 159-188 
 
 Diphtlieritic Roup 96-145 
 
 Diseases of Poultry 95-137 
 
 Douglas Mixture 134 
 
 Dropsy 158 
 
 Dry Feed System 35 
 
 Drv Hopper Method 83-166 
 
 Dry Mash 166 
 
 Depluming Mites 162 
 
 Duck Eggs vs. Hen Eggs 195 
 
 Ducks 24-124-195 
 
 Ducks Need Grit 90 
 
 Ducks, Died in the Shell 197 
 
 Ducks, Feeding for Eggs 196 
 
 Ducks, Weight 196 
 
 Ducks, Incubator 195 
 
 Ducks, Indigestion 195 
 
 Ducks, to Secure Fertility 195 
 
 Ducks, Rations for 129-130 
 
 E 
 
 Economy in Different Ways 105 
 
 F.Umw Room Needed 70 
 
 Egg, Analj'sis of 32 
 
 I'.gg Bound 1 73 
 
 F.gg Eating 175 
 
 F,gg Route 84 
 
 Egg Tester. 58-66 
 
 liggs for Breeding 27 
 
 Eggs for Hatching 29-65-179 
 
 Eggs for Market 30 
 
 Eggs, Thin Shells 90-174 
 
 Eggs. 200 a Year 30 
 
 Englisii Class 22 
 
 Essentials 30 
 
 Exercise 31-167 
 
 Eves Swollen 156 
 
 Fatten Fowls 38 
 
 Fatty Degeneration of Liver 145 
 
 breather Pulling 146 
 
 breeding Chicks 71-72 
 
 b\>eding Problem 34 
 
 breeding for Fertility 28 
 
 I'-eeding Beans 39 
 
 Feeding for Color 104 
 
I'ccdiny JJiiring Moult .102 
 
 Feeding Ducks 129 
 
 Feeding in General 165 
 
 Feeding for Market 170 
 
 Feeding for Young and Old 168 
 
 Feeding, What and How 170 
 
 Feeding Turkeys 117 
 
 Fertility in Eggs 53 
 
 Firelcss Brooders 188 
 
 Fertile Eggs, Care of 29 
 
 Fleas 92-160 
 
 Flea Powder, Cheap 161 
 
 Formula for Chick Feed 189 
 
 Formula for Laying Hens 189 
 
 Formulas, Baslcy, Tested 1 34 
 
 Formula, Government, Lice 93 
 
 Formula, Govt., Spray or Faint... 94 
 
 French Class 23 
 
 From Far-away Alaska 186 
 
 Fooling the Hen 1 78 
 
 Food, Good and Bad for Ducks... 195 
 
 Food Elements 34 
 
 Formula, Feeding 100-134-168-189 
 
 G 
 
 Game Class 23 
 
 Geese 25-197 
 
 Geese and Ducks 196 
 
 Green Droppings 146 
 
 Green Food 108-171 
 
 Grit and Gizzard 89 
 
 Grit, Best 89 
 
 Grit, Starved for Lack of 90 
 
 Geese Varieties 1 32 
 
 Geese, Hatching and Feeding. . 131-132 
 Geese, Toulouse 197 
 
 H 
 
 1 1 anil)urg Class 23 
 
 I latching 62 
 
 I I atching Ducks 129 
 
 I latching Turkey Eggs 194 
 
 Ill-ad Lice 160 
 
 1 fcart Trouble 146 
 
 lltlping the Hatch 178 
 
 I Icmorrhage of the Oviduct 147 
 
 I Icn, Analysis of 32 
 
 I lens, Rations for a Dozen 37 
 
 I I cnpccked Husbands 186 
 
 1 1 iTcdity 30 
 
 I lopper Feeding 35-166 
 
 I louses -. 9-17 
 
 Houses, Town Lot 98 
 
 I low Many on Two Acres 183 
 
 How to Make Nests 160 
 
 How Much to Feed 28-169-173 
 
 How Long Before Laying 187 
 
 Hump Themselves 161 
 
 Hatching and Brooding Ducks. . . .129 
 I latcliing and Feeding Geese 131 
 
 incubator Chicks Dying 179 
 
 Incubators 67-181 
 
 ln(uI)ation, Testing Eggs 66 
 
 Incubation with Hens 59 
 
 Incubators, Trouble with 180 
 
 Increasing Size of Eggs 184 
 
 Indigestion 1 48 
 
 Indigestion and Liver Complaint .. 147 
 
 I nstrumcnt for Testing Eggs 190 
 
 I ndian Runner Ducks 127 
 
 Infertility 176 
 
 Intluenza 147 
 
 Inflammation of Crop 147 
 
 Insecticide 61-93 
 
 Insects 92 
 
 Intestinal Worms 163-164 
 
 K 
 
 Kaffir Corn 172 
 
 Keeping Eggs for Setting 29 
 
 Kerosene Emulsion 93-160 
 
 L 
 
 Lack of Oxygen 177 
 
 Lame Hen 137 
 
 Largest White Eggs 174 
 
 Layers 190 
 
 Laying Hens, Ration for 36 
 
 Leg Weakness 1 48 
 
 Lice 93-159-164 
 
 Limber Neck 148 
 
 Lime b'ormula for Preserving 
 
 Eggs Ill 
 
 Liver Complaint 149-147 
 
 Liver Complaint in Turkeys 194 
 
 Liver Enlarged 145 
 
 Location of Incubator 65 
 
 M 
 
 MaU- I5ird 28 
 
 Mange 149 
 
 Manure 197 
 
 Marking Chicks 62 
 
 Market Eggs 30 
 
 Market, Feeding for 38 
 
 Mash System 35-166 
 
 Mating 29 
 
 Mating and Breeding 184 
 
 Meat 166 
 
 Mediterranean Class 20 
 
 Millet Seed 171 
 
 Mites 92-161 
 
 Mixing Foods 169 
 
 More About Turkeys 120 
 
 Moult 102 
 
 Moult, What to Feed 102 
 
 Mushroom Houses Ill 
 
 Muscovy Ducks 128 
 
 N 
 
 Naked Chicks 149 
 
 Natural Incubation 59-181 
 
 Nests for Setting 59 
 
 Novel Nests 175 
 
 Numl)cr on Five Acres 183 
 
 O 
 
 Oats Sprouting 44 
 
 One-Day Old Chicks 79 
 
 Operating Incubator 67 
 
 ( )rpington Breeds 22 
 
 0\ari.iii Tumor 150 
 
 Over-fat Hens 150 
 
p 
 
 Packing Eggs for Hatching 190 
 
 Painting Houses 17 
 
 Pekin Ducks 126 
 
 Pendulous Crop 150 
 
 Pests of a Poultry Yard 92 
 
 Poison 151-152-153 
 
 Polish Class 23 
 
 Poor Hatches 176-179 
 
 Proper Range 82 
 
 Preserving Eggs 109 
 
 Proper Food 31 
 
 Protein ..40-43 
 
 Pip ..152 
 
 Pneumonia 153 
 
 Ptomaine Poison 151-152 
 
 Pullets Dying 145 
 
 Pulling Feathers 146 
 
 Purple Comb 141 
 
 Q 
 
 Quantity to Feed 167 
 
 Questions and Answers 137 
 
 R 
 
 Range 82 
 
 Rations 35-100-167 
 
 Rations of Successful Breeders.... 37 
 
 Rations During Moult 102 
 
 Records, Keeping 60 
 
 Red Worms 163 
 
 Rheumatism 153 
 
 Roasters, Breeds for 26 
 
 Roosting, Teaching 83 
 
 Rouen Ducks 128 
 
 Roup 95-153-155-173 
 
 Roup Remedies 96-97 
 
 Roupy Catarrh 95 
 
 S 
 
 Sample Rations 35 
 
 Sand Fleas 160 
 
 Scaly Legs 156 
 
 Scratching Pens 31-167 
 
 Selection of Breed 18-25 
 
 Selecting Eggs for Hatching 65 
 
 Setting Hens 59-176-177 
 
 Shipping Turkeys 194 
 
 Shipping Young Chicks 185 
 
 Sickness, Cause and Cure 137 
 
 Skimmed Milk 172 
 
 Sneeze 141 
 
 Soft Shelled Eggs 174-187 
 
 Something in Throat 157 
 
 Sick Chicks 144 
 
 Sore Eyes 156 
 
 Sore Throat 157 
 
 Sorghum Seeds 1 72 
 
 Speck of Blood in Egg 1 74 
 
 Spoiled Food 107 
 
 Spray for Houses 94-165 
 
 Sprouted Oats 44 
 
 Spurs, Saw Off 187 
 
 Stick-tight Fleas 160 
 
 Stone Bruise 137 
 
 Straw for Pens 31 
 
 Stuck up Behind 76 
 
 Sudden Death 175 
 
 Sulphur for Lice 189 
 
 Summer Work 81 
 
 Sunshine and Shade 81 
 
 Swollen Feet 138 
 
 Swell Head 156 
 
 Swelled Eyes 156 
 
 Symtoms of Grit Craving 90 
 
 T 
 
 Tape-worm in Turkey 193 
 
 Teaching Chicks to Roost 83 
 
 Technical Names 186 
 
 Temperature Hatching 67 
 
 Testing Eggs 56-60-66 
 
 Testing Incubator 56 
 
 Thermometer 57-178 
 
 Testing Out Infertile Eggs 190 
 
 Throats, Sore 157 
 
 Ticks 92-162 
 
 Toe Eating 157 
 
 Tomatoes 167-190 
 
 Town Lot Fowls 98 
 
 Trap Nest 85 
 
 Trouble with Incubator 180 
 
 Tuberculosis 157 
 
 Tumor 158 
 
 Turkey Questions and Answers. .. 190 
 Turkeys 24-191 
 
 Turkeys — 
 
 How to Raise 116 
 
 How Many Toms 194 
 
 Lame 191 
 
 Keep Separate from Chickens. .. 191 
 
 Over-fed Little Ones 117 
 
 Keep Liver Healthy 119 
 
 Chicken-pox 190 
 
 Lack of Green Food 192 
 
 Blackhead Disease 121 
 
 Liver Complaint 122 
 
 Turkey, Sick Tom 193 
 
 Turning Eggs 66 
 
 V 
 
 Value of Economy 105 
 
 Varieties of Ducks 24 
 
 Vertigo 158 
 
 Vigor Necessarv 27-77 
 
 Vent Gleet....'. 158 
 
 W 
 
 Warts on Comb and Eyes 140 
 
 Water-glass 109 
 
 Weiglit of Ducks 196 
 
 Weights, Standard 18-26 
 
 White Comb 142-158 
 
 White Diarrhoea 75 
 
 White Wash for Houses 
 
 Wind in Crop 159 
 
 Worms 163-164 
 
 Y 
 
 Yard Room 1 83 
 
 Yard, Plan of 99 
 
Arlington Egg Ranch 
 
 PART I. 
 
 COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
 
 The poultry business is one of the most fascinating as well as the 
 most profitable, considering the amount of capital invested, in the 
 West, ihe conditions here, however, differ so greatly to those 
 in the East and other localities, that the wavs of treating the fowls 
 must also be different. The needs of fowls do not vary the 
 resources of the places do, and the success of the poultry raiser 
 greatly depends upon adapting the conditions of the locality to the 
 need of the fowls. 
 
 Nothing is more important than the proper housing of chickens 
 ihe style of house a man builds for his birds will depend upon his 
 means and inclinations. It is not alvvavs the most expensive house 
 that gives the most eggs. In planning poultry houses and yards 
 two or three principles should be firmly held in mind • First the 
 house must have a liberal supply of oxygen, which can onl'v be 
 
 Mrs. Basley's Continuous Fresh Air House and Scratching Shed 
 
10 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 supplied l)y perfect ventilation ; secondly, it must be free from 
 draughts and be dry; and, thirdly, be easily accessible to the at- 
 tendant, not only for cleaning- and spraying, but to enable one to 
 handle the fowls when on the perches. It should also be large 
 enough to avoid crowding of the fowls. 
 
 The laying hens should be kept in yards in permanent houses, 
 easy of access, whilst the young and growing fowls will do best on 
 free range with movable houses, called sometimes colony houses. 
 These give the best results. 
 
 After many years of experience here, the writer has found that 
 
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 there are two classes of houses admirably adapted to the needs of 
 the fowls and to this climate. These are called the open front or 
 the "fresh air" house and the "mushroom" house. What is meant 
 by an open front house, is a house enclosed on three sides and roof, 
 with one side open to the fresh air. This style house can l)e con- 
 structed as a separate and moval)le house or as a continuous and 
 scratching shed house. A plain open front house without a scratch- 
 ing shed attached, is used in many places as a colony house where 
 fowls have free range or where they are kept in an orchard. 
 
 The "mushroom" house is built tight on four sides and roof, 
 without any floor and is raised from the ground alxiut twelve 
 inches. 
 
COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
 
 11 
 
 Cuts of both of these styles of houses will serve to show their 
 construction. 
 
 A "fresh air'.' house that proved excellent and which I used for 
 years on my ranch was one hundred and twenty feet long and ten 
 feet wide. It was divided into six houses with scratching pens. I 
 also had another which suited me well. It was eight feet wide and 
 a hundred feet long; besides that, I had twenty colony houses for 
 the young and growing stock, and two brooder houses. 
 
 The continuous house and scratching shed of which I give a 
 photograph and part of ground plan were built of flooring, tongued 
 and grooved. 
 
 The other house was of boards, battened, and the colony houses 
 of resawed redwood or of shakes. Some were of rubberoid or 
 building paper. 
 
 Many of the artistic looking house plans which may be found in 
 
 
 poultry books were planned by men who never owned a chicken, 
 and if built in this, or in any other climate, would be highly unsatis- 
 factory. The plans here described have all been used either by 
 myself or by successful poultry raisers. I have seen them all and 
 can assuredly recommend them for use on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 The houses I am describing are of the inexpensive kind, for so 
 great is the variety of plans of houses designed for fowls that it 
 would be impossible to mention them all in a short article. We will, 
 therefore, consider only a few of the cheapest and most satisfactory 
 small houses adapted to this climate. 
 
 The first requisite in the house is pure air. To secure this the 
 ventilation must be at the bottom. Some people think that the 
 bad air ascends, but this has been proved a mistake — the foul gases 
 descend ; the pure air and the warm air are lighter and they rise 
 and we want to keep them in, but if we have an opening for ven- 
 tilation at the top or near the top of the house, we lose the 
 warmth. A loss of warmth at night in the winter means a loss of 
 eggs, or more food is needed to supply this loss. The ventilation 
 
12 
 
 MRS. BASLE Y'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 should cither be at the bottom, or one entire side of the house 
 should be left open. 
 
 A Variety of Houses 
 The accompanying- rough little cut of a "mushroom" house will 
 give some idea of the bottom ventilation. Houses like this were 
 used by a successful pcuiltryman. He made a light frame five feet 
 square and five feet high. This he covered with canvas and the 
 roof he made of rubberoid roofing. He left a space below of ten or 
 twelve inches. These "mushroom" houses were tipped over every 
 day to be sunned or cleaned. I improved upon his plan by making 
 
 ISFT. 
 
 Hoffman's Combination Open Front House and Scratching Pen 
 
 a door of one whole side, for I wanted to be able to handle my fowls 
 at night without tipping the house over. Perches should be placed 
 about twelve inches above the open space, and in the case of heavy 
 breeds, a small ladder or run board should be placed for them to 
 reach the perches easily when going to roost. The advantages of 
 such a house are its lightness, and the free circulation of air without 
 draughts on the fowls. These houses can be covered with matched 
 lumber, shakes, canvas, burlap, rubberoid, or even common domestic 
 muslin, which may be oiled or painted with crude petroleum. 
 
 The open front house is admirably adapted to California climate. 
 It is now meeting with favor even in the rigorous climate of the 
 East, where poultry raisers begin to realize the value of fresh air 
 without draughts, if they want to have vigorous hens that will lay 
 eggs in the winter time. I have been using the open front houses 
 of various sizes for over twelve years and can assert that they are 
 the only kind I ever want to use. Another style open front house 
 that I have seen and like very much is fifteen feet by eleven feet six 
 inches, and is seven feet high at the back and four feet at the open 
 front. It is constructed of rubberoid or malthoid and is almost 
 vermin proof. It is divided in the middle by chicken wire, so form- 
 
COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
 
 13 
 
 ing either one house or two as required. The roof is first covered 
 with two-inch chicken wire to support the rubberoid. At the bot- 
 tom of the walls next to the ground it is boarded up for about two 
 feet all the way round ; this is to keep in the straw, for all the floor 
 space of the house is used as a scratching pen. The sides and back 
 above these boards are made of panels of rubberoid nailed to light 
 frames without the chicken wire. These panels are taken down on 
 all fine days to sun and air the house. The panels are kept in place 
 by large wooden buttons. The front is entirely open or only closed 
 by chicken wire except when it rains, then a burlap curtain is let 
 down. The perches are near the back of the house about six inches 
 above the dropping boards. The dropping boards are made of the 
 rubberoid on frames. They are four feet wide and are placed on 
 cleats two feet from the floor. This is a double house and each 
 side will hold from twelve to twenty hens. The above description 
 is of the Hofifman house pictured on page 12. 
 
 A cheap and substantial house can be made of two piano boxes. 
 The simplest way to make such a house is as follows : Removing 
 the backs of the piano cases, place the cases back to back thirty 
 inches apart, on light sills. Use the boards which were the backs 
 to fill up the thirty inches on the sides and roof; cover the roof 
 with rubberoid or with oil cloth, and you have a comfortable house, 
 that will hold about a dozen or twenty hens, at a small cost. The 
 front of the piano box house should either be hinged so it can 
 always be kept open except during the rain or it may be entirely 
 dispensed wath and a burlap curtain used to keep out the rain. The 
 cost of this piano box house is about three dollars. 
 
 Inexpensive Colony Houses 
 
 An inexpensive colony house is pictured below. This house 
 is of resawed redwood, four by six feet. It is light and easily moved. 
 
 Open Front House Without Scratching Shed 
 
 The front is on hinges and it is always kept open except during rain, 
 and when it is closed it only comes down six inches below the 
 perches, leaving an open space of about fifteen inches across the 
 entire front. 
 
 Still another style of colony house and one well adapted for use 
 in an orchard or in the colony plan has been in use for some years 
 
14 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTKRN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 oil a larg'c poultry ranch in California. 'The house is eight by ten 
 feet and two feet to the eaves; all the framework, including the 
 runners, is of two by three-inch stufif, and the walls and ends are 
 of one by twelve-inch boards, shiplapped so as to avoid using- bat- 
 
 Biddy's Bed-Room 
 
 tens. The rafters are five feet four inches long, and three pairs 
 are used : a one by six inch strip is run all around the outside of the 
 roof to form the eaves and also to make it tight ; eight pieces of 
 one by four are used for sheathing, and the sawed shakes are close 
 so that there is no draught from that source ; the only opening is 
 from the front, which is open at all times. The houses do not 
 require cleaning, for they are on runners, and are slid along about 
 fifteen feet each time. Thus they are on fresh ground and much 
 cleaner than one could do it in any other manner. 
 
 The Two-Story House 
 
 Among the hen houses, or chicken coops, as some people prefer 
 to call them, that are being used very satisfactorily west of the 
 Rockies, must be mentioned the two-story houses. There are 
 especially adapted to the "intensive" method of poultry culture, and 
 for limited space. 
 
 Two-story breeding houses are being used by the immense 
 broiler plant near Inglewood, of the Pacific Poultry Co. The 
 houses are 500 feet long and only eight feet wide, and have no 
 outside runs. It is a close-housing proposition, that is. the fowls 
 are never allowed outside their quarters. The houses are parti- 
 tioned oflF into pens every five feet, and these are divided into an 
 
COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
 
 15 
 
 upper and lower story. Each pen contains ten females and one 
 male for breeding purposes. 
 
 The ground floor is covered with sand to the depth of six inches ; 
 this is raked off clean every week and the sand renewed entirely 
 when necessary. A board ladder gives the fowls access to the 
 
 
 second floor, which is two feet above the sand level. On the 
 second floor is located the scratching pens — a space 5x5 feet, par- 
 titioned off next to the open front. A board eight inches high at 
 the back keeps the straw in place. The remaining three by five feet 
 is divided into nest boxes and a broody coop, over which extends a 
 dropping board, with roosts above. 
 
 The front of the house from eaves to ground level is five feet ; 
 the rear of house, five feet six inches, thus giving the fowls plenty 
 of head room over the roosts. Everything on this floor, roosts, 
 dropping board, nests, broody coop, etc., is movable and can be 
 taken out, and the house thoroughly cleaned and disinfected when 
 necessary. 
 
 Another two-story coop has been named by the inventor, Mrs. 
 A. J. Badger, the "Twentieth Century Coop." • It makes intensive 
 poultry culture appeal to those cramped for room. 
 
 The "Twentieth Century Coop," designed by Mrs. A. J. Badger, 
 is also a two-story coop, intended to house from twelve to fifteen 
 adult fowls, enclosed all the time, and to supply sanitary quarters 
 
16 
 
 MRS. P.AST,KY'S WESTERN POUETRY BOOK 
 
 in all kinds of weather. It occupies a ground space of 3 x 12 feet, 
 front elevation 5j4 feet, rear 4>4 feet. It can be completely closed 
 during storms or opened to sun and air. For convenience in tak- 
 ing apart for moving, it is built in sections. Canvas forms the 
 outside covering for the coop. This coop might be suitable for 
 those with limited space. 
 
 Closed Open 
 
 A. T. Badger's 20th Century Coop 
 
 In conclusion, to quote Air. Ilarkcr, "If every poultry keeper 
 on the Pacific Coast would make his roosting houses absolutely 
 draught proof on three sides, yet leaving the front entirely open 
 so that the fowls have an abundance of pure air, yet not to be 
 exposed to a draught, the manufacturers of roup remedies would 
 have to go out of business, for this disease would then be com- 
 paratively unknown from Seattle to San Diego." 
 
 Arlington Egg Ranch Continuous House and Scratching Shed 
 
COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
 
 17 
 
 Painting the Houses 
 
 For painting the houses I have found nothing better than the 
 crude petroleum. I add to it for all my houses, red Venetian paint 
 mixed with a little kerosene or distillate oil, to thin it. This colors 
 them a handsome chocolate. Creosote stain of a dark green is also 
 a very good color, harmonizing well with the landscape, and both 
 of these are preventive of mites and keep their color wellfor several 
 years. A good whitewash also is quite suitable. The color is a 
 matter of taste after all, and I am only describing the inexpensive 
 
 Roseneath Egg Ranch 
 
 methods I and others have successfully used. The whole plant, 
 irrespective of size, should be planned symmetrically ; the houses 
 made all alike and placed in line ; the large in one row and the 
 smaller in another and all arranged so as to save as many steps 
 for the care-taker as possible. A little forethought in this matter 
 at the beginning may save many steps and dollars later on. 
 
WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 
 
 "Poultry for profit" is the slogan. We are all looking more or 
 less for the "almighty dollar." Every week, almost every day, I 
 am appealed to for information as to which breed is the most profit- 
 able. I can and often do tell which breed I have found the most 
 profitable in the twenty years I have bred, but I cannot decide for 
 another person what his or her likes or dislikes may be, nor can I 
 tell what poultry will suit another's location or market. That, each 
 one must decide for himself or herself, and then get the best of that 
 breed to start with. 
 
 A hint as to what to start with may help some of our readers. 
 First of all study your market, decide whether it requires a brown 
 or a white egi^, and choose accordingly ; secondly, decide what you 
 will do with the surplus chickens, although this may seem like 
 counting the chickens before they are hatched. Will you sell 
 them as broilers and fryers or use them as roasters or capons? 
 Thirdly, it is always a good plan to look ahead and choose a breed 
 with a prospective value and demand — one of the breeds that may 
 be rare in your neighborhood, or one of the newer breeds, such as 
 the Orpingtons, Columbian Wyandottes or Faverolles. Choose a 
 breed for which there is likely to be a large demand for eggs for 
 hatching and for breeding stock. Or else take one of the best old 
 breeds that you know will make you money from the start. What- 
 ever breed you decide upon, get the best of that breed, and from a 
 reliable breeder. 
 
 Different Breeds 
 
 A brief review of the different classes and breeds of domestic 
 fowls may be of use to beginners. There are a large number of 
 breeds in this countrv suitable to anv branch of the business, with 
 
 White Wyandotte Cockerel 
 
WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 
 
 19 
 
 all colors of plumage and size. Some especially adapted to the 
 farm, others to closer confinement, as on the city lots, and still 
 others — like the beautiful little bantams — adapted to lawns and 
 front yards. 
 
 The American Class 
 
 The American class consists of what are called the dual-purpose 
 fowl. That is, they are good for market as well as excellent layers, 
 so when their day of usefulness in the tgg basket is over, they can 
 end their existence on the table. This class gives us the Barred, 
 BufT and White Plymouth Rock, the Silver, Golden, White, Bufif, 
 Silver Pencilled, Black and Columbian Wyandottes, the Single and 
 Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds, the Buckeyes, the Black, White 
 and Mottled Javas, and the American Dominique. Of the list no 
 doubt the Barred Plymouth Rock is the best known and most 
 popular; it may be said to lead the American class. Next to it 
 in popularity is the White Plymouth Rock. This breed led in 
 numbers at a late show in Madison Square Garden in New York, 
 which is a sure indication of its popularity. The order of the rest 
 might be given as follows : White Wyandotte, Rhode Island Reds, 
 Buff Wyandotte, Buff Plymouth Rock, Silver Wyandotte, Part- 
 ridge Wyandotte, Golden Wyandotte, Buckeyes, American Domin- 
 ique, Black Java. 
 
 The standard weights of the above are as follows : All of the 
 Plymouth Rocks, cock, 9^ pounds ; cockerel, 8 pounds ; hens, 7^ 
 pounds, and pullets, 6^^ pounds. All of the Wyandottes, cock, Sj4 
 pounds ; cockerel, 7^ pounds ; hen, 6^ pounds ; and pullet, 5j4 
 
 White Wyandotte Hen 
 (1st Prize) 
 
20 
 
 MRS. BASLF.Y'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 Typical White Leghorn Cockerel 
 (1st Prize) 
 
 ])ounds. The Rhode Island Reds, cock, 8'/> pounds; cockerel, 7^ 
 pounds; hen, ())'j pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. lUickeyes, half a pound 
 lieaxier. except pullets. The jaxas are of the same weight as the 
 rivniouth Rocks, and the American Dominiques, cock. 8 jwunds ; 
 cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. 
 
 The Mediterranean Class 
 In the Mediterranean class we ha\e the Single and Rose Comb 
 llrown. Single and Rose Comb White, IJlack, lUiff and Silver Duck- 
 wing Leghorns; the Black and White Minorcas; the lUue Andalu- 
 sians. the T.Iack Spanish and Mottled .\nconas. 
 
 First Prize White Leghorn Hen 
 
WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 
 
 21 
 
 The Mediterraiieaii class is particularly well a(la[)lc(l to the cli- 
 mate of California, which greatly resenihlcs that of their home in 
 the old countries. 
 
 In point of popularity and merit, the kinds might be classed as 
 follows: White Leghorn, lirown Leghorn, Black Minorca, Blue 
 Andalusian, Black Spanish, Rose Comb Brown Leghorn, Rose 
 Comb White Leghorn, JUiiTf Leghorn, White Minorca, Anconas, 
 Silver Duck wing Leghorn and lilack Leghorn. The I Mack Minorca, 
 White Leghorn and I'lack Spanish give the largest sized eggs. 
 
 All of the Mediterraneans have white shelled eggs. There is no 
 standard weight to the Leghorns. They are small birds, weighing 
 3 or 4 pounds. Of the JMack and White Minorcas, the cock weighs 
 9 pounds ; cockerel, 7^^ pounds ; hen, 7Y2 pounds ; pullets, 6^ 
 l)ounds. The weight of the Andalusians are, cock, 6 pounds; cock- 
 erel, 5 pounds; hen, 5 pounds; pullets, 4 pounds. 
 
 The Black Spanish weights are, cock, 8 j^ounds; cockerel, dy^ 
 pounds ; hens, 6^ pounds ; pullets, 5^ pounds. These lay an extra 
 large handsome white-shelled ^%%. 
 
 The Blue Andalusian has the unique distinction of wearing the 
 national colors — red, white and blue — its plumage being blue, its 
 face and eyes red and its ear-lobes white. 
 
 The Asiatic Class 
 
 The Asiatic class consists of the Light and Dark Brahmas, 
 White and Black Langshans, the Buff, Partridge, White and Black 
 Cochins. Tn point of jvipularity they would l)c about in this order" 
 
 First Prize Black Cochin Hen 
 (Never defeated in ten years) 
 
22 
 
 MRS. RASI.KVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Light Brahmas, Black Langshans, Buff Cochins, Partridge Co- 
 chins, Dark Brahmas, While Cochins, White Langshans and Black 
 Cochins. The standard weights are: Light Brahmas, cock, 12 
 pounds ; cockerel, 10 pounds ; hen, 9^ pounds ; pullet, 8 pounds. 
 
 Weights for Dark Brahmas are: Cock, 11 pounds; cockerel, 9 
 pounds; hen, 8)4 pounds; pullet, 7 pounds. Buff, Partridge and 
 White Cochins: Cock, 11 pounds; cockerel, 9 pounds; hen, 8,^/2 
 pounds; and pullet, 7 pounds; Black and White Langshans: Cock, 
 10 pounds; cockerel, 8 pounds; hen, 7 pounds; and pullet, 6 
 pounds. The eggs of all of the Asiatic class are a dark brown. 
 
 The English Class 
 The English class is composed of the White, Silver-gray and 
 Colored Dorkings, the Red Caps and the Buff', Black, W^nite. Span- 
 
 A Pair of Black Orpingtons 
 
 gled and jubilee Orpingtons in both single and rose combs. The 
 White Dorking weighs as follows: Cock, 7^ pounds; cockerel, 63/2 
 pounds ; hen, 6 pounds ; and pullet, 5 pounds ; Silver-gray Dorkings, 
 cock, 8 pounds ; cockerel, 7 pounds ; hen, 6^ pounds ; and pullet, 534 
 pounds; Colored Dorkings, cock, 9 pounds; cockerel. 8 pounds; hen, 
 
 White Orpington Hen 
 
WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 23 
 
 7 pounds; and pullet, 6 pounds; Red Caps, cock, 7^ pounds; cock- 
 erel, 6 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; Orpingtons, 
 cock, 10 pounds; cockerel, Syi pounds; hen, 8 pounds; and pullet, 
 7 pounds. 
 
 The French Class 
 
 The French class -is composed of the Houdans, Crevecoeurs, La- 
 Fleche and Faverolles. The Houdans weigh : Cock, 7 pounds ; 
 cockerel, 6 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; the Cre- 
 vecoeurs, cock, 8 pounds; cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 7 pounds; and 
 
 V ^ 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 1 
 
 
 •- 
 
 Typical Houdan Hen 
 
 pullet, 6 pounds. The Crevecoeurs and La Meche are favorites in 
 France, but are rarely found in this country, as they are not popu- 
 lar in the market here on account of their dark colored shanks. 
 
 The Hamburg Class 
 
 The Hamburg class is composed of most excellent layers, of 
 white eggs. They are the Silvered Spangled, Golden Spangled, 
 Silver Penciled, Golden Penciled, White and Black Hamburgs, and 
 the Silver and Golden Campines. No weights are given for the 
 Hamburgs and Campines. 
 
 The Polish Class 
 
 The Polish arc more of a fancy fowl. They are the White 
 Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Fjearded Golden, Bearded 
 Silver, Bearded White and Buff Laced. They lay white eggs; no 
 weights are given in the Standard for them. 
 
 The Game Class 
 
 In the Game class we have the Black Breasted Red, Brown Red, 
 Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing, Red Pyle, White, Black and 
 
24 
 
 MivS i;\si 1 •^ s wisii'.KN roui im wnnw 
 
 riinlu'ii ( i;iiiu',s, ('(Miiisli ,iinl While lii(li;iii (i;iiiu's, llhuk Sim, alias 
 and r.hulv r.rrasird \\vA Malays. 
 
 riu" slaiitlanl five's no wi-ij^lil lor ( iaiiu's, i>\ri'|ttin^ loi' Indian 
 ( laiiir (ii<>\\ ralK'd (ornisl) I'dwl), \ i/. : (Ork, '' |>(tnnds; ( ookiMcl, 
 7' • |>i>nnds; lirn, (>' ■ ponnds; and |inlKl, .^ ' • ptMinds; Malays, 
 vink. '' |i(Mind^: (lukrirl. / ixitinds; lu'ii, 7 ponnds; and piilK't, 
 .•' ptiiinds. 
 
 Tin keys 
 
 Tilt- iiHisi popnlar \arii'l\ >>l hifki'ys is llir I'.itin/r; llirn eoinos 
 llu- Wliilr lldlland, aiiti|lu-r spUMuIid \aiiot\. Aiikmil; cIIu'Is \vr 
 liaxi- llir I'dark, I'.iilT, I'MMiibon l\i-il, Slair \'an a^ansrl t and Wild. 
 
 
 4tf' .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Typical Pair Bronze Turkeys 
 
 '\Uv woii^lils ioi' riion/e arc, rock, ,Mt ponnds; yearling (.•(>(."k, »x^ 
 pounds : i-oi'knol, _\^ pounds ; lirn, JO pounds ; and pnlK'l. Id pounds ; 
 loi W liiu- llolland, cock, _'(> pounds; cockerel, IS poniuls; lieu. 1() 
 pounds ; pullel , !_' pounds. 
 
 Ducks 
 
 riic I'ckin is " riie \uiciican Muck" willt its while plnina^c and 
 hca\ily mealed hody. riieir woii^lU is as I'olKnvs: .\tlull diakc, S 
 pouiuls; yonni.;' drake, 7 poniuls; adult duck. " pounds ; youuj; thick. 
 (> pounds. Anolhei- white \.iriet\, \ er\ popular in l''uj.^laud. is the 
 .\yK>shui\-. Weight lor .idnlt tlrake, '* pounds; ^ounj.;' iliake, S 
 pounds; .idult duck, S pounds; \ounq duck. 7 pounds. The colored 
 Kouen have similar weii^hls and plumai.:e to tlie \\ IKl Mallaril, the 
 drakes ha\ ius^ bright i^reeu heails. Cither piipular varieties are the 
 
WHAT VAKII'/rV 'I'O CIIOOSI', 
 
 25 
 
 Indian Knnnors, holli coloicd and while, calkMl llic l-c^!i<»i"ii of 
 llie duck family, bcin^' rather small, very active and immense layers 
 ()f line while t-'j^J4's. 'riien tliere are the 1)11(1' ( )r|)inj4't()ii Ducks — 
 
 Indian Runner IJucks 
 
 hecominj^ very |)<i|»iilar; the I'.hu; SwimHsIi, lllack (ayn^a, ( nliMcd 
 and While Muscovy, (all and I'.lack i'lasl India, llicsc lallci- hciii^ 
 more ornamenlal varielios. 
 
 Geese , 
 Perhaps the easicsl kepi and noisiest of all our larj^c variety of 
 domestic fowl are jji'eese, and vvlicic conditions are suitable, tlicy 
 prove, very piDJitahle. The loidonsc, a larijc j.;ray variety, and the 
 White h'juhden, seem llic most popular of the ])ure bred varieties, 
 and the weij^hts for eillici' variety aic, for adull }.;andc|-, 20 ponn<ls; 
 }'ounj; gander, IS pounds; adult ,i;oose, bS pounds; younL; Tonlotise 
 jjfoosc, 15 pounds; and I'inbdcn youn^' j^oose, lO pounds. ()lliei- 
 variclies are the African, Uiown and White ("hinese, (anadian and 
 h'^'y])tian; tlicst' are either used lor ornanuuital purposes or for 
 ci'os^^inj.^. 
 
 Selection of Breed 
 
 KnowiuL,'' the values and vvei,L;lits of llic dirfereiil slaiid.iid 
 breeds, thc! bej^iimer will bi; enabled to make his choice, and have 
 no lroid)le in lindiuf.;' the pro])er selection. 
 
 Suppf)sin{4' ef4^' production is llic principal object, llic beginner 
 will liave to decide according; to the dcmaii<l of his nearest market. 
 I'oston re(piircs brown ej^'^s. San I'lancisco white ej^^jj^s, wliilc; Los 
 Anjjfelcs seems lo be content with eillier. II yoii are living' near 
 San ['"rancisco, one ol Ihc Mcdilci i aiM an breeds will pio\c the most 
 valuable to you. The Minorcas, lilack Spanish and some of the 
 strains of While Lej^horns lay the largest and liiiest lookinj.;' e^'^s. 
 One corres|)ond(iit who asks for justice for the .Minorcas says he 
 has Minorca hens which lay v^^i^s weij^hiiiL; nearly three f)uuces, 
 and there were Leghorn C^f^a on exhibition in a lale poultry show 
 which weighed live e^j^s to the pound, but tlicsc wert- from hens 
 "bred to lay." The; I'rown r.ej^horns and 1 I ,iiiiburj.(s ^ive many 
 ^mi^ — white ej^';.^s also but smaller, which is an objection in a 
 good market. Should brculers be the object, we should choose 
 
2() 
 
 MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 the While Wyatidottes or White Plymouth Rocks. These latter 
 are exceptionally line winter layers. l"'or roasters and capons, the 
 I -ight Brahmas or any of the Plymouth Rocks are the favorites, 
 if two breeds are wanted, we should personally prefer the White 
 Le.qhorns and White Plymouth Rocks. The White Plymouth 
 Rocks will i^ive the winter ci^gs and the White Leghorns the spring 
 and summer eggs in great abundance, although they may not lay 
 as many eggs in the winter as the White Rocks. In the early spring 
 the White Rock eggs can be set for early broilers and roasters, 
 while the Leghorns are doing their heaviest laying, and in April 
 and May the Leghorn eggs can be set for the following season's 
 eggs. In this manner there will be a constant succession of eggs 
 for market, and broilers and roasters in season. Always having 
 something to sell means a regular income. Something to market 
 at least once a week. A poultry and egg route and the reputation 
 of having none but the choicest goods to offer is the secret of 
 success. 
 
 WINNER op 
 
 SPECIAL PRIZE- For 
 
 BE5T SHAPED HALE 
 
 PW VoRK • '^-^b 
 
EGGS FOR BREEDING 
 
 Ilavin.i;' chosen the l>rccd which suits us l)est, let us talk on how 
 to j^et the most out of that breed, for I think we are all agreed that 
 if we kee]) poultry for profit, we want to make as much as we can 
 out of it. Therefore, having got our fowls, we must treat them 
 right. The natural instinct of a fowl is to make a nest for itself and 
 raise a family of its own in the spring time. It never considers its 
 owner's profit or loss; therefore to make it answer our purpose, to 
 develop it into a money-maker for us, we must either change its 
 nature or deceive it. We must let it imagine that it is the time of 
 year for nest making and family raising. We must supply it with 
 the conditions of springtime. Our own lives are artificial and the 
 conditions surrounding our domestic hens are also artificial, but 
 we must, if we want success, copy as far as possible Nature's ways 
 with fowls and follow Nature's plans. 
 
 Tn the spring not only do we want egg production, but we want 
 
 Eggs for Breeding, Packed Correctly for Shipment 
 
 good, strong fertility in our eggs. We want fertile eggs now, for 
 are we not pre-arranging to have plenty of vigorous pullets to lay 
 those high-priced market eggs next fall? Are we not anticipating 
 sturdy cockerels to win prizes at next winter's shows, or to make 
 toothsome frys or delicious roasts? 
 
 Fertile eggs are now in order. How shall we get them? First, 
 we must have vigorous and healthy parent birds; we usually have 
 healthy birds in the spring of the year, for the moult is well over 
 and the ailments which prevail in the fall — colds, catarrh and sore 
 throats, all classed as roup — have yielded to treatment, or the vic- 
 tims are no more. The chicken i)ox, which also is a fall disease, 
 has about disappeared, and the birds are in good condition. 
 
 Vigor is Necessary 
 Vigor is the first requisite for fertile eggs. To have vigor, the 
 hens must have exercise ; every grain they eat should be scratched 
 
28 MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 or dug out of the straw or litter iu their scratchiug" peu. A hen 
 that is very fat — over fat — will not have fertile eggs and will not 
 have strong, sturd}^ chickens. It is neither kind nor wise to over- 
 fatten your breeding- hens, but they must be fed the proper food for 
 fertility. How can we decide what food to feed for fertility? Let 
 us interrogate Nature again. The wild bird, the Gallus Bankiva 
 from which sprung all our domestic fowls, lays her eggs and raises 
 her young" oidy in the spring. She only has two broods of about 
 thirteen eggs each, but those eggs are rarely infertile. What does 
 she eat? Principally insects and the tender green grasses or small 
 leaves, not much grain, for the seeds have fallen and have begun 
 to sprout and grow. 
 
 During the winter Nature has supplied the birds with grains in 
 plenty, so they have put on fat to withstand the cold ; but now there 
 are only a few grains left and the fowls are becoming thinner, yet 
 Nature does not starve them, only gradually changes the ration and 
 gives them worms and larvae, insects of all kinds, for the insect life 
 has also commenced to pulsate and develop ; the buds are bursting, 
 too, and the tender green appears and beautiful spring is here, pro- 
 viding all the green food they can eat. How about our captive 
 hens? In our bare back yards, with only the ration we choose to 
 give them? Poor things; they have a natural craving for the tender 
 green, a wild desire for the succulent insect or animal food ! See, 
 how they will fight over or scramble for the meat that is thrown 
 to them, or for the head of lettuce ! They try to tell us in their 
 own way what they require to produce fertile eggs at this season 
 of the year. 
 
 How to Feed 
 
 How shall we follow their teachings? Increase the amount of 
 their animal food and give the breeding fovv'ls more green food. 
 How shall we do this? Increase gradually whatever animal food 
 we are now feeding until from 20 to 30 per cent of their daily food 
 is animal food. The best animal food is fresh meat of some kind ; 
 the scraps and bones left over at the market ; this ground or chopped 
 finely is the best I know of. Ral^bits, squirrels, gophers, are all 
 good fresh meat. If fresh meat cannot be obtained, you can get at 
 the poultry supply houses granulated milk, dried blood, blood and 
 bone, beef-scrap and other animal food. The best green food is 
 fresh-cut clover lawn cli])i)ings, green alfalfa, lettuce, cabbage and 
 other vegetables. 
 
 The Male Bird 
 
 The male bird is considered as half the pen. The germ or seed 
 of life of the future chicken is from the male. Be sure to have the 
 male vigorous and healthy, and see to it that he gets sufficient food 
 of the right quality. The male l)ird is often so gallant that he calls 
 up his wives and they greedily eat all the best part of the food, 
 choosing first the meat or animal part, which is the most necessary 
 for fertility, and the husband, the failur nf future chicks, on which 
 so nuicli flcpends, is half slarxcd, ])ecomcs thin and light. Every 
 
EGGS FOR BREEDING 
 
 29 
 
 male bird when being- used to fertilize eggs should be fed extra, 
 either in a pen or eorner by himself, or out of your hand at least 
 once a day. 
 
 Mating 
 
 In mating up the i)ens I have found the most satisfactory num- 
 ber to mate is about eight or not over ten females of the American 
 breeds to one male. From twelve to fifteen of the Leghorns or 
 Mediterranean birds, and from six to eight of the Asiatic class to 
 one male. Some breeders advocate using two male birds in one 
 pen, alternating them day about, or three male birds for two pens, 
 allowing one bird to rest every second or third day. I never did 
 this, because 1 was keeping a pedigree of my fowls, and never found 
 any necessity for it. 
 
 Caring for Fertile Eggs 
 
 Having the fertility assured, the next thing is to take care of the 
 eggs from the time they are laid until incubation begins. Eggs 
 should be kept in a moderately cool, quiet place ; not in a draught. 
 I always imitate Nature and turn the eggs, just as a hen would, 
 every day, keeping them in a box either in the cellar or a large, 
 dark, but airy, chxsct. Some people keep them in fillers with the 
 little end down, but I ])refcr following Nature's ways and leaving 
 them on their side. 
 
 To Choose Eggs for Hatching 
 
 To choose the eggs for hatching 1 use an egg tester or I roll up 
 a copy of the Pacific Poultry Craft in the shape of a telescope, put- 
 ting the egg at one end in the sun and my eye at the other end. If 
 the egg shell is speckled or thin at one end, or has thin blotches on 
 it, or is missha])en in any way, or if it feels chalky to the touch, 1 
 reject that egg, relegating it to the kitchen, for these eggs will not 
 hatch. I also reject very small eggs, as they are laid by pullets or 
 by over-fat hens and if they hatch, the chickens will be weaklings. 
 The very large eggs should also be rejected, as they may have 
 double yolks, and these seldom hatch healthy chickens. Above all, 
 never sell for hatching eggs those as described above. The best 
 eggs are the egg-sha])ed eggs, with good, firm, smnolh shells and 
 not narrow waisted. 
 
EGGS FOR MARKET 
 
 The hen in her wild stale lays about thirty eggs per year. The 
 farmer's average hen lays not over one hundred. On egg farms 
 the a\crage is 150, and some of the fowls of the "bred to lay" strains 
 will average even more. 
 
 There are 365 days in the year, and 1 do not see why a pullet that 
 is fully matured, that comes from an egg-laying strain, a pullet 
 properly fed and cared for, should not lay over 200 eggs per year ; 
 in fact, I have had hens that will do even better than that. 1 will 
 admit that a hen will not lay 200 eggs a year without constant and 
 intelligent care, and the question confronting us is, will the addi- 
 tional number of eggs pay for this care? Also how shall we give 
 this care and secure these results? 
 
 You hear of heredity and pedigree in cows, in horses, in dogs. 
 Heredity is as important with hens as with any other stock. Here- 
 dity has as much to do with the success of hens as the right hand- 
 ling. Heredity (or pedigree) and handling must go together. The 
 two-hundred-egg hen must be "bred to lay." She must come from 
 an egg-producing family. No matter how scientifically a hen is 
 fed, or how well housed, you cannot make an extra fine layer out of 
 one wiiose parents for generations past have been poor layers. It is 
 impossible to take a Hock of mongrels and scrubs and get 200 eggs 
 each a year from them, although good handling" w'ill greatly increase 
 the yield of even mongrels. 
 
 The dift'erent breeds require different handling, but no matter 
 what breed you have, there are three essentials to egg production — 
 comfort, exercise and proper food. 
 
 Comfort 
 Under the head of comfort comes first of all cleanliness. .\ hen 
 that has lice, or fleas, or mites, or ticks on her cannot la}' her full 
 amount of eggs. You must help the hen in her efforts to make you 
 money. Give her every encouragement to lay. Cleanliness every- 
 where. A comfortable, enticing nest, rather dark, where she may 
 stealthily deposit her precious egg. Renew wdth nice clean straw 
 once a month. Do everything to coax the hens to lay. If trap- 
 nests are used, there should be enough of them so that the hens 
 will not be kept waiting, for by keeping a hen oft" the nest she will 
 frequently retain her egg until the next day, and will soon learn to 
 be a poor layer. Cleanliness means a clean, sweet-smelling roost- 
 ing place, where she may sleep undisturbed by lice or mites. Just 
 think for a moment how in the human family a fresh, clean bed in 
 a quiet room will court slumber. I have passed the night in an 
 .Arab's tent in Africa that was infested with fleas, and my heart is 
 full of sympathy for a hen that has to live in some of the mite- 
 infested henneries I have seen in California. Under this head comes 
 freedom from draughts. A draught in this country will give hu- 
 man beings face ache, neuralgia, earache and a swelled face. It has 
 exactly the same eff'ect on hens. Influenza, swelled head, roup, al- 
 
EGGS FOR MARKET 31 
 
 ways or almost always commence from a draught (combined with 
 lice). Comfort means also pure, fresh air without any draught, and 
 pure, fresh water to drink. 
 
 Exercise 
 
 You know how in the human family exercise is recommended. 
 Physical culture, gymnastics, Ralston exercises, Swedish move- 
 ments, fencing, etc., and those who may be too feeble to exercise for 
 themselves, pay others to rub, pound and knead or massage them to 
 get the same effect. 
 
 Exercise is as necessary for the hen as for the human being and 
 more so, for the hen's exercise of scratching develops the egg pro- 
 ducing organs and strengthens them, and hens which exercise lay 
 many more eggs than lazy hens. If you have a vigorous scratcher 
 among your hens, you may be sure she is a good layer. 
 
 Exercise a hen must have to develop the egg-making organs. 
 She absolutely must scratch if she is to make a living for herself 
 and you. I consider a scratching pen as necessary for hens in con- 
 finement as food. My scratching pens were twelve or fifteen feet 
 long and eight feet wide, but in small yards I have made very satis- 
 factory little pens by nailing four boards six feet long together, 
 forming a square. The boards should be twelve inches wide and 
 the pen filled with wheat straw or alfalfa hay or any good litter. 
 I do not like barley straw on account of the beards, which some- 
 times run into the hen's eyes, nostrils, or mouth and cause death. 
 Foxtails, burr clover and wild oats are all dangerous on this ac- 
 count. 
 
 I feed all the grain scattered over the straw and my hens scratch 
 and dig happily all day long. The straw or hay is soon broken 
 into short pieces and fresh straw must be added about once a week, 
 and the whole cleaned out and used for mulching trees when the 
 straw becomes dirty. This will depend upon the size of the pen and 
 the number of hens using it. 
 
 Proper Food 
 
 What it is and how much to give. The scientists tell us that 
 the proper food or the "balanced ration" is composed of one part 
 of protein to four parts of carbo-hydrates. Before discussing this 
 "balanced ration," let us interrogate Nature and find out how a hen 
 balances her own ration. , 
 
 Let us take a hen as she comes in from foraging in the fields 
 after a long day in summer. Let us kill her and examine her crop. 
 What do we find? Grains of wheat, barley, corn, according to 
 where her rambles have led her ; bits of grass, clover and vege- 
 tables ; some bugs, worms and grasshoppers ; here and there a bit 
 of gravel and a lot of matter partially digested that we cannot 
 recognize. The first thing that impresses us is that the hen likes 
 variety, and the second thing that this variety consists of animal 
 food (bugs, worms, insects), grains and green food. This is the 
 "balanced ration," balanced by the hen herself to suit her needs in 
 the summer time when eggs are plentiful. If we want eggs in the 
 
32 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 winter, we must, as far as possible, give the same conditions, the 
 same variety of foods, with plenty of pure, fresh water, never for- 
 getting that about seventy per cent of the egg is water. 
 
 But to return to the "balanced ration." We know that a hen 
 requires a certain amount of food to keep her alive and thriving; 
 above that the surplus goes either to making the egg inside her or 
 to making fat. 
 
 The hen is an egg-making machine, but if you put into that ma- 
 chine none of the elements of the egg, you cannot expect the 
 machine to turn out eggs. 
 
 Therefore, the scientists analyzed the egg, and not only that, but 
 also analyzed the body of the hen with the feathers, and discovered 
 as follows : The very large number of dififerent substances found in 
 the hen may be grouped under four heads: 1, water; 2, ash or 
 mineral matter ; 3, protein (or nitrogenous matter) ; 4, fat. The 
 ]>roportion of each of these groups alter with the condition of the 
 hen. Water is the largest ingredient and amounts to from forty to 
 sixty per cent of the weight of the bird. Ash or mineral matter 
 forms from three to six per cent when the hen is not laying, and 
 from six to ten per cent when laying. The groups called protein 
 constitute from fifteen to thirty per cent of the weight. Fat seldom 
 falls below six or rises above thirty per cent. 
 
 The feathers are composed of protein and ash. the ash being 
 largely silicate of potash and lime. 
 
 The accompanying analysis of the hen, pullet and egg has been 
 kindly sent to me by Professor Jafifa ; that of the egg was made by 
 him at the University Laboratory of California. 
 
 Analysis of Hen and Egg 
 
 Typical Pullet in Capon, 
 
 Leghorn full laying, Plymouth Eggs as Eggs, edil)le 
 
 Hen Leghorn Rock Purchased Portion 
 
 Water 56.8 57.4 41.6 65.6 73.7 
 
 Protein 21.6 21.2 19.4 11.8 13.3 
 
 Ash 3.8 3.4 3.7 .7 .8 
 
 Fat 17.8 18.0 35.3 10.8 12.2 
 
 Shell ... ... 11.1 
 
 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
 
 Composition of Hen and Egg 
 
 Calculated on a Water-free Basis 
 
 Protein 50.0 49.8 34.3 50.5 
 
 Fat 41.2 42.2 31.4 46.4 
 
 Ash 8.8 8.0 2.1 3.1 
 
 Shell ... 32.2 
 
 Total 100.0 100,0 100.0 100.0 
 
 It is interesting to compare the analysis of the hen and egg with 
 some of our grains and poultry foods, but it would take more time 
 than is permissable in a short talk. In all our grains are found more 
 or less the elements of the egg, but they are not in the right or 
 
EGGS FOR MARKET 
 
 33 
 
 proper proportion for making the egg. There is usually too much 
 of the fattening element in the grains and not enough protein or 
 nitrogenous element, which forms the meat, muscle, bone and 
 feather. This is the most valuable and most expensive part of the 
 ration. 
 
 In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her produce 
 the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
 of protein in the food, she must have four pounds of carbo hydrates. 
 This will vary slightly according to the heat of the weather and the 
 needs of the hen. 
 
 I wish I could go more fully into this interesting and important 
 subject, but space forbids it. I would urge you to send a postal to 
 the University of California at Berkeley, asking for the h'armer's 
 Bulletin No. 164 on Poultry Feeding. 'J^his bulletin, by Professor 
 Jaffa, is one of the most valuable bulletins ever published. It con- 
 tains the analysis of the different grains, vegetables and meats and 
 of most of the ])r()prietary foods, besides formulas for the best 
 rations. 
 
 
 _^.-^^r^_# - .:..*_ !Tcl1«.J."'W"^5 
 
 Roseneath Ranch Long Breeding House 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 
 
 The three essentials of egg production, the three essentials of 
 profit in poultry keeping, the three essentials for vigor and health 
 in fowls are — comfort, exercise and proper food. 
 
 Let us consider (1) the proper food, (2) the methods of feeding 
 it, and (3) recipes for a few tried balanced rations. 
 
 Practical knowledge and skill in feeding can be acquired without 
 the study of science. Feeding fowls for good results is a com- 
 paratively simple matter. 
 
 Requirements in Feeding 
 
 The food which a fowl consumes has three chief functions to 
 perform: (1) to sustain life, promote life, repair waste and produce 
 eggs ; (2) to keep the body warm ; (3) to furnish strength or energy 
 which is expended in every movement. The fowl is also able to 
 store food, not needed at the time it is eaten, for future use ; this 
 store is chiefly in the form of fat, which serves as a reserve supply 
 of fuel. 
 
 Food Elements 
 
 To supply the three functions in the life of a fowl there are three 
 principal food elements : Proteins, carbo-hydrates and fat ; all of 
 these are contained in the different grains and foods used for 
 poultry. 
 
 (1) Proteids (or protein) albuminous or nitrogenous matter. 
 Protein is the nourishing matter, the principal tissue former, sup- 
 plying material for bone, muscle, blood, feathers, eggs. Its latent 
 energy can also be converted into heat and energy ; but it is more 
 costly for such purposes than the non-nitrogenous foods. 
 
 (2) Carbo-hydrates, carbonaceous matter, starches and sugar. 
 Carbo-hydrates form the bulk in nearly all foods and are the prin- 
 cipal sources of heat and energy. 
 
 (3) Fats are found in almost all foods. They furnish heat and 
 energy' in addition to the supply from the carbo-hydrates. Fat also 
 enters largely into the composition of the yolk of the egg. 
 
 All three food elements are necessary. The proper combin- 
 ations of these three is called the ''balanced ration." It is, in 
 other words, a "complete" ration, containing in proper proportions 
 the necessary food elements to promote (1) growth, including egg 
 production, (2) warmth, and (3) energy or strength. The needs 
 of a fowl's system are not always the same ; it does not always 
 need the different elements to be in the same proportions ; the ra- 
 tion properly balanced (or suitable) for a growing chick would be 
 unbalanced (unsuitable) for the mature hen. The food to be a 
 balanced ration must be adapted to the present needs of the fowl. 
 
 Methods of Feeding 
 
 The question of how to ivvd and what to teed for the best results 
 in egg production, is the most difficult problem in poultry keeping, 
 and has for S(,)nic time been engaging the attention of the various 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 35 
 
 Government Experiment Stations in this and other countries. The 
 two successful systems in use at the present time are the Mash 
 system and the Dry Feed system. 
 
 The mash system is one in which a mash is fed once or twice a 
 day. The foundation of the mash is bran, middHngs, and corn meal 
 or chops. It is mixed wet, raw, scalded or cooked. The dry feed 
 system is when a dry mash is fed, consisting' of the same ingredients 
 as the wet mash, but dry. Dry feeding is used by many regularly, 
 and is becoming more popular every year. 
 
 The advantages of a mash are that by its means the food ration 
 for the whole day can be properly balanced ; the nutritive ratio 
 varied and controlled and the waste vegetables and table leavings 
 utilized to the best advantage. 
 
 In mash feeding the errors to be avoided are : Too concentrated 
 a mash with too much meat or fat ; too light or bulky, that is, 
 composed principally of bran or hay ; too wet or sloppy or sour 
 or mouldy. Experience has shown that feeding wet mashes more 
 than once a day has bad effects, producing indigestion in various 
 forms. 
 
 The advantages of the dry-feed system are : A saving of labor to 
 the feeder, is lighter to handle and much easier to mix. It can be 
 fed in the morning. The fowls are obliged to eat it slowly; they 
 cannot swallow it in a few minutes. It will not freeze in cold 
 weather nor become sour in hot weather, and the fowls will not 
 over-eat with the dry feed. 
 
 mm 
 
 iTfinfT 
 
 An Excellent Feed Hopper. Good Both for Young and Old Fowls 
 
 These hoppers are made 8 feet long and the trough is 8 inches wide 
 
 and 4 inches deep, with a projecting strip on top J/2 inch to keep the 
 
 chicks from pulling out the feed. The slats are 3 inches apart. 
 
 The chief consideration in dry-feeding is that fowls require about 
 three times as much water to drink as with the wet mash ; also 
 unless the dry food is placed in hoppers or fed in boxes at least 
 four inches deep, it is apt to be wasted. The two systems supply 
 the requirements of the fowls in slightly different ways and both 
 are used very successfully. 
 
 SAMPLE RATIONS 
 
 The rations here given have been tested and proved excellent by 
 some of the most successful poultry breeders in this country. 
 
36 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Ration for Chicks Intended for Breeders 
 First meal, when chicks are 36 hours old : Rolled or tlakc break- 
 fast oats, dry; give scattered on sand every three hours, then fooil 
 chick food. This is a number of small or broken dry strains which 
 can be bought at the poultry supply houses. The use of hard grain 
 diet like chick feed, develops the digestive organs and keeps them 
 healthy. The chick feed prepared by reliable firms is excellent. 
 For those who prefer to mix their own chick feed, the following 
 is a good recipe : Cracked wheat, 30 pounds ; steel-cut or rolled 
 breakfast oats, 30 pounds; finely cracked corn, 15 pounds; millet, 
 rice, pearl barley, rape seed, finely ground beef scraps or granulated 
 milk, dried granulated bone, chick grit. 10 pounds; granulated char- 
 coal, 5 pounds. In the chick feeds wheat, oats and corn are the 
 staples, the most necessary part of the ration. Feed at 6 a.ui. 
 chick feed scattered in chafT; 9 a.m. rolled or steel-cut oats; 11 
 a.m. green lettuce; 1 p.m. chick feed; 3 p.m. green feed, lettuce, 
 clover or potatoes chopped fine; 4:30 p.m. hard boiled eggs (4 for 
 100 chicks), chopped shell and all. with the same amoinit of onions 
 and twice the amount of bread crumbs or rolled oats or Johnny- 
 cake. One fountain of skim milk and one of clean water always 
 before them and renewed three times a day. Very coarse sand and 
 granulated charcoal should be always before them. 
 
 Toward the end of the second week mix a little whole wheat, 
 hulled oats and kaffir corn with the chick food, gradually increasing 
 it. until at the end of the sixth week they will be eating this eutircly. 
 
 Ration for Broilers 
 
 For the first two weeks use the same feed as given for the breed- 
 ers. Third week, 6 a.m. chick feed; 9 a.m. mash, 1 part each of 
 bran, cornmeal and rolled oats, and a little salt; mix with skim 
 milk, making a crumbly dry feed in a small dish or trough, taking 
 away all there is left in fifteen minutes; 11 a.m. lettuce or clover; 
 1 p.m. rolled oats; 3 p.m. chopped raw potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash 
 same as in the morning. Fourth week, 6 a.m. chick feed; a.m. 
 mash, adding 5 per cent beef scraps or cracklings ; 1 p.m. chopped 
 potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash, same as in the morning. Keep grit and 
 charcoal always before them, with skim milk and pure water. Fin- 
 ish off at six to eight weeks by gradually adding from five t(^ ten 
 per cent of cotton-seed meal and a little molasses with the mash. 
 
 Ration for Laying Hens 
 
 In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her ]iroduce 
 the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
 of protein in the food she must have four pounds of carbo-hydrates. 
 Many instances may be cited in which the rations fed to laying hens 
 differed greatly, but have been productive of excellent results, pro- 
 vided they contain a sufficient quantity of digestible protein. The 
 following rations have proven successful : 
 
 I will give a formula that I have used for many years after ex- 
 perimenting with others, and will give some that are being used 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 37 
 
 at the present time by prominent and successful breeders near 
 here. There are many other breeders, but I happen to have these 
 by me and have not those of the others. The Basley formula is as 
 follows : By measure, 2 parts heavy bran, 1 part alfalfa meal, 1 
 [)art corn meal, 1 part oatmeal (called Breakfast Flaked Oats), 1 
 part beef scraps or meat meal or granulated milk, a little pepper and 
 salt; keep this in a hopper or feed box. At noon green feed. In 
 the evening' grain, wheat, kaffir corn or cracked corn, barley, hulled 
 oats, equal parts, mixed and scattered in straw in the scratching 
 pen. Fresh water constantly before them ; if they run out of 
 water, the egg yield will stop. I keep before the fowls at all times 
 sharj) grit, crushed oyster shells, charcoal and granulated dried bone. 
 At moulting time I add to the grain sunflower seed, and to the 
 dry mash linseed meal. The reason I feed oatmeal is that I always 
 feed for vigor. I want the parent birds to be vigorous and the 
 eggs to have such an amount of protein in them that the chicks 
 will not fail in being vigorous. There is no food equal to oats for 
 giving vigor. The reason I feed alfalfa is that although it shows 
 on analysis almost the same protein content as bran, it gives the 
 yolk of the eggs a rich orange hue which bran fails to impart. All 
 fowls need plenty of green food and clean water. The green food 
 is the cheapest food you can give and keeps the digestive organs 
 in good condition. Green food must be given daily with the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 Rations of Successful Breeders 
 
 Wilcox Standard Mash — 50 lbs. heavy wheat bran, 20 lbs. corn 
 meal, 14 lbs. ground barley, 5 lbs. oil cake or cotton-seed meal, 
 10 lbs. beef scrap, 1 lb. fine charcoal. 
 
 Johnson Formula — 80 lbs. wheat bran, 15 lbs. alfalfa meal, 15 
 lbs. cracked raw bone, 1 pint of home-made condiment. 
 
 Bickford Dry Mash — One part corn meal, 1 part middlings, 2 
 parts heavy wheat bran, 1-10 part meat or blood meal, 1-10 cot- 
 ton-seed meal, a good handful of salt to one hundred pounds. 
 
 Goodacre Standard Mash — Ten lbs. wheat bran, 2 lbs. corn 
 meal, 2 lbs. fine meat meal, 1 lb. linseed meal. 
 
 Walton's Dry ]\lash — 12 parts wheat bran, 4 parts corn meal, 
 2 parts beef scrap, 2 parts alfalfa meal, 2 parts granulated milk, }^ 
 part charcoal. 
 
 Cowles Dry Mash — One part each of corn, wheat and barley 
 ground up together. To 80 lbs. of the above add 5 lbs. of blood 
 meal, 5 lbs. of bone meal, 10 lbs. of meat meal and a little charcoal. 
 
 For One Dozen Hens 
 
 Rations for one dozen breeding hens, American class, in con- 
 finement, for three days' rotation. 
 
 Monday morning — One pint and a half grain, wheat, cracked 
 corn and hulled oats, equal parts mixed and scattered in straw or 
 litter in scratching pen. Noon : Cut clover or lawn clippings. Even- 
 ing: Mash, 1 pt. heavy bran; 1 qt. ground oats; 1 pt. corn meal; 1-3 
 
38 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 of the whole cut clover or alfalfa meal; 1 tablesponnfnl each of salt 
 and pulverized charcoal ; y^ pt. beef scraps. 
 
 Tuesday morning — lj^> pts. mixed grain, wheat and rolled barley. 
 Noon: green feed, pumpkins or clover; 1 pt. green cut bone. Even- 
 ing: Mash, 1 pt, cooked vegetables and table scraps, 1 qt. bran, 1 pt. 
 cornmeal, a little salt and pepper. 
 
 Wednesday morning — Xy^ pt. mixed grain; wheat, hulled oats, 
 kafifir corn. Noon: Cabbage or beets. Evening: Mash, 1 pt. peas 
 or beans soaked over night, boiled with a little soda until soft ; Yz 
 pt. dried blood, or beefscraps, 1-3 cut clover. If you cannot get 
 beans cheaply, use potatoes or other vegetables. 
 
 I'\")llow the same system the remaining three days. 
 
 Sunday, instead of the mash, scald three pints of rolled barley 
 in the morning, cover and leave to steam. Eeed in the evening in- 
 stead of the mash ; this makes a pleasant change and saves work for 
 the Sabbath. 
 
 The reason for feeding the mash at night is to keep the hens 
 busy scratching all day and so send them to roost with their crops 
 full. There is danger of the American and Asiatic fowls becoming 
 too fat and lazy without exercise if given the mash in the morning. 
 
 Fattening Fow^ls 
 
 Eowls to be fattened should be confined in small yards or in 
 coops or crates, especially adapted for feeding. The object in keep- 
 ing them in confinement is to prevent the forming of muscle and 
 sinew, which would occur if allowed to run at liberty. 
 
 The crate used for fattening fowls can be four or six feet long. 
 Mine were composed of lath six feet long; the frame of the crate 
 
 ^ ^|»^»^l^»^^^ff.1l^lmH.^^l^^m,^.^»^^l^»l.»^mu«^l.l»»l^u^»^mM^^»l^ll^llAm^^^ ^v^T^^^ 
 
 Three-Compartment Fattening Crate 
 
 is 6 feet long, 18 inches wide and 18 inches high, divided into six 
 little stalls or compartments. The frame is covered with lath, 
 placed lengthwise on the bottom, back and top the width of one 
 lath a])arl. The first lath on the bottom should be two inches from 
 the back to allow the droppings to fall through, otherwise they 
 would lodge on the lath at the back. The lath are placed up and 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 39 
 
 down in the front, the spaces between them being two inches wide 
 to enable the chickens to feed from the trough. A "V" shaped 
 trough is made to fit into two notches in cleats in front of each 
 crate. The crate stands 15 inches from the ground; the droppings 
 are received on sand or other absorbent material and removed daily. 
 The coop is large enough to hold 12 or 18 young chicks (2 or 3 in a 
 stall) or six full grown fowls. Fowls are fed three times a day all 
 they will eat in 15 minutes. 
 
 See cut of fattening crate. 
 
 Formulas for fattening: 
 
 (1) Equal parts of bran, cornmeal and oat meal (rolled break- 
 fast oats) mixed with skim milk, fed three times a day. 
 
 (2) Buckwheat flour, pulverized oats, cornmeal in equal parts, 
 mixed thin with buttermilk. 
 
 (3) Equal parts barley meal and oat meal and a half part of 
 cornmeal, mixed with buttermilk or skim milk. 
 
 (4) A favorite French combination is two parts barley meal, 
 one part cornmeal, one part buckwheat flour. 
 
 A little salt and coarse sand should be added to their food. Three 
 weeks is the length of time to continue the feeding. Chickens do 
 not seem to be able to stand the confinement for a greater length 
 of time. The last week of the fattening process, five per cent of 
 cotton seed meal and a little tallow may be added to any of the 
 above formulas. 
 
 Feeding Beans 
 
 Our readers know our "Rule of three"'- — or the three essentials 
 of egg production — Comfort, Exercise and Proper Food, and how 
 very necessary each of this trio is for filling the egg basket. 
 
 The successful poultry breeders, those that are really making 
 money in the poultry or egg business, all and each follow our Rule 
 of three. Some put more emphasis on one of the three conditions, 
 and some on the other, but I find the man that uses all three essen- 
 tials about evenly balanced is the successful man. 
 
 Just at present there are several of our readers who are seek- 
 ing for advice on the problem of the proper food and have appealed 
 to me for information about the use of beans and some other foods 
 which are available or cheap in their locality. I would like to 
 help them discuss this subject together with the different breeds 
 they are feeding. 
 
 We all know that food is first necessary to sustain life, to enable 
 the young fowls to grow and make their feathers, while it also 
 enables the mature fowls to rtiake and produce eggs. We have 
 learnt that the body of the hen and the egg also is composed of 
 water, mineral matter, nitrogenous matter and fat, and that to sus- 
 tain life and growth and to produce eggs, the hen must be supplied 
 with these elements. It is exceedingly interesting to learn the 
 right proportion of these different elements that have to be supplied 
 to the hen, all of which may be found in the analysis of the different 
 foods given in the valuable bulletin "Poultry Feeding and Proprie- 
 
40 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 tary Foods," by Professor Jaffa of the University of California. 
 The third edition of this bulletin is now in the press. 
 
 Professor Rice of Cornell, in one of his lectures, says, "Feeding 
 poultry is a science and an art." The science is in the knowing- 
 why, and the art is in the knowing how to do it. Our Professor 
 Jaffa divides the food (this is the science part) into three classes : 
 The protein, carbo-hydrates and fat. lie explains that the word 
 protein comes from a Greek word which means the chief thing — 
 or the first thing — and the protein is the most important part of the 
 food, for by it is made or produced the bone, muscle, blood, nerves, 
 tendons, etc. The protein or nitrogenous matter of the hen's body 
 and of the egg is formed by the nitrogenous matter (the protein) 
 that is fed to the hen or that she finds in hunting on the range for 
 her food, so any one can see how important this element is in the 
 food. 
 
 The carbonaceous part of the food, which includes the fat and 
 carbo-hydrates (sugar and starch), is mainly used as a fuel supply 
 to the body and is the substance which is consumed in the pro- 
 duction of heat and energy. We know or have learnt that an 
 active fowl, such as a Leghorn that is always on the move, scratch- 
 ing, running, flying, uses up more of the fat-producing food than a 
 quieter, tamer, heavier fowl, such as the Plymouth Rock or Wyan- 
 dotte or one of the Asiatics. 
 
 The scientists have analyzed the food as well as the hen and 
 have decided that a hen requires as a balanced ration for egg pro- 
 duction one pound of protein to four pounds of carbo-hydrates, and 
 we believe this and act on it by giving the hens animal food, green 
 food and grain. We also want to get the food as cheaply as possi- 
 ble to save our pocketbooks, and yet give the hens food that will 
 bring the best results, this is usually eggs when eggs are dearest. 
 
 The protein is the most expensive part of the food, consequently 
 when we find a food that is inexpensive but contains a large amount 
 of protein, we are glad to buy it, and then we must find out how to 
 mix it or with what other food in order to get the right balance 
 of one part of protein to 4 or 4.5 of carbo-hydrates. A ration means 
 the food for a whole day. 
 
 I am always glad to talk over the different foods and to help 
 beginners decide what is the best and cheapest food for them to 
 use in their locality. Several have lately asked about BEANS, 
 how to feed them to the best advantage. Some years ago I had an 
 opportunity of buying a large quantity of navy beans that had 
 been held as seed beans but several sacks of them had become 
 weevily. 1 studied Professor Jaffa's bulletin and decided that it 
 would be a good plan to buy them, thinking that as they were small, 
 the hens would eat them, but my hens did not take to them at 
 first, so I sent the beans to the mill and had them coarsely ground, 
 and I then soaked them over night with a little bicarbonate of soda 
 in the water, and the next morning when the fire was lighted for 
 breakfast, I put on the beans and let them cook at the back of the 
 stove, taking them oft" at noon and mixing in bran and cornmeal. 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 41 
 
 also a little alfalfa meal, and seasoning with salt and pepper as for 
 the table. The hens like this mash made of bean soup, and never 
 hens laid better than these. It was certainly a famous egg food. 
 Recently I received letters from several of our readers asking 
 about feeding beans, and I replied, giving Professor Jaffa's analysis, 
 but I afterwards received a letter asking me for the analysis and 
 the value of "broad Windsor beans," and as there was no analysis 
 of them in the bulletin, I sent some of them to the Agricultural 
 College to have them analyzed. Professor Jafifa not only analyzed 
 them, but also analyzed some "horse beans," as I said that Windsor 
 beans were sometimes called horse beans and were largely fed to 
 horses in some places. The horse beans that he bought were 
 larger than the W^indsor beans that I sent him and he found both 
 of them so exceedingly rich in protein, that to be certain there was 
 no mistake, he had the analysis duplicated, done over twice. 
 
 Analysis of Horse Beans 
 
 Per cents 
 
 Water 14.05 
 
 Ash 2.10 
 
 Protein 25.10 
 
 Fat 1.60 
 
 Fiber 6.63 
 
 Starch, etc 50.52 
 
 Total 100.00 
 
 Analysis of Windsor Beans 
 
 Per cents 
 
 Water 10.98 
 
 Ash 3.02 
 
 Protein 18.80 
 
 Fat 1.58 
 
 Fiber 6.65 
 
 Starch, etc 58.97 
 
 Total 100.00 
 
 Analysis of Navy Beans 
 
 Per cents 
 
 Water 12.60 
 
 Ash 3.50 
 
 Protein 22.50 
 
 Fat 1.80 
 
 Fiber 4.40 
 
 Starch, etc 55.20 
 
 Total 100.00 
 
 It will be seen by these analyses how rich in protein are the 
 beans, and therefore what a valuable food for fowls. Realizing the 
 value of this, in order to help other of our readers, I wrote to 
 A. A. W. for further information about the beans he had sent me, 
 and received the following reply : 
 
 "The beans are commonly known in England fwhere they are 
 very popular) as 'broad Windsor Keans,' but to the best of my 
 
42 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 remembrance these are a smaller species. I raised these here on 
 rich soil apparently high in nitrogen, judging by the rank top 
 growth of various crops planted therein ; the vines averaged a height 
 ot over seven feet, which is more than double that claimed for them 
 by the seedsmen, who do not usually underestimate the vigor and 
 proliticacy of their well advertised goods. 1 have a copy of your 
 poultry book and believe 1 have derived much profit from it, as I 
 am raising broilers and feeding them entirely according to your di- 
 rections* ; some of them weigh close on to two pounds each, and 
 none of them are over six weeks and four days old, raised in brooder 
 coops without hens or artificial heat, but with the best possible 
 care and attention to details, and with less loss than I expected, as 
 this is my first experience of this way of raising them. May 1 
 trouble you to inform me of the best method of feeding the beans 
 to chicks of various ages, as I have others at different stages. I 
 have fed them occasionally to month old chicks in small quantities 
 by soaking until the skins will slip, then chopping" up fine with 
 bran to make a crumbly mash. I would much like to know if this 
 is a good combination or otherwise, and how best and when to feed, 
 and the proportion of beans, and whether chopped up dry, soaked 
 or cooked. 
 
 "My idea in discarding the skins is that being very tough and 
 leathery, they might possibly be indigestible." 
 
 In reply to this, the skins are very tough, that is, the skins 
 of both horse beans and Windsor beans, and it was a wise precau- 
 tion to take them oft' for the little chicks, but that would scarcely 
 be possible or profitable if you arc feeding much to mature hens, as 
 it would take too much time and labor. 
 
 In feeding either old or young you can make one-fifth of the 
 food of the beans if you have plenty of them, but I would advise 
 not more than that. Your way of mixing the chopped-up beans 
 with bran and milk is good, but I would suggest adding a little 
 cornmeal about one-fifth of the amount of the mash. This would 
 be a better balanced mash. As you have had such good results 
 from following my instructions and formula for feeding broilers, 
 I think you had better continue it and not make any change, or if 
 for any good reason you are obliged to make a change in the food 
 make the change very gradually, that is, add only a few spoonsful 
 of the new food each day until at the end of about two weeks you 
 have got them to willingly accept the new food. A sudden change 
 of almost any kind will stop the egg out-put partially or sometimes 
 totally. You have to remember there is a dift'erence between va- 
 riety, which is excellent for fowls, and change, which almost in- 
 variably results disastrously. 
 
 The best way to feed the beans (W^indsor or horse beans) would 
 be to have them ground and feed them in the dry mash for all the 
 chickens, large or small; for the very little fellows nothing" could be 
 better than the way you are now doing. 
 
 When I received this letter I wrote to a successful poultryman 
 
 *See page 36. 
 
THE FEEDING PROBLEM 
 
 43 
 
 and egg farmer, who has been feeding beans for sometime very 
 successfully, and I copy his letter for the benefit especially of those 
 residing in bean-growing districts, where beans can be often bought 
 very cheaply. The writer can be thoroughly relied upon as to 
 accuracy. 
 
 "Your cordial letter reached us today, and T take pleasure in 
 answering your questions concerning our use of beans for hens. 
 
 "The variety we used and are still using is what is called here 
 the black-eyed bean. I think it is called 'cow peas' in some parts of 
 the country. The flavor of this bean is more like that of the pea 
 than of the bean. For a long time we fed them whole, with corn, 
 wheat and whole barley, equal parts of each. The hens ate them 
 as readily as they did the other grains, except wheat. 
 
 "We fed it also in the mash, with ground barley, cornmeal and 
 beans, about equal parts of each. We found that our hens increased 
 their egg productoin about twenty per cent. 
 
 These beans are rich in protein, about 22%, and are about 85% 
 digestible, so you will see that fed with wheat, corn and barley 
 they are a valuable addition to the dietary of hens. If we could 
 get these beans, we should continue their use, but we are unable 
 to get any more of them. If you know where they can be had for a 
 reasonable price, we should be pleased to have you inform us. 
 I have no doubt that hens could be induced to eat lima beans, at 
 least in the mash, as you know lima beans are rich in protein, but 
 possibly may not be as digestible as the black-eye. I hope this 
 information may be of use to you." 
 
 In this article we give the scientific side, the analysis of three 
 kind of beans, and also the practical use of them by three different 
 poultry breeders. " This will answer several other incjuiries on the 
 subject, and we hope prove useful to many of our readers. 
 
 Buff Orpington 
 
SPROUTING OATS 
 By W. S. Willis 
 
 The following' method of sprouting- oats has been kindly sent 
 to the author by Mr. W. S. Willis, of the celebrated Arlinc^ton Egg 
 ■Ranch. Mr. Willis has found the sprouted oats a splendid addition 
 to the hen!s ration, lending variety to the daily bill of fare and in- 
 creasing the egg output. 
 
 Three quarts of oats will make a fine morning meal for 100 hens 
 if properly sprouted. 
 
 Place the grain in a pail and let it soak for twenty-four hours ; 
 then transfer it to a box one foot square and six inches deep, with 
 a few small drainage holes in the bottom. 
 
 Sprinkle with water daily and allow the grain to remain in the 
 box until the sprouts are from two to three inches in length, at 
 which time it will be ready to feed. 
 
 As it takes from eight to ten days to secure the proper growth, 
 a number of boxes or compartments should be provided for the 
 grain, keeping each day's allowance separate, and a new lot should 
 be started daily. 
 
 For larger flocks of course it is necessary to increase the size of 
 the boxes — a day's feed for 600 hens, for instance, requiring a 
 sprouting space of two by three feet. 
 
 In all cases care should be taken not to have the grain over two 
 inches deep when placed in boxes, in order to guard against heating 
 and mildew. 
 
 The boxes should be placed in a level position and kept covered 
 with a board or burlap, in order to keep the grain in a moist condi- 
 tion. 
 
 Tn cold weather the sprouting operations should be conducted in 
 comfortably warm quarters, and warm water may sometimes be 
 used to advantage in sprinkling the grain. 
 
 Redwood is better than pine to use in making the sprouting 
 boxes, being less liable to swell and crack when water soaked. 
 
 Should it be impossible to get oats that will grow well, barley 
 may be substituted, but it may be found necessary to stir the 
 barley until it begins to sprout, to prevent fermentation. 
 
 Black Orpington Hen 
 
BREEDING, LINE-BREEDING, IN-BREEDING, ETC. 
 
 The subject of breeding for best results in the poultry yard is 
 exceedingly interesting, and is being developed more and more 
 every year, not only by poultry breeders, but I believe, by some of 
 the government experiment stations. 
 
 There is "in-breeding," "line-breeding," "out-breeding," "cross- 
 breeding," and no breeding at all. 
 
 Many people are afraid of in-breeding. By this is usually 
 meant breeding brother and sister together for generations, without 
 the infusion of new blood . This kind of in-breeding is very apt 
 to result disastrously, because in such a flock the best, biggest 
 and most vigorous are sent to the market, and the inferior ones are 
 kept at home for breeders, unless a neighbor steps in and lends a 
 cockerel to solve the difficulty. 
 
 For fear of the flock deteriorating, many people think it abso- 
 lutely necessary to have new blood in their flock every year, and 
 here is where the danger comes in for those who are raising thor- 
 ough-breds. If you buy pure-bred male of the same breed to 
 mate with your pure-bred female from another strain or family, 
 you may get one that will improve your flock, or one which will 
 bring you disqualified birds. This getting new blood of the same 
 family is called "out-breeding." J. H. Robinson says : "Most of 
 the evils assigned to in-breeding are not due to in-breeding, but to 
 careless selection. There is no evidence that in-breeding necessar- 
 ily initiates degeneracy. There is abundant evidence that with 
 proper selection for stamina to avoid common defects, very close 
 in-breeding can be followed for a long time without injuring the 
 stock. There is also abundant evidence that breeding unrelated 
 fowls without careful attention to vigor, and avoidance of common 
 defects is at once attended with precisely the same results as 
 breeding fowls of near kin under the same conditions." 
 
 In making the new breeds, in-breeding is necessary to fix the 
 color, shape, etc. If it is necessary to fix superiority in color, it 
 is necessary to fix it in shape. If it is necessary to fix it in shape, 
 it is necessary to fix superior laying capacity, or rapid growth and 
 vigor. In-breeding is necessary because there cannot be intelligent 
 breeding without in-brecding. 
 
 "Line-breeding," or breeding in line, is keeping to the same 
 family, the same blood. It is very careful in-breeding. When we 
 line breed we simply limit the number of ancestors in the fowl's 
 pedigree. By so doing we intensify the qualities in the fowl, for 
 it has been established beyond doubt that the mating of nearly 
 related individuals has a tendency to intensify the traits or char- 
 acteristics which they possess in common. As an example, I had 
 a White Plymouth Rock hen (Snow Queen), a 95^^ point bird. 
 She laid 225 eggs in 9 months. T mated her, when I discovered her 
 wonderful qualities, to my first prize male. Four of her daughters 
 from that mating were prize-winners. The following year I mated 
 her to her best son, and the third year to her son who was also 
 
46 MRS. 15AS1.EVS WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 
 
 her grandson. By this last mating, the offspring were 15-16 of her 
 blood. I sold a few settings of this mating, one to a gentleman in 
 Sacramento. He wrote me afterwards that he won first cock, first 
 hen and first pen at the Poultry Show, with seven of her offspring; 
 but, he added, "the great recommendation to your fowls is their 
 wonderful vigor and healthfulness. All my other fowls have had 
 roup and chicken-pox ; in fact, 1 have lost more than half, and 
 while yours were brought up with them, they seem absolutely im- 
 mune to all sickness." 
 
 Another setting of eggs I sold to a party south of town. I 
 heard later than one of the hens hatched from that setting laid 105 
 eggs in 110 consecutive days. By careful in-breeding it is possible 
 to intensify the good qualities of great egg-laying and great vigor. 
 A hen to be a great layer must have vigor. 
 
 To illustrate what is meant by line-breeding, I would take a 
 good pair or trio of the best birds procurable; raise the young, 
 carefully feeding for strength and vigor. The vigor of a flock is 
 sustained not by introducing new blood, but by selecting breeding 
 birds for vigor. Vigorous birds beget vigorous oft'spring; weak 
 birds weak offspring, whether kin or not. The second year I would 
 mate the father with two of his best daughters and the best son 
 back to the mother hen, and use these two families as two different 
 strains for new blood, each year selecting the best from either 
 family. By the best, I do not mean only the handsomest ; I mean 
 among the cockerels the most vigorous, active and up-to-standard 
 birds, and among the pullets the best layers as well as the earliest 
 maturing, largest and handsomest. Let it be understood that to 
 breed from birds because they are related without making selections 
 of points desired, is as wrong as to refuse to mate related fowls. 
 By breeding from only vigorous stock, and observing the rule not 
 to mate fowls having the same bad defects, mating together only 
 fowls which in individual merit and in pedigree (whether akin or 
 no kin) are what they should be for the purpose of the mating, 
 you may be sure of avoiding mistakes. 
 
 "I am afraid of in-breeding," said a lady to me recently. "The 
 book says change cockerels with your neighbor." I do not know 
 from what book she was quoting, but I went to see her fowls. She 
 had really fine standard bred fowls to commence with, but she had 
 ruined the flock l)y trading cockerels. A friend of mine intending 
 to purchase them asked me to look at them, but I could not recom- 
 mend them, as I knew the offspring would not be desirable. 
 
 Many persons wishing to purchase fowls from me (when I was 
 in the business) would say. "Can you sell me two or four hens and 
 a cockerel not related?" I replied that I could and would if they 
 wished, as I had fifteen separate pens and marked all my young 
 fowls, but if they asked me to mate for best results. I would give 
 them hens from my best layers, mated to a cockerel that was partly 
 related to them, for I knew then the offspring would be of as 
 good quality as the i)arents. To know this takes some years of 
 "close observation and close selection," which is the rule for line- 
 breeding. 
 
BREEDING, LINE AND IN-EREEDING 47 
 
 When I wanted new blood of late years, I would get a setting 
 of eggs from the best breeder I knew. Select the two pullets from 
 this brood, mate them with one of my own males, and then await 
 results. Some years they would be quite satisfactory; if other- 
 wise, they were consigned to the table and proved delicious eating. 
 When the results were good, I had fine young ones and new blood 
 which I knew would mate with mine and not deteriorate my fowls 
 in regard to looks and standard points, but I could not tell for 
 two years how the laying qualities of the offspring might be af- 
 fected. Here is a place where "close observation" comes in. The 
 pullets were trap-nested for a season, and then if they came up 
 to my ideal I had the satisfaction of knowing I had made another 
 success. This getting in new blood of the same breed is called 
 "out-breeding." 
 
 I know a farmer's wife who had good pure-bred Plymouth 
 Rocks, prize winners. She sent away and bought a first prize win- 
 ner — a beautiful cockerel. She thought she would have prize win- 
 ners for the next show, when to her grief she found that all the 
 progeny of that cockerel were disqualified birds. The cockerel did 
 not "nick" with the hens, though they were of the same breed. 
 This out-breeding was a failure. If she thought fresh blood neces- 
 sary, she should have purchased a cockerel from the same breeder 
 of whom she purchased her original flock, and she should have had 
 one that had some of the same blood as the pullets, or if she could 
 not do that, she should have bought a good pullet and mated her 
 to the best male, and if the cockerel from that mating proved good, 
 she could have used one the following year. "Out-breeding" as she 
 did, is a sort of lottery, and one cannot be certain of results. 
 
 Crossing, cross-breeding or out-crossing, all of which mean the 
 same thing, is introducing blood from a distinctly different breed. 
 The first cross will usually give better layers, and occasionally will 
 produce good birds, but the progeny of these will be mongrels un- 
 less a pure-bred male is introduced each year. The new breeds, 
 such as the Orpington, etc., are made by cross-breeding and then by 
 close in-breeding. There is, however, one breed in America which 
 has been made entirely by out-crossing; that is the Rhode Island 
 Reds. This breed has been made by bringing vigorous blood on 
 the male side "Red cocks" from China, Chittagong, Malay, etc., 
 and mating them with the farm fowls of Rhode Island. This out- 
 crossing has produced a breed of great vigor and prolificacy. 
 Crossing as a rule, is not advisable, because one can never be 
 certain which parent the young will resemble ; they will be large 
 or small, some of one color, some of another, irregular in maturing 
 and irregular in shape for market. 
 
 However, I knew a farmer's daughter in New York who wished 
 to improve her flock of mongrels of all shapes and colors. She 
 bought a "line-bred" Plymouth Rock cockerel, and the following 
 summer she found that nearly all the young stock had Plymouth 
 Rock markings, even the offspring of the Cochin hens had feathers 
 to their toes. The next year she bought again from the same 
 
4S MK^^ msi !• Y\^ WTSTFRX POUl TRY HOOK 
 
 brcodor anoihor vigorous riyniouth Rock, aiul bv the ond of that 
 scas«.M\ she luul, apparently, a tlock (.>t tine riyinouth Rocks. I say 
 apparently, because it she had mated them toi^ether. she would have 
 had mongrels the following season, but as it was she worked the 
 mongrel old stock otY and had tine looking" Plymouth Rocks that 
 proved excellent layers. A line-bred cockerel has gxeater prepo- 
 tency than one indetinitely bred. That is. he will reproduce him- 
 self or leave his marks strongly upon his progeny. This was the 
 case with my Xew York friends birds. Hers were "cross-bred." 
 or what farmers would call ""grade" Plymouth Rocks. 
 
 The male bird, if he comes from a line-bred family, will be 
 more prepotent than the female. He will impress his qualities 
 or characteristics, good or bad. on his progeny more than a male 
 that is not line-bred, and the male is considered half the pen. 
 His part is the germ, the seed, from which will grow the chick, 
 l-'or this reason, choose the good, strong", vigorous cockerel, active 
 and stirring", to head your pen and take a pure-bred instead of a 
 mongrel, because in this way you w ill build up a tlock of fine birds. 
 
 "Line-breeding" is keeping" in the same family for years, each 
 year choosing" the most vigorous of both males and females to con- 
 tinue the succession, l.ine-breeding is very careful and closely 
 selected in-breeding. 
 
 "Out-breeding" is introducing" new blood, but of the same breed. 
 
 "Cross-breeding" or ""out-crossing" is introducing distinctly new 
 blood of an entirely ditferent breed. 
 
 There is some diversion of c"^pinion as to the best ages of parent 
 stock to produce the strongest chicks, but is is usually accepted 
 that fowls are generally at their best at twenty to twenty-four 
 months of age. If they are not then in good condition, the breeder 
 should look for something" wrong" in his method of handling" stock. 
 A hen coming two years old will, if properly handled between sea- 
 sons, lay as well the second year as the first, and lay larger eggs 
 which will hatch stronger and better chicks. A cock of the same 
 age should be in his prime. The mating of males and females of 
 this age will, other things being equal, give better results than 
 any other ag"e. However, well grown young fowls would make 
 better breeders than two-year-v^lds not in good condition. Many 
 breeders advise mating a cock bird to pullets, and a cockerel to 
 hens. Generally tliese mating^ give better results than the matings 
 of cockerels and pullets, but not as g^ood as matings of two-vear- 
 olds. 
 
 The principal quality looked for in mating birds is vigor, 
 whether you are mating for market or for egg laying or for fancy 
 feathering. 
 
 Breeding Chart 
 
 .\ clear conception of the methods followed in line breeding 
 may be had by reference to the accompanying chart which has 
 been drawn from one published several years ago by I. K. Felch, 
 the veteran Light Hrahma breeder. In this chart the solid circles 
 and segments represent the male bUxxl elements, and the solid lines 
 
HRKKDINfi, I.INI.; AND IN l',K KKDI N(; 49 
 
 thai a male has beci chosen fnnn the «To„p fro.n which Ihcy slarl 
 Ihe white arc cs and segments represent the female blood elc- 
 the i^-o,n slotted hnes that the females have been chosen from 
 
 tlic K^iou p f.om which they start. The shaded circle represents a 
 scheme for he adm.ss.on of new blood. Suppose we have two 
 extra srood bu-ds which when mated together produce high-cLrss 
 offsprmg. I hen the problem is how to perpetuate the rpiality of 
 the parents and offsprm.^- without the danj^^ers of close in-breeding 
 
 LiriE Breed /no Ch^rt 
 
 ^FreR I.K.Felch 
 
 Geneff/^no.vs 
 
 16 
 
 'fk 
 
 
 € &'# i^i On f3\ 
 
 th. 
 
 1^ /S 
 
 liy llic conilcsy of tlic )':(|llor of "I'oultry" 
 
 or of destroying the results of several years of work, by violent 
 out-crossn.g I'.y following line breeding, three blood li'^es m^y 
 be Icve oped, one of which shall contain a preponderance of orig- 
 nal male blood, one a preponderance of original female blood, and 
 the third equal proportions of original male and female blood 
 fon/nl Vi 1 ^^ ^ represent the original male, and 2 the original 
 temale. J hen by crossing 1 and 2 the result is group 3, which pos- 
 sesses equal parts of the blood of 1 and 2. Selecting the best pullet 
 irom 3 and mating to her .sjrp 1, group 4 is produced, which con- 
 
50 
 
 MRS I'.ASl.l'VS Wl'Sri-KX I\)U1.TRV BOOK 
 
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BREEDING, LINE AND IN-BREEDING 
 
 51 
 
 tains three-fourths of the blood of the original sire and one-fourth 
 of the blood of the original dam. In a like manner the best cock- 
 erel from 3 mated to his dam 2 produces group 5, which is made 
 up of three-fourths of the blood of the original dam and one-fourth 
 of the blood of the original sire. Proceeding in a similar manner 
 by mating the original parents to their offspring in the third gener- 
 ation, we obtain at groups 6 and 7 oft'spring which contain either 
 seven-eighths the blood of the original sire and one-eighth of the 
 blood of the original dam, or seven-eighths the blood of the original 
 dam and one-eighth the blood of the original sire, as the case may be. 
 Thus the blood of the original sire has been practically eliminated 
 
 Rhode Island Red Cockerel 
 
 from the female line, and the blood of the original dam from the 
 male line. If the original parents were still in breeding condition, 
 the blood of each could be intensified to 15-16 in the fifth genera- 
 tion. To obtain the original cross, however, at any generation after 
 the second, it is only necessary to select parents from corresponding 
 groups on each side of the line, as for instance, a cockerel from 
 group 6 mated to pullets from group 7 will produce, in the fifth 
 generation group 9, which contains mathematically one-half the 
 blood of the original pair. Similar results can be obtained by se- 
 lecting parents from 4 and 5. 
 
 The fifth and sixth generations, as shown in the chart, indicate 
 only a few of the possible groups that may be obtained from 
 various matings. 
 
 The danger of using new stock not akin to one's own is far 
 greater than the danger of line-breeding vigorous birds of known 
 pedigree, as is proven by the following case in point : A breeder of 
 Reds who had sold a fine pen two years previously of such excel- 
 
52 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 Icnce that she felt safe in bu3'iiig back a cockerel raised from them, 
 resembling in every way the sire sold, for the pen had been care- 
 fully line-bred and mated for best results ; she used this bird with 
 her finest hens and sold eggs from them, and every chick of this 
 cockerel's get had white feathers enough to disqualify it. After 
 this cockerel moulted, the beautiful red of his plumage was sprink- 
 led all through with patches of white feathers. Close inquiry di- 
 vulged the fact that the breeder had allowed his Reds and Whites 
 to run together until a few weeks before mating time, trusting to 
 this short period of time to remove the bad effects of commingling. 
 Now, scientific men maintain that the danger of contamination of 
 the female is far greater than is generally believed. Some even 
 assert that a pullet's first mating influences her whole progeny, no 
 matter how carefully she may be mated thereafter, and that the 
 taint of foreign blood can never be eliminated from her offspring. 
 There is much of truth in this theory, for the blood of the mother 
 partakes of the blood of the sire through the blood of the unborn 
 germ, whether egg or foetus, circulating through her. We can 
 never be too careful to keep our hens and pullets safely yarded, 
 and we should beware of strange males as of the plague itself. 
 
 The accompanying chart for the toe-marking of the chicks ex- 
 plains itself. There are sixteen different markings possible. A 
 small punch called a chick-marker will be found indispensable. 
 The toe marking must be done while the chicks are a day or two 
 old, as later on the web will bleed and the others may learn to peck 
 at the blood and get into cannibal habits. A book must be kept 
 for this one purpose, to keep a record of each chick's pedigree by not- 
 ing its particular toe-mark, as soon as the hatch is taken oft". Then 
 when mating time comes it is a simple matter to select our breed- 
 ers and mate them according to rule. 
 
 
S3 
 
 FERTILE EGGS 
 
 In the early spring we receive many letters of inquiry from 
 beginners as to how they shall get fertile eggs or why the tggSi 
 are not fertile. It is a vital consequence to understand this matter 
 somewhat. 
 
 To secure fertile eggs and strong chicks that will grow and 
 make good breeders, that will be sturdy and vigorous and bring a 
 profit, both the parents should be vigorous and healthy. 
 
 To grow vigorous chickens they must be well born and to 
 
 White Plymouth Rocks 
 
 accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to have the breeding 
 stock in the very best of health. The females as well as the males 
 should have entirely completed the moult. 
 
 The birds should be mature both physically and sexually. This 
 is a very important matter, for an egg may be fertile and yet not 
 exclude the chick from it ; the germ may not be vigorous enough 
 to develop into a chicken capable of breaking its way out of the 
 shell. More than mere size is needed in the male bird ; maturity 
 and vigor are necessary. The male should be of large and vigorous 
 frame, well filled out, gallant to the females and ready to fight any 
 intruder. He should have a full, deep voice and have lost the air 
 of immaturity which the young birds always have. He should be 
 ten months old or over, with hackles and sickles well developed 
 and spurs of a fair size. Such a male will fertilize the eggs strongly 
 and produce vigorous and sturdy chicks; the eggs will not only be 
 fertile, but will be hatchable. 
 
54 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 A male bird which is immature may fertilize many of the eggs, 
 but it will be found that there are weak germs and many of these 
 will never develop, or if they do, the chicks produced will be weak 
 and inferior. Immature males are largely to blame for poor hatches 
 and chicks dead in the shell. A cockerel is usually at his best when 
 he is a year old and from that time until he is three or four years 
 old he can be used safely. During the breeding season the vigor of 
 the male bird must be watched ; he should have extra food with 
 high protein content, that is, extra meat, to keep him vigorous. If 
 mated to eight or ten vigorous females and if he is gallant, they will 
 usually eat most of the animal food away from him, unless it is fed 
 in the dry mash, and suddenly you may discover that the male that 
 is heading your pen has lost strength and vitality with a corres- 
 ponding loss in the hatchability of the eggs. 
 
 j\luch has been written on the importance of having fully ma- 
 tured and well developed females, but the best females cannot 
 produce hatchable eggs if mated to an immature or weakly male. 
 
 I have found that two years of age is about the best for both 
 sexes, otherwise have a year's difference in the ages of the pair of 
 birds. Mate a one-year-old male to older females, say, two, three 
 or four years older, or a older male to females of one year of age. 
 Here in California I always try to have my male birds hatched in 
 the fall ; this was to make them at their best in the breeding season, 
 fifteen or eighteen months later; also, I thought that males hatched 
 in the fall would be the fathers of hens that would lay in the early 
 winter, and I wanted fall and early winter eggs on account of the 
 market price. I also found that my fall hatched pullets were earlier 
 layers than the spring hatched ; most of my record hens were 
 hatched in November. 
 
 Another point in securing fertile eggs is to decide upon the 
 number of hens that may be safely mated to a vigorous male. It 
 has been found that the American breeds do best if one male is 
 mated to from eight to ten females ; with the Asiatics the number 
 is one male to from six to eight females ; while the Leghorns or 
 Mediterraneans from twelve to twenty females, can be mated to a 
 vigorous bird. These will strongly fertilize the eggs. 
 
 In my own yards I found that close observation was necessary; 
 sometimes a male will apparently pay no attention to one or two 
 females in his yard, and if after mating for three or four weeks I 
 find the eggs from one of the females is not fertile, I remove her 
 to another yard. I do not approve of changing the males in a yard, as 
 some have advocated. The theory may be plausible, but in practice 
 I have found it detrimental. It gives a feeling of unrest in the 
 yards and retards egg production, as anything disturbing will, and 
 causes a loss of fertility. I find it best to mate up for the season 
 and then leave them alone without change of any kind, unless for 
 some special cause. 
 
 A 'line-bred" male is more prepotent than a male of no breed- 
 ing, and will strongly impress his female offspring with the char- 
 acteristics of the females in his line. Be very sure that your male 
 is vigorous. 
 
FERTILE EGGS 55 
 
 Feeding- for fertility is another necessity in getting liatclial)le 
 eggs. Here we may consult Nature. The spring is the time that 
 Nature gives- the fertile eggs ; let us feed as much as possible as 
 she does. Let us be sure to give plenty of tender, green, succulent 
 food, as well as animal food to supply the place of the grubs and 
 worms, which Nature gives, but in making any radical change in 
 the food, make the change gradually. There is a difference between 
 change and. variety. A great variety will give fertility, while a 
 radical change of any kind will cause a loss of eggs as well as loss 
 of fertility. Among the green foods that give fertility, the fore- 
 most is alfalfa. Give the fowls all the alfalfa or clover that you 
 can induce them to eat. Give all the grain in the scratching pen, 
 so they will have to work and exercise for every grain. Nothing 
 helps the fertiHty so much as the exercise of scratching and nothing 
 costs much less. One prominent poultry breeder told me that 
 it costs him exactly one cent a month per hen to keep fresh wheat 
 straw in his scratching pen ; the hens scratch in that and also eat a 
 considerable amount of the straw. 
 
 The grain most conducive to fertility is oats. I always use 
 oatmeal in the dry mash during the breeding season, also sprouted 
 oats. These are given besides the mixed grain in the scratching 
 pen. 
 
 The animal food should be as much as possible, fresh green bone 
 and meat, skim milk and beef scraps. The fresh meat is the best 
 of all, but it must be fresh. Those living where rabbits or wild 
 game are abundant can supply this. At the sea coast, fish and the 
 little crabs or clams make a valuable addition to the animal food. 
 
 Of course, good, sharp grit, crushed oyster shell and charcoal 
 should be before the hen all the time. 
 
TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 
 
 Success is w lial w c all want to attain in what ever we undertake, 
 aiul 1 earnestly hope that ni\ practical talks on poultry may help 
 others to make a success of it. 
 
 "Success with the Japanese." wrote George Kennan, in one of 
 his interesting articles during the war, "is not a matter of perhaps 
 or somehow or other, nor does it depend upon the grace of a merci- 
 ful God. It is carefully 'pre-arranged' by an intelligent forethought. 
 a perfect system and an attention to details that I have never seen 
 surpassed." 
 
 Success in the poultry yard can be attained or "pre-arranged" in 
 exactly the same manner, b'ailnre in the ciiicken business (as in 
 warfare) is due to lack of forethought, hick of system, and care- 
 lessness with regard to details. Forethought is the studying up and 
 thinking how to do a thing, thinking out beforehand the best way 
 of doing it and arranging for it. 
 
 The experiences of others by teaching us may save us not only 
 dollars and cents, but chagrin and disappointment. I spend a good 
 deal of my time in visiting the ranches of some of my correspond- 
 ents, either to help them out of difficulties, or to luate up their pens 
 for them, or to start up their incubators, or to overhaul their brood- 
 ers or plan their henneries, and in this way I become acquainted 
 with the needs and difficulties of a luimber of amateurs or beginners 
 in the poultry business. Some of the troubles of others may teach 
 us what "not to dc">." 
 
 "1 wish you could tell me what is the matter." wrote one. "I 
 had good luck last year, but only half the fertile eggs hatched last 
 time." 
 
 T answered by spending a day at her ranch. "What is the mat- 
 ter with your hatches?" said I. "and on what day did they come 
 
 CMlt?" 
 
 "The first hatch this season came out on the twenty-second day." 
 was her reply, "and as it was a day too late. I decided to run the 
 machine half a dejjTee higher than the directions order, and I 
 suppose I got it too hot." 
 
 "Did you have any crippled chickens in the hatch?" 
 "Yes. in the last hatch there were a number of nice big chicks 
 that could not stand up. Their legs sprawled out and I had to kill 
 them." 
 
 The Incubator 
 
 Cripples usually come from over-heating the incubator, or from 
 irregularity of heat. Poor or insufficient ventilation will also cause 
 cripples. 
 
 Now. what was the reason for these failures and what can others 
 learn from them? After a careful examination of the incubator, 
 which was a good one of the most approved make. I decided first 
 that the incubator did not stand perfectly level : secondly, that the 
 thermometer was at fault. When the incubator is in the least de- 
 gree out of level, the- heat will go to the highest side, leaving the 
 
TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 57 
 
 lowest possibly a degree or more too cold. The first thing to be 
 learned from this lady's failure is never to start the incubator with- 
 out being absolutely certain that it is perfectly level. The only 
 way to do this is to use a carpenter's spirit level. Put it on top of 
 the machine at each side and then cross-wise, and be sure that the 
 bubble of air is at the proper spot. You may think that because it 
 stood level last year it is most likely to be all right this year. That 
 is leaving it to chance. One of the legs may have shrunk ever so 
 little from the dry weather or swollen from the dampness of the 
 room or the floor or ground may have changed ever so little at one 
 corner or side without it being perceptible to the eye. It is much 
 "better to be sure than sorry," so whether you are an expert or not, 
 do not commence this season to hatch without testing your ma- 
 chine with a spirit level. Do not trust to luck — "pre-arrange" and 
 success will be yours. 
 
 Test the Thermometer 
 
 Do not start the incubator this season without testing also the 
 thermometer. Some friends of mine once bought a new incubator 
 of standard make. The thermometer was guaranteed correct; two 
 years seasoned. They had just received from Canada twenty dol- 
 lars' worth of very choice eggs, and as they wanted to be sure of a 
 good hatch from those prize eggs, they bought this new incubator, 
 although they had a good one. Not an egg hatched ! They after- 
 wards discovered that the guaranteed thermometer was two de- 
 grees wrong. Do not trust to last year's testing. Thermometers 
 vary, and it takes at least two years to season them. 
 
 It is not difficult to test a thermometer, but to do so you must 
 have one perfectly correct and accurate. This you can either bor- 
 row from the doctor or from your druggist, or you can take one 
 of your thermometers to the druggest and ask him to test it for you. 
 Then having one that is accurate, take a bucket holding about two 
 quarts of water, put warm water heated to about 105 degrees into 
 the bucket, and put your thermometers into it with the bulbs all at 
 the same level. Keep the water well stirred, so the heat will be the 
 same all over. Hold the thermometers in it for fifteen minutes, then 
 read them and note the difference. If your thermometer is half a 
 degree too low, mark on the incubator, "Thermometer half degree 
 too low; run incubator half degree lower than directed," or oppo- 
 site, if the thermometer reads too high. If you buy a new thermo- 
 meter, after testing it, be sure to hang or place it in the correct 
 position. The bulb must be on exactly the same level as the former 
 thermometer which belonged to the machine. A little difference in 
 height or in the position of the bulb of the thermometer may make 
 a great difference in the heat on the egg tray. You cannot be too 
 careful and particular about these small items. "Pre-arrangement" 
 of these means success. 
 
 How to Test the Eggs 
 
 After supper, when it was dark, we put the trays of beautiful 
 fresh eggs on the dining room table, put the egg tester on the lamp, 
 
58 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 and then looked at each egg through the tester. Eggs were rejected 
 that were chalky to the touch, or those that had light spots in them 
 or freckled all over with clear places, or thin on the little end, or 
 cracked, or crooked, or in any way misshaped. A few doubtful I 
 left in. marking them "d" (these I subsequently heard did not 
 hatch). It is much easier to detect the imperfect or unhatchable 
 eggs by looking at them with the tester than by merely feeling 
 them. It may be a little more trouble at the commencement, but is 
 a saving in labor all through the period of incubation and a lessen- 
 ing in the expense of oil ; besides giving more room for fertile eggs 
 and more chance of a good hatch, as the infertile eggs chill their 
 fertile neighbors and draw from their vitality. Therefore do not 
 put eggs into the incubator, or under hens, without carefully select- 
 ing them. Poultry keeping is made up of little things, and can so 
 easily be ruined by little things that I will add a word of warning. 
 Do not hold the egg when testing it so close to the lamp that it 
 will heat it. The tiny germ of life in the egg is very tender and 
 may easily be killed. For this reason I made a home-made tester 
 out of a cracker box. I cut a hole the size of half a dollar just op- 
 posite the place where the flame of the lamp came when I set it 
 inside the box. In this way I did not overheat the egg. I also 
 found this box very handy for testing eggs under setting hens. 
 Eggs, whether under hens or in incubators, should always be tested 
 out. There are thousands of eggs lost or wasted every year from 
 carelessness in this matter. An egg which is infertile and is for a 
 week either in an incubator or under a hen is perfectly good for 
 food. It is simply an egg that has been in a warm place for a week. 
 There is no germ in it ; there never has been life in it. so there is no 
 dead germ to decay. Infertile eggs keep fresh and sweet much 
 longer than fertile eggs, and those who are raising only eggs for 
 market should keep no male birds in their flock and never have 
 fertile eggs. 
 
 Do not put eggs from different classes of fowls into the same 
 incubator. Hens' eggs take twenty-one days to incubate, but if 
 eggs from Leghorns (Mediterranean class) are placed in the same 
 tray with Brahmas (Asiatic class) or with Plymouth Rocks (Ameri- 
 can class), the Leghorns will be the first to hatch, sometimes as 
 much as two days earlier, to the great detriment of the larger 
 breed, which is slower in hatching. This comes not only from the 
 earlier hatched chicks walking over the eggs, but also from the 
 change in the atmosphere and temperature in the incubator at the 
 time of hatching. At that time the air in the incubator is always 
 heavily charged with moisture and the temperature rises from the 
 activity of the chicks, and these two conditions will ruin the hatch 
 of the slower breed. Experiments along these lines that I have 
 made have always given the same results. 
 
NATURAL INCUBATION 
 
 The beginner may find it best to incubate with hens in prefer- 
 ence to an incubator. The hen, having layed the egg, is the natural 
 mother, has the mother instinct given by the Creator, and is cer- 
 tainly the one intended to hatch and brood the chickens. To the be- 
 ginner in the chicken business there is less present outlay in a few 
 setting hens than in installing even a small incubating and brood- 
 ing plant under artificial methods. The trials of those who find 
 setting hens troublesome are mostly due to their own inability or 
 their lack of patience with the hen. Hens must be treated with 
 patience and gentleness, for in no way can a hen that has the "set- 
 ting fever," as our grandmothers called it, be coerced against her 
 will. 
 
 How to Make Nests 
 
 The nest should be about fourteen inches square. Some breeders 
 use boxes twelve by sixteen inches, but I prefer the square nests. 
 If the nest is to be on an earth floor, rake the floor, then scoop a 
 place about thirteen inches across in the form of a saucer; firm the 
 shape well with the hand, and when it is smooth and firm, take hay 
 or short straw, or tobacco stems and firm that again in the proper 
 shape, and the nest is made. Should it be necessary to have the 
 nest in a box or on a board floor, take a clean box, have the front of 
 the box just high enough to retain the nesting material; the backs 
 and sides may be higher ; put several inches of fresh earth into the 
 box, firm it with the hand into a saucer-shaped hollow, and be 
 sure to pack the earth high into the corners, so there will be no pos- 
 sibility of the eggs rolling into a corner and being chilled or lost. 
 The nests should be flat at the bottom, shaped like a saucer and 
 not like a bowl. If too deep, the eggs will roll together, sometimes 
 pile up and get cracked or broken. 
 
 When only a few hens are to be set, the nests can be placed in 
 any convenient location where the hens may be quiet, comfortable, 
 away from other fowls and in the shade. I have found trap nests 
 with two compartments very satisfactory, placed under a tree. I 
 also have made sets of nests, giving each hen a nest and a small 
 run, with a dish of water, a hopper with grit, corn and wheat always 
 before her, shut ofi from all intruders. If hens are to be set in large 
 numbers, a separate hennery in which from six to twenty hens can 
 be set on the same day is the most convenient. The nests in this 
 house or room should be placed with their backs to the wall and 
 should face towards the center. Grit, corn, water and a dust bath 
 for them to bathe in must be before them at all times. After a few 
 days, if .this hennery has a separate yard from the other fowls, the 
 door of the house may be left open so the hens can go out of doors 
 and take a dust bath in the open air, but the food, water and grit 
 must be in the house in sight of all the hens. 
 
 Setting the Hen 
 
 The old-fashioned recipe was, "Set a hen between sunset and 
 sunrise for luck." In other words, set a hen in the dark. liens are 
 
60 MRS. RASLKVS WESTERN POUl.TRY ROOK 
 
 quieter and not so easily frightened after dark. Choose quiet, gen- 
 tle, tame hens ; they make the best mothers. Handle them very 
 gently. Put all the hens on the eggs in the same room the same 
 evening, so they may all hatch out the same time. This is in order 
 to keep the hens quiet during the hatch, as some whose eggs were 
 not hatching the same day might become so excited they would 
 leave their own nests and try to get to the newly hatched chicks 
 when they heard the first peep. 
 
 Dummy eggs should be placed under the hens, when a number 
 of hens are set in the same room, for a few days, a few under each 
 hen. The first night after dark set all the hens on dummy eggs. If 
 some light is necessary, turn the dark side of the lantern toward 
 the hen. Have as dim a light as possible ; move the hens gently. 
 They will soon settle down on the eggs. In the morning look in and 
 if any hen appears refractory, put her on the nest again and cover 
 her w'ith a box. Look in frequently for the first few days to see how 
 they are doing, and you will rarely find more than two hens off and 
 eating at the same time, as they are afraid of leaving their nests 
 when others are oft". Let the hens sit for two or three days, then 
 put the good eggs gently in at night. The way to do this is to re- 
 move the hen gently, setting her on the floor ; take out the dummy 
 eggs and put the real eggs into the nest and gently replace the hen. 
 Do not talk, act quickly, silently and swiftly, in a very dim light. 
 
 From thirteen to fifteen eggs are all that should be placed under 
 a hen. It is all she can warm properly, all she can turn and attend 
 to without the risk of breaking or cracking some. You will hatch 
 more and stronger chicks by not placing too many under a hen. 
 
 Keeping Records 
 
 Above each nest, hanging on a nail, I place a card. On this card, 
 legibly written is: (1) the date when set; (2) when due; (3) the 
 hen's name or number; (4) name or parents' number on eggs; (5) 
 number of eggs ; (6) date of first test, number infertile or dead ; (7) 
 date of second test and remarks ; (8) hatch, number taken from 
 nest, number not hatching or killed; (9) toe marks of chicks. These 
 cards can be preserved or copied into the diary of the ranch. They 
 form a complete data of each hatch and a history of the hens as well 
 as the chicks. 
 
 Testing the Eggs 
 
 Watch the hens rather closely for the first week, and note any 
 that may be restless, nervous, cross to the others or stupid in not 
 finding their way back to their own nests. These, when you test 
 the eggs, you may be able to cull out and turn them back into the 
 laying pen. It is always best to keep hens of pleasant disposition 
 for mothers. 
 
 The eggs should be tested about the seventh day. An expert can 
 test them earlier, and white eggs or duck eggs show the germ as 
 early as the fourth or fifth day. The removal of the infertile eggs 
 gives those that are left a better chance of hatching. The infertile 
 eggs or dead germs are colder than the living eggs and chill the lat- 
 
NATURAL INCUBATION 61 
 
 ter; besides, the infertile egg has a market value and can be used in 
 the kitchen or fed to the chicks. It is a waste to throw them away. 
 Testing should not be neglected. There is no use in hens setting 
 on eggs that will not hatch. They had better be reset on fresh eggs 
 or returned to the laying pen. 
 
 Egg testers can be bought at the poultry supply houses, but a 
 home-made egg tester I have used for years is only a box with the 
 back knocked out and a hole in the top for ventilation. I put the 
 lantern into it. Just opposite to the flame a hole about two inches 
 square is cut in the box and a piece of a rubber boot-leg tacked on. 
 I drew a pencil line around a fifty-cent piece and cut that out with 
 a pen knife, leaving the round hole for the light to shine through. 
 
 The testing must be done in the dark. Set the egg tester with 
 the lantern inside it on a box near the nest. Take the hen quietly 
 ofif the. nest, being careful to put your hands under her wings to 
 make sure that you do not lift an egg or two with her. Place the 
 hen very gently on the floor at one side. Do this so gently that the 
 hen will not realize that she is off the nest. .Take all the eggs from 
 the nest, placing them either on the floor or in a basket ; examine 
 each egg and replace each fertile egg in the nest as you examine it ; 
 mark on the record card the number of infertile eggs, and gently 
 replace the hen on the nest. Should any hen awake and appear 
 nervous, she can be put upon the nest and the eggs slipped one at 
 a time under her as they are tested, but the former plan is prefer- 
 able, being more quickly done, with less disturbance to the hen. 
 
 The light shining through the egg, when held against the hole 
 in the tester, shows the condition of the egg. Infertile eggs are 
 clear. Fertile eggs have a shadow in them by the seventh day. 
 The germ appears in some like a dark, irregular floating spot. 
 Doubtful eggs should be marked with a D and given the benefit 
 of the doubt, replacing them in the nest. 
 
 After taking out the infertile eggs, if there are many of them, 
 you can reset the hens that have none or turn them back into the 
 laying pen, culling out the fractious or nervous hens. By doing this 
 carefully at each test, you will probably have good mothers when 
 hatching time comes. Restless setters usually make indifferent 
 mothers. Close observation is necessary for success in all lines of 
 poultry culture, and especially with setting hens. 
 
 The second test should be made in the same way on the four- 
 teenth day. The eggs containing dead germs should be buried. 
 
 Dusting the Hen 
 
 A hen should be well dusted with insecticide the day she is set. 
 To dust a hen the powder should be in a tin box with a perforated 
 cover. An effective home-made peppering box can be made from a 
 baking powder can with holes in the lid. Hold the hen by the legs, 
 lay her on her side on a newspaper, raise the wing and sprinkle un- 
 der it, then rub the powder well into the skin, especially round the 
 vent. Work it into the soft feathers also around the neck. When 
 one side is thoroughly powdered, turn the hen over and do the other 
 
62 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 side. The powder that is spilled on the paper can be returned to 
 the can. 
 
 While the hens are on the nests they should be dusted on the 
 seventh and fourteenth day and two days before the hatch comes 
 ofif, with buhach or with any good insecticide. 1 prefer those prin- 
 cipally made with tobacco dust. 
 
 When Hatching 
 
 In the climate of California I have never found it necessary to 
 moisten hens' eggs. In fact, the eggs that contain dead chicks 
 show that they have not dried out enough. They did not require 
 more moisture. There is a natural perspiration which comes from 
 the hen, and this keeps the eggs moist enough. 
 
 Should the eggs be chilled by the hen deserting the nest, do not 
 throw them away. Put them under another hen as quickly as pos- 
 sible. I have known of eggs being left for a whole day and yet 
 hatching. Eggs under hens will stand much more cooling than in 
 an incubator. Chilling seems to be less injurious during the sec- 
 ond week of incubation than at any other time. 
 
 On the nineteenth day, two days before the hatch, I take out to 
 the nest a bucket of warm water, temperature 103 degrees ; remov- 
 ing the hen from the nest, I put the eggs into the water. Those 
 with a live chick in them immediately being to bob or move as they 
 float on the water, and I return them to the nest ; those that sink to 
 the bottom or remain perfectly quiet have dead chicks in them and 
 will not hatch, and I mark them with a pencil ; then replace the hen 
 upon the damp eggs, feeling sure I will have a good hatch. 
 
 It is best to watch the hens pretty closely when the chicks are 
 hatching. Some hens get excited and nervous when they hear the 
 chicks peeping, and in their restlessness crush the shell so that the 
 chicks cannot turn themselves and they die in the shell. These 
 nervous hens should, if possible, be removed and quieter hens 
 put on. 
 
 When chicks are hatching rapidly and the hens are nervous, it is 
 best to remove the chicks as they dry off, taking them to the kitchen 
 in a basket lined and covered with flannel. But if the hens are quiet 
 it is best to leave the chicks with the mothers, only visiting the 
 nests about twice during the hatch to take out the empty shells, 
 lest they should slip over the yet unhatched eggs and so smother the 
 chick. All eggs should be hatched by the end of the twenty-first 
 day. 
 
 Marking Chicks 
 
 The offspring of the best, or pedigreed stock, can be marked so 
 as to know them through life, by having a small hole punched in 
 one or more of the webs of the feet. This should be done as the 
 chicks are removed from the nests. A marker or punch is sold at 
 poultry supply houses for marking chicks. They should be marked 
 the day they are hatched, as the web is then soft, does not bleed as 
 nuich as later, and there is not as much risk of the other chicks 
 pecking the toes as they would do when older. 
 
NATURAL INCUBATION 
 
 63 
 
 If the hens have been well cared for, properly dusted with a good 
 insecticide during the three weeks of incubation, they will be per- 
 fectly free of lice. They and the chicks must be kept free. There 
 is not the difficulty in this that many imagine. Dusting the chick- 
 ens and hens once a week is all that is necessary. Some breeders 
 put a little lard on the top of their heads and on their throats. This 
 protects from the head lice. Others take a small brush (if the 
 chicks are affected with head lice), and wash the little heads once a 
 week with a lather of carbolic soap. They soon dry off in the sun 
 or under the hen. 
 
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 
 
 We are living in wonderful times, in the age of great inventions, 
 and to succeed in any business, we must keep abreast if not ahead 
 of our times. Not the least wonderful accomplishment of this 
 wonder-working epoch has been the growth and advancement of 
 the poultry industry, and the invention of the modern incubator, 
 which made the development of the poultry business in this coun- 
 try possible. 
 
 In Egypt and China artificial incubation has been known and 
 practiced for many centuries. In this country it is scarcely out of 
 its infancy, still it would be impossible to estimate the value of the 
 incubator to the poultry industry. It has made possible and profit- 
 able the large poultry plants in this country. It has developed the 
 broiler business; it has raised the hen to the position of the money 
 maker. One incubator will do the work of ten to thirty hens and 
 with better results. 
 
 Must Approach Nature 
 
 There have been many kinds of incubators invented, made and 
 patented in the last twenty years. The difBculty is to choose which 
 kind will do the work of hatching eggs best; that is, will bring out 
 strong chicks with the least attention and the least expense. There 
 are hot water machines and hot air machines; round incubators'and 
 square incubators. I have heard of incubators in this state, which 
 are made like hot beds heated with stable manure. Some incuba- 
 tors are heated with gas, some with electricity, but most of them 
 by the heat of a lamp which burns coal-oil. The best incubator is 
 the one that comes nearest to imitating the natural process of in- 
 cubation by a hen, for undoubtedly Nature is our great teacher 
 in this matter. 
 
 The two favorite makes of incubators on the market now are the 
 hot-water incubators and the incubators which bring warmed air 
 into the egg chamber. The latter are called hot-air incubators. The 
 dififerencc between them is that the hot-water machines heat the 
 egg chambers by radiation, while the hot-air machine brings warm 
 air into the incubator. 
 
 In the machines where the heat is radiated from the metal sur- 
 face of pipes or tanks, the temperature at the underside of the eggs, 
 away from the heat, is several degrees cooler than at the upper 
 side of the eggs. Top heat by radiation is supposed to resemble 
 the heat from the body of the hen. 
 
 In the hot-air incubators the egg chamber is heated by air that 
 is warmed outside of the egg chamber to a proper heat and is then 
 forced into the machines by suction or circulation and diffused into 
 the egg chamber. This way gives a constant supply of warmed 
 fresh air, as pure and fresh as the atmosphere outside of the in- 
 cubator. These hot-air machines rarely require any moisture to be 
 added, as there is usually sufificient moisture held in suspension in 
 the atmosphere, which is being constantly introduced into the eg§ 
 chamber. 
 
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 65 
 
 It pays to get the best, and by inquiring at the large poultry 
 plants in the neighborhood, information can easily be ol^tained 
 as to the most popular machine in use in that locality. 
 
 It is wiser to buy a machine than to attempt to make one. Good 
 incubators are now sold at so low a price that it does not pay to 
 risk the loss of eggs in experimenting on a home-made machine. 
 
 Location of Incubator 
 
 The incubator should be located in a well-ventilated room or 
 cellar that is dry and not subject to great variations of temperature. 
 
 Preparing to Hatch 
 
 The first thing to do is to set the machine perfectly level, using a 
 spirit level to make sure of this, for if the machine is not level the 
 heat will go to the higher side, the temperature will be uneven and 
 although it may be correct where the thermometer hangs, in the 
 middle, the upper side will be too hot and the lower too cold. It 
 is most important to have the incubator stand perfectly level. 
 
 Let the incubator run for thirty-six hours before putting in the 
 eggs. This is to make sure that the machine is thoroughly warmed 
 and that it is running steadily at the proper heat. It may take 
 twelve hours before the eggs gradually warm through, and the 
 thermometer again shows the desired temperature. During this 
 time the regulator must not be altered. Touching the screw may 
 prove fatal to the whole hatch. So wait patiently until the desired 
 heat is again present. 
 
 Selecting the Eggs 
 
 Eggs for hatching should always be carefully selected. The 
 fresher they are the better. Eggs hatch after being kept a month, 
 but the little germ or seed of life gradually grows weaker and 
 weaker, and at last has not the strength to develop into a fine, 
 healthy chick, and may die in the shell, if the egg is kept too long. 
 Ten days or two weeks is better than any older. 
 
 The eggs should come from vigorous, healthy and well-fed 
 stock. Much depends upon the feeding of the breeders, especially 
 the male bird. They should have plenty of vegetables and green 
 food, as well as animal food and those grains which contain the 
 bone and muscle-forming elements. Eggs with imperfect shells 
 should be rejected ; also those with rough or chalky shells, and with 
 thin spots. The eggs should be of medium size, neither too large 
 nor too small, as the large eggs may have double yolks, which 
 rarely hatch. Small eggs denote inferiority and are either pullet 
 eggs or eggs from fat hens, or hens exhausted from having layed a 
 long time. 
 
 Eggs of One Class 
 
 The eggs should be of one breed or class. It takes twenty-one 
 days to hatch all hen eggs, but if the eggs from Leghorns are 
 placed in the same tray as the Brahmas, the Leghorns will be the 
 first hatched, sometimes as much as two days sooner, to the great 
 detriment and loss of the others, which are slower in hatching. 
 This is probably caused by the change in the atmosphere and 
 
66 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 change in the incubator at the time of hatching. The air is heavily 
 charged with moisture, and the temperature always rises during a 
 hatch from the activity of the chicks, and it is exceedingly dititicult 
 to regulate the temperature when the incubator is full of chicks 
 in all stages of hatching. The rise of temperature does not hurt 
 the chicks that are just breaking out of the shell, but if it takes 
 place two days too soon, it will ruin the hatch of the heavier and 
 slower breeds. Experiments that 1 have made along these lines 
 have always given the same results. 
 
 Turning the Eggs 
 
 The eggs must be left for forty-eight hours after being placed in 
 the incubator before being turned. After that they should be 
 turned twice a day, or oftener. In this we should imitate the hen, 
 for she not only turns her eggs constantly, but always shifts their 
 position, pushing those that are on the outside into the center of 
 the nest. It is really more important that the eggs be moved or 
 shifted from their position or location in the tray, than merely 
 turned, as it shifts the locations of the eggs in regard to weak 
 germs or infertile eggs. 
 
 If the eggs are not turned during the early stages of incubation, 
 many of the germs will dry fast to the shell and die, and the egg 
 will be lost. When the egg is not turned during the latter part of 
 incubation, the embryo does not develop properly, has little chance 
 of hatching or may prove a cripple. 
 
 The turning and moving of the eggs gives exercise to the em- 
 bryo ; it is a species of gymnastics for strengthening the chick. 
 The first forty-eight hours and the last forty-eight hours the eggs 
 must not be turned. 
 
 Cooling the Eggs 
 
 Cooling the eggs I consider an important matter in our Ameri- 
 can incubators. The first week, following the hen's example, the 
 eggs require but little cooling beyond the time it takes to turn 
 them. The second week, as soon as the eggs are turned, replace 
 them in the machine and leave the door open for five minutes ; after 
 this increase the time, a minute or two each day, till at the end the 
 eggs are being aired or cooled fifteen or twenty minutes. 
 
 Cooling the eggs helps to make the shell brittle, so that the chick 
 at the proper time can break its way out. Cooling the eggs con- 
 tracts the shell and heating it up again expands it and this con- 
 traction and expansion gives the shell its proper brittleness. As 
 the eggs warm up again, an almost imperceptible moisture comes 
 over them, which takes the place of the perspiration of the hen, and 
 obviates the necessity of sprinkling or dampening the eggs. So in 
 our incubators it is necessary to cool the eggs. If this has been 
 done properly the chicks will be strong and vigorous and few will 
 die in the shell. 
 
 Testing the Eggs 
 
 All sterile eggs and dead germs should be tested out. Egg 
 testers are sold with all incubators and very little practice will en- 
 able even a beginner to detect the sterile eggs and dead germs. 
 
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 67 
 
 Infertile eggs will be of a clear, uniform color throughout, except 
 a slight darkening where the yolk lies. In the fertile eggs will be 
 seen a small dark spot, and in a white egg the blood vessels can be 
 seen branching out from it. Eggs should be tested about the sev- 
 enth day. A second test for removing the dead germs should be 
 made on the fifteenth day, they being easily detected at that time. 
 The chicks in fertile eggs will be seen to fill the shell nearly, except 
 a small space at the small end, and the air space at the large end. 
 All eggs containing dead germs should be removed from the ma- 
 chine and buried. On the eighteenth day the chicks fill the entire 
 shell except the air cell, and the 'egg will be quite opaque, as if 
 nearly full of ink. To become accurate in egg testing requires 
 practice and a brilliant light. 
 
 Operating the Incubator 
 
 Follow exactly the directions given with whatever incubator 
 you may purchase. The makers of the incubators are anxious for 
 you to succeed and have good hatches ; it is to their interest for 
 you to be successful. They have spent time and money in per- 
 fecting and understand how to manage their own machines better 
 than any one else. 
 
 On the morning of the nineteenth day the eggs should be turned 
 for the last time. The machine should then be closed and kept 
 closed until the hatch is over. Opening the door during the process 
 of hatching may spoil or seriously injure the hatch, as by such 
 action a large amount of heat and moisture escapes and cold air is 
 admitted. This dries up the lining skin of the eggs that are pipped 
 and checks or prevents their hatching. It also chills the half- 
 hatched or newly hatched chicks and is detrimental to all of them. 
 When the chicks are coming out lively, the temperature will rise; 
 should it go above 105 degrees, the lamp may be turned down a 
 little. 
 
 Leave the chicks in the machine without opening it until they 
 are thoroughly dry. The chicks should not be moved from the in- 
 cubator imtil the twenty-second day and should not be fed until 
 twenty-four hours after hatching. 
 
 General Remarks 
 
 Should the hatch not come off until after the twenty-first day, it 
 shows that the heat has been insufficient ; if it comes off earlier, the 
 heat during part of the time has been too high. Too low a tem- 
 perature will give a weak hatch, many chickens will die in the shell, 
 and those that are hatched will be weakly and never amount to 
 anything. Too high temperature at the commencement of incu- 
 bation will cook and kill the germ. One hundred and six degrees is 
 danger point up to the tenth day. Germs which died between the 
 first and second testing are frequently the result of overheating. 
 Too high a temperature during the last week will so weaken the 
 bowels of the chicks that they will be unable to assimilate the yolk 
 of the egg. The yolk of the egg is Nature's perfect nourishment, 
 which feeds and nourishes the embryo. 
 
68 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 
 
 Durinq" the last day of the chick's life in the shell the part of the 
 yolk which has not been absorbed is drawn np into the chick. This 
 forms its food and nourishment for about three days. But should 
 the egg be over-heated, this yolk hardens and even if drawn into 
 the chick, it becomes tough, the chicken's bowels are weakened by 
 the over-heating, the 3"olk remains unassimilated, like a piece of 
 rubber, blood poisoning ensues and the chick dies some time be- 
 tween the first and tenth day of its life. Chilling the eggs has 
 almost the same efifect ; it weakens the bowels, hardens the yolk 
 and eventually kills the chick. 
 
CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 
 
 The hatching- of chicks is but half the battle, for eggs from good 
 vigorous parents will hatch with but little trouble if a good standard 
 incubator is used and if the directions with it are followed. How 
 about the raising of the chicks after they are hatched? 
 
 The poultry papers agree that there is not a subject pertaining 
 to poultry culture that needs more thorough, painstaking investiga- 
 tion and discussion than the care of the chicks, and it is said that 
 not more than fifty per cent of the chicks that are hatched the coun- 
 try over reach maturity or a marketable age. 
 
 What are the principal causes of mortality among chicks ; how 
 can we combat them and what are the essentials in the successful 
 raising of chicks? 
 
 There are numberless causes for the death we deplore — among 
 these are diarrhoea, bowel trouble, lice, improper feeding, impure 
 water, over heating or chilling and exposure to the elements. 
 
 Feeling sure that the mortality in chicks is caused in a majority 
 of cases by the carelessness or ignorance of the caretaker, let us 
 discuss this subject and glean from the best authorities some ideas 
 about it as far as we may in one short article. 
 
 Expert Opinion 
 
 Prof. James E. Rice, of Cornell University, has for several years 
 been making a careful study of the cause and cure — or prevention 
 — of the numerous diseases that cause the death of hundreds of 
 thousands of chicks yearly, and his investigations have led him to 
 believe that one great cause of mortality is the failure on the part 
 of the digestive organs of the chicks to properly digest the yolk of 
 the egg remaining in their bodies at the time of hatching. 
 
 Mr. Rice says: "If we can solve this one problem — the cause of 
 the anaemic condition of chicks that follows this failure to absorb 
 the yolk of the egg — more money will be saved in one year to the 
 farmers and poultry raisers of New York state than it costs to run 
 the State Agricultural College for ten years." 
 
 Mr. Rice says he is confident that environment has little, if any- 
 thing, to do with the disease, as has been generally supposed. When 
 he first began his investigations, this theory was worked upon and 
 followed up, but as the investigation progressed it was found that 
 the same conditions existed under almost any and all circumstances 
 — in dry places, in damp places, in light brooding houses and in 
 dark brooding houses ; in fact, he found no conditions under which 
 this trouble did not exist. Mr. Rice is confident, however, that the 
 investigations being conducted will ultimately solve the problem. 
 
 Until this problem is solved we shall have to be content with the 
 theories of the different breeders and hatchers, and as one I feel 
 confident from my own experiments and experiences that the deaths 
 from diarrhoea, or in fact almost all the deaths of brooder chicks 
 before three weeks of age, come from faulty incubation. The tem- 
 perature has been either too hot or too cold, usually the former, or 
 the ventilation has been at fault, or the chicks have been chilled in 
 
70 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 carrying them to the brooder, or fed too soon, before the digestive 
 organs were ready to digest the food. 
 
 Elbow Room Needed 
 
 Mr. Hunter, the veteran poultry man. says : "With incubator 
 chicks raised in brooders, elbow room seems to be a most important 
 factor, and want of elbow room is one cause for the great mortality 
 in brooder chicks." 
 
 It is quite natural to suppose that a brooder which is three feet 
 square is abundant room for seventy-five or a hundred chicks, and 
 indeed it is for the chicks as they come out of the incubator, and 
 if we do not want them to grow it might be all right to crowd them 
 into the brooder, but these chicks will be almost twice as large at 
 three weeks old as when they are hatched and will require twice 
 as much room or will suffer for it. 
 
 Fifty chickens are as many as should be put into any brooder. 
 To increase the number beyond that point will induce crowding, 
 which kills some and stunts others, and will prevent the quick, 
 healthy growth that is necessary for all young animals. Ample 
 brooder room is the first and chief requisite for the health and com- 
 fort of the chicks. The next requisite is oxygen. In other words, 
 plenty of fresh, warm air. but no drafts in the brooder. Here is 
 one of the great faults with many brooders, as for example the hot 
 water pipe brooders in use in many brooder houses. Those hot 
 water pipes merely heat the air that is already within the hovers, 
 which air is practically confined to the hovers by the felt curtain 
 in front, provided to keep in the heat. It does that, but it also en- 
 closes the air. which the chicks have to breathe over and over again. 
 This defect in my brooders cost me the lives of many chicks before 
 I discovered the cause. A current of warmed fresh air supplied 
 under the hovers overcame this difficulty, when I substituted the 
 hot-air plan. 
 
 Comfort Essential 
 
 The brooder should be heated for at least twelve hours before 
 the chicks are put into it. I always keep a thermometer in the 
 brooder and have it at 95 degrees when they are first removed from 
 the incubator. They should be carried to the brooder in a basket 
 lined and covered with flannel, great care being taken that they be 
 not chilled on the way. I am sure that many chicks lose their lives 
 by being chilled on this their first journey. The abrupt change 
 from the warm incubator to the outside air. which is thirty or forty 
 degrees colder, is sufficient to chill the chick. 
 
 "a chill will harden the yolk of the egg. which is drawn up into 
 the chick the last day of its stay in the egg shell. You know that 
 the volk of the egg forms the nourishment for the chick inside the 
 shell. The last day of its life in the shell all that remains of the 
 volk, about one-fourth of it. is drawn up into the chicken through 
 the navel. If the chick is vigorous the yolk should be assimilated 
 or digested in about three days. But if the chick is chilled or over- 
 heated, it so weakens the bowels that they cannot digest the yolk 
 or absorb it. and the volk hardens or toughens, becomes almost 
 
CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 71 
 
 like rubber; then it can never be assimilated, blood poisoning en- 
 sues and the chick's life ends. 
 
 Chicks should not be fed for from thirty-six to forty-eight hours 
 after they come out of the shell, because, first, they do not require 
 any food, as the yolk inside them takes nearly three days to become 
 absorbed or digested; and, secondly, if they are fed too soon (that 
 is, before the yolk is digested), the effort of digesting the new 
 food draws the nervous energy or gastric juices away from the part 
 containing the yolk, up to the crop and gizzard, and the yolk either 
 does not digest at all or digests so slowly that it brings on bowel 
 trouble, which at such an early age stunts the growth, if it does 
 not kill the chick. In a chick that is fed too early in life the yolk 
 will take, or may take, ten days to digest. You ask how I know 
 this. "By sad experience and post morten examinations," is my 
 reply. 
 
 The brooder being warmed to a temperature of 95 degrees under 
 the hover, the floor should be covered with coarse, sharp sand, the 
 chicks carried carefully to the brooder, after remaining thirty-six 
 to forty-eight hours in the incubator. 
 
 Feed Carefully 
 The first few hours in the brooder they require no food but the 
 sand to eat and water to drink. The sand supplies the little gizzards 
 with the necessary teeth or little grindstones, so that they are ready 
 to commence work when the food comes. Water I place in a drink- 
 ing fountain, so they cannot get into it and wet themselves. I give 
 them water from the first. I know some people do not, but it has 
 succeeded well with my chicks. At about four o'clock they have 
 the first meal. I scatter rolled breakfast oats on the sand. The 
 white flakes quickly attract their attention and they pick them up. 
 I also give them a fountain of fresh water and one of sweet 
 skimmed milk. It is surprising to see how quickly they learn to 
 eat and drink. In the evening I look in upon them and am pleased 
 when I see them spread over the hover floor, as it indicates that 
 they are comfortably warm and will not crowd or huddle during 
 the night. The first thing in the morning I give them some more 
 rolled oats and some ''chick feed." The "chick feed" I buy at the 
 poultry supply stores. It is composed of a variety of seeds or 
 grains, with a little charcoal, dried blood, or beef scraps and grit. 
 Sometimes I make my own chick feed by mixing cracked wheat, 
 kaffir corn, millet, steel cut oats, pearl barley and rolled oats to- 
 gether, adding charcoal and dried beef scraps. I put more wheat 
 and more oats into this mixture than any of the other grains. The 
 chick feed that I buy has in addition some other seeds, such as 
 rape or mustard, canary seed, hemp, etc. I buy chick feed to save 
 myself the trouble of mixing. Chick feed and rolled oats is their 
 main feed until they are six or eight weeks of age. I feed them five 
 times a day at first, and I always leave a little feed trough or hop- 
 per of chick feed where they can get it. I know this is contrary to 
 the advice of many, but I found the weaker ones did not get the 
 proper amount when all rushed for the food, and also it was a great 
 
11 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 comfort to me, if anything detained me beyond the usual feeding 
 time, to know they had food before them. Also when fed at the 
 usual hour they were not so ravenously hungry; they would not 
 overload their little stomachs. 
 
 Their morning meal at about six in the morning, consists of 
 rolled or flake breakfast oats, next green feed, then chick feed, then 
 rolled oats, green feed and the last feed after they are a few 
 days old is hard boiled eggs (two for every fifty chicks), chopped 
 fine, shell and all, mixed with dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, 
 and an onion chopped very fine. I mix all together, adding a little 
 pepper and salt. If I have no bread crumbs, I add Johnny cake 
 or rolled oats to the onion and eggs. I always send them to bed 
 with their little crops full. 
 
 As They Grow Older 
 
 I keep a thermometer under the hover in the brooder and lower 
 the temperature one degree a day until it is down to sixty-five de- 
 grees. After the chicks are six weeks old, unless the weather is 
 unusually cold, they require no heat. For green feed they seem 
 to prefer lettuce to anything else. Finely cut clover or alfalfa is 
 excellent. The lettuce I cut up very fine at first, but in a few days 
 they learn to tear it up, and lettuce suspended on a string or even 
 thrown on the ground, gives them exercise and amusement as well 
 as food. 
 
 In the playroom, where the chicks are fed, the floor is covered 
 with chaff. If I cannot get from the mill real chaff I cut up hay in 
 the clover cutter, either wheat hay or alfalfa hay, to give them 
 something to scratch in, and I throw a handful of chick feed into it 
 for them to have something to reward their efforts. 
 
 The alfalfa hay or chaff keeps them busy and exercising and this 
 broadens their backs and increases the size and vigor of the ^^^ 
 making organs which are already commencing to grow and which 
 we must develop from the very first if we want to increase the ^^^ 
 output. The chaff, or preferably the alfalfa hay chopped short, also 
 conceals their little feet from their active and sometimes mis- 
 chievous brothers and stops them from pecking the feet and draw- 
 ing blood, which tastes so good that they will actually turn canni- 
 bal and tear out and eat the bowels, sometimes causing great loss. 
 This is always prevented by keeping the chicks busy scratching 
 in deep chaff'. 
 
 They have fresh water each time they are fed. The first meal 
 is at about six in the morning, and if I fear that I may be later 
 than that, I put fresh feed and water in their playroom over night, 
 so that the hungry babies may not be kept waiting. They come 
 out at daybreak, eat a little, and sometimes drink, and then go back 
 and take another nap. 
 
 The brooders must be cleaned twice a week the first week, three 
 times a week afterwards, and every day when the chicks grow 
 larger. The chicks should be dusted with insect powder about once 
 a week. To do this I have a tin box' (a baking powder can with a 
 perforated cover), put inr^ect powder into it and after dark raise 
 the hover and sprinkle the powder liberally over the chicks. This 
 will usually kec]) them free from lice. 
 
FIRELESS BROODERS HAVE COME TO STAY 
 
 Fireless brooders have come to stay, at least in California. I 
 do not mean to say that they would be suitable in a broiler plant, 
 for there chicks are raised not to be muscular and sturdy, but tender 
 and fat, and for that they require to be kept always warm and fed a 
 fattening diet, and the heated brooder is or may be better adapted 
 to their needs, but for the sturdy chick, the chick we want to 
 develop into a first rate layer, or a large market fowl, or a winner 
 at the show, the fireless brooder, properly handled, in this climate 
 is excellent. 
 
 Some few months ago I gave a description of a home-made 
 fireless brooder which one of our readers made two or three years 
 ago. Several made some by that plan and have expressed their 
 great satisfaction at the ease with which they now raise their 
 chickens. At the same time I mentioned that many of the poultry 
 supply houses had excellent fireless brooders for sale. Since that 
 time I have met a number of prominent poultry breeders here, who 
 had been quite prejudiced against these fireless brooders, just as 
 many poultry raisers years ago thoroughly disapproved of incuba- 
 tors, and I find those who have tried the brooders without heat 
 are loud in praise of them. 
 
 One very successful business man who wins prizes every time 
 he exhibits, said to me : "The fireless brooders are great. I have 
 not lost more than three per cent of my hatches since I have used 
 them." And in talking over the brooders with many others I find 
 that one of the great advantages is that there is no fear of fire. 
 Where no fire is, there is no danger of either smoke or a con- 
 flagration, which is a very great comfort to a busy poultry man 
 or woman, and especially at night. 
 
 I have lately seen a brooder made by Mr. Hammons, the man- 
 ager of the mammoth brooder plant near Los Angeles. It is 
 easily made and has some points of special value not found in the 
 one I last described. 
 
 The brooder made by Mr. Hammons is his own invention and 
 he has no objection to any one copying it. It is a box 20 inches 
 square and 6 inches deep, and in each corner has a small block 4 
 inches high for the frame of the hover to rest upon. The lower 
 frame does not fit tightly in the box; this is one of the new im- 
 provements ; there is a space of about a quarter of an inch on all 
 
 Hammon's Fireless Brooder 
 
74 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POU I/FRY BOOK 
 
 four sides ; this is for ventilation. A door four inches square is cut 
 and hinged on one side of the box for ingress and egress of the 
 chickens. The hover frame is covered with heavy double canton 
 flannel, and seven square blankets cut out of good thick felt lie 
 on top of the hover. These little blankets must not cover the 
 quarter inch crack for ventilation, but should just fit inside the 
 frame. This is another special novelty. The first week all of the 
 blankets are used and each succeeding week one is removed, until 
 at eight weeks of age the chicks have no blankets over them and 
 are ready to leave the brooder. 
 
 The brooder 20 inches square and made as I described will ac- 
 commodate only 25 chickens. Mr. Hammons' experience has 
 taught him that this number is the very best for one flock, as then 
 each cliick can grow without crowding. 
 
 At first he makes a nest of straw nearly filling the l)Ox, leaving 
 a nicely rounded out place in the middle for the baby chicks to 
 nestle in, and as they grow, less straw is needed, but a little should 
 always be used to keep the floor and the chickens' feet clean. The 
 blankets should be sunned and aired daily to keep them sweet and 
 clean, as one airs one's own bed. 
 
 Mrs. Frank Metcalf, the originator of the celebrated "Buckeyes." 
 writes : "I have had fine success with Mr. Hammons' brooder and 
 recommend it to others as the best I have ever used. I raised 
 forty-seven out of fifty hatched in the last batch of Buckeyes. Fif- 
 teen turkeys may be raised in one of these ; I found that eleven did 
 very nicely, although more would have been better at first. We 
 had little coops 30 inches wide, by six feet long and confined the 
 chicks with the box inside of these for the first week ; after that 
 they had wire runs out of doors." 
 
 This brooder is simply a square box, 20 x 20 inches, 6 inches 
 deep, made of ^-inch dressed tongue and grooved wood, with a 
 hover laid on it instead of a lid, and with ventilation all round the 
 edge of the hover and the sides of the box, giving free air around 
 the chicks as it would be around a hen. It is a good imitation of a 
 hen. 
 
 Handles can be nailed on the box so it can be carried easily, 
 chicks and all. 
 
"WHITE DIARRHOEA" IN BROODER CHICKS 
 
 This is a disease which rarely attacks chickens hatched and 
 raised by hens, and therefore it must be caused either by faulty 
 incubators or wrong "mothering." 
 
 We all know that at times quite a number of chicks in a brooder 
 will be "stuck up behind," as it is sometimes called ; how they run 
 about with their shoulders up, looking wizened and old ; how they 
 try to huddle near the warmth and finally give up the hopeless 
 struggle and die. 
 
 "I think my chicks are .taking some disease and dying from an 
 epidemic," said a lady, who, though a novice with incubators and 
 brooders, was an old and most successful poultry woman with hens. 
 These chicks had been overheated in the incubator I discovered 
 two days after hatching. 
 
 Another friend, a very clever surgeon, told me one chilly night 
 his incubator lamp went out and all the eggs got stone cold. His 
 wife could not bear to think of losing all those nice eggs after hav- 
 ing watched them for nearly three weeks, so she advised lighting 
 up again in hopes of saving some. This they did, and were re- 
 warded with fifty nice, lively chicks, but in a few days they com- 
 menced to die ; they were "stuck up behind," or they shivered and 
 seemed quite thirsty, and at last, when only fifteen were left, he 
 made some post mortem examinations, and he found the yolk of 
 the egg, which is drawn up into the bowel cavity the last day of 
 incubation, was still there, only it looked in some like a bit of 
 rubber, in some like hard-boiled eggs, and again in others it was 
 dark and putrid. Instantly he reasoned that it was that yolk that 
 was killing the chicks by blood poisoning. 
 
 He had only fifteen left, but he decided to experiment on them, 
 so he opened them ; his wife begged him to give them chloroform, 
 which I believe he did, and he removed the toughened 3^olk, sewed 
 up the wound, fed them lightly and all of the patients recovered and 
 lived to maturity. 
 
 It was a delicate operation, but my friend had the skillful hand 
 of a trained surgeon. I never attempted it myself, but have made 
 many a sad post mortem on little chicks dying from being "stuck 
 up behind," for I make it a rule to hold "post mortems" on all sub- 
 jects that die in my yards. 
 
 One time a whole incubator of eggs — 240 — were overheated by a 
 meddlesome child playing with the regulator. Two days later 117 
 hatched, the others were cooked hard. Every one of the 117 died, 
 although some lived to be eleven days old. I did everything T 
 could think of to save them (except the surgical operation), but 
 lost all. 
 
 I feel sure that either overheating or chilling so weakens the 
 bowels that they cannot digest, or, rather, assimilate the egg, and 
 that the yolk putrifies and causes blood poisoning; and that either 
 overheating in the brooder or chilling before the chicks are a week 
 old will have the same result. Also if the chicks are fed too soon 
 
76 
 
 MRS. HASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY 1500K 
 
 after hatching, the digestive juice or whatever it may be called, 
 goes into the crop and gizzard to digest the new food and the yolk 
 of ei^s:; is left to either digest very slowly or to not digest at all. 
 In either case it will give diarrhoea and it may end fatally. 
 
 I am often asked what to do for young chickens that have diar- 
 rhoea, and also for those that are "stuck up behind." I know how 
 almost hopeless these cases are, as they usually come from the un- 
 assimilated yolk of egg, but I reply that rice boiled in milk, adding 
 a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon to every pint of milk is about 
 the best remedy for diarrhoea that I have tried, and to pick off 
 with the fingers the dried excrement, slightly greasing the vent 
 with carbolated vaseline is the only way for "stuck up." If the 
 droppings are washed ofif, it is almost sure to chill the already 
 weakened bowels and result fatally. 
 
VIGOR 
 
 I never advise beginners to commence by trying to make a 
 new breed, because very few are capable of success, just as there 
 are but few artists who can paint a magnificent picture when they 
 first begin to paint. To beginners I say, choose the breed and the 
 standard that you like best, and keep to that breed. Then go on 
 improving your flock. The way to do this is first of all, look to 
 the vigor of your flock. It is VIGOR, first, last, and always that 
 you want. "But," says the beginner, "how am I to get vigor, and 
 how am I to keep it?" 
 
 First to get vigor, you have to begin with the parents. 
 
 Get your eggs from healthy, vigorous stock, that have been fed 
 the ratio for vigor. Then hatch them properly, remembering that 
 if you have a poor hatch (that is to say, if you find a number of 
 chicks dead in the shell, if the hatch has been hurried by too much 
 heat or retarded by too low a temperature), that those chicks which 
 do manage to get out of the shell will not have vigor of constitu- 
 tion, nor size of frame, nor the early development so necessary for 
 success. A great deal depends upon the chick being properly 
 hatched ; for that reason I advise beginners to commence hatching 
 with hens, and when they do have an incubator, get a good standard 
 incubator, and set one or two hens at the same time, keep them both 
 running evenly together. Biddy will teach beginners a great deal. 
 Then when the chicks are hatched, feed for vigor. Consult Nature, 
 feed the fluffy little fellows after you have allowed them the neces- 
 sary rest of at least thirty-six hours before feeding them. All a 
 chick needs is rest and warmth to go on growing for about two 
 days or even three ; after that time its digestive organs are ready for 
 work ; then they must have the proper kind of food. 
 
 The Crop 
 
 Nature has given the chick a crop where the food is first re- 
 ceived. In this crop is found a fluid, something like the saliva in 
 human beings ; this saliva acts upon the food, softening it and other- 
 wise preparing it for digestion. The food then moves on to the 
 proventriculus, or stomach, where it is still acted upon by a fluid, 
 and it finally passes to the gizzard. 
 
 The dry chick feed, so universally used, composed of a great 
 many fine grains, is admirably adapted to feeding the chick. There 
 are some grains especially conducive to vigor ; the chief of these 
 is oats, in any form, steel-cut, hulled, or rolled breakfast oats. 
 There is another thing which Nature in the spring time gives the 
 chicks, plenty of worms, bugs, insects. Often after an April shower, 
 I have seen the ground covered with worms, but here in California 
 there are not enough insects to supply the chickens, therefore the 
 chicks must have animal food as well as succulent green food. I 
 used to buy two pounds of hamburger steak three times a week, 
 and nothing suited the chicks better, fed raw once a day. 
 
78 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Exercise 
 
 Vigor comes from exercise as well as from the proper food. 
 Scratching is by far the best exercise for chicks. It keeps the organs 
 of digestion in a healthy condition ; it gives the chick a good ap- 
 petite ; it broadens the back, giving plenty of room for and 
 developing the tgg organs, strengthens the muscles and enlarges 
 the frame. 
 
 Plow shall we give them work? The best way. of course, is 
 to give the mother hen range. Chicks on range with the mother 
 hen rarely acquire bad habits. It is chicks in the brooder that get 
 into mischief, that quarrel and scrap, peck each others toes and get 
 to be cannibals. The best way of preventing mischief is by bedding 
 the brooders, one or two inches deep, with alfalfa hay. cutting to 
 half-inch lengths in a clover cutter. The little chicks will eat some 
 of this, and they will scratch in it for seed of the chick feed all 
 day long. This chaff, or finely cut hay, hides the toes so they will 
 not be tempted to peck each others' toes. Another method for 
 exercise is planting the runs with wheat or barley. The chicks 
 will scratch up or pull up the green sprouts. Hanging a head of 
 lettuce up in the brooder house will also afford both amusement and 
 exercise. 
 
 Never let chicks be crowded at night. Many a chick that might 
 have been a prize winner is disqualified, has off-colored feathers 
 simply from having been crowded or bruised by a larger chick 
 treading on it. A bruise, even a slight one, will often result in a 
 white feather on a colored fowl or a black or red feather on a white 
 fowl, and over crowding has the same effect. 
 
THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 
 
 The one-day-old chick trade has come to stay. This may be 
 said to be a separate and rather new branch of the chicken business, 
 but it has passed its experimental stage and both in this country 
 and in England it is becoming popular. It can scarcely be said to 
 be a new business, because it has been known and practiced in 
 Egypt for thousands of years, in fact, it is the only way known 
 there of raising chickens. As soon as one of the large hatcheries 
 there hatch out the chickens, notice is sent to the surrounding vil- 
 lages, and the twenty or forty thousand little chicks are sold within 
 twenty-four hours, or before being fed. 
 
 The one-day-old chick trade is, as its title indicates, the selling 
 of baby chicks the day they are hatched. There has been and still 
 is wide discussion over this business, which at first met with but 
 little encouragement from the breeders of fancy poultry, some 
 fanciers averring that it will injure the sale of their fancy eggs, 
 while others even threaten to call in the humane society to prevent 
 such cruelty as selling chickens at so tender an age. 
 
 Some of our long-headed fanciers, both men and women, finding 
 there was a demand for one-day-old chicks, rose to the emergency, 
 doubled the price of their eggs in live chicks, and have made a 
 great success of the business. I have had letters from Nevada, 
 Montana, Arizona, New Mexico and even from Old Mexico and 
 Texas, telling of the great success poultry raisers have had in 
 those distant places, raising the chicks after their long journey 
 from Los Angeles, one man writing that he had raised 88% and 
 another 90% to maturity. 
 
 L. Yarian of Lima, Ohio, writes : "No branch of the poultry 
 business is attracting more attention at present and no branch of 
 the poultry business is more worthy than the selling of day-old 
 chicks, with hundreds of others in all parts of the United States. 
 I believe it is the best branch of the poultry business ever orig- 
 inated." 
 
 Day-old chicks or chicks taken direct from the incubator and 
 securely packed, can be safely shipped to all parts of the United 
 States, except to a very few places, located in some out of the 
 way place where the chicks would have to travel for more than 
 three days. 
 
 Occasionally a chick may die en route, but don't they die for you 
 at home, when they are only a couple days old? Certainly the}^ 
 do, and what proof can be advanced that the same chick that dies 
 en route would not have died at home? Is it a cruel practice? I 
 answer emphatically, No. Then some people will ask, what will the 
 chick eat while on the trip? I reply, nothing, because the last thing 
 the chick does before it leaves the shell is to absorb the yolk of 
 the egg, which is nature's own food intended to furnish nourishment 
 for the baby chick, until its little digestive system gets in good 
 working order and is able to handle the food properly. 
 
 Poultry men of experience are all agreed that more little chicks are 
 
so MRS. RASl.EVS WESTERX POULTRY BOOK 
 
 killed by too early feeding than by delay in feeding, and all advise 
 that the chick be not fed until it is at least two or three days old. 
 In fact, some people attribute the diarrhoea of little chicks to too 
 early feeding. If you overcrowd the chick's digestive system before 
 it is ready to digest, you will have bowel trouble, and you know w-ith 
 that you will not have the chicks very long. If it is the advice of 
 men of experience, not to feed until at least the chick is a couple 
 of days old, then why cannot the bird be traveling during that time, 
 comfortably packed in a warm box. That chicks can be safely 
 shipped, has been successfully proved through all who have ever 
 attempted to do so, unless the chicks have very low vita.lity. Thou- 
 sands are being shipped all over California and the neighboring 
 states, most successfully, where if eggs had been expressed instead 
 of chicks, many would have been broken en route, for they would 
 have been handled many times rougher than the baby chicks. It 
 would be a very hard-hearted expressman who would throw a box 
 of baby chicks across an express car as they sometimes do when 
 they handle eggs. The selling of day -old chicks should be en- 
 couraged, especially among amateurs who often get so discouraged 
 by having poor hatches that they give up after their first attempt. 
 I have frequently had persons write to thank me for sending 
 the chicks, saying that the chicks arrived in such good condition 
 after three days' journey that they were better and stronger than 
 those hatched at the same time that had not taken the journey. One 
 man in particular, in Mexico, ordered fifty chicks and his success 
 was so great that the neighbors around ended by getting two thou- 
 sand last season, and this year others in the same neighborhood are 
 already sending for them by the thousand. The day-old chick busi- 
 ness has come to stay in America as well as in Egypt. 
 
 BROILER RANCHES 
 
 Broiler raising is one of the lucrative branches of the poultry in- 
 dustrv. It is a business, however, which should not be entered into 
 without study or experience. There are some very large broiler 
 ranches in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. 
 
 The ration for broilers is usually that given for chicks till they 
 are four or five weeks of age, when they are finished off with a 
 fattening ration for from two to three weeks. The average cost 
 of raising a broiler is from fifteen to eighteen cents, while the selling 
 price on contract is from fifty to sixty cents at a pound and a half 
 in weight. 
 
 Bv using the ration given for broilers after the first two weeks, 
 some breeders have attained the weight of two pounds for their 
 broilers at six weeks of age. This was in small lots of twenty-five 
 to fifty broilers in a brooder.* 
 
 •Se« Page 36. 
 
SUMMER WORK 
 
 Suninier-is our time for rest from hatching- and now our energies 
 must be directed to safely carrying through the summer the brooder 
 chicks and helping the older hens to shed their old clothes and come 
 out in fine and glossy raiment as expeditiously as possible. 
 
 Let us first look over our youngsters and see how we can keep 
 them growing. They need a motherly and watchful eye and ear, 
 and a watchful nose also, as much as children do. 
 
 Our own lives are made up of little things, but a little chick's 
 life is made up of infinitely little things and it is through little 
 things that success is attained or failure courted. "Be sure to keep 
 the pullets growing," was the vague order given in one of the poul- 
 try books that years ago I was studying. The author did not tell 
 how to keep them growing nor did he mention what would prevent 
 them growing, and I just hated that man, but since then I decided 
 that, poor fellow, he most likely did not know himself and was only 
 dealing in generalities to write a plausible article for his book or 
 paper without definitely saying anything. But he was right ; we 
 must keep the chickens growing and at the first indication that their 
 growth has stopped we must investigate and find out the cause. 
 
 What are the chief causes of chickens not doing well in the sum- 
 mer? Lice and mites. If your chickens are not doing well, treat 
 them for lice, even if you cannot see them, and give their house a 
 good spraying with kerosine emulsion and a little carbolic acid. 
 
 Comfort and proper food are the two great factors that will pro- 
 mote the growth of our chicks, and cleanliness is the first require- 
 ment. The drinking vessels at this season of the year require spe- 
 cial care ; whatever may be used should be kept scrupulously clean. 
 I find a sink brush is an excellent thing for scrubbing out the drink- 
 ing vessels. They must be kept in the shade. They can be placed 
 in a box set on its side or under a shed or tree, and besides being 
 shaded, they should be frequently replenished during the day. 
 
 Sunshine and Shade 
 
 Provide shade for the growing chicks ; shade from the burning 
 rays of the sun. Nothing is more conducive to health than sunshine, 
 but it must be tempered by shade. Trees and bushes supply the 
 best shade, as the temperature close under growing green leaves is 
 several degrees cooler than under anything that is dry or dead. 
 Few realize what a necessity shade is to fowls. 
 
 If an epidemic siezes the half grown chicks, it is attributed to 
 any cause on earth but the lack of shade, when in very many cases 
 this is the sole cause. Vertigo, blindness, stunted growth may all 
 be due to the glare of the sun on unsheltered yards. Shade is a 
 necessity and if trees or shrubs are lacking, a good shelter can be 
 made by driving a few stakes or small posts into the ground and 
 making a frame upon which palm branches or brush can be laid. I 
 have found a very serviceable temporary shade can be made by rip- 
 ping open a common gunny sack and nailing four laths on the 
 
82 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 edges. This little frame can be laid across the top of a small pen or 
 even hung on wire fence and afford a grateful shade. 
 
 Overcrowding or the chicks huddling for even one night may 
 stunt the growth or be the means of bringing on an epidemic of 
 colds which may result in roup. 
 
 But how to stop them crowding? A mother hen often solves the 
 difficulty by taking the half grown chicks on the perch with her, 
 but for brooder chicks some other plan must be found ; the best 
 way is to divide them into flocks or colonies of only twenty-five in 
 each, and supply comfortable perches for them. The chicks will in 
 a short time take to the perches of their own accord. 
 
 At one time I had not enough colony coops and a great many 
 chicks. I put them a hundred together in my regular henneries, 
 but they crowded and I not only was losing every night some of 
 the best, but the survivors looked very badly. They sweat off in 
 the night all they had gained during the day. I realized that this 
 meant failure for me if I could not control it. I spent my evenings 
 going around and patiently placing the chicks, hundreds of them, 
 on the perches till I was completely tired out, when I decided to 
 make it so desperately uncomfortable for them they could not 
 crowd. 
 
 I bought a bundle of six-foot lath and made a lath platform or 
 floor, by nailing them one and a half inches apart, the width of a 
 lath, on stringers one inch by three. This made a flooring of small 
 lath perches three inches above the ground, and made it so un- 
 comfortable for the chicks to crowd that it entirely prevented it. 
 I placed regular perches four or five inches above the lath floor and 
 in a few nights on making my nightly rounds with my lantern, I 
 had the satisfaction of finding all the chicks on the regulation 
 perches. I have recommended the lath platform or floor to many 
 and it has proved always successful. 
 
 The Proper Range 
 
 I would advise you to let the young chicks have free range, and 
 when the pullets begin to show signs of maturing, or at any rate 
 by the beginning of October, to put them into their permanent 
 winter quarters, and to confine them so they will be under your 
 control. They will lay more eggs if they do not range too far. It 
 has been proved many times and with different breeds, that hens in 
 confinement lay more eggs than those that run at large. The hens 
 can be watched better, are less liable to suffer from maladies ; the 
 nests can be kept cleaner and the eggs gathered more easily, while 
 on free range many eggs are lost, nests stolen and the hens will 
 acquire the habit, which we are breeding out of them, of laying 
 only a few eggs and then wanting to set. 
 
 In reply to the question of pullets or hens, the rule is pullets for 
 winter layers and hens for breeders. The reason for this is that 
 pullets in most breeds give more eggs than hens, and also usually 
 do not want to sit as frequently, while the hen lays a larger egg 
 and the chicks from them are larger and sturdier than from pullets. 
 In some breeds the two-year-old hen lays quite as well as pullets, 
 
SUMMER WORK 83 
 
 so I would advise you to save two-year-old hens for mothers, for 
 your flock next year, especially if they are pure bred, and to mate 
 them to one -or more, according to the number, vigorous, pure-bred 
 cockerels. You had better sell ofif all the other cockerels, or keep 
 them by themselves and eat them, or you might have them capon- 
 ized, if you can find anyone to do it for you. The usual price for 
 caponizing is from five to ten cents per head. 
 
 Teaching Them to Roost 
 
 It is sometimes difficult to persuade the young chickens at this 
 time of the year (September), when moved to winter quarters, to 
 go into the coop or house, which they should occupy. The little 
 perversities insist on returning to the place where their mother 
 has raised them, or they will huddle together on the ground, while 
 the older ones fly into the low trees. Night after night, they have to 
 be carried to their house. I, however, have found that by driving 
 them gently with a broom for two or at most three nights, they 
 will soon learn what is expected of them. A broom is by far the 
 best way of driving chickens without frightening them. 
 
 A broom in each hand is the best way of driving a large herd of 
 turkeys, also, by gently waving them on each side. They will be 
 afraid of the broom, but never become wild or afraid of the attend- 
 ant in this way. It is entirely possible to drive the profits out of a 
 flock of hens by stoning and pelting them every time they get into 
 mischief. Be quiet in your manner if you wish to be successful 
 with hens. Make the fowls feel that, when you are present there 
 is a protector among them, not something that is likely to scare 
 or harm them. The only way to keep your fowls on good terms 
 with you is by keeping them tame and treating them in a common- 
 sense manner. 
 
 The Dry Hopper 
 
 In the matter of feeding hens on a farm, I would much prefer the 
 dry hopper method, keeping one hopper full of mixed grains and 
 one hopper with beef scraps or granulated milk, and letting the 
 fowls have free range until it is time to put them in their winter 
 quarters. Then instead of only grain in the hopper, make the mix- 
 ture of bran, corn meal and alfalfa meal, or take one of the good 
 balanced rations sold at the poultry supply houses for. the hopper. 
 The reason for this change which should be made gradually, is that 
 the fowls being confined, do not get the exercise and consequently 
 may get over fat from eating the whole grains, while the finely 
 ground food has to be eaten more slowly. For fowls in confinement 
 besides the hopper or finely ground feed, they should have a scratch 
 pen in which the grain is thrown every morning for them to scratch 
 in. This will give them the exercise which they would otherwise 
 miss after being on free range all the summer. 
 
 After getting the fowls accustomed to their winter quarters, you 
 can, if you wish, let them out for two hours before sun down to 
 run on the grass or green winter wheat, or alfalfa. This will give 
 them a little exercise and change, but it is not absolutely necessary 
 
84 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 unless quite convenient. Of course, they must be supplied with 
 green food and a balanced egg ration. 
 
 By studying the scientific and practical management of poultry 
 and remembering the three conditions of egg production, comfort, 
 exercise and the proper rations, you cannot fail to make a success 
 of poultry raising on your farm. 
 
 If you decide upon making eggs for the table or market your 
 principal object, I would strongly recommend you to have an egg 
 route in your nearest city, taking the eggs in yourself to special 
 customers. Your surplus fowls you could also dispose of to private 
 customers, or if you did not wish to have the trouble of dressing 
 them, you could send them to one of the markets. There are so 
 many dififercnt ways of making money, if you only know how. 
 Study that way and give your customers of the best. You will 
 surelv make a success of it. 
 
 CCC CQ<.^ 
 
 Professor Gowell's Practical and Inexpensive Trap Nest 
 
THE TRAP-NEST 
 
 "We are extremely new to the business of scientific poultry rais- 
 ing and have a very hazy idea of some of it. We want to develop 
 a tlock of heavy layers and would like to know what 'trap-nesting' 
 means and how it is done." These words from one of my corre- 
 spondents suggested a talk on the "trap-nest." 
 
 Trap-nests are one of the inventions of this progressive age. It 
 is the surest, quickest method of securing better eggs and more of 
 them. A trap-nest is a nest box, the entrance to which closes auto- 
 matically when the hen steps into the nest and keeps her in the box 
 until the person in charge releases her, thus showing" which hen laid 
 the egg. 
 
 The progressive farmer or dairyman knows that he must test the 
 milk of his cows and he finds when he begins to do so that he has 
 cows in his herd that do not pay for their keep. It is the same in 
 the poultry business ; in every flock of hens there are idlers that do 
 not pay for their feed — they lay so few eggs that their owners are 
 out of pocket by keeping them. I would not have believed this had 
 I not discovered it to be the case with some of my own hens. The 
 first season that I used trap-nests I found a hen which went on the 
 nest every day, but only laid four eggs in one month, while another 
 in the same yard laid twenty-nine. It was a revelation to me. The 
 first year I discovered that nearly one-fourth of my hens barely paid 
 for their board. That was not the kind of hens I wanted. I was in 
 the business for profit and not loss, so I weeded them out, and very 
 good eating they made. 
 
 The second year I got, with a reduced flock, a twenty per cent 
 less feed bill and fully twenty-five per cent increase of eggs — more 
 eggs at less cost. Surely the trap-nests repaid me for the slight 
 extra trouble of attending to them. They were not only of use in 
 discovering the best layers, but I became better acquainted per- 
 sonally with each hen. I found that the hen which laid the most 
 eggs had the most fertile eggs, while the poor layers' eggs were not 
 nearly so fertile. 
 
 Trap-nests make the hens tame and tame hens lay more eggs 
 than wild hens. Some hens may at first object to being handled, 
 but after a few days they become reconciled to it. My White 
 Plymouth Rocks were so tame that when I opened the door they 
 would step into my hands or sit quietly until I lifted them up to 
 ascertain the numbers of their leg-bands. 
 
 In order to make the use of the trap-nests efficient, we must be 
 able to know each hen individually, and for this purpose each hen 
 must wear a leg-band, a small bracelet, made of copper or aluminum 
 with a number on it. 
 
 By means of the trap-nest one can discover any hen that is be- 
 coming too fat, or too thin and she can be moved into another and 
 more suitable pen. The trap-nest also renders a great service in 
 detecting the egg eater. If there is reason to suspect a certain hen 
 of this villainous habit, give her an egg while she is on the nest ; if 
 
86 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 the egg- after a time disappears it is pretty good evidence that the 
 culprit has been discovered, and decapitation should be the verdict. 
 
 Another advantage in using trap-nests is that it gives one an op- 
 portunity to examine the hens for vermin, and by taking a small 
 can of insect powder around occasionally while visiting the nests, 
 and powdering the hens, they can be kept perfectly clean with 
 very little trouble. I use a baking powder can, having perforated 
 the lid, making a large pepper pot. A liberal use not blown on out 
 of an air gun, but freely peppered on the hens, is very beneficial. 
 
 I visit the nests about three times during the morning to release 
 the hens and gather the eggs. One trap-nest is required for every 
 three hens. When a hen is taken from her nest, the egg is marked 
 with her leg-band number and the date and credit is given her on 
 the record sheet or record books. This is a sheet or page marked 
 of{ in squares of thirty-one days with the hen's name or number at 
 the head of the line. I mark B for broody, S for sold, M for mar- 
 keting and so on, and have in this way the history of each hen at a 
 glance. 
 
 Trap-nests have taught me which hens lay the best shaped eggs, 
 which the largest size, which the strongest fertilized, which are the 
 best winter layers, which pullets begin early, the number of eggs 
 they lay in succession, the number of times they become broody 
 and many other facts that can be learned in no other way; in fact, 
 I find my records exceedingly interesting and profitable reading. 
 Trap-nests were a perfect revelation to me and aided me in my suc- 
 cess with poultry. 
 
 There are a number of trap-nest plans, also trap-nests, on the 
 market, ranging in price from $1 to $25. I have bought and tried 
 several, and find that the most satisfactory trap-nest is one that has 
 two compartments and opens in the front to take the hen off. In 
 other words, it must be comfortable for the hen and convenient for 
 the attendant. 
 
 The nest box here described was made by G. M. Gowell, agricul- 
 turist of the Maine experiment station, after a careful study of the 
 various nest boxes on the market, and is intended to combine their 
 excellences and avoid their defects. 
 
 This is the box that is illustrated here, and the description is in 
 Mr. Gowell's own words : The nest box is very simple, inexpensive, 
 easy to' attend and certain in its action. It is a box-like structure 
 and is twenty-eight inches long, thirteen inches wide, and thirteen 
 inches deep — inside measurements. A division board with a circu- 
 lar opening seven and one-half inches in diameter is placed across 
 the box twelve inches from the back end. The back end is the nest 
 projjer. Instead of a close door at the entrance, a light frame of 
 inch by inch-and-a-half stuff is covered with wire netting of one- 
 half inch mesh. The door is ten and one-half inches wide and ten 
 inches high, and does not fill the entire entrance, a space of two and 
 one-half inches being left at the l)ottom and one and one-half inches 
 at the top, with a good margin at the sides to avoid friction. If it 
 filled Ihe entire space it would be clumsy in its action. It is hinged 
 
THE TRAP-NEST 
 
 87 
 
 at the top and opens up into the box. The hinges are placed on the 
 front of the door rather than at the back or center, the better to 
 secure complete closing action. 
 
 The "trip" consists of one piece of wire about three-sixteenths of 
 an inch in diameter and eighteen and one-half inches long, bent as 
 shown in drawing. A piece of board six inches wide and just long 
 
 A Group of Four Trap Nests in Position 
 
 enough to reach across the box inside is nailed flatwise in front of 
 the partiton and one inch below the top of the box, a space of one- 
 fourth on an inch being left between the edge of the board and the 
 partition. The purpose of this board is only to support the trip 
 wire in place. The six-inch section of the trip wire is placed across 
 the board and the wire slipped through the quarter-inch slot and 
 passed down, close to and in front of the center of the seven and 
 one-half inch circular opening. Small wire staples are driven nearly 
 down over the six-inch section of the wire into the board so as to 
 hold it in place and yet let it roll sidewise easily. When the door 
 is set, the half-inch section of the wire marked "A" comes under a 
 hardwood peg, or a tack with a large round head, which is driven 
 into the lower edge of the door frame. The hen passes in through 
 the circular opening and in doing so presses the wire to one side and 
 the trip slips from its connection with the door. The door promptly 
 
88 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 swings ilowii and fastens itself in place by its lower edge strik- 
 ing the light end of a wooden latch or lever, pressing it down and 
 slipping over it. The latch is five inches long, one inch wide and 
 
 G^**^ 
 
 
 / 
 
 i 
 
 half an inch thick. The latch acts quickly enough to catch the door 
 before it rebounds. The double box with nest in the rear end is 
 necessary, as when a bird has laid and desires to leave the nest, she 
 steps to the front and remains there until released. 
 
 With one section only, she would be very likely to crush her egg 
 by standing upon it. 
 
 The boxes, which have no tops, are arranged in cases in groups 
 c>f four and slide in and out like drawers. They may, of course, be 
 used singly by simply providing" a cover for each box. \\'hen a 
 hen has layed, the nest is pulled part way out or the cover lifted, as 
 the case may be, and the hen removed. 
 
 I have made nest boxes myself from these plans. I used wooden 
 shoe boxes or cracker boxes, and easily made two in a morning. The 
 wire was a little difficult to bend, but a boy did it for me. One 
 word of caution: It is well to have nests enough, because the hens 
 must be coaxed to lay. and when they get ready, they must not be 
 kept waiting. If a hen is dissatisfied with her nest she may hold her. 
 egg for twenty-four hours and in time be taught to lay only every 
 other day. It is wise to encourage the hens to lay and I have found 
 these trap-nests so cleverly invented by Mr. Gowell are much liked 
 bv the hens, while others I bought frightened the hens and pre- 
 vented their laying. They were enclosed on the nest, pushing their 
 heads out and trampling on the eggs, breaking some and entirely 
 defeating the object of the nest, which is "more eggs and better 
 hens." 
 
GRIT AND GIZZARD 
 
 One of the. most important things necessary for the health of 
 poultry is a supply of. grit of the right kind. Nature provides a use 
 for every organ of the body, and in every body an organ for each 
 specific duty. Most animals are provided with teeth to enable them 
 to prepare their food for the action of the fluids secreted by the 
 stomach, pancreas and liver. It will also be remembered that be- 
 sides being crushed in the mouth by the teeth, the food is acted 
 on by the saliva. 
 
 Nature has not endowed birds with teeth, but it has provided a 
 good substitute in the gizzard. This is a tough, strong, muscular 
 organ, so situated in the body that all food taken into the mouth 
 must pass through it. Previous to passing through the gizzard, 
 all food has been received into a pouch or bag, the crop, where it re- 
 mains some time. There it is soaked with and acted upon by a fluid 
 secreted in and by this pouch, and a modified process takes place 
 similar to that of the saliva in the mouth of animals with teeth. 
 
 The food gradually leaves this pouch (the crop), passes through 
 the proventriculus and into the gizzard, where it is ground up, and 
 thence it goes to the intestines, where, after being mixed with other 
 fluids, it passes on and the nutriment is absorbed. No doubt a 
 bird may be made to exist for a time, perhaps a considerable time, 
 without grit, just as a person may live for years with bad teeth, 
 or perhaps with none at all. We all know how little such people 
 enjoy their food or health, and surely if the birds do not have the 
 means of masticating their food they can neither be healthy nor 
 enjoy their food, and will not give their owners a good return for 
 their food and care. 
 
 The Best Grit 
 
 The gizzard is a marvelously strong little mill and when pro- 
 vided with the proper grit, or little grindstones, will keep the fowls 
 in good condition. Hard, sharp substances are necessary, such as 
 flint stones or granite pounded up. Broken china, earthenware, 
 glass and all such substances broken up make excellent grit. 
 
 When the grit has not sharp edges, the harder parts of the food 
 are not digested, husks and green food accumulate and frequently 
 cause a stoppage between the crop and the gizzard, so that nothing 
 but liquid can pass. A lack of shari:) grit brings on diarrhoea ; also, 
 the gall overflows and sometimes the gall-sack bursts. There are 
 two passages, one into, and the other out of the gizzard ; they are 
 both on one side of it. The one leading out of it is much smaller 
 than the one leading into it. Thus the gizzard can receive larger 
 substances but cannot get rid of them until they are ground small ; 
 and sharp grit is needed for this. 
 
 AAHien T first came to California T purchased a grist mill and. alas, 
 I had broken china also ! T had two dozen hens just bought and 
 proceeded to grind up some crockery for them. The man who was 
 building mv fence thought it dreadfully cruel of me. remarking, "It's 
 enough to kill a dog; let alone those poor hens." "The hens will not 
 
90 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 cat it unless they need it," was my reply, though I agreed with him 
 about the dog. To his surprise those hens ate almost a quart of it. 
 None of them died and they soon eonimenced to lay. Give the little 
 chicks the small chick-grit. I'jght pounds of this will be sufficient 
 for the tirst two months of the life of fifty little chicks and then 
 they should have a larger size. One hundred pounds of hen grit, 
 which can be bought at the poultry supply houses, is sufficient to 
 last a hundred hens about a year. 
 
 Pigeons consume more grit than hens, proportionately to size. 
 Give pigeons grit to keep them healthy. My attention to grit and 
 gizzards was aroused many years ago. "W ill madame look to 
 what I have found in the interior of this fowl?" said my French 
 maid to me. She had opened the gizzard of a fat young hen and 
 had found thirteen china buttons and two pearl buttons or parts of 
 them, mixed with the black adobe mud. Since that da}^ I have tried 
 to keep my fowls well supplied with grit. 
 
 Starve for Lack of Grit 
 
 "I cannot think what ails my fowls," said one lady. "They have 
 all the food they can eat, but here is another dead." "Have you ever 
 opened one to discover the trouble?" I asked. "Yes, but I never 
 find anything." "Well, I think 3-our fowls have indigestion," I 
 said, "but we will hold a post mortem on this one and try to solve 
 the difficulty." We found a medium sized gizzard, full of dark 
 earth, no stones, no grit, not even buttons. That told the story, 
 the fowls were starving to death in the midst of plenty just for lack 
 of grit to grind their food. 
 
 I occasionally make curious discoveries when I hold a post mor- 
 tem, for the contents of a school boy's pockets are scarcely more 
 varied than those of a fowd's gizzard, when not supplied with the 
 proper kind of grit. My Indian Runner ducks, being great pets and 
 never doing any mischief, w^ere allowed the freedom of my place. 
 I had noticed them around the out-door fireplace where the caul- 
 dron was boiled, old boxes, building scrap and rubbish being used 
 for the fire. 
 
 I thought the ducks were picking up bits of charcoal, but one 
 morning I found a fine duck dead. The post mortem revealed an 
 enormous gizzard, twice the usual size, on opening which I found 
 a number of nails, some bits of wire, two two-pointed tacks. Sev- 
 eral of the nails were embedded in the gizzard and the largest one 
 pierced quite through it. The ducks had always been supplied with 
 plenty of river sand, but this particular duck seemed to have de- 
 veloped an ostrich's appetite. After that I gave them also the 
 smaller chick grit and with most excellent results, for never ducks 
 laid as many eggs as did those. Grit, oyster shells, or clam shells, 
 and charcoal are indispensable for fowls. 
 
 The Symptons of Grit Craving 
 When your hens seem "mopey" just break up some old china, 
 and see if they will not refuse the best food for it. 
 
 When vou see water run from a hen's mouth, when she puts 
 
GRIT AND GIZZARD 91 
 
 her head down, the trouble is indigestion. Give her grit and char- 
 coal. 
 
 When your hens do not care for their food, tone up their appe- 
 tites by a dose of grit. 
 
 When they are not laying as well as you think they should, give 
 them grit. 
 
 When hens moult slowly, it is often from impaired digestion. 
 Give them grit and charcoal. 
 
 When you want the hens to derive all the benefit of the nutrition 
 in the food, supply them with good, sharp grit. 
 
 If you want vigorous, profitable hens, give them a liberal supply 
 of grit. 
 
 When your hens are too fat, when they lay thin shelled eggs, 
 give them grit. 
 
 A friend of mine was very much troubled with soft-shelled eggs. 
 She got her husband to take his wagon to the hills, where there is 
 a good quarry of what is called rotten granite. He brought home 
 a load of it, and in a few days the hens laid hard shelled eggs and 
 she told me that the shells were so hard that the chicks could hardly 
 break out of them. 
 
 The value of good sharp grit can scarcely be overestimated, and 
 yet even intelligent people do not realize it. Some think that there 
 is grit enough in the natural soil. This is rarely the case, for hens, 
 wild birds, or pigeons pick up the sharpest and best grit, so that 
 even on a farm where the hens have free range there is rarely 
 enough grit of the proper kind, and when fowls are kept yarded 
 there is never enough unless they are artificially supplied. If you 
 doubt this, try the experiment of giving your hens some broken 
 china. The pieces should not be larger than a pea and should have 
 three sharp corners. You will be surprised to see how eagerly the 
 hens will eat the china. 
 
 The best layer I ever had laid 225 eggs in nine months and 
 moulted during that time. She was the greatest eater of grit I 
 ever saw. Every night before going to roost she ran down to the 
 grit box and took three pieces. Every time she laid an egg she 
 refreshed herself with some grit, and I learned by observation that 
 all my best layers were the most constant visitors to the grit box. 
 Hens that consume the most grit are those that get the most nutri- 
 tion out of their food, lay the most eggs, are the healthiest, have the 
 most fertile eggs and pay the best. 
 
 Grit to grind the food and charcoal to keep it pure during this 
 process and, for laying hens, oyster shells to supply the lime for 
 the eggshells, these are so necessary that we are almost tired of 
 the mention of them, in the poultry papers, but "lest we forget" I 
 have written about them again. 
 
PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 
 
 Fleas 
 
 The common hen Ilea (pulex aviumj is prevalent in the Pacific 
 States. It is found in filthy hen houses, especially those located 
 on sandy soil. Dirty nests, cracks, dust and dark corners are fav- 
 orite breeding places for them. They produce great irritation of 
 the skin and in young birds the growth may be permanently stunted 
 and many young chickens killed by them. 
 
 For treating fiea bites, bathe the bites with vinegar and water, or 
 lemon juice, and apply carbolated vaseline or lard in which a little 
 carbolic acid has been mxed — 5 drops of carbolic acid (90 per cent) 
 to a tablespoonful of lard. 
 
 To free poultry houses and yards of the fleas, use whitewash 
 freely, adding a pint of carbolic acid to every twelve gallons of 
 whitewash. Spray it or slop it thoroughly into all the corners and 
 cracks. Dark dusty places in the poultry yard afiford favorable 
 breeding places for fleas. These corners should be soaked with 
 hot .soapsuds or boiling salt water to kill the young broods of fleas. 
 Use carbolized lime, tobacco dust and moth balls in the nests. 
 
 Bedbugs and Ticks 
 
 Bedbugs sometimes attack poultry on their roosts and suck their 
 l>lood. In California there is also a species of tick that is fatal to 
 poultry which somewhat resembles the bedbug of the East. To 
 destroy them fumigation is usually employed, either fumigating 
 with sulphur, or, better still, the cyanide process used for the scale 
 on citrus trees. 
 
 To fumigate with sulphur close every door and window^ and see 
 that there are no cracks to admit the air. Burn one pound of sul- 
 phur for every 100 square feet of floor space in the house. A house 
 10x10 will require one pound of sulphur; one 20x10, two pounds, 
 and so on. The sulphur must be burned in iron vessels which 
 should be set on gravel or sand so there may be no danger from 
 fire. Into each vessel put a handful of carpenter shavings saturated 
 with kerosene and upon these sprinkle the sulphur. Apply a 
 match to the shavings and hastily leave the house, closing the door. 
 The house should remain closed for 5 hours. Fumigation may be 
 followed by thoroughly whitewashing the inside of the house. 
 Painting or spraying the house with corrosive sublimate is also 
 very effective. Care must be used in handling this poison. 
 
 Mites 
 
 There are several varieties of the tiny blood-sucking mites to be 
 found in carelessly kept henneries. The red mite is the most com- 
 mon and active of all parasites which attack birds. It is about one 
 thirty-fifth of an inch in length, white or grey in color, except when 
 filled with blood, when they will be red or black. It hides by day 
 in the corners and crevices of buildings, nests, perches, floors, etc., 
 wliere thev mav be found in clusters. At night these clusters scat- 
 
PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 93 
 
 ter over the birds and by pricking the skin can fill themselves with 
 blood. They are injurious not only on account of the blood they 
 draw, but becalise of the itching pain and loss of rest. They will 
 even kill young fowls and setting hens. When they are discovered 
 vigorous means should be adopted to get rid of them. The Iowa 
 State Experiment Station gives a full description of the best and 
 cheapest way of exterminating these mites. At this station the 
 kerosene emulsion was found to be perfectly effective in killing 
 them. It is made as follows : 
 
 KEROSENE EMULSION— In one gallon of boiling water dis- 
 solve one pound bar of soap or one pound of soap powder. Remove 
 from the fire, add immediately one gallon of kerosene, churn or agi- 
 tate violently for ten minutes, or until the solution becomes like a 
 thick cream. If the oil and water separate on standing, then the 
 soap was not caustic enough. Take one quart of this, add to it ten 
 quarts of water ; spray thoroughly the houses every three days with 
 this diluted emulsion until all the mites are exterminated. To make 
 it more effective, you may add one pint of crude carbolic acid to the 
 emulsion as soon as taken from the fire. The diluted emulsion (one 
 part to ten of water) is also used to rid fowls of lice. By using this 
 spray once a month always, the houses can be kept perfectly free 
 from vermin and thoroughly disinfected from disease. 
 
 Lice 
 
 There are nine varieties of lice affecting poultry. Some of these 
 lice spread rapidly. One infested bird is capable of spreading the 
 vermin through a large flock. They cause dumpishness, drooping 
 wings, indifference to food and may stunt or even kill the chicks. 
 One of the best means of preventing lice is the dust bath. This 
 bath should be a wallow of freshly turned earth, mellow and 
 slightly damp, out of doors under some tree in the summer time, or 
 in a box six or eight inches deep in the hennery in the rainy weather. 
 Provided with a good dust bath, healthy hens will almost keep 
 themselves clean from lice. When fowls are badly infested with 
 lice they should be well dusted with a good lice powder, of which 
 there are a number on the market. Two good powders can be 
 made as follows : To one peck of sifted coal ashes add one-half 
 ounce of 90 per cent carbolic acid. When mixed thoroughly, add an 
 equal amount of tobacco dust. 2nd : Take half peck of sifted road- 
 dust, four fluid ounces of any good liquid lice killer; mix thoroughly 
 and add bulk for bulk of tobacco dust. 
 
 The roosts may be painted with liquid lice killer, or the fowls 
 placed in a box for three hours, the floor of which has been painted 
 with lice killer and the top covered with burlap, care being taken 
 not to smother the hen. The nits of lice hatch about every five 
 days. The treatment should be repeated until all the young lice 
 have been exterminated. 
 
 How to Keep Poultry Free from Lice 
 The following formula is used at the Maine and Cornell Ex- 
 periment Stations : 
 
94 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Take three parts of gasoline, one part of crude carbolic acid. 
 Mix these together and add gradually, while stirring, enough plas- 
 ter of Paris to take up all the moisture, the liquid and the dry 
 plaster should be thoroughl}^ mixed and stirred, so that the liquid 
 will be unifornially distributed through the mass of plaster. When 
 enough plaster has been added, the resulting mixture should be a 
 dry, pinkish brown powder, having a fairly strong carbolic odor 
 and a rather less pronounced gasoline odor. 
 
 Do not use more plaster, in mixing, than is necessary to blot 
 up the liquid. This powder is to be worked into the feathers 
 of the bird affected with vermin. The bulk of the application 
 should be in the fluff around the vent and under the wings. Its 
 efficiency can be very easily demonstrated by anyone to his own 
 satisfaction. Take a bird that is covered with lice and apply the 
 powder in the manner described. After a lapse of about a minute, 
 shake the bird, lessening its feathers with the fingers at the same 
 time, over a clean piece of paper. Dead and dying lice will drop on 
 the paper in great numbers. Anyone who will try this experiment 
 will have no further doubt of the wonderful efficiency and value of 
 this powder. 
 
 For a Spray or Paint 
 
 To be applied to roosting boards, walls and floor of the hen 
 house, the following preparation is used : 
 
 Three parts of kerosene and one part crude carbolic acid. This 
 is stirred up when used and may be applied with any of the hand 
 spray pumps or with a brush. 
 
 In both of these formulae it is highly important that crude car- 
 bolic acid be used, instead of the purified product. Be sure and 
 insist on getting crude carbolic acid. It is a dark brown, dirty 
 looking liquid and its value depends on the fact that it contains 
 tar oil and tar bases in addition to the pure phenol (carbolic acid). 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY 
 
 There is no. reason for chickens being unhealthy except, as a 
 general thing, from the carelessness or ignorance of their owners. 
 Carelessness in not keeping the fowls clean, in not being regular in 
 their feeding, in the lack of pure water and shade and in giving them 
 either draughty sleeping quarters or too close and badly ventilated 
 coops. 
 
 Poultry keepers in the East, after years of trouble and anxiety 
 over roup, which I really think is much w^orse there than here, are 
 coming to the conclusion that open front houses even there where 
 they have zero weather, will prevent roup and colds. 
 
 Here in our favored climate, open front houses, cleanliness and 
 plenty of green food are a sure prevention of roup. 
 
 I am glad to be able to say that although there are more than 
 double the number of pure bred fowls in California now than ever 
 before, there is a minimum amount of roup. Poultry raisers are 
 using common sense in the feeding and care of chickens, looking 
 upon poultry raising as a business, a money proposition, when 
 handled in a business-like way, and the result is very little roup 
 and less sickness of any kind. 
 
 Roup must be transmitted by contagion ; healthy fowls will not 
 have it unless a roupy fowl is introduced into the flock, or the in- 
 fection is brought in through water or food, through coops in which 
 roupy fowls have been confined or through the infection being 
 carried on the garments of the attendant. 
 
 Many Kinds of Roup 
 
 It was formerly the custom to call nearly all the ailments of 
 fowls due to taking cold by the name of "Roup." Dr. Salmon of 
 the Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C, makes a dis- 
 tinction, however, between the different kinds of colds or roup, 
 simple catarrh and infectious catarrh, also called roupy catarrh, and 
 diphtheric catarrh or diphtheric roup. Simple catarrh is easily 
 cured, will often get well without treatment ; roupy catarrh is very 
 infectious and more difficult to cure; but diphtheric roup is the 
 worst of all and greatly resembles the diphtheria of children. There 
 is also another disease called "Canker" which much resembles 
 diphtheric roup, but is less severe. It is caused by another germ 
 and needs other treatment. 
 
 Catarrh 
 
 All of these diseases commence in the same manner. Usually 
 the first symptoms noticed are a slight discharge from the nostrils, 
 eyes wet and watery from mucus, and often some bubbling at the 
 corners with coughing and sneezing. In simple catarrh more seri- 
 ous symptoms will not have developed in a few days, but with 
 roupv catarrh the discharge thickens and obstructs the breathing 
 by filling the nostrils and there is a foul odor to it. Sometimes 
 swell head develops, then one or both eyes are closed, the birds 
 wipe their eyes on their shoulders, sleep with their heads under 
 
96 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 their wings and the discharge sticks to and dries on their feathers. 
 This dried nuicus will spread the disease throngh the flock, for in it 
 are the germs of the disease, the seeds of which may be sown when- 
 ever the chicken moves or shakes itself, or when others touch it or 
 a feather falls. Chickens with this disease should be isolated, the 
 mucus gently washed ofiF, using a disinfectant in the water, a few 
 drops of carbolic acid or a tablet of protiodide of mercury in a pint 
 of water. Roupy catarrh is difBcult of cure, is very infectious and 
 often fatal. 
 
 Diphtheric Roup 
 
 Diphtheric roup is the worst of all. It recjuires different reme- 
 dies to the simple catarrh or roupy catarrh. It commences usually 
 in the same manner with a slight cold, but the mucus membrane of 
 the mouth, throat, nasal passages, and the eyes are affected. False 
 membrane forms on these parts, very much resembling in appear- 
 ance the diphtheria of children, and by some thought to be the 
 same. At first the patches are small and scattered but have a tend- 
 ency to run together. The disease appears suddenly, the fowl is 
 feverish, dumpish and disinclined to eat. As the disease progresses 
 the mouth and throat become filled with false membrane and 
 mucus until the fowl dies of suft'ocation, or the poison from the 
 disease gets into the circulation and the fowl dies of blood poison- 
 ing or paralysis. 
 
 Canker 
 
 Canker is sometimes confounded with diphtheria. It is an ulcer- 
 ative disease of the mouth. It is frequently found in cock birds after 
 fighting and is common in birds that have been working in mouldy 
 or musty litter or that have been fed on spoiled grain. The disease 
 is seldom noticed until the fowl shows a collection of yellowish 
 ulcers or cheesy growth on the roof of the mouth, the side of the 
 tongue or the angles of the jaws, and sometimes at the opening of 
 the windpipe. It is very common among pigeons. 
 
 Roup cures can be bought at the principal poultry supply houses, 
 but for the use of those living in the country too far away to pro- 
 cure these, I will give a few simple remedies that can be easily and 
 quickly used in the first stages, thus arresting an epidemic. For 
 local treatment a good atomizer is the most satisfactory way of ap- 
 plying it, or a small syringe, and as han<ly as anything is a small 
 sewing machine oil can. 
 
 Remedies 
 
 (1) When first the cold is noticed, put a bit of Bluestone (sul- 
 phate of copper) in the drinking water. A piece as big as a navy 
 bean in a quart of water, not any stronger. This is a germ killer, 
 dries up the cold in the head, is a disinfectant and will prevent the 
 other chickens taking the disease. So if any chick takes cold, put 
 this into the water of the whole flock for a week to prevent the 
 disease spreading. 
 
 (2) For a Common Cold : A pill of quinine and one of asafoetida 
 (1 gr. of each), with half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper will fre- 
 quently cure a cold in one night. Aconite also is a good remedy. 
 
DISEASES OF POULTRY 97 
 
 One drop in a teaspoonful of milk. Always give a grown hen the 
 same dose as to adult human beings. 
 
 The following are cures for Roupy Catarrh : 
 
 (3) One tablespoonful of castor oil, half a tablespoonful tur- 
 pentine, a tablespoonful of kerosene, a tablespoonful of camphor- 
 ated oil and four drops of carbolic acid. Shake before using. Squirt 
 a drop up each nostril and into the cleft of the mouth, and for swell 
 head rub the whole head with it. This is an excellent cure and 
 cheap. 
 
 (4) Put one cupful of kerosene in half a gallon of water ; the 
 oil will float on top ; dip the fowl's head slowly into this, holding it 
 under whilst you count three. It will sneeze and cough and you 
 must wipe off all the mucus with a rag and carefully burn the rag. 
 Repeat the treatment twice a day, 
 
 (5) Take of lard two tablespoonsful ; vinegar, mustard, cayenne 
 pepper, each one tablespoonful ; mix thoroughly, add flour enough 
 to make a stiff dough. Give a bolus of this the size of the first 
 joint of the little finger. One dose frequently cures. If not, repeat 
 in twelve or twenty-four hours. 
 
 (6) Dr. N. W. Sanborn gives as a remedy : "Spray all mucus 
 surfaces with the following: Extract of Witch Hazel, four table- 
 spoonsful ; liquid carbolic acid, four drops ; water, two tablespoons- 
 ful. Do this twice a day, squeezing the bulb of the atomizer five 
 times for each nostril and twice for the mouth. If there is any 
 watery or foamy eyes, give one squeeze for each. 
 
 (7) One part of pulverized gum camphor and seven parts of 
 pulverized liquorice root. Blow up the nostrils, into the cleft of 
 the mouth and down the throat. This should be made fresh, as the 
 camphor evaporates. 
 
 (8) Equal parts of powdered alum, magnesia and sulphur blown 
 into the throat and nostrils through a quill. 
 
 (9) For Diphtheric Roup : Peroxide of hydrogen is, I think, the 
 best remedy. Dilute with from one to three parts of water. The 
 solutions, when applied to diseased surfaces, begin to foam, and 
 should be repeated until there is no more bubbling. A little of the 
 solution forced into the nostrils by the use of a dropping tube or 
 atomizer is driven higher up into the nostrils by the force of the 
 foaming, reaching parts otherwise out of touch. 
 
 (10) For Canker: Four grains of Sulpho-carbolate of zinc to 
 one ounce of water. Paint the canker spots with this night and 
 morning and in three days the germs will be destroyed. The chick- 
 ens should have nourishing food, such as bread and milk and 
 chopped onions. 
 
 If you have any doubts as to whether the disease is canker or 
 roup, you had better use the peroxide of hydrogen one day and the 
 zinc the day following, alternating the treatment. It will not do 
 to mix the two medicines at the same time, as one neutralizes 
 the other. 
 
TOWN-LOT FOWLS 
 
 The rear of a city lot can be made to yield both profit and pleas- 
 ure when devoted to poultry and fruit trees, and many families may 
 enjoy fresh eggs and an occasional roast chicken, or a "Christ- 
 massy" chicken pie by simply utilizing some of the vacant space 
 in the rear yards of their homes. 
 
 We sometimes hear that chickens cannot be raised successfully 
 on a city lot because the land is too valuable and that the business 
 will not pay where all the food has to be bought. 
 
 The value of a city lot is often over-estimated when chicken 
 raising is suggested for the back yard, but the question is, what 
 income is your back lot now yielding? 
 
 I expect that the majority of city back lots are either an outlay 
 or an eyesore to their owners. They grow nothing but grass or 
 weeds, for which nothing is received. \Mien mowed there is that 
 expense to it, with the water tax added, which is not inconsiderable. 
 
 As much as I like lawn and flowers in the front of the house, I 
 think the ofttimes neglected back yard should be made valuable also. 
 Nothing to my taste can improve it like fruit trees, which are bene- 
 fited by having poultry around them, and will bring in good re- 
 turns, as I know by experience. 
 
 The main requisite to making a success of poultry raising on a 
 city lot, or anywhere else in fact, is to be thoroughly in love with 
 your fowls and your trees. The man or wonian wdio hates to work 
 around the hens, who grudges the time and trouble, will never 
 make a success of the work and had better let it alone. 
 
 How to plan your back lot? It should be fenced to suit your 
 space and poultry. If it is a small yard, it may be difficult to fence 
 it high enough for the active breeds such as the Leghorns, but if 
 you use poultry netting and do not place any rail on the top, you 
 will not have any trouble with the American breeds, even with a 
 comparatively low fence. If there is no rail on the top, the fowls 
 do not see where the netting ends and they seldom try to find the 
 top, but with a rail they light on that and over they go. 
 
 It may help a beginner to see the plan of my chicken yard on a 
 city lot. The chicken yards are 50 feet by 32 feet ; there are eight 
 fruit trees and three water faucets in the yard. The fruit trees, 
 plum, peach and fig, yielded several dollars' worth of fruit two 
 years after planting, and as they grew older, increased the value of 
 the crop in the back lot, and gave the fowls shade. 
 
 Hen House Construction 
 
 The earth around the trees is kept well spaded and moist, so the 
 hens enjoy it as a dust bath and that keeps them clean from lice and 
 mites. The hen house is a shed thirty-two feet long and eight feet 
 wide. It is divided in two parts for two pens of fowls. Each end 
 of it is Composed of a roosting room eight feet by eight feet, with 
 space enough for forty hens, if necessary, although I never wish 
 to keep more than twenty-five in each side. 
 
TOWN-LOT FOWLS 
 
 99 
 
 The roosting room is separated from the scratching pen only by 
 a board twelve inches wide, to keep out the straw. The back and 
 sides of the roosting room are of tongued and grooved flooring and 
 perfectly tight. The whole length of the front of the shed is open, 
 except the roosting room, which has a front of burlap. One side of 
 the roosting room is entirely open into the scratching pen, so that 
 the roosting room is only tightly enclosed on two sides and has 
 free ventilation into the scratching pen and only the burlap on the 
 south side. Consequently my fowls never have colds. The roof is 
 
 PLANcjpcuickxh: 
 
 of shakes twelve inches to the weather. The back of the shed is 
 six and a half feet high, the front five feet. 
 
 At the south end of the two yards is a smaller one for setting 
 hens or for young chicks, as they do better kept away from the 
 older fowls. This small yard is very useful for fattening chickens, 
 turkeys or ducks for the table, and in it I have a small portable 
 coop for the youngsters. 
 
 I have a water faucet in each yard. This is a great saving of 
 labor and anxiety, for if I am to be absent any length of time I 
 leave the faucet dripping just a little and know the hens will not 
 go thirsty. 
 
 I feed grain in the scratching pens, dry mash in hoppers, green 
 lawn clippings and refuse vegetables, besides the table scraps. 
 
 There is a saying that an American family wastes or throws 
 away food enough to support a French family. Why not give all 
 this waste to some hens? The table scraps, the scraping of the 
 plates, the outer leaves of cabbages, even the parings of potatoes, 
 apples and nearly all vegetables now consigned to the garbage pail 
 would be enough to almost keep i few hens. 
 
IIH^ MRS. I^ASl.KVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Possibilities of a Town Lot 
 
 ll;i\o you any iiloa what rotunis one dozen laying pullets or 
 luMis would give you? 1 have, for 1 have kept that nunilier on a 
 town lot. T have not an aceurate aeeount of all the eggs laid, but 
 I know there were over twH> thousand in one year, more than 
 enough to supjily a family of six with delicious fresh eggs and to 
 raise between fifty and sixty ytning fowls for frying and roasting, 
 besiiles the old ones for stews or for "poulet au ris." a Freneh dish 
 of which we are extremely fond. 
 
 Xine-tenths of the home owners have sufficient space in their 
 back yards to proiluce enough chickens and eggs to supply their 
 own families, and in this way greatly lessen the expense of living. 
 or in other words, make enough to pay their meat and grocery 
 bills, or else give them all the fresh eggs they can consume with 
 a nice fry always available for Sunday dinner or when a friend 
 unexpectedly drops in. 
 
 I will give you a formula. for feeding hens on a town lot which I 
 will guarantee will give yon eggs in abundance and at all seasons. 
 It is easy to feed, for all you have to do is to mix it dry in a big 
 box and dip np half a bucket, once or twice a week and fill a box 
 or hopper full of it as the need is. It is quite dry and will keep any 
 leng-th of time. 
 
 Formula for Balanced Ration 
 
 Mix by measure two parts bran, one part corn-meal, one part 
 oat-meal, one part alfalfa meal, one part beef scraps. Keep some 
 of this in a box or hopper or bucket — dry. perfectly dry — always 
 before the hens. This dry food in the hopper lasts quite a long 
 time, for the hens prefer the table scraps which are fed to them 
 only once a day (at nights and they like lawn clippings, but this 
 dry feed keeps them in just the right condition for egg production 
 — neither too fat nor too thin. 
 
 If yon do not want to take the trouble to mix this for yourself, 
 yon can go to any of the poultry supply houses and buy the food 
 already mixed. This food when put up by reliable firms is what is 
 called the "balanced ration" — that is. it contains the elements of 
 the egg — and when the hens are fed this they simply cannot help 
 laying. They are egg machines which turn the properly balanced 
 ration into eggs. 
 
THE MOULTING SEASON 
 
 The moult with hens in the natural state lasts from sixty to 
 a hundred days, but with some hens, especially with hens that have 
 hard, close-growing feathers, the moult and the results of it will 
 sometimes last over a hundred and fifty days ; in fact I have known 
 of some that went six months without laying any eggs. Too long 
 to spend half a year dressmaking. Think of the loss to their 
 owners! I did not wonder at the man who told me of it, saying 
 that he just turned them out and "let the blamed things rustle 
 for themselves," but I thought if he had helped them "rustle" 
 perhaps they would not have been so long about it. 
 
 Let us consult Nature as you know I am very fond of doing. 
 After the wild bird has raised her young and her responsibilities 
 are somewhat over, she moults. The older she is the longer and 
 slower is the process of dropping her feathers and growing them 
 again, because as she ages her vitality is gradually lessening. It is 
 the same with hens; the older a hen becomes the longer will be 
 the period of the moult, and not only that but the later will it com- 
 mence. Let us again turn to Nature and in this copy her. We 
 want the old hens, if we keep them at all, to be the parents of our 
 young next spring and we are only keeping them over for a certain 
 reason (or for sentiment), as they have, perhaps, proved them- 
 selves to be our very best layers, or as the parents of our prize win- 
 ners, or may be prize winners themselves and therefore we want 
 their offspring in the hopes of perpetuating these excellent traits. 
 
 The Starving Process 
 
 How shall we help these elderly hens to get quickly through the 
 moult? Some years ago I read of a man in New York State, who 
 claimed he could make his hens moult at any time of the year and 
 therefore he could also, by controlling the moult, make his hens 
 lay at any time of the year. His plan was to starve the hens 
 and so stop their laying and when they had stopped for a week or 
 two he fed them highly with fattening food. This he said made 
 them moult and drop their feathers very quickly so that in a few 
 days the hens would be almost nude and the new feathers would 
 come in very rapidly. His theory was that when hens sit for three 
 weeks on eggs and raise a brood of chickens they moult quickly 
 because they grow thin during incubation, and when they have the 
 rich feed which is given to the little chicks, it makes them shed 
 their feathers and assists the moult. 
 
 His theory sounded very plausible and I decided if he could do 
 it I could also and tried. I discovered the New Yorker was only 
 partly right in his deductions and that it does not pay to force 
 Nature out of season. 
 
 The following year I was much more successful for I only 
 attempted to "assist" Nature and not to "force" her. I did not try 
 to make the hens moult in June, but waited till nearer to the nat- 
 ural time of the moult, that is, until August. I then put the hens 
 
102 MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 on green food. I know that is hard to get at that time but I had 
 lawn cHppings, vegetables and melons, or even alfalfa hay cut in 
 the clover cutter and soaked for some hours in water, and I dis- 
 pensed with all the grain and meat. I kept them on this green food 
 for about three weeks until their avoirdupois was considerably 
 lower and most of them had stopped laying for a week. 
 
 Dipping Fowls 
 
 ]\Ieanwhile during their fast I saw^ that they w^ere entirely clean 
 from lice, either by keeping them well dusted with insect powder 
 or by giving them a good warm bath in warm soap suds, rinsing 
 them in a two per cent solution of carbolic acid or water and creolin 
 or the kerosene emulsion. I have tried all of these with good 
 success. 
 
 This washing seems to loosen the feathers and will clean the 
 fowls of lice. If lice are left on the fowls at moulting time they eat 
 little holes in the tender sprouting feathers and these little holes in 
 the web of the feather wall certainly bring a "cut" from the judge 
 in the show-room, and for the whole year will tell the tale of care- 
 less handling by the owners. In washing or dipping fowls for lice 
 there are two things to be remembered : First, do it on a bright, 
 warm, sunny morning, so the fowls will have time to get thor- 
 oughly dry before sundown, and, secondly, see that every feather 
 is thoroughly soaked. If you skip a feather a louse will take refuge 
 on it and commence to breed again as soon as the hen is dry. If 
 there are any lice the disinfectant in the bath will kill them and 
 the w arm suds also loosens the nits of the head lice. Those lice lay 
 two silvery, white nits at the shaft of the feather and it is difficult 
 to get them off. 
 
 ]\Iature hens which are fed sparingly for about two w'eeks and 
 then receive a rich nitrogenous ration, moult more rapidly and with 
 more uniformity and enter the cold weather of winter in better con- 
 dition than the fowls fed continuously during the moulting period 
 on an egg-producing ration. 
 
 What to Feed 
 It is largeh' a question of what not to feed as well as how little 
 to give the birds you wish to moult early. There is one line of 
 foods that you may feed in unlimited quantities, and that is the 
 g^reen vegetable, the waste, small beets and thinnings of the garden 
 rows can be supplied every day. My own plan in the days when 
 I had small ungrassed yards, was to give full quantities of lawn 
 clippings, putting them into the yards an hour before dark. This 
 gave the birds time to fill up at night and yet the uneaten clippings 
 would be still fresh in the early morning. If you have had no 
 experience in the use of lawn grass you will be surprised to see 
 how much a few hens will eat. If your hens have very large yards 
 with fruit trees to supply some falling apples or pears, the birds 
 will do very well without other food. \\'e are inclined to over feed 
 our birds with grain in the warm weather and. unless the food is 
 really much less than usual, you will fail in getting an early moult. 
 
THE MOULTING SEASON' 103 
 
 This low feeding or starving process as it is called by many, 
 is the important factor in the forced moult. Unless you really do 
 this in good shape the birds will continue to lay and will shed their 
 feathers in mid-autumn. 
 
 Handle your birds on the roost to test their weight. They must 
 be thin in body, yet good in color of comb and wattles. I find that 
 birds take from fourteen to twenty-one days to get real thin. You 
 will notice as you put this plan into practice that the egg yield will 
 drop off until no eggs are being layed ; that the birds are on the run 
 all the day long, coming to meet you at any point of the fence you 
 may approach. The birds show that they miss some of their usual 
 food. This thinning will do no harm to the birds ; in fact it adds 
 to the health of the birds for months to come. 
 
 The Full Ration 
 
 When the birds have lost all superflous flesh, when the eggs 
 have ceased to appear for a week, feed them good, full rations of 
 growing foods. Now is when you add meat, beef scraps, green 
 bone, cornmeal, and linseed meal. You can give them a morning 
 meal of two parts cornmeal ; three parts bran, one part beef scrap. 
 At noon feed a small handful of wheat or barley to every bird and 
 at night a full feed of wheat or corn. Do not neglect to furnish full 
 supplies of green food and vegetables all the fall. 
 
 The change from the low feed to the full rations will be followed 
 by the rapid dropping of feathers. The feathers will fall off all over 
 the birds so that many of them will be almost naked. This result 
 will be seen in most of the birds. A few will fail to respond, more 
 if you do not follow the plan as outlined. 
 
 Keep the full feed up until the birds get the new coat of feathers 
 and begin to lay a few eggs. Then feed them as you do the fully 
 mature pullets ; avoid feeding of heating foods (corn and corn pro- 
 ducts) lest you start another moult in the late autumn. 
 
 The forced moult is ONLY FOR MATURED FOWLS, or 
 fowls that are over a year old. You must not starve the pullets. 
 You must keep them growing. They will stand more heating food 
 than hens. Let the pullets do most of your winter laying, but do 
 not neglect anything that will induce the older birds to give you a 
 good share in the profits of winter eggs. 
 
 To sum up the whole matter in a few words, if you want to has- 
 ten the moult, do not try the experiment with all your fowls, but 
 take a few, separate them from the others and about the middle 
 or end of August, commence to shorten their food. You can do this 
 suddenly, giving them only green food and all the green feed they 
 want. Secondly, keep this green feed up for two or three weeks, 
 or at least one week after they have stopped laying. Thirdly, the 
 green food should be clover, lawn-clippings, alfalfa hay cut in a 
 clover cutter and soaked in water ; beet tops, cabbage, lettuce, etc. 
 Fourthly, after the three weeks' fast, feed rich food, fattening food, 
 sunflower seeds, kaffir corn, wheat, barley, oats and meat. Fifthly, 
 when they begin to lay on this food, which they will do in about a 
 
104 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 month when they have completed their coat, gradually change the 
 food, taking" away the corn and its products, and the linseed meal, 
 and anything" that would be very fattening. 
 
 Color of Feathers and Skin 
 
 The feeding of the fattening foods adds heat to the body, fever 
 our grandmothers called it, and this fever seems to loosen the 
 feathers all at once — just what we want — and they fall so quickly 
 that the hens are almost nude. Then is the time for care in feeding 
 if you have exhibition stock, for I am certain color can be greatly 
 controlled by food. 
 
 Now, I know by my own experience that yellow corn will give 
 yellow^ feathers (brassy feathers) to white fowls when freely fed ; 
 that cottonseed meal will have the same effect, for that is what we 
 add to the fattening food the last week to give the yellow tint to 
 the skin. I know that iron in the drinking" water has the same effect 
 with white fowls, ^\'ith colored fowls, such as Brown Leghorns 
 or Partridge fowls or Buff's the iron and the corn will intensify and 
 make more brilliant and bright their colors. 
 
 The fowls that are making" their new coats, the coats that have 
 to last the hens a year, all need i)lenty of green food and grain. The 
 white fowls instead of yellow corn, should have oats, hulled oats 
 are best, but if you cannot get hulled oats, soak the oats in scalding 
 water so the hulls will be softened. Hulled oats may appear to be 
 more expensive than the unhulled, but there is so much waste, so 
 much indigestible fiber in the unhulled oats, that I decided that it 
 was more profitable to feed the hulled oats. For those who are 
 feeding cockerels which they want to exhibit in the winter ; for 
 the white or black and white, give them shade, plenty of shade, 
 for our California sun will draw out the yellow ; cut off all the 
 yellow corn and all cottonseed meal ; feed oats, wheat, barley, grit, 
 charcoal and have granulated bone always before them. For the 
 colored fowls add linseed meal to the ration. It will deepen and 
 hriHitcn the colors. 
 
VALUE OF ECONOMY 
 
 The old saying "a penny saved is a penny earned" may well 
 apply to the poultry business. To make money in the business, one 
 must practice economy in every direction. 
 
 Economy in Grain 
 
 First: Economy in buying the food. This is very important. 
 The available grains vary in different places in price ; in some 
 localities, for instance, barley is cheaper than wheat, then utilize 
 barley; that is to say if there is a decided difference in the cost, 
 remembering that barley has a husk on it, which is indigestible 
 fiber, and that fowls do not like it as well as wheat, although they 
 eat it readily if rolled, or soaked or sprouted, and the analysis shows 
 the same nutritive ratio as wheat. Again in some places, oats can 
 be obtained very cheaply, and these are a most valuable grain for 
 feeding and building up large, sturdy frames in the young fowls, 
 promoting egg laying and inducing fertility in the eggs. I have 
 great faith in oats — it is good for man, beast and bird, but the husk 
 is the difficulty there. The oats should be scalded or clipped, or 
 better still, hulled to make them thoroughly available. In Oregon 
 and Washington, oats are less expensive than in the south, and 
 therefore should be freely used there. By commencing the use 
 of them early, the chicks will be vigorous and of large frame. 
 
 Then again rice, rice hulls and rice bran are cheap in certain 
 localities, such as in San Francisco and Seattle, where large cpianti- 
 ties are imported and cleaned, and these can be had very cheaply 
 and utilized either in the dry or wet mash. In other places where 
 beans and peas are grown in cjuantities, the refuse of these, which 
 is not worth marketing, can be used most advantageously. 
 
 Broom corn seed is a most excellent food and costs very little. 
 I had in Oklahoma many tons of this, to which the fowls had free 
 access and with green growing winter wheat, a little milk and table 
 scraps, they layed all through the moult and through the winter, 
 notwithstanding the blizzards and zero weather. Nothing seemed 
 to stop their laying, and I attributed it to the broom-corn seed. 
 Sorghum seed is equally good. 
 
 Another little economy I found quite good among the little 
 chickens was buying dry or stale bread from the bakeries at 25c 
 a sack weighing 25 pounds. This I took home, cut same in slices 
 and dried in the sun or in the oven, ground in the grist mill and 
 used either moistened or dry, for chickens, turkeys and ducks. 
 
 Economy in Vegetables 
 
 Then, again, there are the various vegetables, many of which can 
 be had for almost nothing. There are "small potatoes." It gener- 
 ally raises a smile to talk of these, but they make a most excellent 
 addition and variety to the fowls' bill of fare. Small raw potatoes 
 can be chopped up in the chopping bowl in a few minutes, also tur- 
 nips, carrots and onions, and the outer leaves of cabbage, cauli- 
 
U)(> MRS UASl.KYS WESTERN FOULTRY BOOK 
 
 iknvor or oolorv. 1 bought the hirgest chopping, or butter bowl, 1 
 couki luul. and a double bladed chopping knife, and used it every 
 dav, especially lor the little chickens and turkeys. Small potatoes, 
 turnips and carrots can be boiled, mashed, mixed with bran and 
 blood-meal, or with milk, and make a good variety in the diet. If 
 you have other vegetables to spare, such as beets, cucumbers, 
 pumpkins, etc., and tind the fowls do not at lirst like them, chop 
 some up and mix bran with them and soon the hens will acquire 
 a liking for them. 
 
 Another economy is using the leaves which fall from alfulfa hay. 
 W hen the hay-mow begins to get empty, sweep up the leaves and 
 put them in a box or sack to mix in either the dry or wet mash. 1 
 used to try to keep the last two bales of the alfalfa hay, as the balers 
 would sweep up the leaves and put them in these last two and this 
 was just what I wanted for my hens. Sometimes I soaked the 
 leaves and fed them at noon, keeping ilie alfalfa tea to mix in the 
 mash with potatoes and bran or whatever I was feeding. I ahvays 
 said the alfalfa tea was as good as beef tea. There are many ways 
 of economizing in the feed. 
 
 Economy in Labor 
 Another thing to economize is labor. I know many a farmer's 
 busy wife will agree with me in this. I found the dry feed a great 
 saving of time and strength. It was much less labor to carry around 
 to my many pens of fowls, buckets full of dry food nicely mixed in 
 the proper proportions and pour it into a box, or trough or hopper 
 and let the hens eat it dry, instead of laboriously mixing it with 
 water. Before trying the dry feed, I had so many hens that I had 
 a large trough made, like a plasterer's trough, and I used to mix 
 and uirn the mash with a spade or hoe and then till those large 
 buckets full and put them on a child's express w agon to pull out to 
 the pens. This was quite hard work and I hailed with joy the 
 easier task of carrying the lighter buckets of dry food. I found, too, 
 that it saved time to mix up the food by the sackful or binful ; then 
 all that was required was to dip up a bucketful for each pen. I 
 showed this plan to a friend of mine and later had a letter from her 
 telling me it was a great comfort, for all she had to do was to send 
 her lap boy out to that certain box or bin and tell him to feed that : 
 she knew he could not make a mistake for it was ready mixed. 
 
 Economy in Water 
 
 Another economy : Have a w ater faucet in each pen. This may 
 seem like an expense at tirst. but it will pay in the end. for fresh 
 water is as important as good food, and if it requires but a turn of 
 the faucet the hens are sure to be amply supplied. At one ranch 
 where there was an abundance of water. I saw a small fountain 
 which ran into a basin and that in turn overflowed into some cobble- 
 stones and a drain, so that the hens had always fresh water with- 
 out drawing on either the strength or time of their owner. 
 
 1 would, however, caution chicken raisers against allowing the 
 
VALUIt OF ECONOMY 107 
 
 water to run in a stream from pen to pen, as tliat may carry infec- 
 tion, especially the infection of colds and roup. One j^entleman 
 who had 3000 fowls told me that letting the water run in a small 
 stream through his pens, had ruined him in the chicken business. 
 One pen at the top of the hill got roup, and the infection was carried 
 through to all of them. In Kansas one of the worst outbreaks of 
 chicken cholera came from a creek. All the farms on that creek 
 lost all, or nearly all their chickens, from drinking contaminated 
 water. A faucet in every yard would be cheaper in the end than an 
 outbreak of roup or cholera. 
 
 Economy in Fencing 
 
 Economy in fencing came in very handily one summer. I found 
 I could make a very good temporary chicken-wire fence with posts 
 50 feet apart by "darning" in a lath every eight feet or so, passing 
 the lath in and out of the wire meshes before putting up the wire. 
 This keeps the wire stretched and when taken down it can simply 
 be rolled up and used over and over again, keeping the lath in it 
 ready for the next time. I found chicken-wire and lath quite an 
 economy. I made cat and hawk-proof little pens of this. fJought 
 a bundle of six-foot lath, some two-foot chicken-wire and made 
 most useful little panels six feet long with the laths, stretching the 
 chicken wire on them and tacking it down with two-pointed tacks. 
 I wired or tied the panels at the corners and had a larger panel go 
 over the top made of six-foot wire. I did not have to kill any cats 
 or have fusses with the neighbors. The little panels were untied 
 and piled up for the winter time and put in the barn, coming out 
 almost as good as new the next season. They were cheap, light, 
 easily handled and very satisfactory. 
 
 Beware of Spoiled Food 
 
 It is poor economy to buy spoiled grain of any kind. The best is 
 none too good, and anything that is spoiled is very apt to bring in 
 disease. Wheat or any grain that has been moistened will develop 
 fungoid growth ; smutty wheat, etc., is almost poisonous to fowls, 
 while, of course, we know that there is no grain that so nearly 
 approaches the analysis of an egg as does wheat, when it is good. 
 Corn, likewise, if it has been dampened, will commence to ferment 
 and that will disagree with fowls. At one time there was a fire at 
 a flour mill in Los Angeles. A great deal of the spoiled wheat was 
 sold for chicken feed. "Anything was good enough for chickens," 
 was the cry, and hundreds of chickens lost their lives from that 
 wheat. The owners of the fowls thought it was chemicals that had 
 been used in suppressing the fire, but it was nothing but water, 
 some of the firemen told me, that had been used for extinguishing 
 the fire. The dampened wheat became musty and mouldy and it 
 was that which killed the chickens. Again in using beef scraps, 
 meat meal, blood meal or animal meal, be careful to buy the Ijest 
 you can get, and keep it carefully away from any dampness. 
 Dampened or spoilt animal food is poisonous to the chickens and 
 
108 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 many a fowl has died from ptomaine poisoning from using spoiled 
 animal food. One of the greatest economies is to buy in large 
 qtiantities. 
 
 Most Suitable Green Foods 
 
 W liilst \vc arc du the subject oi economy we must not forget the 
 two green foods that are the most suitable for fowls — clover and 
 alfalfa. 
 
 Let those who are living on a town lot have a clover lawn; 
 clover retjuires less water than blue-grass or any lawn grass in this 
 climate, and is easily grown when once it is properly started. The 
 lawn clippings are just the right length for green food and if neces- 
 sary, the hens can be turned out on to the lawn two hours before 
 sunset, and will then busy themselves nipping otT the clover leaves ; 
 they will not have time or inclination to do damage by scratching. 
 A run on the lawn before bedtime is a wonderful tonic for chickens 
 that are yarded closely all the day. 
 
 Every farm should have an alfalfa patch, if not a good big 
 field of alfalfa, and no chicken ranch is complete without one, for 
 the youngsters should have a good alfalfa run to properly develop 
 them. 
 
 Alfalfa is a legume : is rich in nitrogen and enriches the land 
 upon which it is grown. It is the best green feed next to clover 
 for the hens or cows, and the hens love it. It is equally good for 
 ducks and turkeys. The question of economy of labor is a very 
 serious matter in poultry raising, and by having a good alfalfa 
 patch upon which the hens may be turned several hours daily, the 
 labor of cutting and preparing green food for them is eliminated 
 and will prove a great economy. 
 
 Hens that have an abundance of alfalfa will lay eggs with very 
 rich colored yolks and these eggs are usually fertile and produce 
 healthy, vigorous offspring. An alfalfa range insures health, a good 
 digestion and to growing chicks, a large frame. In buying a chicken 
 ranch, one of the important questions is "will the land* grow 
 alfalfa?" Is there sufficient water to raise a good crop of alfalfa? 
 
 Alfalfa meal, or as it is sometimes called. Calfalfa. has been suc- 
 cessfully used for hens. This is alfalfa hay ground up finely to 
 form a meal. I have used tliis for several years and I find it some- 
 times good and sometimes bad. The analysis of it made by the 
 University of California shows the protein content to be very high, 
 and the nutritive ratio to be 1 :3.3. This is the good meal. The 
 poor meal contains too much fiber, and, as Prof. Rice of Cornell 
 University remarked. "It was better for stuffing a bed than a hen." 
 It all depends upon the quality of the alfalfa. Sometimes it is left 
 until it is too old or is not properly cured, and is almost valueless ; 
 at other times it may have been dampened and become musty. 
 When this is the case, it will disagree with the fowls and give them 
 diarrhoea. To test it pour boiling water upon it and if it smells 
 sweet, like iiay, it is all right. If there is a musty, mildewy smell, 
 discard it. 
 
PRESERVING EGGS 
 
 Of twenty methods of preserving eggs tested in Germany, the 
 three which proved the most effective were coating the eggs with 
 vaseline, preserving them in lime water, and preserving them in 
 water-glass. The conclusion 'was reached that the last was prefer- 
 able, because varnishing the eggs wdth vaseline takes considerable 
 time and treating them with the lime water may give them a dis- 
 agreeable taste. These drawbacks are not to be found with eggs 
 preserved in water-glass, which unquestionably is the best pre- 
 servative yet discovered. The most difficult point probably in the 
 use of water-glass for preserving eggs is its tendency to vary 
 in quality. As a matter of fact there are two or three kinds of 
 water-glass, and in addition to the fact that the buyer does not al- 
 ways have a distinct idea as to what he wants, the loca^l druggist 
 may not know all about it, or he may not know which kind is best 
 for preservative purposes. The main use of these preparations for 
 years has been the rendering of fabrics non-inflammable. This use 
 in the Royal Theatre of Munich has rendered the place fire-proof 
 by its use as a varnish in the fresco work, woodwork, scenery and 
 curtains. It is also used for hardening stone and protecting it from 
 the action of the weather. It was thus used many years ago, to ar- 
 rest the decay of the stones in the British Houses of Parliament. 
 The use of this medium for egg preservation is comparatively new, 
 especially in this country, and it is not to be wondered at that 
 dealers do not always supply just what is wanted. 
 
 Different Names for Water Glass 
 
 If we used the term soluble glass or "dissolved glass" in prefer- 
 ence to either water-glass or silicate of soda, it might better de- 
 scribe just what we want, although one of the other names might 
 be preferable when ordering of the druggist. This term expresses 
 exactly what the material is. When we. buy it by the pint or quart, 
 we get dissolved glass. When we buy it dry, we get a soluble glass 
 powder sometimes like powdered stone, sometimes white and 
 'glassy as to its particles. The powdered forms are supposed to 
 dissolve in boiling water, but they do not dissolve readily, and must 
 often be kept boiling for some hours. 
 
 Water-glass is made by melting together pure quartz and a caus- 
 tic alkali, soda or potash, and sometimes a little charcoal. 
 
 Several of our Experiment Stations have made some rather ex- 
 haustive experiments with this dissolved glass in preserving eggs. 
 The reports are, without exception, in favor of it. No other pre- 
 servative is reported as being equal to this one. The stuff' is invari- 
 ably described as a thick or jelly-like liquid, and the proportions 
 recommended are one pint of the silicate of soda to nine pints of 
 water, although the Rhode Island Station reports experiments in 
 which as low as two per cent of water-glass was used with favor- 
 able results. This is done to find out how little could be used, but 
 
110 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 this small proi)ortion was not recommended. Further trials may 
 show that less than nine to one may be reliable. 
 
 Directions for Use 
 
 The directions for use are : Use pure water which has been 
 thoroughly boiled and cooled. To each nine quarts of this water 
 add one quart of water-glass. Pack the eggs in the jar and pour 
 the solutions over them. The solution may be prepared, placed in 
 the jar and fresh eggs added from time to time until the jar is filled, 
 but care must be used to keep fully two inches of water-glass solu- 
 tion to cover the eggs. Keep the eggs in a cool place and the jar 
 covered to prevent evaporation. A cool cellar is a good place in 
 which to keep the eggs. 
 
 If the eggs be kept in a too warm place the silicate will be 
 deposited and the eggs will not be properly protected. Do not wash 
 the eggs before i)acking, for by so doing you will injure their keep- 
 ing qualities. Probably by dissolving the mucilaginous coating on 
 the outside of the shell. For packing use only perfectly fresh eggs, 
 for eggs that have already become stale cannot be preserved by 
 this or any other method, and one stale egg may spoil the whole 
 batch. 
 
 I can speak from my own experience, for I have packed eggs in 
 it for five years and shall do so again. We are fond of fresh eggs 
 and use a great many, and I find it most convenient to have a jar 
 or crock full of nice eggs always on' hand. I have kept them my- 
 self for eiglit months and have no doubt but that I could have pre- 
 served them still longer had we not eaten them, for I found them 
 to all appearances as fresh as if not over a week old. It costs about 
 ly2 cents per dozen to preserve them. 
 
 The Kind of Vessels for Packing 
 
 Prof. Ladd, of the North Dakota Agricultural Station, spoke of 
 receiving a few complaints that barrels were not proving satisfac- 
 tory, the water-glass appearing to dissolve some product which de- 
 posited on the eggs. He thinks this might be attributed to the 
 presence of glue, which had been used as sizing for the barrels. In 
 such instances, charring the barrel inside with thorough washing 
 thereafter, is recommended. Altogether the preference seems to 
 be for glass or stoneware vessels. 
 
 Prof. Ladd's statement as to the satisfactory results of the water- 
 glass method is very strong. He says : "This method has been 
 tested in a commercial way, in nearly every state and part of our 
 country, and we have not had to exceed eight adverse reports." 
 One of the stations affirm that the failures reported are probably 
 due to receiving water-glass of poor quality. 
 
 It is also stated that these, like all preserved eggs, contain a 
 little gas, and, when boiled, they will be likely to burst unless previ- 
 ously pricked through the shell at the large end. 
 
 As the entire processes of preservation are an effort to fence out 
 germs, the recommendation not to wash off the mucilaginous coat- 
 ing which nature puts on the eggs, and also to use only boiled 
 
PRESERVING EGGS 111 
 
 water, appear very logical. When we know just what we are aim- 
 ing at, we are less likely to omit the little precautions which other- 
 wise might seem like the whims of some fussy person. Too many 
 people skip the essentials when trying to follow a formula. 
 
 I have kept the eggs in tin receptacles, five-gallon kerosene oil 
 cans, and large lard pails. These kept the eggs perfectly, but after 
 a time the water and silica of soda rusted them in spots and the red 
 rust formed a sediment on the eggs. This did not injure them as 
 far as I could see, except giving them a brownish tinge, and on 
 asking the druggist, he said he did not see why the tin should not 
 be used, as the silicate of soda comes from the East in tin cans. If 
 tin is used, it is best not to paint the cans or oil them, as the soda 
 has an affinity for oil and will eat through it and the oil or grease 
 may impart a disagreeable flavor to the eggs. Remember the eggs 
 must be absolutely fresh, for one bad egg may spoil the whole 
 quantity in the receptable. 
 
 Preserving in Lime 
 
 The process of keeping them in lime-water is as follows : Slack 
 four pounds of lime, then add four pounds of salt; add eight gal- 
 lons of water. Stir and leave to settle. The next day stir again. 
 After the mixture has settled the second time, draw ofif the clear 
 liquid. Take two ounces each of baldng soda, cream of tartar, salt 
 petre, and a little alum. Pulverize and mix; dissolve in two quarts 
 of boiling water. Add this to the lime water. Put the eggs in a 
 stone jar, small end down, one layer on top of another, and pour 
 on the solution. Set the jar away in a cool place. This method is 
 quite satisfactory, but not so good as the water-glass as the eggs 
 are liable to taste of the lime. 
 
CAPONS 
 
 "Does Caponizing Pay?'' We will consider the matter fully 
 and from different points of view. 
 
 In riiiladelphia and New York, in London and Paris, capons are 
 considered a great delicacy, and as we, in California, become more 
 metropolitan, capons will be more and more in demand. Eleven or 
 twelve years ago when I had capons for sale I could not get more 
 per pound for them than for the uncaponized fowls, as the An- 
 gelenos had not been educated in taste to the excellency of capon 
 meat. 
 
 Capons are undoubtedly a more delicious dish at a year old than 
 an uncaponized male bird of the same age. I had been led to sup- 
 pose that a capon would be immensely heavier and larger than an 
 uncaponized bird of the same age. This I found was not the case, 
 the capons being rarely more than from half a povmd to a pound 
 heavier, if at all. My chief reason for caponizing was the desire to 
 train capons for foster mothers of chicks. I wanted mothers that 
 would not commence to lay as my hens did when chickens were 
 two, or at most, three weeks old and then desert them. In this I 
 was thoroughly successful. The trained capon will mother chicks 
 just as long as the chicks wall stay with him, and after a little rest 
 will take another brood and mother it again, clucking to the chicks, 
 feeding them, defending them, hovering them better than the hen. 
 
 "Does caponizing pay?" Careful experiments have proved that 
 the increase in weight is by no means so great as the public has 
 been led to believe. It takes capons at least a month to sufficiently 
 recover from the operation to catch up with their former mates in 
 size and when they come to a marketable age they seldom weigh 
 a pound more than the uncaponized birds of the same breed and 
 age. The gain, however, in price is in their favor for it about 
 doubles that of the other. This sounds like a strong argument on 
 the side of the capon, but again the cost of production is an essen- 
 tial factor in the study of the question. It will cost as much to pro- 
 duce a ten-pound capon as to produce three or four young chicks 
 of the same combined weight ; in fact with food at the present price 
 I really think it will cost more. 
 
 "Does caponizing pay?" I knew a lady about three years ago 
 who sold four capons for sixteen dollars. She was so much en- 
 couraged by this, for they averaged 38 cents a pound, that the fol- 
 lowing season she drove around the country buying up little cock- 
 erels and caponizing them. She was very successful in operat- 
 ing, rarely losing any, but as she only stayed in the business one 
 year. I think she did not consider it very remunerative. 
 
 Easy to Leam 
 The art of caponizing is simple and easy to learn. In France 
 the farmers' wives and daughters have done the caponizing for cen- 
 turies and practically without instruments except a sharp knife. 
 In this country and age, we can Iniy a case of the best instruments. 
 
CAPONS 113 
 
 with full instructions for use, at a low cost, and the Agricultural sta- 
 tions of some states give free demonstration lessons to anyone 
 within the state. The "Rhode Island College gives lessons in capon- 
 izing in connection with its poultry course and also sends out, free, 
 a book of instructions. By following these instructions and ex- 
 perimenting for the first time on a dead chicken, any one that is deft 
 can learn it. The operation is performed with apparently little pain 
 to the subject and the minute the bird is released it will eat heartily 
 and walk around as if nothing had occurred. 
 
 In foreign countries the art of caponizing has been known and 
 practiced for ages, yet it is not so common nor are capons so plenti- 
 ful but that prices rule high and capons are considered the choicest 
 of viands and above the reach of any except the rich. In this 
 blessed country there is no reason why the producers of poultry 
 should not feast upon capons, besides having the satisfaction of 
 producing and marketing strictly high class poultry. 
 
 Favorite Breeds for Capons 
 
 In New England the favorite breeds for caponizing are the Light 
 Brahmas and the Cochin and Brahma crosses. They are chosen on 
 account of their large size and slow growth to maturity. The Ply- 
 mouth Rocks follow, together with the Orpingtons and Wyan- 
 dottes. The smaller breeds make, of course, much smaller capons, 
 still they are popular in small families where large size is not re- 
 quired. I have personally caponized only my White Plymouth 
 Rocks. Nothing could be better than capons of this breed. /\t 
 nine or ten months of age they are in their prime and the juiciness 
 and flavor of their flesh is superb. 
 
 Among the advantages of caponizing are, the birds may be kept 
 together in large numbers, will not cjuarrel or fight, will not harass 
 the hens and pullets, will not misuse the little chicks, bear crowd- 
 ing and take on flesh more rapidly than cockerels. They make, 
 when trained, most excellent mothers for little chickens, sheltering 
 them under their long feathers and great wings. 
 
 Best Time for Caponizing 
 
 The best time for caponizing is in the early fall, for the reason 
 that the heat of summer does not then retard recovery and also 
 because the late (June hatched) cockerels are then of the best size. 
 
 The best size is from two and a half to three pounds weight and 
 this would be about the weight of June hatched chickens of the 
 American breeds which if caponized in September will be well 
 grown and in good shape for marketing in Alarch, the time of the 
 highest prices. 
 
 It is to the farmers, however, that the recommendation to capon- 
 ize their cockerels for the family table should appeal most strongly 
 for they are the class that would be most benefited by having good 
 capons to ea<. It is a simple task to caponize forty or fifty birds 
 and by that simple method a farm.er can provide his family with 
 dinners which will be the envy of his less fortunate friends. 
 
114 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 The question, "Does caponizing pay?" may be answered, "Sonic- 
 times it does and sometimes it does not." 
 
 Capons as Brooders 
 
 Capons make excellent mothers when trained to it. Some breeds 
 would probably make more affectionate and attentive foster mothers 
 than others. I can personally answer for the Cornish Indian Games 
 and Plymouth Rocks. I have also seen beautiful Brown Le.s^horn 
 capons that had raised several broods of chickens. Cockerels 
 hatched in November, December and January, make excellent ca- 
 pons for brooding". They should be caponized at about three months 
 of age. Should be gently handled and never frightened, when they 
 will become perfectly tame. The capon with its changed nature is 
 even more timid than a hen or pullet, and for this reason should be 
 separated from any of the older fowls and kindly treated. 
 
 Capons should be trained at the age of about six months. They 
 are easier to train at this age than at any other time, generally, but 
 I have trained them at ten months of age. To train them, I keep 
 the bird in solitary confinement for a few days, placing him in a 
 cracker box ; place water, grit and sand in the box the same as 
 though preparing for a hen and her brood. After tw^o or three soli- 
 tary nights and days I put two little chicks under him at night ; they 
 snuggle up under him, and he is quite glad to have the little fel- 
 lows for company. The next morning he will look a little surprised 
 perhaps, but usually takes them immediately, and soon begins to 
 cluck to them like an old hen. The following evening I put as 
 many as I intend him to care for under him, and before going to bed 
 at night, see that all the little fellows are under his sheltering 
 feathers. My object in using a cracker box is that it is about the 
 proper height to make it uncomfortable for the capon to stand up- 
 right and he will sit for comfort ; the little chicks get closer and make 
 friends quicker, and have an opportunity to nestle under the capon 
 as they would a hen. This training should be done in pleasant 
 weather, because the chicks will not be hovered at first as well by 
 the capon as the hen, and I use only a few chicks the first time, 
 because a young capon with his first brood does not hover them 
 like a trained one. 
 
 The Whiskey Treatment 
 
 Hen-hatched chicks take to a capon without any trouble, but 
 chicks which have been several days in a brooder seem afraid of 
 the capon, and instead of running to him to be hovered, huddle in a 
 corner, so it is best to put them straight from the incubator under 
 the capon. A writer on this subject says : "Should one of the 
 capons pick the chicks I w'ould take him out of the box and swing 
 him around in a verticle circle at arms' length until he was sick, 
 then put him back again. If he attempts the same thing again, I 
 take a small glass syringe and inject about one tablespoonful of 
 good whiskey into his crop through his mouth, and after this treat- 
 ment he is pretty sure to take to the chicks. He becomes so docile 
 
CAPONS lis 
 
 that he allows the chicks to pick at his face and will not pick back 
 at them. When you notice this, you can rest assured that he is (mi 
 the right road." 
 
 I have never tried the whiskey treatment, and have never had 
 any difficulty in training a capon. Capons have proved far superior 
 to hens in brooding chicks, in fact they excel all other methods, 
 cither natural or artificial. The hen, especially "bred-to-lay" strain, 
 deserts her brood at too early an age, and some hens, especially 
 the pullets, with a first brood, are often very stupid at caring for 
 them. I have known a pullet to hover her chicks in a thunder 
 storm in a gully where the water rushed until they were nearly all 
 drowned. Pullets do not seem to have sense enough to "come in 
 out of the rain," while a good capon, when once he has been taught 
 his way home, will bring the little ones to shelter without any 
 trouble. The capon will defend his little brood most vigorously 
 against cats, dogs or any animal. He seems to develop all the latent 
 parental affection and lavishes it on his young charges as if his one 
 and only object in life was to care for them. 
 
 When Changing Broods 
 
 When the chicks are old enough to take care of themselves, be- 
 fore entrusting another brood to his care, he should have a rest of 
 at least two weeks, especially if the next brood is to be of another 
 color. During the two weeks' rest he will forget the color of the 
 chicks he had and will not be so apt to object to the ,new ones. 
 We all know that hens will sometimes object to chicks of a different 
 color and will oftentimes kill them. When once trained, a capon is 
 very little trouble and will care for brood after brood without any 
 more training than I have mentioned. Capons can be kept over 
 several seasons. I have heard of some being used for eight years, 
 but mine were usually fattened and made a toothsome dish after 
 two years' service. 
 
 It is not difficult to learn how to caponize. The tools or instru- 
 ments necessary are to be found at the poultry supply houses. The 
 price for a set of instruments is from $2.50 to about $4.00, largely 
 depending upon the case in which they are contained. The poultry 
 supply houses have books of instruction for caponizing, and at 
 some of them you can learn the names of persons who, for a small 
 sum, will caponize for others. It would be a good plan for several 
 neighbors to join together and have the person caponize 50 or 100 
 in the same day. In this way, it would make the price lower. 
 
 Capons are not much larger than cockerels of the same breed 
 and age. The difference is in the table quality of the flesh. It is 
 juicier and more tender, just as steer beef is superior to any other 
 beef. 
 
TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 
 
 rurkoys have hooii called the ■"lanners" frieiul."" ami there is no 
 doubt that turkey raising" on a small scale is more profitable than 
 any other branch of the poultry industry and that turkeys will 
 bring" larger cash returns than any other stock upon tlie farm. 
 They cost very little to raise, they eat the waste grain in the fields 
 and barnyard, besides the seed of many harmful weeds. fhey 
 consume an immense number of grasshoppers, grubs, worm^ aTid 
 insects which would otherwise greatly injure the farmers' crops, 
 and they are not difficult to raise if they are not overfed. 
 
 One writer asks if chick feed is a proper and safe food fi~>r little 
 turkeys, and another requests me to tell her exactl} ho^v I feed 
 ami care for the little turkeys. 
 
 Chick food is neither a safe nor a proper food for little turkeys, 
 although it is a most excellent food for little chicks. In fact, you 
 may be sure of success when you feed it to chickens and failure if 
 \ ou feed it to turkeys. Later on I will try to explain this. 
 
 Now, as to ni}' way of rearing turkeys. I am glad to give it, be- 
 cause now I raise every turkey that is hatched, barring accidents, 
 as some will drown in the cows' trough and occasionally one or two 
 get stepped on, or the door blows on c^ne, or the puppy worries 
 another. None die from disease. 
 
 1 dc^ not pretend to say that mine is the only way. but 1 do say 
 that not only do I succeed in raising turkeys, but those who have 
 followed my directions were as successful as I have been, and 
 those that met with failure did not follow my plans. I have been 
 criticised as too fussy and particular about little details, but I think 
 it pays to take good care of the little things for a few weeks, for 
 turkeys arc delicate only when they are little, and if properly careil 
 for then will be strong ami hardy when they mature. 
 
 Grandmother's Recipe 
 
 At my grandmother's the recipe for feeding little turkeys was as 
 follows: "Leave them in the nest twenty-four hours or until the 
 mother turkey brings them off; then give them only coarse sand, 
 and water to drink. Meanwhile put some fresh eggs in cold water 
 to boil; let them boil for half an hour; then chop them up, egg- 
 shells and all. tjuite fine; add an equal amount of dry bread crumbs, 
 and always, always, some green food chopped up finely. " 
 
 Lettuce, dandelion or dock were the green footls at grandmoth- 
 er's, and the explanation given me was that if they are fed without 
 having green at every meal, they soon become constipated, then get 
 sick and die. The secret of her success was the tender green iood 
 and the grit, a pinch of coarse sand being sprinkled over the food 
 of each meal. As the little turkeys grew, a little crackeil wheat and 
 later whole wheat was added to their fooil. That was the only 
 grain given. This was grandmother's recijie for raising turkeys. 
 
TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 117 
 
 The way I feed and have fed for years is as follows : When the 
 little turkeys are twenty-four hours old I put freshly-laid eggs into 
 cold water an-d boil them for half an hour; chop them up fine, shell 
 and all; add equal parts of bread crumbs; feed dry, taking away 
 what they leave, feeding the mother separately. 
 
 The next day i feed the same, adding very finely chopped lettuce 
 or dandelion leaves or green young mustard leaves and tender 
 young onion tops. This is their breakfast and supper. For dinner 
 they have a little curd made from clabber milk, cottage cheese 
 some call it. In a few days I add cracked or whole wheat to their 
 supper, and if I am short of bread crumbs 1 add rolled breakfast 
 oats to the egg and bread crumbs, i always chop up an onion a 
 day with the egg, and bread crumbs unless the onion tops are 
 very young and tender. Onions are an excellent tonic for the liver 
 and kidneys, and prevent worms and cure colds ; so 1 use onions 
 freely both for turkeys and chickens. In a few days I commence 
 to add wheat to their food and at two weeks of age I gradually 
 arrive at giving them wheat and rolled oats for breakfast; in the 
 middle of the forenoon a head of lettuce to tear up and eat; at noon 
 cottage cheese, and about four or five o'clock their supper of egg, 
 bread crumbs or rolled oats, lettuce and always the chopped up 
 onion. 
 
 I give them clean water three times a day in a drinking fountain, 
 or if I have not a fountain I make cxie out of a tomato can. Make 
 a nail hole in the can about half an inch from the top, then fill the 
 can up to the hole with water, invert a saucer over it, and holding 
 the saucer tightly to it, turn it over quickly. This makes a good 
 fountain, for the water will come slowly out of the nail hole into 
 the saucer. I give the turkeys a similar fountain of skim milk, 
 also. A word about the cottage cheese. I am very particular in 
 making it not to allow the clabber milk to become hot. I use either 
 a thermometer, letting the heat only come to 98 degrees, or I keep 
 my finger in the milk, and as soon as it feels pleasantly warm I take 
 the milk ofif the fire, pour the curd into a cheese cloth bag and leave 
 it to drain. If the milk scalds or boils, the curd will be tough, hard 
 like rubber and indigestible enough to kill turkeys or chickens. 
 
 Overfed Little Ones 
 
 When I lived in the home of the wild turkey, Oklahoma and 
 Kansas, I learned much about the care of tame turkeys. There 
 "corn is king," but I was cautioned never to give corn to the young 
 turkeys until after they "sport the red." That is, until their heads 
 and wattles become red, which happens at about three months of 
 age. It was said that corn always sours on their stomachs. It 
 was there I heard of a man who brought up his turkeys on nothing 
 but onion tops, curd and grit, and they did well. 
 
 One of my experiences in the land of the wild turkey may serve 
 as a warning to others. I had a good old lUifif Cochin hen who 
 was mothering a brood o.f nice little turkeys. She was most as- 
 siduous in her care of them; she clucked to them all day; called 
 
118 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 them up to eat all the time, and it was surprising to see how those 
 little fellows grew, when one after another they began to droop 
 and die, till only one was left. The other turkeys under turkey 
 mothers were doing well, so 1 took the lone little one one night 
 and put him under a mother turkey out in the meadow and saved 
 his life. The old hen had overfed the others. Chicken hens are 
 too anxious to feed the little turkeys. They scratch for them, 
 coax them to eat, and the little turkeys are such greedy, voracious 
 little things that they overeat and in consequence die. I prefer 
 to bring up little turkeys under a turkey hen or even in a brooder, 
 rather than under a chicken hen. The best way of managing 
 a hen is to keep her in a coop, letting the little turkeys run out- 
 side or else tie the hen under a tree by her leg. I only feed the 
 little poults three times a day just wdiat they will eat up clean in 
 ten minutes. With a turkey hen I can leave wheat in a trough al- 
 ways accessible, and she will never overfeed the young. The turkey 
 mother will take a few mouthsful herself and then move slowly 
 and deliberately away and her babies will follow her, having only 
 taken one or two grains each. This is more like the nature of the 
 wild turkey and the nearer to nature one can keep in raising tur- 
 keys, the better will be our success. 
 
 Nature's wild turkeys arc only hatched in the spring when there 
 are grubs and worms in abundance, with plenty of green grass and 
 tender leaves and no grain birt what is sprouting, and above all. 
 Nature never mixes mashes to turn sour and ferment on the little 
 stomachs. The hard-boiled egg and the curd take the place of the 
 bugs and the grubs, for we cannot supply the turkey with anything 
 like the amount of grasshoppers, grubs, worms, larvae of insects 
 which Nature provides in the haunts of the wild turkeys. Another 
 lesson we may learn from Nature's book : Wild turkeys are only 
 to be found where there are springs and streams of pure water and 
 they never wander away from the water. Give the young turkeys 
 plenty of clean, pure water to drink. 
 
 There are two chief causes of mortality in little turkeys — lice 
 and over feeding. Before giving the little turkeys to the mother to 
 care for, dust them well with "buhach," and continue to do this once 
 a week until they are too large to handle. Look for lice on the 
 head and on the quill feathers of the wing and rub the powder 
 well into them. Lice and over-feeding kill thousands of little tur- 
 keys. Over-feeding kills more than lice, and if it does not kill them, 
 it stunts their growth, and unfortunately until they begin to die 
 at about six weeks of age, one scarcely realizes that they have been 
 over-fed. 
 
 Little turkeys have voracious appetites, and if allowed to do 
 so, will eat too much, and it only takes a few weeks for them to eat 
 themselves into their graves. If they hunt for their food, as the 
 wild turkeys do, they take it leisurely, just what they can easily 
 digest, exercising between each mouthful and just enough is di- 
 gested and goes into the circulation to keep them healthy. I never 
 feed little turkeys all they want, only what they need, and I always 
 keep them a little hungry. 
 
TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 119 
 
 Keep Liver Healthy 
 
 I can tell you just how over-fed turkeys will die. First they will 
 walk slowly, lag£jing- behind the others as if tired, then their winj^s 
 will droop and they will look sleepy and will not cat, will look at 
 the food as if they wanted it, but were too lazy to pick it up, then 
 diarrhoea will set in, the droppings will become yellow and some- 
 times green, and death will soon follow. If you hold a postmortem 
 examination, as you should do over everything that dies in the 
 chicken yard, you will find the liver of these little turkeys has yel- 
 low or white spots on it, and on cutting into it, you may find that 
 these spots are small ulcers that extend through it. Sometimes 
 these ulcers are quite ofifensive. This comes from over-feeding, 
 which gives the liver more work than it can do and it breaks down. 
 
 The liver is the largest organ in the turkey's body, and it seems 
 to be the most delicate. If you can keep that healthy, you will have, 
 healthy turkeys. Onion and dandelion leaves are tonics for the 
 liver and the green food keeps it healthy, whilst the animal food 
 and a small amount of cereal will make the frame of the turkey. 
 
 Suppose you should see one little turkey in the brood begin- 
 ning to walk slowly, what should you do? I will tell you what I 
 would do. I would catch that little turkey and give a Carter's 
 Little Liver Pill and follow this the next day with a little Epsom 
 salts for the whole flock, and cut off some of the grain in the feed. 
 You will probably save the flock, but they may be stunted in their 
 growth, and their liver many months later may break down from 
 being weakened by that first attack of liver trouble. 
 
 Chick Feed for Turkeys 
 
 Now about the chick feed. It is composed of a number of differ- 
 ent grains. Some of these grains are extremely difficult of digestion 
 for turkeys. The chief of these are cracked corn, Kaffir corn, Egyp- 
 tian corn, sorghum seed, millet, etc. I could scarcely believe this 
 until I had occular demonstration of it. Then I discovered that 
 cracked corn did not commence to digest in the crop ; the gastric 
 juice of the crop does not seem to have any influence on it. It 
 passes through the crop and on through the proventriculus to the 
 gizzard, arriving there hard and not in the least softened or digested, 
 and there it commences to ferment, causing diarrhoea or else pass- 
 ing away without digesting. I am not scientific enough to know 
 the reason for this nor why wheat should be softened in the crop and 
 jiartly digested before reaching the gizzard, but I know that it is 
 so. They told me in Kansas that corn soured on the turkeys' 
 stomachs, but it docs not exactly sour, it ferments — and there is 
 where the trouble comes in. 
 
 Sour milk is sour, but this is from lactic acid, and lactic acid 
 seems beneficial to turkeys, whilst the souring of grains, bran, 
 cereals of any kind, or cornmeal is a ferment, and ferments are 
 very injurious to fowls of all kinds, and especially so to turkeys. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Jones, the best authority on turkeys in the United 
 States, agrees with me about feeding turkeys. She writes : 
 
120 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 "A diet of part corn agrees with chickens, but I have never yet 
 fed corn in any form to young turkeys but that sooner or later they 
 would give up the unequal contest. A little neighbor girl that had 
 a great deal of the care of turkeys said the least little bit of corn 
 meal makes them die. She had learned this by watching them as 
 she fed them." 
 
 1100 Gleaning Wheat 
 
 It was my privilege to visit a turkey ranch in the San Joaquin 
 Valley some time ago and what 1 saw there made me wonder that 
 there are so few large turkey ranches in California. 
 
 There were over 1100 beautiful turkeys gleaning the wheat over 
 many acres of stubble. These great turkeys had been hatched near 
 the barn in shed-like coops, under turkey hens. They were kept 
 in the yard until about five or six weeks old, when they were driven 
 out with their mothers upon the wheat stubble to rustle for their 
 living, to pick up the wheat that would otherwise be lost. All these 
 turkeys roosted in the open air and to this and the simple life, 
 working for and finding their own living, may be attril:)uted their 
 healthiness. 
 
 There are many beautiful valleys in California where turkeys 
 may be grown to great advantage by the hundreds and even thou- 
 sands, but even on small ranches a few may be kept. 
 
 MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 
 
 There is no need for any sickness amongst turkeys whatever in 
 California, if they are properly cared for, and I think eventually 
 California will supply the Eastern States with their Thanksgiving 
 and Christmas dinners, for they have there a disease among turkeys 
 which is so serious that it is decimating, and, in some places, wiping 
 out whole flocks of turkeys. The disease is called "Blackhead," as 
 the head in some instances turns black or dark colored before or 
 at the time of death. 
 
 The Oregon Experiment Station has recently issued Bulletin 
 No. 95, by E. F. Pernot, on Disease of Turkeys. This bulletin con- 
 tains information of very great im]iortance to the turkey raisers of 
 the state. It treats the subject of lUackhead, exi)laining the cause 
 of this disease, the symptoms, and treatment. This bulletin, which 
 may be obtained free on application to the Experiment Station, 
 Corvallis, Oregon, should be in the hands of every turkey breeder 
 in the state. 
 
 In sections of the East, Blackhead has almost wi])ed out the 
 turkeys, and the same thing is liable to happen in this state if 
 proper measures are not taken to prevent it. 
 
 I give here a brief summary of Prof. Pernot's bulletin : 
 
MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 121 
 
 Symptoms — Diarrhoea is the most pronounced symptom. The 
 discharges are frequent, thin, watery, and generally of a yellowish 
 color. This, however, sometimes occurs from other intestinal dis- 
 orders, and does not alone signify the presence of the malady. The 
 next symptom is the drooping tail, followed by a drooping of 
 the wangs, after which death soon ensues. When the disease is at 
 its height, the head assumes a dark color, hence the name. Black- 
 head. Young turkeys are much more susceptible or they may be 
 more delicate, and cannot withstand the invasion of the parasites 
 so well. They begin by moping and bunching up as though they 
 were cold, diarrhoea soon sets in, the tails droop, then the wings 
 droop, and they go about uttering a pitiful "peep," after which they 
 soon die. A blackening of the head does not always occur. 
 
 It is only by careful post mortem that the true cause of the dis- 
 ease may be determined. 
 
 The Cause — The disease is caused by animal parasites, wdiich 
 can be detected only by the aid of a microscope. Because of their 
 minuteness and growth in the mucous membranes of the digestive 
 tract, they are easily carried by the excreta to food, which upon be- 
 coming contaminated, transmits them to other fowls. This is the 
 usual means of infection. 
 
 Remedies — Food given to fowls should never come in contact 
 with their droppings, as one bird with the disease will infect the 
 feeding ground of others. Better sacrifice the bird at once than 
 run the risk of spreading the infection to the whole flock. A sick 
 bird should be removed from the flock and placed in close quarters, 
 which may afterwards be disinfected, or the bird may be killed at 
 once and then should be burned. Medical treatment is not very 
 successful, owing to the difficulty of reaching the parasites at the 
 seat of the disease ; yet treating them with some of the following 
 remedies is well worth the trouble: Sulphur, 5 grains; sulphate of 
 iron, 1 grain ; sulphate of quinine, 1 grain. Place this amount in 
 capsules and administer one night and morning to each turkey for 
 a week. If the bird does not respond to treatment, kill it at once 
 without drawing blood, and then burn the carcass, disinfecting the 
 coop. 
 
 A solution of carbolic acid prepared by mixing five parts of the 
 acid to 100 parts of water makes a good disinfecting solution, or 
 chloride of lime, 5 ounces to 1 gallon of water, is good. Corrosive 
 sublimate in the strength of 1 ounce to eight gallons of water, is a 
 strong disinfectant, and may be used with a broom or spray to wet 
 every part of the coop and floor, but it is poisonous and must be 
 handled with great care. To disinfect the entire premises when the 
 fowls are running at large is impracticable : but lime should be used 
 freely on the droppings beneath where they roost. AVhen the dis- 
 ease becomes seriously destructive, it is more than likely all the 
 flock are affected, and it may be necessary to destroy all the re- 
 maining birds and disinfect the premises as thoroughly as possible. 
 In such cases it would be better to suspend the raising of turkeys 
 for one year 
 
122 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Liver Complaint 
 
 rcrsotially I have only met once with a case in California which 
 niii^lit he called Blackhead. I have seen many cases of common 
 liver complaint, and hv my directions others have succeeded in 
 curing many of these. 
 
 Dr. Salmon tells us that the seat of the disease called Blackhead 
 is in the caeca. The caeca is sometimes called the lilind bowel ; 
 it is a sort of "appendix" in the turkey, having" no outlet. It is two 
 lobes of bowel united by a ribbon of fat (the pancreas). In Black- 
 head and also in some cases of liver complaint, an abscess forms in 
 one or both caeca, but this can only be discovered after death, and 
 1 ha\ e only found it in a post mortem of one turkey. The fact is, I 
 have been so very "lucky" in raising turkeys that now I rarely 
 even see a sick turkey, and I have many letters from our readers 
 telling me they have cured their tvirkeys by my directions, so I will 
 repeat them again for the benefit of new comers. 
 
 First, liver complaint comes from wrong feeding, or over-feed- 
 ing, which has overworked the liver ; secondly. Blackhead comes 
 from a parasite ; thirdly, the symptoms of both diseases are almost 
 exactly the same in the first stages. Dr. Cushman. in discussing 
 this matter, decided that when the bright yellow diarrhoea comes 
 on. showing liver trouble, the remedy is "something bitter and 
 something sour." This is easy to remember. He also recommends 
 no food but green food and says that turkeys have been known to 
 cure themselves by living on acorns. 
 
 My remedy is first a liver pill followed by quinine for a week, 
 and sour milk and no food but onions and green alfalfa or grass, 
 keeping this up until cured. 
 
 I have a letter from a successful turkey raiser of Long Beach, 
 near Los Angeles. She writes : "I wish to tell you my experience 
 with liver sick turkeys. I had a gobbler weighing eighteen or 
 twenty pounds, and I made the mistake so many do of allowing 
 turkeys and chickens to run together; my experience is that tur- 
 keys, especially toms, will not stand such quantities of food that 
 hens do. Well, he got very sick, so bad he was as light as a feather, 
 and my cure, which never fails — was administered — a bottle of Ja- 
 maica ginger and a bottle of liquozone were procured. I put him in 
 a clean, large coop and he lay on a bed of straw for days, so weak 
 he could not stand. The first day I gave him one teaspoonful of the 
 ginger and one teaspoonful of the liquozone mixed and diluted until 
 it was not too strong, giving two or three spoons every hour of the 
 diluted. The next day giving it three times a day : after that twice 
 a day. I did not allow him anything to eat. but of an evening gave 
 him the smallest sized capsule of quinine. Kept that up until he 
 began to get good and hungry, then fed him a few grains of wheat, 
 only about six grains, and a little speck of alfalfa. I have found that 
 feed kills them every time when they are so sick. I never fail to 
 cure the worst cases if I treat them like I tell you. Then if they 
 hump up again and begin to get sick again. I give them a dose in 
 
MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 123 
 
 the evening. The ginger warms them up and starts circulation, 
 and the liquozone kills the germs." 
 
 Liquozoneis very acid, it tastes like sulphuric acid and water, 
 and I have no doubt that my friend's cure is a good one. Remem- 
 ber, Dr. Cushman says "something bitter and something sour," 
 and if your turkeys get sick, try it immediately. 
 
 A Magnificent White Holland Tom 
 
Goodacre's Ducks at Home 
 DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 
 
 In the sprins^time of the year in the East the big duck ranches 
 hatch ducks by the hundreds of thousands, but in CaHlt)rnia, or 
 at least in the neighl^orhood of Los Angeles, there are not such 
 large ranches, and ducks do not seem as jiopular. Probably some 
 farmers have had a few in their yard at some time, just to give 
 them a trial, and have found them a continual nuisance, as they 
 greedily eat the whole allowance of food from expectant chickens 
 and dabble in their drinking vessels, so they have to be continually 
 cleaned and re])lenished, and with great injustice to the ducks, they 
 have let this ])rejudice them, where if they had kept the ducks 
 separate, they would have found them easier to raise than chickens. 
 
 Ducks grow faster and are ready for the market earlier than 
 chickens ; they are not troubled by the diseases of hens, neither do 
 they have lice, except if raised under a hen when very young, be- 
 fore the feathers grow, the gray head-lice may get on their heads, 
 crawl into their ears and kill them, but this is before they feather 
 out. Mosquitoes which are very troublesome in some places to the 
 chickens, causing great mortality, never trouble ducks, neither do 
 fleas or ticks. I think the reason for their immunity from vermin 
 is that their featliers are very oily and thick and the down under the 
 feathers is an extra protection. Hens recpiire a dust bath, while 
 ducks require a water bath to keep them clean and healthy. 
 
 Most of the ]iopular varieties of ducks can be raised and bred 
 witluuit water to swim in, but on the verv large duck ranches a 
 
DUCKS AND THETR VARIETIES 
 
 125 
 
 supply of running water so that tliey may have fresh water to drink 
 and a bathing place for the breeding ducks is a great advantage. 
 
 Ducks should be kept entirely away from chickens and turkeys, 
 as they pollute water so badly it makes the other fowls sick. I 
 found on my small ranch where there was only water piped in, 
 after trying various plans for watering the ducks, an easy and con- 
 venient way. I had a barrel sawed in two, two-thirds and one- 
 third. I knocked the head out of the larger end and buried that 
 part, making it deep enough so the top of the barrel was just below 
 the ground ; any box with no bottom would do as well. The one- 
 third of the barrel had a bunghole in the bottom. This one-third 
 barrel I placed over the sunken one. 1 had a broom handle which 
 fitted into the bunghole and every day 1 let the dirty water run 
 through it into the bottomless barrel and it soaked away. In this 
 manner I gave my ducks fresh water and a clean bath every day. 
 I found if I sawed the barrel exactly in half, it made the top part 
 deeper than I wanted, and the bottom not deep enough. 
 
 The Varieties 
 
 I have successfully bred the following most popular breeds of 
 ducks and think a slight review of them may be interesting and 
 helpful to beginners : The Aylesbury, Pekin, Indian Runner, Bufif 
 Orpington Duck and the Muscovy. 
 
 The Aylesbury 
 
 llie Aylesbury, called after a town in Buckingham, England, are 
 about a pound heavier than the Pekin. The standard weights be- 
 ing, drake, 9 lbs.; duck, 8 lbs.; young drake, 8 lbs.; young duck, 7 
 lbs. Their color is pure white, with pinkish-white beak and shanks. 
 They are extremely popular in England and are hardy and vigorous. 
 There are not many breeders of them in this country, but an Eng- 
 lishmen, Mr. V. G. Huntley of Petaluma, who has imported some 
 exceedingly fine Aylesbury ducks from England, says he has a 
 large demand for them, as they are a rarity in this country. He 
 
 Aylesbury Drake 
 
126 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 considers their flesh better than that of any other variety of ducks. 
 In phimage the Aylesbury are a pure spotless white, with hard, 
 close feathers that glisten in the sunlight like satin. The ad- 
 vantages claimed for this breed are the easiness with which it is 
 acclitnated, its early maturing, its great hardiness, its large size, 
 being heavier than any except the Rouen, its great prolificacy and 
 its beauty. 
 
 The Pekin 
 The Pekin is undoubtedly the most popular breed on the large 
 duck ranches in the East, where thousands of them arc fattened and 
 turned oft" every season. This breed is variously called the Imperial 
 Pekin and the Mammoth Pekin and Rankin's Pekin. It was 
 brought to this country from China in the early seventies and im- 
 mediately took the first place as the most prolific and rapidly grow- 
 ing" duck on the market. In shape and carriage the Pekin has a dis- 
 tinct type of its own, which by some is described as resembling an 
 Indian canoe, from the keel-like shape and the turned-up tail. 
 Though Pekin ducks may not merit all that is claimed for them by 
 enthusiastic breeders, it is certain that the duck business could 
 not have attained its present proportion without the Pekin duck, 
 and that as a market duck this breed takes the lead. They are 
 hardy, quick growers, thrive in close confinement, and are ready 
 to market at ten weeks of age. The plumage is soft, more downy 
 than that of other varieties and is of a creamy white in color. The 
 beak is of a deep orange yellow, and. according to Standard, should 
 be free from black marks. The shanks and toes are reddish orange 
 color. 
 
DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 
 
 127 
 
 All ducks are of a timid disposition, and the Pekin more so than 
 those of other breeds ; in fact, they will injure themselves so badly 
 if frightened by cat, dog or a stranger, or by being caught up, that 
 they may have to be killed. A fright, if not fatal, will take ofif 
 several days' growth of the young, and stop the laying of the adult 
 ducks. 
 
 The Indian Runner 
 
 Many years ago Indian Runners were brought from India to 
 England by a sea captain, hence the name "Indian," while the "Run- 
 ners" came from their great agility. They do not waddle like other 
 
 Indian Runner Duck 
 
 ducks, but run more like a plover, and are very quick in their move- 
 ments. In England their good qualities quickly captivated the 
 thrifty farmers. Individual ducks there have made a record of 225 
 eggs per annum. Here in California I had ten ducks which laid 
 2331 eggs in one year. I think the climate of California more nearly 
 resembles that of their native land, and their laying is never checked 
 by cold or snow, so that here they lay better than in England or 
 the Eastern States. In India they were bred for their laying and 
 table qualities, no attention being paid to the color of their plum- 
 age ; all the Indians cared for was the eggs, and they layed eggs 
 galore. English breeders claim that eight-year-old ducks of this 
 breed will lay as well as yearlings, and on this account, and their' 
 capacity for foraging, they have become very popular in England 
 and Australia. 
 
 While the weight of the matured Pekin is greater than that of 
 the Indian Runner, there is more meat in proportion to their weight 
 
128 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 in the Runners on account of the smalhiess of the bones ; the meat 
 is also of a much finer quaHty, finely grained and juicy and re- 
 sembling in flavor the much extolled canvas-back duck. The eggs 
 of the Indian Runner are an ivy white in color, greatly resembling 
 Minorca eggs, very delicate in taste, and in England their eggs are 
 in great demand in the tuberculosis sanitariums on account of their 
 delicate flavor, richness and nutritive value, and absolute freedom 
 from tuberculosis taint, and there is a higher price paid for them 
 than the hen's eggs. 
 
 The standard color of the Indian Runners in this country is fawn 
 and white. In England they also have the black and white, the 
 brown and white and the pure white. 
 
 The Rouen 
 
 The Rouen duck, so named for a city in Normandy, where they 
 are supposed to have originated, are still bred there in large num- 
 bers. The Rouen duck is a fine market bird, but does not mature 
 as early as the Pekin or Aylesbury. It is easily fattened, hardy and 
 quiet in disposition and not as nervous as the Pekin. 
 
 The Rouen drake is a magnificent colored bird. Neck and head 
 are irridescent green, breast wine color and the lower part of the 
 body delicate steel gray, penciled with very fine black lines. About 
 June a remarkable change takes place in the drake. He begins to 
 lose his lustrous feathers, those of the neck dropping out, being re- 
 placed by feathers of a russet brown. The magnificently colored 
 drake is clothed in sober hues for the summer. In October he again 
 resumes his gorgeous raiment. 
 
 The Buff Orpington 
 
 lUifl Orpington ducks are a breed of ]\lr. William Cook's mak- 
 ing. He named them as he did the Orpington hens, after his own 
 place in Kent, England. The color of the Ruff Orpingtons is a soft 
 shade of bufi^, the drakes having rich brown heads. The lUifT Or- 
 pington has a good deal of the Indian Runner blood in it, and from 
 this source its laying qualities are gathered. Mr. Cook claims they 
 are better layers than any other of the duck family. Many of them 
 lay a beautiful green es!;s^, although a greenish-white is the usual 
 color. These ducks weigh a pound and a half more than the Indian 
 Runner, are large and more ])lum]) birds, maturing early, and one 
 of the best market birds. 
 
 The Muscovy 
 
 The Muscovy Duck is not largely bred in this country. They 
 arc not like any other ducks and do not interbreed with others. 
 It is a native of South America, where it may still be found in its 
 wild state. It comes in two varieties, white and black and white. 
 The males are much larger than the females. I had one weighing 
 fourteen pounds. Roth sexes have caruncles at the base of the beak; 
 these become larger every year, giving them a vulture-like appear- 
 ance. Muscovy ducks are rather awkward in the water, preferring 
 
DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 129 
 
 to live on the land. They are pugnacious and ill-tempered, and, 
 although they have web-feet, they have very sharp claws that can, 
 and do, scratch in a most unpleasant way. They are strong on the 
 wing, flying easily over the barn, and they like to perch on the roof. 
 They are good setters, and their eggs take thirty-five days to 
 incubate. 
 
 Hatching and Brooding 
 
 The first thing the amateur needs is first-class breeding stock or 
 eggs of the same. There is sure to be sad loss among young duck- 
 lings, bred from debilitated stock. Good stock should be secured 
 to start with, and when properly fed and cared for, there need be no 
 fear of loss. 
 
 A good incubator carefully operated without variation of tem- 
 perature should receive the eggs. They take twenty-eight days to 
 hatch. Duck eggs will hatch well in any of the standard incu- 
 bators ; they require more airing than do the eggs of the hen, and I 
 have found that by sprinkling them every other day, after the first 
 week, I was sure of a good hatch. Sprinkle the eggs, or moisten 
 them thoroughly, with warm water, when they are out of the ma- 
 chine, and do not put the water in the incubator. I found this much 
 the best plan. I think wetting the shell of the egg helps to soften 
 it and make it more brittle, enabling the duck to break its way out 
 easily. I also do this when hatching duck eggs under hens. 
 
 A brooder adapted to chicks will answer equally well for ducks. 
 The little fellows should be at least thirty-six hours old before 
 taken from the incubator and placed in the brooder, which should 
 be previously prepared for them by placing a board about ten inches 
 wide a few inches from the front of the brooder forming a very 
 small yard with a little water fountain so arranged that they can 
 get their bills in but not their bodies. The birds should be con- 
 fined to this small space in front of the brooder for the first day, 
 or until they have learned the way into the hover. Bed the little 
 fellows with hay, chaff or cut straw. Keep the pens clean both out- 
 side and in. The welfare of the ducklings depend upon this. Be 
 sure to give them shade. 
 
 Mr. James Rankin has been called the father of the duck indus- 
 try in America. He and a number of others in the East are now 
 hatching by the thousands and tens of thousands. He writes : 
 "With us it is the surest crop we can grow ; it makes the best 
 returns of any crop on the farm." 
 
 As he is a noted expert in the business I cannot do better than 
 give his directions for raising the ducks and his formulas for feed- 
 ing at the different ages. I have tried them myself and do not 
 think they can be improved upon. 
 
 Feeding 
 
 The first food should consist of bread or cracker-crumbs slightly 
 moistened and about 10 per cent of hard boiled eggs chopped fine, 
 shell and all ; mix in this food five per cent of coarse sand. Do not 
 
130 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 place grit by them and expect thcin to eat it, but mix the sand in 
 their food and so compel them to eat it as it is the most essential 
 part of the whole thing. 
 
 Scatter the food on a board, place the young ducklings on it and 
 they will be busily eating it within ten minutes. One hundred to 
 one hundred and fifty ducks can be put in one brooder six feet long. 
 When two or three weeks old, not more than seventy-five should be 
 kept in one brooder. The heat under the hover should be kept at 
 about 90 degrees for the first day or two, when it should be grad- 
 ually reduced as the ducks grow older. In the climate of Southern 
 California, ducklings rarely require brooder heat more than two 
 weeks. 
 
 The second day rolled oats and bran can be added to the food ; 
 a little finely cut clover, lettuce or cabbage can now be safely used. 
 At ten days feed one-fourth corn meal, the rest wheat bran with a 
 little rolled oats mixed in, not forgetting the grit, about ten per cent 
 of ground beef scraps, and the same of green food. At six weeks 
 Quaker oats, grit and ten per cent beef scraps ; at eight weeks old 
 feed equal parts of bran and corn meal with a little Quaker oats, 
 grit and beef scraps, but no green food. 
 
 The birds should be ready for the market at ten weeks old. 
 They should be fed four times a day until six weeks old, then three 
 times is sufficient. They should be watered only when fed until 
 six weeks old, then they should be watered between meals also. 
 Feed at each meal all they will eat up clean, then take the remain- 
 der away; keep the pens dry and clean and be sure you give them 
 shade. 
 
 For breeding birds, old and young, during the summer and fall, 
 when they are not laying — feed three parts wheat bran, one part 
 Quaker oat feed, one part corn meal, five per cent beef scraps 
 ground fine, and five per cent grit, and all the green feed they will 
 eat in the shape of corn fodder cut fine, clover, or oat fodder, or 
 alfalfa. Feed this mixture twice a day, all they will eat. 
 
 For laying birds — equal parts of wheat bran and corn meal, 
 twenty per cent of Quaker oat feed, ten per cent of boiled turnips 
 or potatoes, fifteen per cent of clover rowen, alfalfa, green rye or 
 refuse cabbage chopped fine and five per cent of grit. Feed twice a 
 day all they will eat, with a lunch of corn and oats at noon ; keep 
 grit and crushed oyster shells before them all the time. 
 
 Mr. Rankin adds: 'T wish to emphasize several points. Do not 
 forget the grit, it is absolutely essential. Never feed more than a 
 little bird will eat up clean. Keep them a little hungry. See that 
 the pens and yards are sweet and clean, for though ducklings may 
 stand more neglect than chicks, remember that they will not thrive 
 in filth. If any one fails in the duck business, it must be through 
 his own incompetency and neglect." 
 
 Mr. Rankin has his yards swept twice a week. These sweep- 
 ings amount to many tons each season, and are spread evenly over 
 his grass farm, giving enormous crops of good hay, so that where, 
 twenty years ago, only six tons of hay were cut, now the crop is 
 125 tons. 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 
 
 Geese are, of all fowls, easiest to raise where grass is abundant, 
 for they are grazing animals. Among the various breeds raised in 
 this country the Toulouse is the most profitable goose to raise. It 
 grows the largest, matures the quickest and is not so much of a 
 rambler or flyer as the other varieties, and as it does not take so 
 readily to water it grows more rapidly and accumulates flesh faster 
 than other varieties, and is not so noisy. 
 
 There seems to be a steady demand for the beautiful large, gray 
 Toulouse variety. They deserve every word of praise given them. 
 They have been known to live to a great old age. I have had a 
 friend in England who had a goose that had been more than a 
 hundred years in the same family, and even at that age produced 
 as many fertile eggs as any in the flock. In fact, that goose 
 had more broods each year than any other goose in the neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 There are many points about raising geese that can be learned 
 only by experience and a little practice is worth a world of theory. 
 Intelligent and systematic breeding is sure to bring both pleasure 
 and profit to the breeder. 
 
 Hatching and Feeding 
 
 For hatching goose eggs, if setting hens are used, keep them free 
 from lice by dusting with insect powder every week, and put from 
 four to six goose eggs under every hen. After eight days test-out, 
 leaving four fertile eggs under every hen to hatch. Goose eggs 
 should be sprinkled every fourth day after the twelfth, with warm 
 water. In hot, dry weather, float them in water for one and a half 
 to two and a half minutes. If incubators are used, float always. 
 At the last float hold the pip up so as not to drown the gosling 
 inside the egg. If the gosling remains and dries in the shell, it 
 should be helped out. Break away a little of the shell, and if the 
 lining does not bleed the gosling is ready to come out. Ring out 
 a cloth in water as hot as you can bear your hands in, wrap the egg 
 in the cloth and leave for a few minutes. You will find the gosling 
 will come out bright and clean. Keep the goslings warm until they 
 are dry and can run around. When they are twenty-four hours eld 
 put them in a box, the bottom covered with sand, and feed them 
 often with a crumbly mash of one-third corn meal, two-thirds bran 
 and a pinch of sand. 
 
 Goslings are Healthy 
 
 No other young in the whole tribe of domestic poultry is so up- 
 to-date and healthy as a young gosling. Given a tender grass plot 
 and a bit of warmth, it goes merrily on its way, nipping a living 
 and asking favors of no one. They eat daintily, preferring grass 
 to all other foods. With their chatter they are ready to meet you, 
 take a few mouthfuls of food, and, with the same old tune, they 
 lazily saunter away in search of grass and more rest. 
 
 Geese are turned out to pasture just the same as cattle, their 
 
132 MRS. r.ASLKVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 bills iiciN-iiii^- scrraUMJ c(li;os wliich enable tliem to graze. They 
 never need a warm iKnise. An open corrall is much better in Cali- 
 fornia for them and the}' are not given to disease. Goslings, how- 
 ever, should be provided with shade, as they suffer from heat, get- 
 ting a species of blind-staggers or sunstroke if exposed to the sun. 
 One of the best items of profit to be derived from a flock of Tou- 
 louse geese is the feathers, which are clear gain, costing nothing but 
 the trouble to pick them. Watch them in the fall and sj^ring, twice 
 a year, when they begin to i)ull out the feathers and throw them 
 away. 1 know then they are ready to ])ick. T think it is cruel to 
 pick at any other time. Make cheesecloth sacks which will hold 
 two pounds of feathers. Make them large, as the feathers will curl 
 better if they are not packed together. Hang the sacks on a clothes- 
 line every sunny day for about two weeks, then keep them in a well 
 aired room. Women living in the city will be your best customers 
 providing you let them know }ou have good feathers for sale. One 
 can get from 7S cents to $1.00 per pound, and can never su]~)ply the 
 demand. The breeders should ijot be picked when they are laying. 
 
 The Varieties 
 
 There are a number of varieties of geese, but the most profitable 
 are the Toulouse, the Embden, and the China. Of the latter there 
 are the two kinds, the brown and the white. The color of the Tou- 
 louse is gray and white and the Embden is white. The Toulouse 
 and the Embden are the larger. A pair of Toulouse have been 
 known to weigh 59)/2 pounds, and an Embden pair has tipped the 
 beam at S7 pounds. They are great layers of large eggs, of which 
 they will lay thirty to forty a year, although I know a woman who 
 has a goose that layed 70 eggs without wanting to sit. 
 
 In mating, allow two geese to one gander, though they generally 
 pair off and the gander will stay with his actual mate nearly all the 
 time. The gander is the ])rotector of the goose, especially in breed- 
 ing time. He will defend her and her nest fearlessly. 
 
 Hens as Mothers 
 
 It is a good plan to put goose eggs under a hen. It takes thirty- 
 one days to hatch them. Then you want to be on the watch. The 
 hen will sit all right, but when the young ones break the shell and 
 the hen sees a (jueer, green little creature, with a long, wide bill 
 saluting her, she takes it for a freak of nature, and off comes its 
 head. Not many hens will claim the young geese or hover them ; 
 so take the goslings away as the}' hatch and try the hens, giving 
 the goslings to a good slow, gentle hen. .\s soon as she takes them 
 without any fuss there is no danger. If the weather is nice they 
 should be turned out in a small enclosure, which can lie changed 
 every day or .so. ITse boards six feet long and twelve inches wide. 
 After a week let them go, and their foster mother's trouble begins. 
 'I'he little goslings do not care for her calling; they are hustling 
 for every spear of grass and she has to hunt them. Her business 
 is to keep them warm at night and warm them in the daytime 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 
 
 133 
 
 if they get chilled. Never allow goslings to get to water to swim 
 until they are fully feathered, and then only let those go that you 
 wish to keep for breeders. Many of them will do as well if they 
 never go swimming. During this period you must keep the old 
 geese away, as they will fight the hen and molest the young. 
 
 You cannot raise geese as you do chickens and ducks, on a city 
 lot. They must have pasture. It is a wrong belief that geese or 
 their droppings will kill grass or pasture. If you have a large flock 
 of geese and a small pasture they will clean it up ; that is, they 
 will eat the grass as fast as it sprouts and give it no chance to 
 grow, just as a cow on a city lot will soon have only bare ground 
 and you will have to tie her in the road. If you do the same with 
 geese you would find the grass growing" again the same as before. 
 Geese are easier to raise than any other young fowls. 
 
 Cat and Hawk-proof Coop for Chicks and Ducklings 
 
BASLEY FORMULAS (Tested) 
 
 BASLEY CHICK FEED 
 
 Cracked Wheat 30 lbs. 
 
 Steel Cut Oats 30 lbs. 
 
 Finely Cracked Corn 15 lbs. 
 
 Millet 10 lbs. 
 
 Rice 10 lbs. 
 
 Pearl Barley 10 lbs. 
 
 Rape Seed 10 lbs. 
 
 Granulated Milk 10 lbs. 
 
 Granulated Dried Bone 10 lbs. 
 
 Chick Grit 10 lbs. 
 
 Granulated Charcoal 15 lbs. 
 
 Total 150 lbs. 
 
 BASLEY DRY FOOD FOR LAYING HENS 
 By measure: 
 
 Bran 2 parts 
 
 Alfalfa Meal 1 part 
 
 Corn meal 1 part 
 
 Rolled Oats or Oatmeal 1 part 
 
 Beef Scrap 1 part 
 
 A little pepper and salt. 
 
 BASLEY "EGG COAXER" 
 
 Dried Blood ■ 10 lbs. 
 
 Beef Meal 10 lbs. 
 
 Bone Meal 10 lbs. 
 
 Linseed Meal 5 lbs. 
 
 Sulphur 2 lbs. 
 
 Powdered Charcoal 2 lbs. 
 
 Cayenne Pepper ^ lb. 
 
 Salt ^ lb. 
 
 Dose half a pint once a day for twcnt}- hens when they arc moulting 
 or to encourage egg laying. This is an infallible egg producer. To be 
 given in the mash either dry or wet. 
 
 DOUGLAS MIXTURE 
 
 Tonic and disinfectant: Sulphate of iron (common coperas), eight 
 ounces; sulphuric acid, one-half ounce. Put into a bottle or jug one gallon 
 of water; into this put the sulphate of iron. As soon as the iron is dis- 
 solved, add the acid. When the mi.xture is clear, it is ready for use. 
 Dose: one teaspoonful in one pint of drinking water. This is one of the 
 best tonics for poultry known. It is an antiseptic as well as a tonic, and is a 
 good remedy for many diseases. 
 
 BASLEY LINIMENT FOR RHEUMATISM 
 
 One cup of vinegar; one cup of turpentine; as mucli saltpetre as it will 
 take up, about a heaping tablespoonful. Keep in a bottle, shake before us- 
 ing. Bathe the aflfected part twice a day. Excellent for bruises, sprains, 
 etc.; also in the human family or animals of any kind. 
 
PART II. 
 
 Questions 
 
 and 
 Answers 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 Apoplexy — What is the trouble 
 with my hens? They seem healthy 
 and all at once they begin to gasp and 
 fall over dead. I cut one open and 
 it was in tine condition, fat and nice. 
 I cannot make out what it is. — Mrs 
 C. S. 
 
 Answer — Your hen had apoplexy 
 from being over-fat. The over-fat 
 condition weakens the muscles, and 
 the heart and brain give way. Give 
 the whole flock a little Epsom salts 
 in the water for a week, cut down 
 the amount of grain, especially any 
 corn or corn meal in their feed, and 
 feed more green food and more ani- 
 mal food with, of course, charcoal 
 and grit. 
 
 Air Putf — I have been a constant 
 reader of your articles and find them 
 very good 'but I have a case I never 
 remember reading about; it is a 
 Barred Rock about 6 or 7 weeks old. 
 A few days ago it went to limping 
 and I supposed it was some of the 
 others crowding but I have since no- 
 ticed its whole right side was pufifed 
 awaj^ out, just the skin, and I took 
 a needle and made a small opening 
 and there was nothing but wind in it. 
 I repeated the same operation next 
 day. It eats and drinks and aside 
 from the limping, seems to feel all 
 right. They have a nice clean run 
 and lots of green stuff. I am feeding 
 cracked corn; wheat and Kaffir corn. 
 Could you suggest a remedy and tell 
 me what the disease is? — Mrs. J.N.H. 
 
 Answer — Your chick had what is 
 called "Air Puflf," and you did just 
 right in puncturing the skin; you 
 saved its life by it. The trouble 
 comes from a wound or abrasion of 
 the lung tissue resulting from vio- 
 lence of some kind. After caponizing 
 a chick this trouble often develops. 
 I have seen the poor little things al- 
 most as round as a ball and so light 
 from the air under the skin that the 
 sliglitest breeze rolled them along. 
 Chicks that get trampled on by their 
 mothers, or cockerels that fight are 
 liable to suffer from injuries that re- 
 sult in "air pufi." They become in- 
 flated with air. The treatment is a 
 good nourishing diet. I resort to 
 bread and milk in such cases. It is 
 
 easily digested, and, puncture the skin 
 to let the air out. In slight cases 
 where there is only a little air under 
 the skin it will disappear gradually 
 without treatment, but if there is a 
 considerable amount of air it is neces- 
 sary to prick the skin and let it out. 
 
 Bumble-foot — I have a lame hen; 
 she limps on her left foot. She eats 
 as well as my other hens, her comb is 
 red and looks as healthy as the 
 others. 
 
 If you will tell me what is the trou- 
 ble I will be very much obliged to 
 you.— Mrs. M. M. C. 
 
 Answer — Your hen has probably 
 what is called "bumble-foot." It is 
 something like a stone bruise or a 
 corn in human beings. It usually 
 comes from a corn or bruises of the 
 feet, wounds with thorns, broken 
 glass, hard stones or other sharp sub- 
 stances. The ball of the foot be- 
 comes swollen, inflamed, hot and 
 painful. The fowl appears in pain. 
 Corns are often caused by too small 
 or narrow perches, which compel the 
 fowl to grasp them tightly in order 
 to maintain their position. This firm 
 grasp continued night after night 
 aflfects the circulation of the part of 
 the foot that comes in closest con- 
 tact with the perch. A similar con- 
 dition may be caused by heavy birds 
 flying from their perches and alight- 
 ing upon a stony surface or hard 
 floor. 
 
 If it has not yet become an abscess, 
 simply cut off the thickened skin or 
 corn without causing bleeding and 
 paint the corn with tincture of iodyne. 
 If pus has developed, soak the foot in 
 warm water twice a day and poultice 
 until the inflammation is reduced. 
 After thoroughly cleaning the foot, if 
 pus has developed, open the abscess 
 freely with a sharp knife and scrape 
 out the diseased matter. Wash out 
 the wound carefully with peroxide of 
 liydrogen or carbolized water. Stuff 
 the wound full of iodyne gauze and 
 bandage it. Continue this treatment 
 daily until the wound is almost 
 healed, then apply a good ointment 
 daily until it is entirely well. The 
 bird must be kept on clean, dry straw 
 until fully recovered. 
 
138 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Swollen Feet — Will you extend a 
 helping hand to an old batch who is 
 having endless trouble with a few 
 chickens? They begin to get lame 
 and after a few days cannot stand 
 on their feet at all, and some of them 
 have great swellings on top of their 
 feet that look like a big boil. I only 
 have about forty in all; they liave all 
 the range they want in abundance and 
 wlieat twice a day, together with 
 scraps from tlie table. My hen house 
 is log, 12x16 feet, plastered on both 
 sides, two windows with glass 12x24. 
 The roosts are about eighteen inches 
 from the floor. If you can tell me 
 the cause and cure I will thank you 
 kindly as I feel sorely tempted some- 
 times to kill all of them and start 
 over. They are just common hens. — • 
 D. W. M. 
 
 Answer — Your hens have either 
 bumble-foot or rlieumatism. The 
 bumble-foot comes from an injury to 
 the foot and is caused by hens jump- 
 ing or flying down from a high place 
 onto stony ground. It is also caused 
 by rocky ground and is somewhat 
 like a stone bruise or a corn in the 
 human family. It usually occurs in 
 licavy, elderly hens and your plan of 
 killing them off for the table would 
 be a good one. The cure is to lance 
 the "boil" and gently squeeze the core 
 out, then wash with peroxide of hyd- 
 rogen and bind up with a soft rag 
 and keep the hen on clean, soft straw, 
 not allowing her any place to roost. 
 Bumble-foot sometimes comes from 
 sliarp edges on the perch or very nar- 
 row perches. Discover what is hurt- 
 ing the feet and remove the cause. It 
 is sometimes necessary to poultice the 
 feet to draw out all the pus. Rheum- 
 atism usually comes from damp 
 houses or damp ground and to cure 
 that you have to change those condi- 
 tions. You can also give the fowls a 
 little Epsom salts in their drinking 
 water, or give each affected hen one 
 dose of Epsom salts (half a tcaspoon- 
 ful) in a little water and put into the 
 drinking water half a teaspoonful of 
 bicarbonate of soda to a quart of 
 water. But I think your plan of de- 
 capitating them and starting with 
 fresh young hens would be better 
 than trying to cure them. 
 
 squawks and slings her head and when 
 I hold my ear to her side I can hear 
 a continual rattling. Her comb is red 
 and she eats well. I feed corn, wheat, 
 Kaffir corn and table scraps. They 
 run on plenty of green range. Her 
 nostrils are clean. Age, 8 months. — 
 C. C. S. 
 
 Answer — Your hen seems to have 
 chronic bronchitis or is taking cold 
 frequently. See that she does not 
 sleep in a draught nor in a house that 
 is too tightly closed. Give her a tea- 
 spoonful of honey night and morning 
 for a week and keep her clean from 
 lice, and I think she will be well in a 
 week. A little red pepper and chopped 
 onions in her food would also help 
 the cure. 
 
 Bald Headed — Some of my hens 
 are becoming bald headed. The feath- 
 ers for half an inch and more back of 
 the comb disappear. The hens seem 
 in the best of health and lay well. 
 There are no lice or mites on the 
 chickens, on the roosts or in the nests. 
 If you can give me a remedy I shall 
 consider it a great favor. — Mrs. E. 
 E. C. 
 
 Answer — This is not af all an un- 
 common occurrence just before the 
 moult. Those feathers have merely 
 ripened a little earlier than the oth- 
 ers, and, strange to say, it is usuall}' 
 the best layers that are so affected. 
 You can grease the bald spot with a 
 little vaseline. This will hasten the 
 growth of the new feathers. 
 
 Bronchitis — Will you kindly tell me 
 what ails my White Leghorn hen? 
 She sits around most of the time and 
 
 Blind Chicks — ^What is the matter 
 with my little chickens? They are 
 about two months old. I find them 
 with one eye shut and sometimes 
 both, and when I open it a watery 
 substance comes from them. When 
 only one eye is affected, they are per- 
 fectly blind in it, but can see all right 
 out of the other and when, both ej^es 
 are affected, they are blind in both. 
 
 Their mouths are perfectly clear 
 and they have a rattle in their throat. 
 Thej^ have been affected now for 
 about two weeks and several have 
 died. It seems very contagious. 
 
 I have put spirits of camphor in 
 their drinking water and sulphate of 
 iron. I also made a salve of lard and 
 Egyptian insect powder and rubbed 
 that on their eyes with a feather, 
 which was very highly recommended 
 to me, but everything has failed to 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 139 
 
 cure them. They run on a yard of 
 green grass all the time. — Mrs. A. 
 L. S. 
 
 Answer — The starting point of near- 
 ly all cases of blindness in chicks is in 
 roupy breeding stock. A slight chill 
 or cold is sufficient to start an epi- 
 demic of this blindness in a flock of 
 chicks, if they already possess the in- 
 herited tendency to weakness of these 
 parts from parents that were not in fit 
 breeding condition. This blindness is 
 a result of an inflammation of the mu- 
 cous membrane of the eye and lids, 
 which produces a sticky exudate, 
 which gums the eyelids together. 
 
 Sometimes the inflammation of the 
 lids is excited by irritating substances 
 like lime or sharp, dusty sand, insect 
 powders or kerosene getting into the 
 eyes. These causes may produce 
 blindness in chicks that do not have 
 roupy ancestors. That form of in- 
 flammation of the lids accompanied 
 by hardening of the lids is not uncom- 
 monly caused by irritants, kerosene 
 particularly. 
 
 Uncleanliness is another cause of 
 blindness of this sort, and too many 
 who attempt to raise chicks are care- 
 less in this respect. Lice and mites 
 also do their share to cause the trou- 
 ble. 
 
 The best way to remedy such cases 
 is to prevent them or remove the 
 cause if possible. In cases where 
 there is an amount of exudate it will 
 be well to bathe the eyes with a solu- 
 tion of boracic acid, fifteen grains to 
 a half cup of water, and then dry with 
 a soft cloth and apply a little carbolic 
 salve. It is difficult to get satisfac- 
 tory results dosing young chickens 
 with medicine, but you might give 
 them either a little bread and milk 
 with a sprinkling of red pepper and 
 sulphur on it, or rice boiled in milk 
 with a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
 mon for each pint of milk. 
 
 Cancer — The writer wished to know 
 if poultry are subject to cancer. — J. H. 
 
 Answer — Poultry are not subject to 
 cancer, but they are to tuberculosis, 
 which may be taken for the same. 
 There is no cure for this but the 
 hatchet. A thorough disinfecting of 
 the premises must be made. The 
 bodies of any fowl dying from this 
 disease should be burned, or buried 
 very deeplj-, as it is an infectious dis- 
 ease. 
 
 Canker — I am anxious to know if 
 the heavy Black Orpingtons are 
 hardy. I have just bought a fine 
 cockerel and four hens; one of them 
 has just got canker. What is the 
 cause and remedy? They are kept in 
 a yard by themselves and get clean 
 drinking water and sleep in a fresh 
 air house with open side facing east. 
 Do 3'ou favor open front houses for 
 fancy breeds? I feed them with mash 
 in the morning and wheat in the af- 
 ternoon, and alfalfa grows in their 
 yard. — Mrs. M. N. 
 
 Answer — The Black Orpingtons are 
 very hardy. Am sorry your pen has 
 canker. The cure for that is to paint 
 the spots with sulpho-carbolate of 
 zinc (four grains in an ounce of dis- 
 tilled water) night and morning. This 
 will kill the germ, but in case it is 
 diphtheritic roup, would advise you 
 to paint it one day with the sulpho- 
 carbolate of zinc and the next day 
 with peroxide of hydrogen, as the lat- 
 ter kills the diphtheritic germ. The 
 open front houses are the best for 
 every kind of fowl in this climate. A 
 change of diet will often afifect the 
 droppings of the fowls, when they are 
 normal. You had better slightly 
 change the foods, or if you feed them 
 charcoal, it will materially assist the 
 digestion, and you need fear no trou- 
 ble. A little Epsom salts in the wa- 
 ter, if the fowls are very fat and 
 heavy, is also an assistant, but by 
 giving them plenty of green food, you 
 will have no trouble. 
 
 Cannibalism — I had a hatching of 
 Black Minorcas three weeks ago of 
 115 chicks; today I have about 80. In 
 the first place, the chicks are hearty 
 and well, but will bite the rectum of 
 the other chicks and in two or three 
 minutes will just tear the bowels out 
 and kill the little chicks. Every one 
 will give it a nip, and if we are not 
 constantly on the alert all would be 
 dead. No one of whom I have in- 
 quired has ever heard of such a thing. 
 I have raised these just as I raise my 
 White Leghorns. I hatched 160 seven 
 weeks ago, and today have 158 fine 
 chicks. You would oblige me very 
 much with a remedy. — W. P. H. 
 
 Answer — The remedy for "canni- 
 balism" is first, to keep all the chicks 
 busy with exercising; in order to do 
 this, keep the floor of the brooder 
 
140 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 covered with chaff or finely cut alfalfa 
 hay at least an inch deep and feed 
 the chicks small grains (chick feed) in 
 this; the hay or chaff keeps the toes 
 and feet covered, conceals them, and 
 the busy little things are so occupied 
 scratching that they do not get into 
 mischief. Secondly, give them a little 
 more animal food or milk. The can- 
 nibals have a craving for animal food, 
 and sometimes a bit of fat salt pork, 
 whether fed to them or nailed up 
 where they can peck at it, satisfies 
 this craving. Thirdly, find the first 
 leader of this mischief, and either kill 
 him or isolate him and give him to a 
 hen to bring up. This bad habit is 
 usually started by one chick, and all 
 the others follow suit, and soon the 
 whole brooder will acquire the habit, 
 and it is almost impossible to stop it 
 if it has got a good start. 
 
 Chicken Pox — I am in trouble con- 
 cerning my chickens. My young Leg- 
 horn pullets have black looking sores 
 around their eyes and on the comb. 
 They look like ticks at a distance, and 
 sometimes scale off. I am using sul- 
 phur, lard and a few drops of carbolic 
 acid. What is the trouble? Can it be 
 chicken pox? 
 
 Is my remedy of any value; if not, 
 can you suggest one? Also, what is 
 the cause? 
 
 Some of them also have the gapes, 
 and I have been unable so far to ef- 
 fect a cure. Have killed several al- 
 ready. What is good for the gapes 
 and can you tell me what causes 
 them? 
 
 Can a water glass solution be used 
 the second time for preserving eggs? 
 -J. B. 
 
 Answer — Chicken pox is your trou- 
 ble. See reply to H. E. S. 
 
 Give the chicks with gapes garlic, 
 easiest cure. 
 
 Some advise putting down the win- 
 pipe a feather dipped in coal oil to 
 dissolve the worm, but many chicks 
 are killed in this way, and I prefer 
 dusting over the chicks a little slaked 
 lime, which will make them cough up 
 the worm. However, I really con- 
 sider the garlic the best and crushed 
 or chopped fine and mixed with a lit- 
 tle bran, and when they get better, 
 give frequently chopped onions. 
 
 Chicken Pox 
 Warts on Combs and Eyes — I am 
 in trouble and I know you can advise 
 
 me. September 24th I hatched some 
 Blue Andalusians. They have grown 
 very fast, seemed extra healthy and 
 vigorous until a few days ago, when 
 warts began to appear on their combs 
 and eyes. In one night they grew 
 twice in size. I have nine, and they 
 are all becoming affected. What in 
 the world is it, and is it catching? 
 They have run at large entirely and 
 their feed in grain is mostly kaffir 
 corn. They were such fine chicks, 
 and I was raising them for breeders, 
 but now feel discouraged. I have a 
 younger litter, four weeks old, but 
 they are all right so far. My old 
 birds are fine stock and very healthy. 
 These warts did not make their ap- 
 pearance until the chicks were eight 
 weeks old.— Mrs. H. E. S. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have chick- 
 en pox in a very virulent form. 
 Chicken pox is from a germ and it is 
 very infectious. It is fatal to young 
 chicks. In severe cases it goes into 
 the throat and mouth, as you de- 
 scribe. The best home remedies that 
 I know are first to grease the "warts" 
 that are on the outside of the mouth 
 or under the wings with a little car- 
 bolic salve. Then wash the mouth 
 and throat with vinegar and salt (a 
 level teaspoonful in a cup of vinegar), 
 following this the next day with 
 swabbing with peroxide of hj^drogen. 
 Give germazone in the drinking wa- 
 ter. Feed nourishing and easily di- 
 gestible food, such as bread and milk. 
 
 The most important part is to dis- 
 infect the brooders and houses and 
 yards, so as to get rid of the germs. 
 Move the chicks that are well to 
 fresh, clean brooders on the other 
 side of the ranch, and then scald the 
 old brooders thoroughly, giving tliem 
 a last rinse with water in which cor- 
 rosive sublimate (bi-chloride of mer- 
 cury) has been dissolved. Of course, 
 the mercury is poisonous, so the 
 chicks must not be put into the 
 brooders until it has dried off, and 
 care must be used in handling it not 
 to let any of it get into your own 
 eyes. The runs and houses should be 
 disinfected by whitewashing or spray- 
 ing thoroughly with a solution of 5 
 per cent carbolic acid. 
 
 The feeding vessels and troughs 
 should daily be scalded with Tjoiling 
 water until the epidemic ceases. The 
 affected birds should be isolated. 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 141 
 
 When Chicks Choke — As we are be- 
 ginners and having some trouble with 
 our chicks, we vash to ask you for 
 advice, which will be greatly appre- 
 ciated. 
 
 The chicks are five weeks old and 
 up to a few days ago all were well, 
 when we discovered a sick chick. It 
 seemed to be choking and would 
 twist its head and peep. We feed 
 nothing but the best chick feed and 
 always keep fresh water before them 
 and keep them in a fireless brooder, 
 twenty in each. Kindly advise me 
 what the trouble is and how to cure it. 
 Thanking you very kindly for any 
 favors you may extend to us, we beg 
 to remain, yours very truly, W. F. H. 
 
 Answer — When a chick "twists its 
 head and peeps," it is a sign that it 
 has "colic." It has eaten something 
 that disagrees with it. It may have 
 swallowed a burr of some kind or it 
 might have eaten a bit of something 
 that was mouldy. A small dose of 
 castor oil with a few drops of turpen- 
 tine in it would have relieved it. 
 
 discharge from the nostrils has no 
 bad odor, would consider they are fit 
 for food. 
 
 Cold in the Head— Can you tell me 
 what is the matter with my chickens? 
 They eat, seem to feel good, sing and 
 play and are laying good, but they 
 seem to have a cold or something. 
 They try to blow their nose and bub- 
 bles come out. Have been that way 
 for about six weeks; they have a good 
 coop with no air holes; six by eight; 
 one end open; only twenty-five to 
 roost in it. They have had blue- 
 stone in their drinking water every 
 day for a month; they do not get any 
 worse or seem to be any better; they 
 have warm mash for morning feed 
 and wheat noon and night. Would 
 they be good to eat in that condition? 
 — F. C. H. 
 
 Answer — I am afraid that your 
 chickens are too crowded in their 
 roosting quarters and that they get 
 too warm at night and come out into 
 the cool morning air and in this way 
 take cold. Or the open end may be 
 towards the night breeze. They evi- 
 dently have, for some cause, slight 
 colds. Bluestonc, or germazone in 
 the water is an excellent cure and by 
 adding chopped onions and a little 
 red pepper to the mash, should cure 
 them. One teaspoonful of red pepper 
 for every twelve hens is the dose. If 
 tjhe chickens are not feverish and the 
 
 Cough and Sneeze— Will you please 
 tell me what is tlie matter with my 
 birds? I have several that cough or 
 sneeze, I do not know which. They 
 will shake their heads and "holler." 
 One can hear them quite a distance. 
 Will you please tell me the disease 
 and remedy? — B. J., Tucson, Ariz. 
 
 Answer — Your fowls have bron- 
 chitis and perhaps some influenza. 
 Give them bread and milk for supper, 
 and a quinine pill and half a teaspoon- 
 ful of red pepper mixed with butter. 
 And see that they do not sleep in a 
 draught or in a house where the rain 
 comes in on them. 
 
 Comb Discolored — I have a White 
 Leghorn cock two years old; he has 
 always been healthy, but for the last 
 two months I noticed that his comb 
 and wattles turned a deep purple and 
 would remain so for days, then they 
 would change to a natural color 
 again, but only for a day or so, and 
 then turn purple again. He seems 
 to be healthy and vigorous in every 
 way. Now, can you tell me what can 
 be the matter with him and what I 
 can do for him, or if it would be wise 
 to use him any further for breeding 
 purposes? — Mrs. L. S. 
 
 Answer — The comb tells quite a 
 little story of what is going on in the 
 organs of the whole body. Any 
 change in the appearance of the comb 
 is indicative of a disturbance in some 
 other part of the bird. 
 
 The dark colored comb is an indica- 
 tion of a disordered liver and indiges- 
 tion. The dark comb is one of the 
 first symptoms noticed in congestion 
 of the liver and most cases of this 
 come from an overfeeding of a ration 
 too rich in starch elements, such as 
 too much potatoes or bread in the 
 table scraps, and insufficient exercise. 
 I do not know how you are feeding 
 your fowls, but I would recommend 
 you to put a little Epsom salts into 
 the drinking water, or you can give 
 him alone a small half teaspoonful 
 in a tablespoonful of water, and put 
 in the drinking water of the whole 
 flock ten drops of tincture of nux 
 vomica to a pint of water. Feed plen- 
 ty of green food and more meat thaA 
 
142 
 
 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULFRY BOOK 
 
 you arc now jiiving-; keep this up for 
 a week and then turn the birds out on 
 a grass range if possible, otherwise 
 give the birds as scratching material 
 the waste from an alfalfa hay mow 
 and allow them only a little grain, 
 wheat, and make them scratch liard 
 for that. It would not be advisable 
 to use the- male bird for breeding. 
 Breed only from the most vigorous 
 stock vou have. 
 
 Why Combs Are White — We have 
 two Buff Orpington hens that are 
 sick. They mope around and do not 
 eat. Their heads and gills are almost 
 white, and sometimes one is almost 
 l)lue. They look as though they have 
 lice, but they have not. Can you give 
 me some advice as to how to treat 
 them? Thanking you in advance, I 
 am, respectfully, A. G. O. 
 
 Answer — The comb tells quite a lit- 
 tle story as to what is going on in the 
 organs of the whole body. The nor- 
 mal condition of the comb presents a 
 liealthy look that the poultrymen call 
 the "standard red." Any deviation 
 from this red is an indication of 
 changed action in the workings of the 
 organ, or to a change in the vitality 
 of the whole bird. The light colored 
 comb shows an anemic state of the 
 bird and is a sign of underfeeding, 
 lice, poor ventilation, and absence of 
 green vegetable food, impure water 
 and uncleanly surroundings. 
 
 As you say, nothing of the feeding 
 and treatment of tlic birds, I am un- 
 able to say wliich of these conditions 
 I'lts your case. I think probably they 
 are infested with lice or their houses 
 with mites, and the only remedy is the 
 extermination of these. 
 
 Cough — We have a disease in our 
 poultry. They have a phlegm in their 
 tiiroats and cough; they seem all right 
 to look at them; they eat and drink 
 until the day before they die, when 
 tlic}^ begin to droop. I notice it only 
 when I let them out in the morning, 
 or by disturbing them at night. They 
 are fed about twelve pounds of wheat 
 a day, two sheaves of barley, a pan of 
 soaked bread, occasionally a feed of 
 boiled potatoes mixed with bran and 
 a little cayenne pepper. I have been 
 giving them carbolic acid in their 
 drinking water, about seven drops to 
 a milk pan full; they usually drink it 
 before being let out of the feed shed. 
 
 We have lost only two birds, a pea- 
 cock and a young turkey, but tliey all 
 seem to have it. I will be much ob- 
 liged if }'OU can tell me what the dis- 
 ease is and how to treat it. — M. G. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have a 
 slight cold, more like broncliitis than 
 roup. I would advise you to put some 
 germazone into the water given them 
 for drinking and some cliopped onions 
 in their food, and considerable red 
 jjeppcr. There is a possibility that 
 their coughing comes from dust of 
 some kind in their sleeping coop, or 
 from barley beards in the straw. You 
 had better not give them any more 
 carbolic acid in the water. It is very 
 injurious to turkeys. It is always best 
 to try dieting and simple remedies. 
 A teaspoonful of honey once or twice 
 a day will often cure phlegm in the 
 throat. 
 
 (H. M. C., Inglewood, Cal.)— You 
 say you have a fine White Leghorn 
 cockerel whose breathing is labored, 
 that you can hear him breathe when 
 on the roost. Also you have a Buff 
 Orpington hen that coughs, but other- 
 wise both of these are apparently 
 well, and you want me to diagnose 
 the case and give you some remedy. 
 It is difficult to diagnose any case of 
 sickness among birds without seeing 
 them or understanding their environ- 
 ment. I think that it may be a slight 
 touch of bronchitis in both cases, and 
 I would treat for that. First, how- 
 ever, try to discover what has caused 
 this trouble. Bronchitis is caused by 
 anything that gives a cold, overcrowd- 
 ing at night, sleeping in a draught, 
 etc., but it also is caused by dust, 
 especially lime dust from scattering 
 slacked lime in the henneries; that is 
 one reason I do not like air slacked 
 lime. The lime seems to affect not 
 only the bronchial tubes and lungs, 
 but also enters the air sacks. 
 
 The irritation of the bronchial tubes 
 is sometimes the remains of an attack 
 of roup. I have found a little honey 
 one of the best remedies. I would 
 advise you to mix one teaspoonful of 
 eucalyptus oil or teaspoonful of tur- 
 pentine (I prefer the eucalyptus) in 
 one cupful of strained honey; mix 
 thoroughly and give the bird one tea- 
 spoonful night and morning. At the 
 same time give a nourishing diet. I 
 would like to recommend a very httle 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 143 
 
 (about ten grains) of sulphur in the 
 morning meal, .but at this season of 
 the year I am afraid, as sulphur opens 
 the pores, that the fowls might take 
 extra colds. Will you let me know 
 if you give eucalyptus oil and the re- 
 sults, as it may help another. 
 
 Congestion of the Lungs — Knowing 
 that you are a very busy woman, it is 
 as a last resort in our trouble that I 
 make this appeal to you. We are on 
 forty acres of new land since April, 
 never having been occupied except as 
 stock or grain land before. The land 
 is light adobe soil, being porous in 
 summer, not cracking as some adobe 
 does. For grit I furnish coarse sand 
 and decomposed granite, which seems 
 very sharp grit; have fed cracked 
 wheat, chick feed, raw chopped meat 
 sparingly, chopped vegetables and 
 plenty of clean water. Have had three 
 hatches; the first at three weeks old 
 the brooder took fire in the night and 
 burnt everything up; total loss. The 
 second about 70 per cent hatched, and 
 I brooded them in boxes 18 by 24 in. 
 filled with straw, nest and hover, and 
 no artificial heat, and had none sick; 
 all vigorous Plymouth Rocks, until 
 two months old, when suddenly I no- 
 ticed one at a time get droopy; could 
 find no lice, but white-washed and 
 coal-oiled pens, brooders, etc.; dug up 
 the ground. 
 
 I saw two or three head lice, as I 
 supposed — large, long insects — -just on 
 two or three birds, so I greased every- 
 thing with lard and sulphur, on head 
 and under wings, but the sick ones 
 died just the same. On some of the 
 sick ones I could find no lice of any 
 description, so I opened some and 
 could see nothing apparently wrong, 
 except in the lungs, which seemed to 
 be full of blood, and when they died 
 they would sit for a day or two very 
 weak and breathe hard. They got very 
 thin. They have invariably died, and 
 I have now lost about eighty. I 
 opened one today. It seems to have 
 white or cream-colored lumps through 
 the lungs. 
 
 I have about a hundred and ten 
 healthy chicks three weeks old in 
 brooders, and am afraid for them. We 
 have had no experience of this kind 
 before, and anything so unusual and 
 so menacing to our only business has 
 prompted me to write to you. I have 
 a roll of clippings of your pieces, but 
 
 find nothing to cover the case. Now, 
 if possible, will you please tell what 
 the trouble is? It may save my fu- 
 ture flock and my profits. Yours in 
 hope, H. L. F. 
 
 Answer — From your description of 
 the trouble in your brooders I fear 
 that it may be possibly tuberculosis, 
 still there is a great doubt in my mind 
 because you are on a new place and 
 have, as I understand, new boxes or 
 home-made brooders, and therefore I 
 think the trouble is that the chicks 
 have not sufficient room in the boxes 
 at night and are breathing vitiated 
 air. This will weaken — in fact, will 
 poison — the chicks, and they will "go 
 light" or die of consumption just from 
 not having sufficient oxygen or proper 
 ventilation in their sleeping quarters. 
 
 At four weeks of age there should 
 not be more than two dozen chickens 
 in a box 18 by 24 inches, and the 
 brooders should be sunned every day, 
 and one side of the box brooder 
 should be open so the chicks will have 
 plenty of fresh air. Another thing 
 has certainly injured the chicks, and 
 that is greasing them. It always will 
 make the chickens sick, especially if 
 greased under the wings; a little, very 
 little lard on the top of the head and 
 under the chin does not seem to hurt, 
 but if it is used at all freely on the 
 body and especially under the wings, 
 it will often kill them. 
 
 Instead of coal-oiling the brooders, 
 if you had washed them with boiling 
 hot suds it would have been much 
 better. The fumes from the oil is in- 
 jurious and is utterly useless for kill- 
 ing body lice. Boiling suds is harm- 
 less for the chicks and will destroy 
 mites, lice, fleas and many infectious 
 germs in the brooders and costs a 
 good deal less than oil or any of the 
 liquid lice killers. After carefully 
 studying your letter, I feel sure that 
 the trouble commenced with over 
 crowding and lack of ventilation in 
 the brooder. Then the greasing fin- 
 ished it, and when the chickens began 
 to be sick, others caught it, for it is 
 a strange thing, but sure, that one 
 sick chick will infect its neighbors no 
 matter what disease it has. Also, 
 when a chick for any reason is weakly 
 it will take any disease that is in the 
 air. 
 
 Now for those that are left, keep 
 their sleeping coops clean and well 
 sunned and keep the chicks entirely 
 
144 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 away from those that are sick or even 
 weakly. Keep them all free from 
 lice, dusting them occasionally with a 
 good lice powder or with tobacco 
 dust. If any have head lice, take 
 some nice warm suds, put a very few 
 drops of carbolic acid into the suds, 
 and with a tooth brush wet the 
 chick's head with it; this will kill the 
 louse and will loosen and brush away 
 the two silver}' white nits which the 
 liead louse lays at the roots of the 
 feathers. 
 
 If you are following my rules fcr 
 feeding, giving plenty of clean water 
 and green food, and supplying sliade 
 as well as sunshine, your fowls are 
 sure to do well. Being on a fresh 
 place, where there have never been 
 any fowls, is a very great advantage 
 to you, and I feel sure you will event- 
 ually succeed. Let me hear again 
 from you if I can help you. 
 
 Catarrh — Can you please tell me 
 what the trouble is when chickens 
 cough and their nose runs, also state 
 tlie best way to rid them of this 
 plague?— Mrs. S. A. B. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have taken 
 cold and may probably have lice. Try 
 to discover what is giving them their 
 severe colds. It is probably some 
 draught. Put a piece of bluestone in 
 their drinking water (the size of a 
 bean in a quart of water) and give 
 them a pill of the following: Mix two 
 tablespoons of lard, one each of mus- 
 tard, red pepper, vinegar; mix thor- 
 oughly, add sufficient flour and make a 
 stiff dough. Give a bolus of this as 
 big as the first joint of your little 
 finger every night. 
 
 Crop-Bound — ^I have about 100 Leg- 
 horns; been very healthy all winter; 
 laying good. Now about six weeks 
 ago I lost eleven of the heaviest ones 
 in six days. They had yellow drop- 
 pings; lived only two days and died. 
 Four others died after having a heavy 
 crop hanging down; they were ap- 
 parently healthy and laying eggs reg- 
 ularly; I cut the crops off three of 
 them and found nothing but long 
 strings of hay. Please oblige me by 
 telling me the cause and what reme- 
 dies.— A. F. H. 
 
 Answer — Your hens are suffering 
 from what is called crop-bound. They 
 cat long pieces of hay, which form 
 
 into a ball in the crop and cannot pass 
 through them. After a time this fer- 
 ments and decays and poisons the 
 chickens, or brings on inflammation of 
 the crop. When long pieces of grass 
 or hay cause this trouble, as in your 
 case, almost the only remedy is to cut 
 open the crop of the bird and wash it 
 out. Have someone hold the bird so 
 you can have both hands free to work. 
 IMuck enough feathers from the 
 breast to give bare skin half an inch 
 wide by two inches long. Then with 
 a sharp knife cut through the skin, 
 lengthwise of the bird, an opening 
 one inch long over the place of tlie 
 swollen crop. Cut only the skin, leav- 
 ing the crop untouched until the blood 
 of the first incision has ceased to 
 flow. Then cut through the crop a 
 little over a half inch long. Half an 
 inch may seem short, but you will be 
 surprised to see how large the open- 
 ing is after you have worked throngli 
 it for a while. In removing sub- 
 stances from the crop, be careful to 
 let as little as possible slip between 
 the skin and crop; with a button-hook 
 or anything else handy, remove the 
 contents. If filled with grass or hay, 
 it is sometimes necessary to cut the 
 mass with scissors before any start 
 can be made. When the crop is ap- 
 parently empty, push your little fin- 
 ger into it, feeling to know whether 
 there is any obstruction at the outlet. 
 If you find the opening clear, the last 
 thing is to sew up the cut. With 
 needle and white silk thread, take two 
 single stitches in the cut in the crop, 
 then in the same way take three 
 stitches in the skin, tying off the silk 
 at each stitch. Be careful not to in- 
 clude the crop in the knot tied. After 
 the operation feed soft food, omit- 
 tinc;- grain for a week. 
 
 Sick Chicks — I want your advice. 
 My little eliicks seem to be pert and 
 healthy when they are first hatched 
 and all right until they are two weeks 
 old, and then they get all pasted up 
 in the back; don't eat, just drink and 
 are sleepy looking, droopy and die. I 
 have lost over a dozen that way and 
 have a lot more now that are in the 
 same condition. They have no lice 
 or mites, for I have examined them, 
 and I don't see how they take cold. 
 I liave barrels for them to roost in, 
 with a screen in front to protect them 
 from cats or rats, so there is no 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 145 
 
 draught through the barrel and T 
 don't feed them anything but chick 
 feed. I put copperas in their water 
 this morning to see if that would 
 check it. I am sorry to lose all my 
 chicks after I have taken such good 
 care of them. Please let me know as 
 soon as possible what I can do for 
 them and oblige. Yours truly. — Mrs. 
 C. C. B. 
 
 Answer — Your little chicks have 
 taken cold, probably from sleeping in 
 a barrel. When little chicks have 
 bowel trouble, it is almost always 
 from taking cold. In mature hens a 
 cold affects the head, throat, bron- 
 chial tubes or lungs, whilst with lit- 
 tle chicks it affects first the bowels. 
 
 A fireless brooder miglit have 
 saved all your chicks. A barrel is 
 very cold, unless it is well banked 
 up on the outside and the nest inside 
 very carefully made. A flat box is 
 much better. Copperas will not help 
 them; the best thing for them is rice 
 boiled in milk with a tablespoonful 
 of ground cinnamon to each pint of 
 the milk added after cooking. Cinna- 
 mon is a good disinfectant and heal- 
 ing and warming to the bowels. Cop- 
 peras is cold and chilling and is apt 
 to give indigestion to small chicks. 
 
 fasting followed by a dose of castor 
 oil in an hour. Be careful to clean 
 up and destroy the droppings or the 
 other chickens will eat then and the 
 trouble will increase. 
 
 Pullets Dying — We have a flock of 
 incubator chicks that are not doing 
 very well. The little pullets started 
 to die when but seven weeks old and 
 we lose one or two every day. They 
 have the whole farm to run on. At 
 first they hang their wings and act 
 sleepy, then their heads turn blue and 
 they die. We cannot find lice nor 
 fleas on them. They are fed wheat, 
 oatmeal, and some onions and milk. 
 Have plenty of water, grit and char- 
 coal. Thanking you in advance, sin- 
 cerely yours. — Mrs. T. L. 
 
 Answer — I think your chickens have 
 worms; the wings drooping and their 
 acting sleepy are two of the most 
 prominent symptoms with worms. 
 Cut open the next one that dies and 
 examine it. The best cure that I have 
 found for worms is ten drops of tur- 
 pentine in a teaspoonful of castor oil. 
 This is for the common round worms. 
 For tape worms, which are not so 
 common, the dose is ten drops of tinc- 
 ture of male fern on a piece of bread 
 or a lump of sugar in the morning 
 
 Diphtheric Roup — Having derived 
 many useful ideas from your writings, 
 I take the liberty to ask your advice 
 regarding a disease which has come 
 upon my chickens. The first symp- 
 toms seem to be a sneezing or 
 squawking sound as if the chicken liad 
 a beard in its throat; then a wliite 
 membrane forms over the windpipe 
 and the eyes close up and lumi)s 
 break out around the comb. The 
 lumps finally break and the eyes ;.nd 
 nose run. Both Barred Roclcs and 
 White Leghorns are afflicted. The 
 Barred seem to suffer the most. — Mrs. 
 R. F. 
 
 Answer — I am sorry to say your 
 fowls have diphtheric roup. It is a 
 very infectious disease and if ynn have 
 children you had better keep Ihem 
 away from the fowls. Spray tlie 
 mouth, throat, nostrils and cleft in the 
 mouth twice a day with peroxide of 
 hydrogen. Give the fowls a quinine 
 pill, four nights in succession, and 
 once a day a bolus of the following 
 mixture: Two spoons of lard, one 
 each of mustard, cayenne pepper and 
 vinegar; mix thoroughly, add flour 
 enough to make stiff dough; give a 
 bolus as large as the first joint of 
 your little finger once every twenty- 
 four hours. Put a piece in a quart 
 of water, and allow them no other 
 drinking water for a week. 
 
 Fatty Degeneration of Liver — I 
 
 have noticcfl a hen moping and eat- 
 ing but little for two or three weeks, 
 but as I had broken some up from 
 sitting, thought it the result from 
 broodiness. However, as she got no 
 better I separated her from the oth- 
 ers, but yesterday she died. This 
 morning I did as you advised, and 
 duly performed the autopsy. I saw 
 at once on making an incision what 
 was the matter. Her liver was so en- 
 larged that it occupied almost the 
 whole cavity. I never saw one such 
 a size. It was covered in blotches 
 of pink spots, small as a pin point. 
 There was fat around the heart and 
 gizzard and layers of fat around the 
 intestines; perhaps a fifth of an inch 
 
140 
 
 MRS. BASLi:VS WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 
 
 thick. 'riKTO was plenty of grit in 
 the gizzard hut no food. The heart 
 soomcd in good condition, the hody 
 a good color, and flesh firm. In the 
 cavities of the back is a substance, of 
 which I do not know the name, that 
 seems to be enlarging and hardened. 
 There were many eggs but very small 
 and undeveloped. Is this the kind of 
 liver which is used as a delicacy and 
 l>roduced by over-feeding? My fowls 
 were fed corn all winter and were 
 nuich too fat this Spring. In March 
 they had layers of fat an inch in 
 thickness. T did not suppose that 
 a laying hen ought to have any fat 
 inside of her. How should that be? 
 — G. S. H. 
 
 Answer — Your hens certainly had 
 fatty degeneration of the liver, or the 
 disease which the over-fat geese have 
 when their liver is considered a deli- 
 cacy. She simply had been fed an un- 
 balanced ration containing too much 
 of the fat element, and being a Ply- 
 mouth Rock, had become over-fat. 
 The substance in the cavities of the 
 back is the kidneys. There are three 
 lobes of these on each side. Your 
 fattening ration had also affected 
 them. So much fat will also affect 
 the egg laying, will make small eggs 
 and chickens will be weakly, as there 
 will be preponderance of fat in the 
 eggs from which they are hatched. 
 A laying hen should not be anything 
 like as fat as those vou describe. 
 
 Feather Pulling — ^Vill you kindly 
 tell me the cause of chickens pull- 
 ing feathers from each other and 
 eating them? We feed them wheat, 
 cracked corn, etc., also ground bone. 
 — G. H. T. 
 
 Answer — Various causes have been 
 assigned for this habit, the most 
 probable being improper rations and 
 idleness. In some instances it is 
 caused by mites or lice. As in some 
 cases, the habit is due to insufficient 
 animal matter in the rations, or to 
 feeding too long on a single kind 
 of grain, particularly corn, one of the 
 first measures adopted should be a 
 well balanced ration, containing 
 skim milk, meat bone, vegetables or 
 green feed and frequently varied. 
 The Geneva. New York, experiment 
 station applied to the feathers lard 
 or vaseline in which powdered aloes 
 had been mixed. After continuing 
 
 this treatment for some time the 
 habit disappeared, due to the dis- 
 agreeable taste of the aloes. The 
 skin and feathers should be carefully 
 examined for lice and mites and if 
 these are found the remedies recom- 
 mended for such parasite should be 
 applied. 
 
 Green Droppings — I have a White 
 R(->ck pullet eight months old. She 
 is dumpy, docs not care to eat, her 
 droppings are grass green and cream 
 color and very loose. I feed alfalfa, 
 cabbage, lettuce, beef-scraps, blood- 
 meal, bone meal, wheat, kaffir corn, 
 cracked corn and they have plenty of 
 sand. Sometimes I put salts, soda 
 and bluestone in their drinking water, 
 and sulphur and red pepper in their 
 mash. — Mrs D. A. S. 
 
 Answer — I think you are giving 
 your pullet too much medicine, and 
 have upset her digestion. Put her by 
 herself, give her rice boiled in milk 
 with a little cinnamon added and 
 sharp grit and charcoal. Sand is not 
 coarse enough for hens. Also give 
 her green crisp lettuce. Green food 
 does not give hens looseness of the 
 bowels but keeps them in good 
 health. 
 
 Heart Trouble — I have a very fine 
 rooster two years old. For the past 
 two months he has been troubled by 
 some difficulty in breathing. At times 
 his comb and wattles become purple 
 for two or three minutes, then the 
 color gets red again. I have looked 
 for canker but cannot find anything 
 that seems wrong. Have used vase- 
 line but it has not done any good. 
 It seems to me more like asthma or 
 bronchitis. Wish I could cure him 
 for he is a valuable bird. — Mrs. I. G. 
 
 Answer — I am sorry to say that 
 your bird has heart-trouble. This has 
 been brought on by some great excite- 
 ment, such as fighting, fright or being 
 chased. It may possibly be fat on 
 the heart, which weakens that useful 
 organ. You might try giving him in 
 the drinking water nux vomica and 
 sulphur conip. 2x twelve tablets to 
 each pint of drinking water. Be 
 careful to give him plenty of green 
 food and grit, besides his ordinary 
 food. Cases of this kind are almost 
 incurable, but the treatment I have 
 indicated may help hini and prolong 
 his life. 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 147 
 
 Hemorrhage of Oviduct — I wish a 
 Httle information in regard to a Leg- 
 horn hen that " died yesterday. She 
 apparently choked to death; made a 
 queer noise. We opened her and 
 found at the bottom of her egg bag 
 a large clot of black blood. Can you 
 tell me what it was and if there is any 
 cure for it? 
 
 Answer — Your White Leghorn hen 
 had a hemorrhage of the oviduct; this 
 IS excited by any of the causes 
 which lead to congestion and inflam- 
 mation and may be counteracted by 
 green feed and the suppression of egg 
 foods, stimulants, red pepper, etc. 
 It sometimes occurs from try'n:; to 
 pass too large an egg. There is no 
 cure that I know of, as death occurs 
 before one finds out what is the mat- 
 ter. 
 
 ness to feed your fowls every time 
 they come near you. It is far kinder 
 to keep them working for it and so 
 keep tliem healthy. 
 
 Indigestion and Liver Complaint — 
 
 My hens are on a strike, and their 
 faces and combs are becoming pale or 
 yellow. What is it?— I. S. B. 
 
 Answer — You have been over-feed- 
 ing, and now your fowls have indiges- 
 tion. Indigestion in fowls is the 
 cause of many ailments. With your 
 birds it has been brought on by lack 
 of grit, with not sufficient roughness 
 (or filling) and too little exercise. 
 How can indigestion be prevented? 
 By dieting. Feed more bulky foods, 
 such as alfalfa, and less solids. A 
 continued grain diet of wheat, corn, 
 barley, if few in quantities and not 
 varied by bulky foods, vegetables, 
 etc., will bring on indigestion, es- 
 pecially when but little exercise is 
 taken. An insufficiency of clean wa- 
 ter is also conducive to this trouble. 
 Clover, alfalfa, any of the green stuffs 
 or vegetables, usually fed to fowls, 
 are absolutely necessary preserva- 
 tives of health. Now, as to a remedy: 
 Your fowls' indigestion has taken the 
 phase of biliousness. Give each af- 
 fected hen one of Carter's Little Liv- 
 er Pills, and give the whole flock a 
 teaspoonful of baking soda in a quart 
 of water every day for a week. Give 
 no other water. Why do I recom- 
 mend soda? Because it helps to emul- 
 sify the too much fat in the bowels. 
 You might give a teaspoonful of Ep- 
 som salts in the water for a week, to 
 carry off the bile which is overflow- 
 ing into the intestines and being tak- 
 en into tlie system. It is not kind- 
 
 Inflammation of the Crop — I have a 
 P>uff ()rpington hen that has a dis- 
 ease 1 have never seen before. Iler 
 craw is swollen to several ■ times its 
 normal size and is filled with wind or 
 gas. She eats but not as much as 
 she should and is getting thinner all 
 the time.— H. Y. 
 
 Answer — Your hen is suffering 
 from inflammation of the crop. This 
 is like a very severe attack of indi- 
 gestion. The causes of this are irrc- 
 gvilar feeding or too much food be- 
 ing taken at one time. Partially de- 
 composed meat, or putrid food of any 
 kind will also cause congestion and 
 fermentation of the contents of the 
 crop. The same disease occurs when 
 birds eat substances containing phos- 
 phorus or arsenic, or rat poison. The 
 feeding of too large a quantity of 
 pepper or stimulating "egg food" in 
 the mash will also cause inflamed 
 crop as well as trouble with the egg 
 function. 
 
 Treatment — A clean, dry pen 
 should be provided for the affected 
 bird. Empty the crop of its irritating 
 and decomposing contents by careful 
 pressure and manipulation while the 
 bird is held with its head downward 
 When the crop is freed of its con- 
 tents, give two grains of subnitrate of 
 bismuth and one-half grain of bi- 
 carbonate of soda in a teaspoon of 
 water. The bird should then be kept 
 without food for eighteen hours and 
 then fed sparingly upon easily digest- 
 ed food, such as bread and milk. 
 Half a grain of quinine morning and 
 night for two or three days will 
 complete the cure. 
 
 Influenza — I am in trouble with my 
 chickens. Five of them have* died 
 since Monday. They open their 
 mouths and gasp for breath and 
 sneeze and their eyes are very wa- 
 tery. I feed wheat, cracked corn, 
 plenty of green stuff and table scraps 
 and they have a good run. I always 
 wash out their drinking pans and 
 rake out under their roosts at least 
 every other morning. — Mrs. J. F. S. 
 
148 
 
 MRS. BASLF.Y'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have in- 
 IliKMiza. Tlicy arc taking cold in 
 scinu' way. lutlior there is a draught 
 in tlK'ir liousc or tlie rain comes in 
 on thcni; a few have had the cold 
 and they are giving it to the rest. 
 Keep blue-stone in their water, and 
 .^ive each of them a bolus of the fol- 
 lowing, night and morning: Mix two 
 tablespoons of lard, one tablespoon 
 each of cayemie pei)pcr, mustard, 
 \inegar; mix thoroughl}', add enough 
 llour to make stifif dough; roll out; 
 give a bolus as large as the end of 
 your little finger. Put carbolated 
 vaseline up tlieir nostrils and in the 
 cleft of tile mouth, and give them 
 cliopped onions in their food. 
 
 Leg Weakness — T am in trouble 
 over my White Rock chickens. I 
 only have a few, so would like to 
 save them. When they are about 
 three weeks old they get weak in 
 tlie legs, and after a week or so they 
 begin to tremble like a person that 
 is nervous. They eat well until the 
 last. I feed boiled egg and bread 
 crumbs. They have green barley to 
 nni on. I feed kaffir corn at night. 
 During the day I feed onions and 
 table scraps. If you could tell me 
 what to do I would be a thousand 
 times obliged. — Mrs. W. K. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens are suffer- 
 ing from what is called "leg weak- 
 ness." Leg weakness comes chiefly 
 from wrong feeding, also from over- 
 cro\yding at night and overheating. 
 
 Young chickens should either be al- 
 lowed free range with a hen or be 
 encouraged to work and scratch for 
 their food. This strengthens their 
 legs. The green food should form at 
 least one-third of their diet and for 
 such young chickens it would have to 
 be chopped up finely. They cannt^tt 
 peck ofT sufficient green barley. It 
 soon becomes too tough for them. 
 The cure for leg weakness is a little 
 tonic (a few drops of iron in their 
 drinking water) and plentj' of green 
 food and cracked wheat instead of 
 kaffir corn. If it comes from over- 
 crowding or overheating, either un- 
 der a hen or in a brooder, you must 
 rectify this. See that they have 
 "chick grit and charcoal." 
 
 write to ask you to be kind enough 
 to diagnose it. 
 
 The chicks are Black Minorcas and 
 are fourteen days old. They seemed 
 to be doing well till yesterday. One 
 or two all at once got so they could 
 not stand up or walk but looked 
 bright. This morning there are half 
 a dozen affected the same way. I 
 feed them a chick feed I have used 
 for several years, curd, charcoal, and 
 plenty of grit and always give the 
 fresh water three or four times a 
 day. For the last three days they 
 have run in a lettuce patch part of 
 the day. I have a hot air brooder, 
 plenty of fresh air at night. No 
 sign of lice and I use a powder in 
 the brooder once a week. I have 
 raised chickens for several years but 
 have never had any trouble like this 
 and I would be greatly obliged if 
 3^ou can diagnose the case and give 
 a remedy. — Mrs P. V. M., Sacra- 
 mento. 
 
 Answer — The symptoms you de- 
 scribe arc those of poisoning or sud- 
 den and acute indigestion. I can only 
 suggest that it may be that the chick 
 feed has mouldy grain in it or there 
 may be ptomaine poison in the beef 
 scrap. I would .'■ugoCst that you put 
 a little bicarbonate of soda in the 
 drinking water. Give all the succu- 
 lent green food that yuu can per- 
 suade them to eat and to each af- 
 fected chick administer without de- 
 lay ten drops of castor oil. Tr^' "o 
 find out where the poison comes 
 from, change all tlie bedding in the 
 brooder and brooder house and scald 
 the brooder thoroughly with hot soap 
 suds. When any sudden trouble like 
 this comes, try to find the cause of 
 it and remove it. I feel sure it is 
 poison of some kind, either ptomaine 
 or fungoid, such as mould}' bread or 
 mildewed grain. 
 
 Acute Indigestion — I am in trouble 
 with some incubator chicks and I 
 
 Limber Neck — We have between 
 200 and 300 chicks two months old 
 that are badly afflicted with limber 
 neck, and we cannot find out the 
 cause. The first two or three weeks 
 we fed them millet and Johnnie cake 
 made stiff and dry, of coarse corn 
 meal, but thej' began to get sick, so 
 changed to dry food, consisting of 
 cracked wheat, millet, beef-scraps and 
 grit, but the chicks got no better, so 
 now we are using just wheat and 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 149 
 
 grit. They have lettuce every day 
 and often young vegetables — tops and 
 all. Until abo-ut a week ago they 
 were kept by themselves in wire 
 pens, but as an experiment my hus- 
 band let them out to run and still 
 they get sick. They do not all die 
 as I bring them to the house as soon 
 as we find the sick ones, but from 
 one to seven die nearly every day. 
 They have fresh water every morn- 
 ing. I do not try to doctor them, 
 but just keep them warm. I have saved 
 some pretty sick ones in that way. 
 They are such a bother and we have 
 lost so many in that way. The flock 
 which is the most affected had a ha- 
 bit of huddling when they were small, 
 until they would sweat and some- 
 times die. Do you suppose that 
 could have anything to do with the 
 present troubles? — Mrs F. L. 
 
 Answer — Limber neck is due to a 
 disorder of the nervous system and 
 is usually the result of disturbances 
 of the digestive organs from severe 
 attacks of indigestion or from infesta- 
 tion with worm parasites. Chicks 
 are sometimes affected in this manner 
 by unusually hot day and nights. I 
 think very probably their digestive or- 
 gans were weakened by being over- 
 heated when they huddled and I 
 would give the whole flock plenty of 
 charcoal to eat, with plenty of green 
 food and animal food, and no millet, 
 as millet is very hard to digest. Give 
 the sick birds a small piece of gum 
 asafoetida, about the size of a green 
 pea. Repeat the dose the second day. 
 This will usually cure. Feed them 
 with bruised garlic or with chopped 
 up onions. Give them grit or very 
 coarse sand in boxes to assist in the 
 digestion, and I think you will have 
 no further trouble. 
 
 It is . possible that your chickens 
 have worms. You had better open 
 the next one that dies and examine 
 it and if you find it infected, give the 
 others turpentine in the drinking wa- 
 ter, half a teaspoonful to a pint of 
 water (giving no other drinking wa- 
 ter) or if you prefer it give a tea- 
 spoonful of Castor oil with ten drops 
 of turpentine in it to each sick chick. 
 The chickens dislike the turpentine in 
 the water but it will kill the com- 
 mon round worms if continued for a 
 week. 
 
 Liver Trouble or Poison — I want 
 
 your advice and a remedy for my 
 sick fowls. The symptoms are brief- 
 ly stated: Grown chickens affected 
 droop for two days, comb turns 
 black and they die. Have lost nine 
 in two days. 
 
 My chickens have free range, fresh 
 water and plenty of barnyard scratch- 
 ing with Egyptian corn every night. 
 — C. V. N. 
 
 Answer — The symptoms you de- 
 scribe denote either liver trouble or 
 poison. In your case I think per- 
 haps it is poison, either from rat 
 poison, gopher or some poisonous 
 weed. You had better hold a post 
 mortem examination on the next one 
 that dies and then you will be able 
 to tell just what the trouble is. 
 
 Mange — I have a Plymouth Rock 
 hen tliat has the under part of her 
 body and legs and feet covered witli 
 hard, scaley sores of all sizes from a 
 bean to a couple of inches across. 
 Some are light yellow, some red and 
 some purple in color. She seems to 
 be all right otherwise, eats good and 
 comb and head look red and healthy. 
 Please tell me what ails my hen and 
 if I can cure her. — Mrs A. H. S. 
 
 Answer — I think your hen has 
 mange. I would advise you to kill 
 her and bury deeply or burn the body 
 because when it is as virulent as you 
 describe, it would be very difficult to 
 cure and all those kind of diseases are 
 exceedingly infectious. Carbolic 
 
 salve at the first might have cured 
 her but now it is too late and the 
 time, trouble and expense of treat- 
 ment, with the probability of the 
 others becoming affected, would not 
 pay. 
 
 Naked Chicks — -Thinking perhaps 
 you can help us I will ask you for a 
 little of your time. Late in October 
 we bought a hen caring for thirty 
 chicks. We have fed them cracked 
 corn, meat scraps, plenty of green 
 stuff, charcoal and grit. They fea- 
 thered out but since many of them 
 have become bald, and the feathers 
 fall from their neck and they are 
 growing thin, still their wing feathers 
 are long, making them look very 
 queer. They are not incubator 
 chicks, and we have examined them 
 closely for mites, have dusted them 
 
150 
 
 MRS. HAST.EVS WESTF.RN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 lor lice and they arc quite free from 
 either. W'liat do you tliiiik is tlie 
 cause and what ean we do for them? 
 — 11. A. S. 
 
 .\nswer — Your ehickens are hud- 
 dlinjj: at nit;ht. erowdiny too closely 
 loi^etlier. This makes them sweat 
 and tlieir feathers fall out. Put a 
 little carbolated vaseline on their 
 heads and cut the feathers of their 
 winys as close as j'ou can without 
 niakins>- them bleed. Give them wheat 
 and more meat in their food and try 
 lo prevent their crowding at night. 
 It is the crowding and lack of wheat 
 ill the food, lack of protein, that pre- 
 \ents the featiiers growing, and the 
 sweating makes them fall out ami 
 will make the chickens thin. 
 
 Ovarian Tumor — I had a nice Or- 
 pington hen: she had been laying 
 each day and appeared to be perfectly 
 healthy; comb red, went around seem- 
 ing quite well. I feed cracked corn 
 and wheat, table scraps, and the 
 chickens have good range and plenty 
 of good food. About four days ago 
 the Orpington appeared to be lame 
 in the riglit leg. I caught her, ex- 
 .imined the foot and leg, could see 
 nothing wrong and she continued 
 lame, and with difficulty got on the 
 nest. To all appearances the leg was 
 broken, as it was harder for her to 
 walk each day. Rather than see her 
 suffer I had her killed. I dissected 
 her; she was very fat with an abund- 
 ance of eggs, one soft shell. I found 
 in the right side of the back a growth 
 about the size of a pigeon egg, which 
 appeared to be part of the egg bag. 
 The liver and other organs appeared 
 to be healthy. I hope that you may 
 be able to tell me what the growth 
 was and if there is a cure for it, in 
 case any of the other hens have such 
 symptoms. The hen was about two 
 and a half years old. Would age 
 have a tendency to liinder her? — Mrs. 
 II. R. H. 
 
 Answer — Your hen had what is 
 called an ovarian tumor. The trou- 
 ble is very common, and yet we don't 
 know very much about it. I am in- 
 clined to think that if investigations 
 covering a large number of fowls kept 
 under a variety of conditions were 
 made, it would be found that cases of 
 tumor like this are more abundant 
 .inioiig fowls kei)t closely confined, or 
 
 fed heavily for egg production, than 
 among those kept under more natural 
 conditions. It is quite reasonable al- 
 so to sui)j)Ose that the offspring of 
 hens heavily forced for (:gg produc- 
 tion would show weakness of the re- 
 productive system, resulting in dis- 
 eases of this character. It possibly 
 also may come from an injury of 
 some kind. Undoubtedly some 
 strains or families are more subject 
 to it than others. There is no cure 
 for it and the oidy preventive is to 
 keep the hens healthy and busy. 
 
 Over Fat Hens — I have about two 
 dozen Buff Orpington hens and have 
 had no eggs for four months. They 
 appear as healthy as can be. For 
 some time I fed them wheat twice a 
 day and the table scraps. I began 
 to think I was not feeding the proper 
 foods; then I got bran and an egg 
 maker and also bought cabbage for 
 them and still no eggs. They have 
 lots of exercise and gravel and are 
 so fat you cannot eat them. Please 
 tell me what to do to reduce the fat. 
 The past two weeks I have been giv- 
 ing them just the scraps from the 
 table. Tell me, is that the proper 
 method to reduce fat? — Mrs A. C. S. 
 
 Answer — Your hens are so fat that 
 they cannot laj-. The whole inside of 
 them is filled full of fat so the eggs 
 cannot pass down the egg duct. The 
 best plan would be to kill and eat, 
 or sell the fowls, because they will 
 not make satisfactory laj'^ers after 
 being so fat. 
 
 However, if you wish to keep them, 
 j'our only plan will be not to give 
 any grain, or any table scraps until 
 they are reduced in fat; give only 
 green alfalfa or lawn clippings, for 
 two weeks, then commence and feed 
 half an ounce of meat per hen per 
 day and lawn clippings; no grain or 
 bread, and in about a month they 
 maj' begin to lay. 
 
 Pendulous Crop — I have a hen. 
 and its crop hangs down so far that 
 when it walks its feet are always 
 hitting it. We cut it open once and 
 only the corn and feed it had eaten 
 came out of it. I have thought I 
 would kill it, but I was afraid it 
 might be a tumor and that the hen 
 would not be fit to eat. She seems 
 healthv otherwise. 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 151 
 
 Answer — Your hen has a pendulous 
 crop. This is usually caused by over- 
 feeding of mash at some time in her 
 life, it sometimes can be cured by a 
 surgical operation. I would advise 
 you to kill and eat the hen, as in 
 time the crop will become sore. You 
 can easily see before you eat it if a 
 tumor has developed, in which case 
 bury it. 
 
 Poisoning — For some time I have 
 read your articles and know that you 
 are different from the majority of 
 poultry writers, in this, that you 
 know what you arc writing about. 
 I wish to ask you to please tell me 
 what is ailing a fine White Wyan- 
 dotte cock I have. He has been ail- 
 ing about two months. He was just 
 starting in the moult when he com- 
 menced looseness of the bowels which 
 I cured, when one evening, as I came 
 to shut them up, I found him on the 
 ground unable to get on the roosts; 
 when I lifted him on the roost he 
 fell as though dizzy and tumbled 
 over and over. Ever since that time 
 he has been getting worse. Now, 
 with the least excitement, he will 
 squat on the ground and twist his 
 head and neck entirely around, often 
 with his bill turned straight up. 
 
 Answer — The symptoms you de- 
 scribe are those of ptomaine poison- 
 ing. This is caused by bad meat or 
 bad milk or spoilt beef scraps. Also 
 by musty or smooty grain and for- 
 maline. The treatment is: give a pill 
 of asafoetida about the size of a pea 
 every night for a week; for the same 
 length of time put bicarbonate of soda 
 in the water, about a teaspoonful to 
 a quart of water; give him some char- 
 coal in the feed and avoid feeding 
 whatever is causing the trouble. 
 
 The preservative which butchers 
 put on the meat acts as a poison and 
 many fine birds have been lost 
 by this without the owners discover- 
 ing the trouble. It seems to partly 
 paralyze the bird. 
 
 Ptomaine Poison— ^I am in great 
 trouble and come to you for advice. 
 My splendid White Leghorn chickens 
 are dying like flies and I do not 
 know the cause nor what to do for 
 them. 
 
 Today I lost ten and I am afraid 
 I may lose the whole lot of them. I 
 
 opened several to see if I could find 
 the cause, but ihcy look all right, 
 with the exception of the crop which 
 lias nothing in it but wind or air. 
 The chickens are seemingly all right 
 and suddenly they will lie down, put 
 their heads under their bodies, and 
 after a while they will die. 
 
 My chickens have plenty of exer- 
 cise, lots of green food, grit and run- 
 ning water. They can run at will 
 all over the ranch and I feed them 
 some every day. I am putting some 
 pulverized asafoetida in their mash as 
 a disinfectant. My chicken house is 
 new and in good order. — Mrs. K. G., 
 Polasky. 
 
 Answer — Sudden symptoms such as 
 you describe come from poison of 
 some kind which brings on an attack 
 of acute indigestion. The difificulty is 
 to decide what the poison is and 
 where the chickens get it. 
 
 I think your chickens, being on free 
 range, are finding and eating putrid 
 animal food of some kind and that 
 they are suffering from ptomaine 
 poison. 
 
 Rotten vegetables or moulded grain 
 or vegetables have the same effect, 
 although that is from a fungoid poi- 
 son. 
 
 The treatment in either case would 
 be about the same. F"irst remove the 
 poison from the ranch, look for any 
 dead chicken, bird, gopher, etc., and 
 bury deeply or burn. Continue the 
 asafoetida in the mash but also add 
 a teaspoonful of castor oil for each 
 chick the first morning and in every 
 mash for some time to come put pow- 
 dered charcoal and sulphur, a quar- 
 ter of a teaspoonful to each chick. 
 
 Poison — I thank you very much 
 for your kind advice. I feed now as 
 you direct me, with fairly good re- 
 sults. The beef scrap of which I send 
 
 you a sample, I bought at 
 
 and it killed my chickens. 
 
 I fed it to different flocks at differ- 
 ent times with the same result and I 
 am positive it is this beef scrap and 
 nothing else that poisoned my chick- 
 ens. I wonder how many people have 
 lost chickens through these same peo- 
 ple who sold to me. Perhaps they 
 sell good scrap sometimes, but this 
 is bad and smells bad. 
 
 What is the best way to feed rab- 
 bits to hens? I cannot grind them in 
 a bone cutter, can I? — J. 11. 
 
152 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Answer — The beef scrap that you 
 sent me certainly docs not smell at 
 all good. It often occurs in the sum- 
 mer that beef scrap that may have 
 been good earlier in the year has 
 become moist or heated and a poi- 
 son has developed in it, so in the 
 summer I advise poultry raisers to 
 buy it only in small quantities and 
 try to have it as sweet as possible. 
 
 You know I feared it was the beef 
 scrap and so advised you to use milk 
 and wild game and to avoid the beef 
 scrap. You will have to skin the 
 rabbits or squirrels and then you can 
 surely grind them up in your bone 
 cutter or if you cannot you might 
 Iiack them up with at hatchet on a 
 block of wood, or you can boil them 
 and let the hens peck the meat off 
 and then chop the bones up on the 
 block. The hens will come running 
 when they hear that hatchet chop- 
 ping. I have had them running a 
 • luartcr of a mile to get the bones 
 that were flying off the hatchet. The 
 rabbit and squirrel bones chop very 
 easily and the hens do love them. 
 
 Poison — I want to know what is 
 the matter with my friend's chickens. 
 They are a mixed flock, one year old, 
 all laying. They are fed on scraps 
 or garbage. 
 
 The first thing she noticed they 
 were on the roost hanging their 
 heads down as far as they could 
 stretch. Then they fall on the ground 
 and run their heads out as far as they 
 can, and die three or four days later. 
 Slie has lost seventeen. — Mrs F. 
 
 Answer — This is what is called 
 "limber neck," and comes from poi- 
 soning by bad (putrid) meat, fish, 
 or garbage that is moldy. Tell your 
 friend to put a little bicarbonate of 
 soda in tlic drinking water — a small 
 tcaspoonful to a quart — and to give 
 also ground charcoal in the food and 
 give each hen tliat is so affected a 
 dose of either Epsom salts (half a 
 tcaspoonful) dissolved in water, or a 
 tcaspoonful of castor oil. 
 
 Mildew Poison — Will you kindly 
 answer tlic following questions: "My 
 White Leghorns are dying from 
 bowel trouble. Two were sick for 
 two daj's. I have noticed this since 
 I began feeding a dark variety of 
 wheat or mildewed wheat. The hens 
 have not laid well and their combs 
 
 are dark. I think it is the wheat. 
 Will you please tell me a remedy? 
 Do you think it is the wheat? — Mrs. 
 J. W. H. 
 
 Answer — Mildew is poisonous to 
 fowls and the wheat you are feeding 
 them is killing them. Stop giving 
 them that wheat, and give them a 
 little charcoal in their food and also 
 a little carbonate of soda in their 
 drinking water, about a half-teaspoon- 
 ful of bicarbonate of soda to a quart 
 of drinking water. But there will be 
 no use in doctoring if you keep on 
 feeding them the poisonous wheat. 
 
 Pip — I have read your remarks 
 carefully for over a year, but do not 
 remember anything about pip. All 
 my flock have it, one year and three 
 days old. How do they get it? Is 
 it hereditary? If so, is it in the 
 strain or the breed, White Wyan- 
 dottes? Is it fatal? If so, in what 
 time? What is your treatment? 
 
 Thanking you for your reply, I am, 
 very respectfully. — W. H. 
 
 Answer — I have not seen a genuine 
 case of "pip" for many a long year — 
 in fact, never in California. The 
 poultry medical books here assert 
 that it is only a symptom of a dis- 
 ease and not a disease at all; that it 
 is only a dryness of the tongue pro- 
 duced by feverishness and rapid 
 breathing. However, I well rcmem- 
 ])er the disease at my grandmother's 
 in Europe and there the cure was 
 very siinplc. 
 
 The pip there was a real disease. 
 It was a small horn or scale that 
 grew on the end of the tongue. The 
 tip of it was quite sharp, almost like 
 a thorn, and the edges were almost 
 as sharp as a knife. The sharp point 
 and edges seem to prevent the fowls 
 from picking up and swallowing the 
 grain and they die of starvation. 
 
 When we noticed a hen which drop- 
 l)ed the grain we examined her and 
 if we found a hard, sharp scale on the 
 tip of the tongue we would remove 
 it with the thumb nail, scaling it off, 
 commencing under the tip of the ton- 
 gue. Then we touched the spot with 
 bora.x and honey and gave the hen a 
 dose of Epsom salts, about a quar- 
 ter of a tcaspoonful, or a lump of 
 very salt butter. We fed soft food 
 for a few days. The hens recovered 
 quickly. 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 153 
 
 Poisoned — Yesterday morning I 
 found nine big chickens in my yard 
 dead and about twelve more are dy- 
 ing. What is the cause? They sit on 
 the ground, do not eat and the head 
 hangs loose on the ground. The comb 
 is dark and in the throat is a sticky 
 slime like white mucilage. No bad 
 smell; sometimes they jump a foot 
 and lay down again. I fear they will 
 all die. To a few I gave a teaspoon- 
 ful of olive oil, and to some others 
 fresh milk. I cannot imagine what it 
 is. 
 
 Other fowls in the next yard are 
 not affected, and all had the same 
 food.— Mrs. F. C. P. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have lim- 
 ber necks from ptomaine poisoning. 
 Give the whole flock hypo-sulphite of 
 soda; dissolve one teaspoonful in a 
 quart of drinking water. And to each 
 chicken that is affected give a piece 
 of asafoetida about the size of a green 
 pea. Use the gum form, and repeat 
 the dose the second day. This dis- 
 ease usually comes from severe at- 
 tacks of indigestion, caused by eating 
 bad animal food, or the decaying car- 
 cass of a dead animal. Putrid meat 
 or putrid milk will cause it. 
 
 increase the amount of green food 
 and meat, and cut in half the amount 
 of grain, and let all of the grain be 
 fed in the scratching pen to induce 
 exercise. 
 
 Rheumatism — I have a White Ply- 
 mouth Rock hen about eight months 
 old, which seems to have rheumatism. 
 She is very fat, and a few days ago 
 she walked lame in one leg and the 
 next morning she was lame in both 
 legs and now she cannot stand erect, 
 but walks and crawls on her legs, the 
 legs being drawn up under her so 
 that in moving around she does not 
 seem to be able to straighten out her 
 legs, but moves with them underneath, 
 from the knee down being flat on the 
 ground. Can you tell me what is the 
 matter, and a remedy? — W. A. B. 
 
 Answer — I am afraid your hen has 
 rheumatism from liver trouble, 
 brought on by overfeeding, with in- 
 sufficient exercise, and I cannot hold 
 out any hope of a cure at her age. 
 If she is not feverish, she would be 
 good for the table, but being very 
 fat, and with this rheumatic ten- 
 dency, she would never make a good 
 layer, and the hatchet is the only 
 cure for her. For the rest of the 
 flock, give them Epsom salts in the 
 drinking water for a week, and bi- 
 carbonate of soda for a second week; 
 
 Rheumatism in the Feet — I have a 
 very fine Buff Leghorn rooster and 
 he seems to have rheumatism in his 
 feet. Do you know any cure? — Mrs. 
 J. M. S. 
 
 Answer — Rheumatism many result 
 from long exposure to cold and 
 moisture; it may be produced by over- 
 feeding of meat; induced through the 
 under-feeding of vegetable food and 
 is helped along by previous rheumatic 
 tendencies of ancestors. 
 
 Treatment — Bathe the feet and 
 shanks with the following: One cup- 
 ful of vinegar, one of turpentine and 
 a heaping teaspoonful of saltpeter, 
 mix in a bottle and shake well before 
 using. For internal treatment there 
 is no better remedy than iodide of po- 
 tassium. This is given in the drink- 
 ing water, fifteen grains of iodide of 
 potassium to every quart of water. 
 Give in small dishes so that it all may 
 be used while fresh and thus avoid 
 waste from having to throw away 
 any, because it is mixed with dirt. 
 Common cooking soda, one level tea- 
 spoon to each quart of water, or sali- 
 cylic acid, one grain a day, has given 
 good results, but the iodide is the 
 best and most satisfactory. Give 
 plenty of green food. 
 
 Roup, Bronchitis, Pneumonia — (F. 
 
 M. S., California) — Can you favor me 
 with a little information which I fail 
 to locate in your valuable, book and 
 it covers the ground very well. On 
 a cold and windy night two weeks 
 ago a careless boy left a window open 
 in a house, allowing a strong draft to 
 blow on my precious four-months-old 
 pullets. Consequence, about half of 
 them (586 all told) came down with 
 bad colds. Some developed roupy 
 catarrh, others eyes swelled close 
 shut. Sprayed nostrils with glyco- 
 tliermoline and carbolic acid. No good 
 effect noted. Put roup cure in drink- 
 ing water and dipped head in same. 
 Majority are improving. There is 
 one phase of disease that puzzles me 
 and of course it attacks the largest 
 and finest pullets. They seem to have 
 difiiculty in getting their breath. Act 
 
154 
 
 MRS. B.VSLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 like ;i chick with the gapes. Open 
 their mouths and gasp with a strained, 
 worried look on their faces. Live 
 ahout twelve liours and die choking 
 to death in one last convulsion. These 
 so atTected have not so much odor at 
 nostrils as majority. No mucus spots 
 iti throat. Throat seems to be full of 
 l^hlegni. Don't eat at all. Spraying 
 throat with glyco-thcrmolinc and acid, 
 and iKiinting with iodine or running 
 feather saturated with coal oil down 
 wind pipe offers no relief whatever. 
 Xo one around me seems to know of 
 any remedy. If you can diagnose it 
 and suggest a remedy, will appreciate 
 it greatly, as I hate to lose chickens 
 when they get this old, and I put 
 great faith in your suggestions. 
 
 Answer — I sj-mpathize most sin- 
 cerely with you in your trouble from 
 your beautiful pullets taking cold, and 
 wisli T could lielp you. I think you 
 have been doing all that was possible. 
 You see, hens are very much like hu- 
 man beings. One person will have 
 neuralgia from a draught, while an- 
 other will have a sore throat, and 
 while from the same cause one may 
 have catarrh, in another the trouble 
 will be bronchitis or even pneumonia. 
 Now. I think with your pullets, some 
 of them have catarrh, others swell 
 heads, and with others the catarrh 
 has gone down lower into the bron- 
 chial tubes and possibly into the lungs 
 themselves. 
 
 Now as to treatment. If I remem- 
 ber rightly, the roup cure you arc 
 using is made principally of perman- 
 ganate of potash and bluestone (.sul- 
 pliate of copper). Both of these are 
 excellent germicides and by killing 
 the germs of the catarrh or roup, they 
 prevent their multiplying, and give 
 nature a chance to recuperate. I 
 think, though, the roup cure is more 
 effective than the severer medicines, 
 such as turpentine and carbolic acid, 
 so I now recommend that your roup 
 cure be given in the drinking water, 
 at the same time dipping the head in 
 tlie same. Or you can put one cupful 
 of kerosene oil into two parts of wa- 
 ter. The oil will float on top; dip 
 the fowl's head slowly under this, 
 holding it there while you count three. 
 It will sneeze and cough and you 
 must wipe oft' the mucus with a rag 
 and burn the rag. 
 
 With some of tlie fowls the catarrh 
 will go deeper and for these I think 
 
 the perc^xide of hydrogen, spraying 
 the throat well, is the best, giving 
 always the permanganate of potash 
 and bluestone in the drinking water. 
 
 For those tliat have developed bron- 
 chitis or where you think the bron- 
 cliitis may be just commencing, give 
 aconite, one drop in a teaspoonful 
 of milk, twice or three times a day. 
 The symptoms you describe are ex- 
 actly those of bronchitis, so I feel 
 confident in recommending the aco- 
 nite. Dr. Woods recommends the 
 "Aconite, Bryonia and Spongis mix- 
 ture," but I have not tried it. The 
 mixture is "ten drops of the tincture 
 of each in an ounce of alcohol. Use 
 a teaspoonful of this in a quart of 
 drinking water." I think this might 
 be very useful, especially at the com- 
 m.encement of a cold or bronchitis. 
 Dr. Woods says that two doses will 
 often effect a cure. Or you can get 
 this in tablet form at the drug store. 
 The tablet (1-100 of a grain in 
 strength) can be given one to each 
 bird two or three times a day or 
 twelve tablets in each pint of drinking 
 water. 
 
 I have found a teaspoonful of honey 
 with five drops of eucalyptus oil, 
 twice a daj-, to be an excellent cure. 
 The hone}' iis very soothing and is also 
 nourishing and sustaining. Bronchitis 
 is a very debilitating illness and the 
 fowl should be fed only liquid nour- 
 ishment, such as raw egg beaten up 
 with half the amount of milk, about 
 two teaspoonsful everj'^ two or three 
 hours. I have given a tablespoonful 
 of milk or milk with honey mixed. I 
 have a small "invalid drinking cup;" 
 it is a narrow cup with a spout like a 
 tea pot, wdiich I have found very use- 
 ful and hand}-, as I could insert the 
 spout a little w'ays down the throat 
 of the hen and none of the liquid 
 would be spilt. A child's toy teapot 
 with a rather long spout will answer 
 the purpose, but an invalid drinking 
 cup. costing ten cents, is extremely 
 useful and worth many times its price 
 for chickens. You can use a dropping 
 tube also for administering liquid 
 medicine. I realize that with the large 
 number of fowls that you have you 
 want an easy and quick way of doc- 
 toring, and the only waj' is the drink- 
 ing water. 
 
 In cases of cold or the cold going 
 deeper as into bronchitis, or pneumo- 
 nia, fowls need very easilj' digested, 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 155 
 
 light and nourishing food. I have 
 found nothing better than bread and 
 milk. To this can be added a little 
 bran, or a few eggs can be beaten up 
 with the milk before putting in the 
 bread if you think necessary. You 
 did perfectly right to segregate the 
 fowls. Colds of all kinds, even pneu- 
 monia, are infectious. 
 
 I would strongly advise you to 
 house your hens in open front houses. 
 In this way there would be no 
 draughts from windows left open. 
 Open front houses are a preventive of 
 both bronchitis and pneumonia. 
 
 I have found that the pills or asa- 
 foetida and quinine which I recom- 
 mend in my book, if given at the 
 very outbreak of a cold, frequently 
 cure with one dose; also the mixture. 
 No. 5. This is Mr. Hunter's old rem- 
 edy and has been found successful 
 by hundreds of people. 
 
 Roup — How to Cure It — I have 
 over a hundred hens, all breeds. A 
 good many of them are sick; I have 
 tried everything, but to date I have 
 not found anything to do them good. 
 A yellow, hard substance that has a 
 very bad odor forms in their mouths 
 and eventually in their windpipes and 
 they drop over dead. I have lost 
 about thirty inside of one month. I 
 feed chopped corn and wheat, with 
 plenty of Pratt's chicken food. Use 
 Conkey's Roup Cure and bluestone. 
 They run at the nose and their eyes 
 swell shut; others look fine, combs 
 red, and you would not know any- 
 thing was wrong with them until they 
 fall over dead. Can you tell me what 
 is the matter with them and what I 
 am to do with them? I paid $1.00 a 
 piece for my hens and it is hard to 
 see them all die and not know what 
 to do for them. — Mrs. R. B. 
 
 Answer — I am very sorry to say 
 that it is diphtheritic roup that your 
 hens have — very like diphtheria in 
 children. 
 
 It is a germ disease. At first the 
 hens take a little cold and the germ 
 then seems to take root and the yel- 
 low leather-like spots commence to 
 grow and continue until they choke 
 the fowls. 
 
 The first thing to do is to separate 
 the healthy fowls from those that are 
 sick and disinfect the premises thor- 
 oughly. Discover if possible what is 
 giving the fowls a cold. The usual 
 
 causes of cold are a draught in the 
 sleeping room, a narrow draught 
 that strikes on the fowls as they 
 roost, caused by a crack or a knot- 
 hole, or a house that has no ventila- 
 tion; too much crowding at night, 
 which makes the fowls hot and 
 sweaty, and they take cold when they 
 come out in the morning fresh air, 
 or roosting outside in the rain and 
 dew. Lice will also give them cold 
 and will carry infection from fowl to 
 fowl. When one fowl has a cold, the 
 others are very likely to catch it from 
 the water, from the food or from 
 contact in sleeping on the same perch. 
 I explain this so you may decide for 
 yourself what is causing the trouble 
 and may use preventive measures and 
 stop their taking cold. 
 
 Now for some cures: Last August 
 I gave eight different roup cures. I 
 will not repeat them all here, but will 
 say put a good cure into the water 
 (I will try to send you one by mail). 
 A bit of bluestone (sulphate of cop- 
 per) as large as a navy bean, in a 
 quart of water, is an excellent rem- 
 edy and preventive. Bluestone is a 
 germ killer and when it is in the 
 water it will kill the germs that float 
 off the chicken's nostrils, and that 
 would infect another fowl. It also 
 kills any germs that it may reach 
 in the sick fowl's nostril and so dries 
 up the cold in the head. Of course, 
 it is a strong astringent poison and 
 should i>ot be given in stronger doses 
 than I have indicated. Also keep 
 those pretty bits of blue out of reach 
 of the baby. Rub the heads of those 
 that have watery eyes with carbolized 
 vaseline and put a little into the nos- 
 trils and in the cleft of the mouth. 
 
 For those that have the white or 
 yellow spots, spray the mouth or 
 swab it with peroxide of hydrogen 
 twice a day. Use it half and half 
 water. The peroxide of hydrogen 
 kills the diphtheria and will prevent 
 its developing. There is a possibility 
 that the spots may be canker in some 
 cases (those that are apparently not 
 very sick), in which case get four 
 grains of sulpho-carbolate of zinc, dis- 
 solve in one ounce of distilled water 
 and paint the spots lightly. This 
 will kill the germ of canker. It is not 
 the same germ as the diphtheria, and 
 the two medicines cannot be mixed, 
 as they may be said to neutralize each 
 other. If you are not sure which dis- 
 
156 
 
 MRS. RASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 case it is, you niiglit doctor one day 
 witli peroxide ami the following- day 
 with the zinc. 
 
 Add lo the diet of tlie fouls onions 
 choiip<-'d linely, with a teaspoonful of 
 cayenne pepper for a dozen hens, or if 
 you can get then, grind up chili pep- 
 pers and give a tablespoon ful in the 
 food or mixed with bran. 
 
 Scaley Legs — Will you be so kind 
 as to explain what kind of disease my 
 hens have? I am a green man in the 
 poultry business and bought the hens 
 from several places, with the inten- 
 tion of having in the shortest time a 
 suiVicient number of egg producers. 
 Among the purchased birds there 
 were about sixty with scaley legs. I 
 inclosed them in a separate yard, v^O x 
 40, fed them abundantly, and every 
 morning they were urged to pass 
 through a tray with coal oil. After 
 ten ilays many of them had legs clean 
 from scales, but some became weak 
 and droopy. They walk with difficulty 
 and keep their tails down. Thej' grow 
 worse every day. 1 killed two of them 
 and found that about half their bodies 
 were covered with yellow scales like 
 a sort of bad skin which you can 
 easily tear off. Is it a contagious dis- 
 ease, and what shall I do with the 
 sick birds?— F. P. 
 
 Answer — Poor hens: it is not a dis- 
 ease. It is the coal oil that wets their 
 feathers and that blisters the skin. 
 Those that have been much wetted on 
 the feathers with the oil are probabh' 
 too badly burned to recover. The 
 others will get well in time, but it 
 will greatly delay their laying. 
 
 Do not try again such heroic treat- 
 ment. It costs you. too much. Next 
 time mix one spoonful of lard with 
 one spoonful of coal oil and one 
 spoonful of powdered sulphur: rub 
 the legs with that twice a week. 
 
 Scaley legs come from the scale 
 mite and are verv infectious. 
 
 Swelled Eyes — What is the best 
 cure for swelling of the eyes in half- 
 grown chicks? They have the colony 
 liouses and are fed according to the 
 method advised, but they seem to 
 catch cold. It is very contagious and 
 seems to be running through the 
 Mock,— I. F. S. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens are taking 
 
 cold, probably from a draught of some 
 kind in tlieir sleeping quarters. Find 
 out the crack or hole wliich is causing 
 the draught and stop it up. Put blue- 
 stone into their drinking water — a 
 piece the size of a navy bean in one 
 quart of w^ater. Grease their heads 
 with carbolated vaseline. Separate 
 the sick from the well, for it is very 
 infectious. Those that are sick should 
 have a pill of quinine for three nights 
 in succession — 1 grain. 
 
 Swell Shut and Water— Will you 
 kindly tell me the cause of sore eyes? 
 My chickens' ej'es swell shut and wa- 
 ter. I also have turkeys; their eyes 
 swell underneath. — Mrs. C. J. N. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens and tur- 
 keys have lice and are taking cold. 
 The}' are taking cold from either 
 sleeping in a draught or sleeping in a 
 place that is too close and hot, so 
 they take cold when they come out 
 in the morning. Remedy the cause 
 and use one of the many roup cures, 
 and also get rid of the lice. Lice go 
 to the ej'cs to drink and so spread the 
 disease. 
 
 Swell Head — Mj- chickens are dying 
 off awfull}-. Many of them are good 
 sized pullets. Their heads seem to 
 swell and the\' go blind and just drop 
 off. Some of them open their mouths 
 and stretch and act as though some- 
 thing was choking ttiem. but I cannot 
 detect anything. The\' had mites, but 
 have none now. We have a good 
 yard for them, and an alfalfa patch 
 and some shade trees. I feed them 
 well, and am at a loss to understand. 
 My neighbors on either side of us 
 have the same trouble. — Mrs. F. K. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have what 
 is called "swell-head" and roup. They 
 have either caught it from taking 
 cold or from the lice which they used 
 to have, or by infection from the 
 neighbors. I think probably there is 
 a draught in their sleeping quarters, 
 from a crack or a knot hole or it 
 may be wrong ventilation. Stop 
 these up and be sure the chickens do 
 not live or sleep in a draught. Rub 
 their head with carbolated vaseline, 
 and give each of those affected a 
 quinine pill every other night for a 
 week, and add a little poultry tonic 
 to their food. I think as soon as you 
 stop whatever may be the cause of 
 
CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 
 
 157 
 
 their taking cold you will liave no 
 further trouble. . Be sure to keep the 
 sick fowls away from the bahincc of 
 the flock. 
 
 Something in the Throat — It would 
 be a great favor to me if you would 
 let me know what to do for my chick- 
 ens. They are cross-breeds and run on 
 open range, where there is plenty of 
 good water and green alfalfa and oth- 
 er green grass. I have been feeding 
 them clean new wheat, all they would 
 eat. They are six months old, but 
 have commenced to get sick; the first 
 was taken sick a week ago; acted like 
 it had something caught in the throat; 
 opened bill and made a noise, but 
 seems to be well now. Another com- 
 menced last night; made a noise all 
 night like it wanted to crow; is very 
 sick, comb very dark, droops the 
 head slightly, eyes shut, no watery 
 appearance and no lice or other ver- 
 min. I have examined its neck and 
 cannot see or feel anything like diph- 
 theria in mouth or throat; no dis- 
 charge from nose; crop empty. — F. P. 
 C, Mexico. 
 
 Answer — I think your chicks must 
 have got and eaten some seed or 
 burrs with beards on them, and this 
 has formed an abscess low down in 
 their throat, or even in the gizzard. 
 Sometimes they stick in the throat. 
 After a time they will get dislodged 
 and pass through the chick without 
 injury, but if they stick in the giz- 
 zard, blood poisoning comes on, the 
 comb turns black and they die. When 
 I was in Oklahoma the tarantulas 
 sometimes bit a hen. She would fall 
 down paralyzed and act as though she 
 were dying. I gave one drop of acon- 
 ite in milk, and they always recovered 
 under this treatment. Do you think 
 your fowls have been stung by centi- 
 pedes, etc.? 
 
 Toe Eating — Can you tell me what 
 causes little chicks to pick at each 
 others toes? They will pick at one 
 till the blood comes, then so many 
 chase it that it dies. Then they start 
 on another and sometimes they even 
 cat the entrails out. I bought my 
 chickens when they were a week old 
 and fed them according to your direc- 
 tions. I first fed raw meat and 
 cooked, then I tacked pieces on a 
 board to keep them busy, but notliing 
 seemed to stop them, and I took the 
 
 one out with the sore toes. I gave 
 lime and salts and charcoal. I hatched 
 some dark colored chicks in my own 
 incubator and witii them I have not 
 had any trouble in that way. I trust 
 that you can help me. — H. L. 
 
 Answer — It is usually with the 
 white or light colored chicks that we 
 have this trouble. The little toes are 
 so attractive and look so very good 
 to eat that a lively chick will often try 
 to taste his neighbor's toe and it tastes 
 so good that he continues the per- 
 formance and soon teaches the others. 
 Dark toes are not so attractive look- 
 ing, hence their immunity. You did 
 quite right to add more meat and even 
 a little salt pork to their diet, but the 
 best way of preventing the trouble is 
 to give the chicks chaff at least an 
 inch deep in the nursery of their 
 brooder. I have found that alfalfa 
 hay or wheat hay cut in a clover cut- 
 ter an inch in length make very good 
 chaff for the chicks. I scatter the 
 chick feed a little at a time, three 
 times a day in this, and the chicks 
 scratch in it and find the grains and 
 at the same time it conceals their toes 
 from their hungry brothers. In this 
 way you not only prevent this vice, 
 but you make the chicks scratch many 
 hours a day and that broadens their 
 backs and develops the egg organs 
 and strengthens their digestion, keeps 
 them out of mischief, healthy, happy 
 and busy. Try this plan and yon will 
 be surprised to find what extra fine 
 layers you will have next year. 
 
 Tuberculosis — A year ago I had the 
 nicest Black Minorcas that anybody 
 ever laid eyes on, but, alas! one after 
 the other I had to kill. First they get 
 lame on one foot, then their combs 
 get very dark, almost black on the 
 points; their appetite is poor and they 
 get as light as a feather, and wlien I 
 cut them open tlieir liver almost fills 
 up their whole insides, and the whole 
 liver is thoroughly sprinkled with lit- 
 tle white kernels; sometimes as big as 
 a good sized head of a pin, sometimes 
 as large as five cents, and I attend to 
 them so good. Now, can you tell me 
 what disease it is and how to prevent 
 it after this? I feed lots of green 
 stuff, milk, meat, wheat, barley and 
 occasionally a mash of lots of carrots. 
 —Mrs. M. R. 
 
 Answer — I am sorry to say your 
 Minorcas have chicken tuberculosis. 
 You gave an accurate description of 
 
158 
 
 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 
 
 tlie disease, and I am very sorry to 
 have to tell you that there is no cure 
 for it when once it has commenced. 
 You may be able to prevent the j-oung 
 ones catching it by moving them on 
 to fresh ground, and thorough!}' dis- 
 infecting the yards and coops. 
 
 Vertigo — Being an interested reader 
 of your question department, I take 
 the liberty of asking you about my 
 little chicks. They have a queer dis- 
 ease that I never saw before. They 
 commence to hold their heads to one 
 side, keep twisting their necks until 
 the}' fall down and roll over and seem 
 in a kind of fit, and then jump up; 
 seem better for a while and then go 
 through with the same performance 
 until they die. They peep as if in 
 pain. I have lost several. I feed corn 
 bread and sour milk curd and they 
 run in the orchard. Do you know 
 what it is and is there a cure for it? 
 They have no vermin. — Mrs. R. B. L. 
 
 Answer — Your chickens have verti- 
 go. This is usually caused by acute in- 
 digestion, from wrong feeding, from 
 sunstroke, from intestinal worms, 
 from poison or from lice. Overcrowd- 
 ing the chicks also has a tendency to 
 bring it on. I have known of several 
 cases similar to yours from the chicks 
 having eaten putrid meat. 1 he best 
 treatment is a little Epsom salts in the 
 water, about a teaspoonful to a pint of 
 water. Give this as their drinking wa- 
 ter. Give plenty of fresh clean water 
 and green food. If you think it is 
 worms, put a teaspoonful of turpen- 
 tine in a quart of the drinking water 
 or mix their mash with it and give it 
 also to them to drink. This will kill 
 the worms. If you think it is from 
 poison, give each chick a pill of asa- 
 foetida. about a two-grain pill or even 
 smaller if the chickens are very small. 
 
 Tumor and Dropsy — T had a White 
 Legliorn hen die a week ago from an 
 ailment which puzzles me. Have looked 
 thrc~)ugh what poultry books I have, 
 but can lind nothing touching it. The 
 hen was swollen between the legs to 
 an unusual size and got so bad it could 
 not walk. Finally it died, and. upon 
 opening it, at least a quart of water 
 came away. The intestines were joined 
 together in one solid piece. Can you 
 tell me the cause and cure, as I have 
 a Hamburg hen developing the same 
 
 symptoms, and would like to save it if 
 possible? — J. L. W. 
 
 Answer — Your hen died of dropsy, 
 combined with a tumor, probably ova- 
 rian. There is no known cure for this, 
 as by the time it becomes visible, the 
 disease has progressed too far, and is 
 usually only discovered after death. 
 Some hens seem more subject to this 
 complaint than others, and I would 
 advise you to get in fresh blood and 
 keep the hens healthy by feeding an 
 abundance of green food. The cause 
 is obscure. 
 
 Vent Gleet — One of my hens and 
 rino, large cockerel have a sort of 
 diarrhoea with a very bad smell to it. 
 It seems to scald the vent, which is 
 red and swollen and there are scabs 
 on it. Can you tell me the cause and 
 cure of this?— Mrs. J. F. Y. 
 
 Answer — Your hen and probably 
 the cockerel also have vent gleet. This 
 is usually caused by an egg being 
 broken inside the hen, which causes 
 inflammation. It is, I am sorry to 
 say, contagious, and the birds should 
 be at once isolated and treated. Pre- 
 pare a warm bath of water as hot as 
 can be borne on the wrists, in which 
 has been dissolved a tablespoonful of 
 bi-carbonate of soda, to two quarts of 
 water. Immerse the fowl's abdomen 
 and vent in this hot water and hold 
 the bird there from fifteen to twenty 
 minutes. Then dry the parts with a 
 clean cloth and give an injection of 
 an infusion of green tea with five 
 grains each of sugar of lead and sul- 
 phate of zinc to each ounce of the in- 
 fusion, two tablespoonsful being one 
 ounce. The sores and ulcers around 
 the vent should be kept dusted with 
 iodoform or aristol. Repeat the treat- 
 ment once a day until the bird is 
 cured. A dose of thirty grains of 
 Epsom's salts will help cool the blood. 
 Feed lightly and give plenty of green 
 food. If not well after two or three 
 weeks, kill the bird, as the disease is 
 not quite free from danger, for if the 
 operator should touch his eyes acci- 
 dentally before cleansing his hands, 
 the result might be a most violent in- 
 flammation. 
 
 White Comb — My fine Orpington 
 rooster is developing a peculiar dis- 
 ease. A few months ago he was in 
 the pink of perfection, but his comb 
 has become all covered with white 
 
LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 
 
 159 
 
 spots, as though he had dandrufif, and 
 it spoils his appearance. I feed your 
 well proportioned mash, wlieat, alfal- 
 fa, crushed green bone, lettuce and 
 cabbage; a mash every morning and 
 corn or wheat for the evening meal. 
 He is vigorous and active, the only 
 trouble being with his comb. If you 
 will kindly tell me how to treat him 
 for this trouble, it will be highly ap- 
 preciated. — E. R. T. 
 
 Answer — Your rooster lias what is 
 called "White comb." It usually comes 
 from close air in the hennery and a 
 total absence of all green food. It 's .1 
 contagious disease and may be im- 
 parted from bird to bird, probably 
 also from mice, rats, cats and dogs to 
 birds. Young birds appear to be more 
 susceptible to this disease than old 
 ones. Put carbolatcd vaseline on the 
 comb, and in the drinking water use 
 twelve tablets of nux vomica and sul- 
 phur comp. 2X to each pint of drink- 
 ing water. Continue the treatment un- 
 til cured. 
 
 Wind in Crop — Will you please tell 
 me the cause and remedy of my lit- 
 tle chicks, from three to four weeks 
 old, having a gas gather in their crop? 
 
 When tlie crop is pressed, wind conies 
 from the mouth and they stand 
 around and gasp, but otherwise do not 
 look droopy. They eat well, but in 
 three or four days die. I lost quite a 
 number last spring, almost every case 
 being fatal. 1 have a hen witli young 
 ones and I would like to raise them 
 without tliis trouble — B. C. 
 
 Answer — -The wind in the crop 
 comes from indigestion. Indigestion 
 comes from lice, colds, dirty water, 
 and chief of all from wet mashes or 
 from wrongly balanced food, and lack 
 of hard, sharp grit to grind the food. 
 I do not think the chicks with the hen, 
 if she is allowed free range, will get it, 
 but if there are any symptoms of it, 
 put some lime water into tlie drinking 
 water and give them pounded up char- 
 coal. Give them also sweet skim milk 
 to drink as well as water and plenty of 
 nice, crisp lettuce to eat. I am sure if 
 you keep them quite clean, feed clean 
 dry chick feed with plenty of green 
 lettuce, grass or clover, cut up fine, 
 you will not have any wind on the 
 stomach with your chicks. A little bi- 
 carbonate of soda in the drinking wa- 
 ter will sometimes help, but preven- 
 tion is the best cure. 
 
 LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 
 
 Body Lice — I have about 100 White 
 Leghorn chickens and I find that they 
 have a large body louse, large yellow 
 ones; what can I do to get rid of 
 them? I think they are keeping my 
 chickens from laying as they should. — 
 Mrs. B. W. 
 
 Answer — Paint the bottom of a box 
 or barrel with a good lice killer; put a 
 little straw in to keep the paint from 
 the feathers, then put the chickens in 
 and cover them three hours. Then 
 examine the hens and pull out all the 
 feathers that have nits (lice eggs) on 
 them, putting the feathers into a little 
 can of coal oil. Then dust the hens 
 with a good insecticide once a week or 
 until you are sure all the lice are dead. 
 Be careful to give the hens a spot of 
 ground, well spaded up, mellow and a 
 little damp. They will bathe in this 
 and usually keep themselves clean. 
 
 Dipping Hens — Would you be so 
 kind as to let me know about dipping 
 
 hens, etc? I have a flock of some five 
 or six hundred. I notice some of them 
 have lice and bunches of nits on their 
 feathers. Whenever I have caught a 
 hen I have greased her well, but this 
 would take too long to go tlirough the 
 bunch. Is there any dip that would be 
 strong enough, and do no harm to the 
 birds, that would kill tlie nits with one 
 dipping? — W. L. 
 
 Answer — Lice are supposed to 
 hatch out the nits every five days, and 
 when but a few days' old commence 
 to lay again and so keep on breeding 
 indefinitely. Dr. Salmon says it has 
 been estimated that the second gener- 
 ation from a single louse may number 
 2500 individuals, and the third genera- 
 tions may reach the enormous sum of 
 125,000, and all of these may be pro- 
 duced in the course of eight weeks. T 
 do not know of any dip that will kill 
 the nits with one dipping. Dr. Salmon 
 recommends a dip of one per cent car- 
 bolic acid solution, or using creolin, as 
 
160 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 it is equally efficious in killing insects 
 and is less poison to the birds. It is 
 used in the strength of two and a half 
 mixed with a gallon of water. I have 
 used very successfully in the summer 
 time when the weather is warm the 
 kerosene emulsion made as follows: 
 Dissolve one bar of soap or one pound 
 of soap powder in a gallon of boiling 
 water; add to it a gallon of coal oil 
 and a pint of crude carbolic acid; 
 churn for twenty minutes or until you 
 wish to use it. Take one quart of this 
 top solution and add it to nine quarts 
 of water. Dip the hens into this, be- 
 ing careful not to allow any of it to 
 go into their eyes or mouth, but thor- 
 oughly wet every feather to the skin. 
 This will kill every living louse and if 
 repeated in about five days will prob- 
 ably kill those that arc hatched out in 
 the meantime and prevent their lay- 
 ing any more nits. Tobacco water 
 has also been strongly recommended 
 as a dip, and chloro-naphtholium used 
 as directed on the bottle. 
 
 The Sand Flea — How can I rid my 
 chickens from a small insect known 
 here as the sand flea? I have tried 
 coal oil mixed with lard without effect. 
 The hens scratch their heads so they 
 become sore and some liave died; oth- 
 ers have had to be killed. — Mrs. F. 
 A. F. 
 
 Answer — Those fleas are very hard 
 to get rid of. Spray the henneries 
 well with cither the kerosene emul- 
 sion or good hot salt water, and while 
 the ground is still wet, scatter on it 
 air-slacked lime. Tliose hens that have 
 sore heads should have carbolated 
 salve put on them, after swabbing 
 them off with corrosive sublimate. 
 This will kill the fleas and cure the 
 sores. Be careful not to let any of 
 the corrosive sublimate get into the 
 eves or mouth of the fowls. 
 
 Stick Tight Fleas — We have noticed 
 a tick or louse on a few of our chick- 
 ens and have discovered some of the 
 insects on the perches. They resem- 
 ble small black beads and are firmly 
 imbedded in the skin. On some of the 
 fowls we have used for the table we 
 noticed a few red blotches on the skin. 
 We would like to know liow to get rid 
 of the insects, particularlj' how to get 
 them out of the hen house. — An In- 
 quirer. 
 
 Answer — You have the stick tight 
 fleas in your hennery. They are very 
 hard to get rid of, being in some 
 places a perfect pest. A friend of 
 mine lost 500 out of 700 chickens last 
 fall from this. I told him to spray 
 very thoroughly with salt and water 
 and he purchased 600 lbs. of salt, scat- 
 tered it all over the hennery and yards 
 and then turned the hose on them for 
 several days in succession. He tells 
 me now there is not a stick tight flea 
 on the place. I advised him to get 
 some corrosive sublimate diluted with 
 alcohol at the drug store, take an old 
 tooth brush and carefully apply with 
 it the corrosive sublimate on any fleas 
 lie might see on the chickens, being 
 careful not to allow anj-^ of the solu- 
 tion to get into the chickens' eyes (it 
 would blind them) or into their 
 mouths, as it is very poisonous. You 
 can paint the perches with this; it will 
 kill everj'thing it touches. 
 
 Head Lice — This time I write in 
 desperation, hoping j'ou may be able 
 to give me a remedy. It is head lice 
 1 am fighting, and after working for 
 almost five months, I am as far off 
 from being rid of tliem as at first. I 
 have done everything that I have ever 
 heard of. I still find they have head 
 lice and red mites besides. I hope no 
 other beginner has had the trials I 
 have had.— Mrs. W. F. K. 
 
 Answer — The red mites live in the 
 houses or coops, except when thej^ are 
 feeding off the chickens, usually at 
 night. The cure for them is to spray 
 the coops thoroughly and constantly. 
 You can keep them out of the coops 
 by spraying once every three weeks, 
 but if they once get in, you will have 
 to spraj' twice a week until you get 
 entirely rid of them, then once every 
 three weeks, to keep rid of them. The 
 head lice live on the heads of the 
 chickens. They lay two or three 
 white silver}' nits (eggs) at the root 
 of the feather. The eggs hatch in 
 about five days after they are laid by 
 the lice, consequentK^ to completely 
 destroy them, you sliould treat the 
 chickens that have them at least once 
 a week. The best way I know of is 
 to take an old tooth brush, a bowl 
 with nice hot soapsuds in it and a few 
 drops of the best carbolic acid; brush 
 the chicken's head with this, being 
 sure to touch all the lice and mites. 
 This, I know, is an excellent remedy, 
 
LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 
 
 161 
 
 for I have tried it. Another given by 
 a friend of mine is, get the druggist 
 to mix some corrosive sublimate with 
 the best pure alcohol, take the tooth 
 brush and brush the chickens' heads 
 with this, being very careful not to let 
 any of this get into the eyes (or it will 
 blind them) or into the mouth, as it 
 is very poisonous. This will not only 
 kill the head lice and their nits, but it 
 will also kill stick tigiit fleas, ticks and 
 any insects. It is very difficult when 
 once the pests get into henneries or 
 on chickens to get rid of them. It is 
 far easier to keep the enemy out by 
 constant and thorough cleaning at fre- 
 quent intervals, especially in the sum- 
 mer time. I find using tobacco stems 
 for making the nests of setting hens a 
 good preventative; besides this, I see 
 tliat all tlie fowls have good dust 
 batlis in damp and mellow earth. 
 
 Hump Themselves — I will have to 
 come to you with my sick chickens. 
 It seems to be chicken raisers' only 
 refuge. I have lost several half-grown 
 and whole-grown. They kind of hump 
 themselves all together, do not care to 
 eat; do not stir around. I never no- 
 ticed any bowel trouble; it looks to 
 me like their heads turned dark; live 
 several days. What shall I do? — 
 L. H. E. 
 
 Answer — It is very difficult to diag- 
 nose a case like yours with so little in- 
 formation about it, but from your de- 
 scription of the chickens humping 
 themselves and appearing sleepy, I 
 think they have worms. You should 
 open one and make a thorough exam- 
 ination; then you will know what 
 really is the matter. If it is worms, 
 give them thirty drops of turpentine 
 in a pint of water. Let them have no 
 other water to drink for a week, and 
 I think it will cure them. Possibly 
 they may be taking cold and very 
 probably may have lice. Examine 
 them and dust them, and try to dis- 
 cover what is giving them cold. Give 
 them a little poultry tonic and follow 
 my directions for the general care of 
 fowls. 
 
 ever. He uses lime, sulphur and car- 
 bolic acid. Is there any way corrosive 
 sublimate could be used as a spray, 
 and would it be safe for the hens in 
 the houses? How long would the hens 
 need to be kept out after the spraying 
 was done? Am having the worst pos- 
 sible luck with my chickens. Have 
 probably hatched 550 chickens this 
 year and have less than 200 now. 
 When a week to ten days old they 
 begin to droop, refuse to eat and 
 starve to death. What is the matter? 
 No bowel trouble; no cold; no lice, or 
 only a few. Does cholera ever attack 
 such young chickens, and if cholera, 
 would they not have bowel trouble? 
 Would greatly appreciate an immedi- 
 ate answer, as the mites get all over 
 me and drive me nearly frantic — Per- 
 plexed. 
 
 Answer — Tlic thing that is killing 
 your little chickens is not cholera, 
 otherwise they would have bowel 
 trouble; it is only the swarms of 
 mites. If they drive you nearly fran- 
 tic, think how the chicks must suffer. 
 The mites simply drain the life out 
 of them. The corrosive sublimate can 
 be put on with a spray, but it is dan- 
 gerous to do so, as if it splatters into 
 the person's eyes who is spraying, it 
 may blind him for life. One pound of 
 this costs $1.25 and that is sufficient to 
 make 120 gallons of the solution. As 
 it takes some time to dissolve in wa- 
 ter, it is usual to dissolve it in alcohol. 
 I have used it dissolved in alcohol to 
 paint henneries and nest boxes, and 
 it will destroy all insect life. You 
 must turn the hens out of your hen- 
 neries for several hours, or until the 
 walls arc dry. 
 
 Mites — We are fighting mites, but 
 apparently with no success. Wc hired 
 a man who makes poultry ranch 
 spraying a business. We paid him $10 
 and he guaranteed to rid the place of 
 the pests, but they are worse than 
 
 Flea Powder— Mrs. C. B. F., Los 
 Gatos — I do not think the "flea pow- 
 der" you mention would kill the little 
 turkeys, but as you ask what I use, I 
 will tell you. It is here called "Buh- 
 ach," and can be bought at any of the 
 poultry supply houses. It is made 
 from the "Pyrretlirum " daisy and is 
 perfectly harmless to all fowls, from 
 tiny canaries to mammoth turkeys, 
 but deadly to insects. It contains a 
 small quantity of an essential oil 
 which asphyxiates all insects, fleas, 
 ants, lice. etc. It must be kept in 
 an air-tight jar or tin box, as the es- 
 sential oil easily evaporates. Next in 
 value come the insect powders, the 
 foundation of which is tobacco dust. 
 
162 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 The kind of lice that are so deadly 
 to little turkeys are the same as the 
 head lice of chickens. They are to be 
 found on the heads and necks of the 
 turkeys, and also on the large feath- 
 ers at the edge of the wing. They 
 seem to sap the life out of the turkeys. 
 I always rub the "Buhach" powder 
 well into the down on the head and 
 at the roots of the wing feathers, 
 whether they have signs of lice or not, 
 for it is better to be sure than sorry. 
 
 Ticks — In trouble again. We are 
 renting a place until we can build on 
 our own, and every building on it is 
 simply alive with little brown ticks; 
 they bury themselves in the heads of 
 the chickens, the ears of the dogs, the 
 feet of the animals and all over our 
 bodies. What shall I do? Please tell 
 me and tell me quick. A neighbor 
 says lard and carbolic acid on their 
 heads and spray with distillate, but 
 neither seems to do any good so far. 
 I am out of the chicken business since 
 moving here, except a few for our 
 own use. Yours sincerely, J. J. W. 
 
 Answer — The easiest way to get rid 
 of them is to pour coal oil over the 
 buildings and then set fire to them, 
 but as you are in a rented place, that 
 would scarcely be possible. The next 
 best plan is to paint the place thor- 
 oughly with corrosive sublimate; it is 
 what I recommended to you for the 
 plague of mites at your other place. 
 Ticks are one of the worst plagues in 
 Southern California. They are so thin 
 and flat that they hide between the 
 shingles and boards. They really are 
 no thicker than a bit of paper, and 
 nothing kills them but the corrosive 
 sublimate (bi-chloride of mercury). 
 This can either be put on with a brush 
 or be sprayed on the houses. You 
 remember that it is very poisonous 
 and great care must be used in hand- 
 ling it. When once your coops are 
 free of ticks, or other vermin, you can 
 keep them so by spraying with kero- 
 sine emulsion that I have so often 
 given. Distillate, liquid lice killer, 
 coal tar and other preparations of car- 
 bolic acid or creosote are all good to 
 keep out vermin, but I know they 
 will not drive out ticks. 
 
 Depluming Mites — Two years ago I 
 started to raise White Leghorns, com- 
 mencing with two cocks and twelve 
 pullets of as good strain as I could 
 
 secure at the time. This spring I had 
 a splendid looking flock of 100 females 
 and twelve males. They were beau- 
 ties, but recently developed the feath- 
 er pulling habit and are now a sight. 
 Never in moulting time have I seen 
 poultry look worse. Many of the hens 
 look as though plucked for market, 
 and not one of the roosters has a ves- 
 tige of tail. The hens still keep up 
 laying as well as before (from fifty to 
 sixty-five daily), but I cannot believe 
 this will hold out in their present con- 
 dition. 
 
 I have them on a two-acre range 
 and feed them cut green bone in large 
 quantities four times a week in addi- 
 tion to all the other grains obtainable. 
 My experience can only suggest two 
 causes for such a state of affairs:! — 
 Insufficient animal food. 2 — Close 
 confinement. But neither of these 
 causes enter into the present state of 
 affairs. Can you advance a reason and 
 suggest a remedy. By so doing you 
 will greatly oblige one who is getting 
 interested in raising fine looking birds. 
 — F. S. S., Tucson, Ariz. 
 
 Answer — Your birds have what is 
 called "Depluming mites." The prin- 
 cipal symptom of this trouble is a loss 
 of feathers from spots of various sizes, 
 situated on different parts of the body. 
 The feathers break off at the surface 
 of the skin, and at the root of the 
 feather is seen a small mass of epi- 
 dermic scales which is easily crushed 
 into powder. A microscopic examina- 
 tion of this powder reveals numerous 
 mites and the debris which they pro- 
 duce. 
 
 The disease appears in poultry 
 yards as a consequence of the intro- 
 duction of one or more birds already 
 affected. It is readily communicated, 
 develops rapidly and in a few days a 
 whole flock is contaminated. It us- 
 ually begins on the rump and spreads 
 rapidly to the back, the thighs and the 
 belly. An infested cock will rapidly 
 infest all the fowls in a poultry yard. 
 Often the head and the upper surface 
 of the neck are affected early in the 
 course of the disease. The feathers 
 fall off at all these points and finally 
 the skin is denuded over a large ex- 
 tent of surface. The large feathers of 
 the tail and wings and the wing cov- 
 erts are generally retained. 
 
 The denuded skin presents a normal 
 appearance; it is smooth and soft, of a 
 pinkish color and not perceptibly 
 
LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 
 
 163 
 
 thickened. By pulling out the feath- 
 ers which remain near the invaded 
 parts, it is easy to find, with fowls, a 
 mass of epidermic scales at the end 
 of the quill, which contains a number 
 of parasites. The general health of 
 the birds is apparently not disturbed. 
 They remain in good flesh and con- 
 tinue to lay as though they were not 
 affected. It seems probable that much 
 of the irregular moulting, feather 
 pulling and feather eating are due to 
 the irritation caused by the Sacroptes 
 Laevis. 
 
 The treatment for this is not very 
 diflficult, but must be persisted in until 
 a cure is effected. Carbolic salve 
 should be rubbed over the affected 
 portions of the skin and the adjacent 
 parts, or a salve may be made by mix- 
 ing one part of carbolic salve, one part 
 of flour of sulphur, one part of pow- 
 dered aloes with ten parts of lard or 
 vaseline. 
 
 A large surface of the body should 
 not be covered with strong carbolic 
 acid preparations, on account of the 
 danger of absorption and poisoning. 
 The affected parts of the body may 
 be rubbed every fourth day until a 
 cure is affected. It is well to finish 
 the treatment bj' dipping the birds in 
 a two per cent creoline bath and to 
 whitewash the houses with carbolated 
 whitewash. This will kill any mites 
 which may be left in the feathers or 
 about the roosts. 
 
 From Wild Birds — Some years ago 
 my fowls became afflicted with a 
 round worm, also tape worms, and in 
 one article you mentioned several 
 remedies, such as santoine, turpen- 
 tine and tincture of male fern. I dug 
 up the yards and seeded to green feed 
 but all to no purpose; it has prac- 
 tically driven me out of business. Last 
 spring I invested in some outside 
 stock (just hatched baby chicks), but 
 they also became infested, although 
 they were on new land. However, I 
 managed to keep down those pests 
 by occasionally dosing the hens with 
 the above mentioned medicines. We 
 do not feed anything unclean to our 
 fowls and it always has been a puzzle 
 to me where such worms came from. 
 
 A few days ago our house cat 
 brought home a small bird, which she 
 began to devour on the house porch, 
 but leaving the intestines, out of 
 which crawled two good sized round 
 
 worms such as fowls have. As we 
 live in the woods, do you think this 
 has anything to do with it? I am al- 
 most afraid to start my incubators 
 this season, as it may only result in 
 future failure. — W. E. B. 
 
 Answer — Your fowls undoubtedly 
 get the worms as the wild birds do, 
 from the droppings or eggs of worms 
 from the other birds. By the persist- 
 ent use of turpentine, using thirty 
 drops in a quart of water, or mixing 
 it in that proportion in the food, for 
 a week at a time, you can get rid of 
 them. Also disinfect the ground. 
 The only thing that I can see is for 
 you to keep up this treatment, for 
 a week every two months, giving tur- 
 pentine either in the food or water. 
 I would not be discouraged because 
 that is a sure remedy and by watch- 
 ing and noticing the droppings, you 
 need not fail in rearing the chickens. 
 
 From Pigeons — My chickens' giz- 
 zards are affected by red worms about 
 the size of a pin. All the stock I 
 raised last year seemed affected, al- 
 though the eggs came from different 
 places. I have the Brown Leghorns, 
 Brahmas and R. I. Reds. I feed all 
 the various grains, plenty of greens 
 and good meat and bone. The only 
 thing you recommend that I have not 
 fed is charcoal, still as chicks they 
 got it in the chick feed. I have given 
 them turpentine in food and water at 
 various times and it seemed to have 
 the desired result, but today I learned 
 different, the gizzard is penetrated 
 and has a sore spot caused by these 
 worms. All the stock in different 
 yards are affected. 
 
 I get plenty of eggs and the chick- 
 ens look good, combs nice and red, 
 nevertheless I find them all affected 
 the same way. — Mrs. G. S. L. 
 
 Answer — I have been through the 
 same trouble myself and so can help 
 you. The difficulty is to find the 
 source. I found out that my chickens 
 were getting the worms or the eggs 
 of the worms from neighboring pig- 
 eons. The droppings of the pigeons 
 contained the eggs of the worms and 
 in a short time the droppings of the 
 chickens also had them and the other 
 chickens ate them and so on they 
 kept increasing. First of all I gave 
 the chickens the turpentine which I 
 recommended to you. A teaspoonful 
 
164 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 in a quart of water. Mix the food 
 with that water, also put a teaspoon- 
 ful in a quart of the drinking water 
 and allow no other water for drink- 
 ing. Keep this treatment up for a 
 week. Meanwhile clean up the yards 
 hy having them either ploughed un- 
 der or dug up and a crop of some 
 kind planted, something that will 
 grow (juickly, such as wheat or har- 
 ley, and as far as possible destroy 
 the liirds that are bringing you the 
 trouble, for T cannot but think it must 
 be pigeons or some other wild l)irds. 
 The worms will kill the young chick- 
 ens, but they do not always kill the 
 older fowls. Sometimes the worms 
 come from unclean or spoiled food, 
 from "webby" grains and bad animal 
 food. You will have to discover for 
 yourself where they are getting the 
 worms from and cut off the source of 
 supply. 
 
 Intestinal Worms — I wish a little 
 inforiiialion and advice in regard to 
 a valual)le Buff' Orpington cockerel I 
 own. lie has become mopy and goes 
 away under the trees by himself, and 
 has lost over half of his weight in a 
 month. He eats like a horse, though, 
 of everything I give my hens, but 
 shakes his head an awful lot, as 
 though something was wrong. I 
 looked in his throat and it looks all 
 right. He has changed in color from 
 a light buff to a very dark red since 
 acting unwell, and has grown to be a 
 homely, dopey bird, from a real beau- 
 tiful livclv one a short time ago. — 
 M. J. Q. ■ 
 
 Answer — I think your Buff Orping- 
 ton cockerel has intestinal worms. 
 You had better give him 25 drops of 
 spirits of turpentine on a lump of 
 bread, or in a spoonful of water, and 
 follow that immediately with two tea- 
 spoonfuls of castor oil. Keep him 
 shut up so you can watch the drop- 
 pings and remove and burn or bury 
 them deeply. If you do not find 
 worms in his droppings, give him ten 
 drops of tincture of male-fern on a 
 lump of sugar, followed in an hour 
 1)}^ a dose of castor oil. This is for 
 tape worms. Both the remedies 
 should be given after twelve hours or 
 more fasting. 
 
 noticed what look like worms. She 
 is thin and looks like she has catarrh. 
 Can you help her? Also a Plymouth 
 Rock rooster who has a film over his 
 eyes and sleeps all day, begins to take 
 exercise about sun down; appetite 
 fair. I feed every variety of chicken 
 food alternating, and keep shells, 
 charcoal and green food, and they arc 
 not fenced in. — J. L. 
 
 Answer — -Your little bantam hen 
 inidoubtedly has worms, as you see 
 them in her droppings. Your Ply- 
 mouth Rock male bird also has them, 
 for sleepiness is one of the chief 
 symptoms of worms in the intestines. 
 The best cure I know is turpentine; 
 ten drops in a teaspoonful of castor 
 oil, after the chickens have fasted 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 If you have other chickens, and 
 think they may have worms, you had 
 better give the whole flock some tur- 
 pentine in their drinking water. 
 Thirty drops of turpentine to a pint of 
 water. Do not let them have any 
 water without turpentine in it for a 
 week. 
 
 Bantam Affected — I have a little 
 hen, bantam, in whose droppings I 
 
 Several Kinds — I am in despair and 
 it is lice, lice, lice. We Iiave Brown 
 Leghorns, and as they will not sit, we 
 l)orrowed a setting hen and she only 
 stayed with us long enough to give 
 our hens a supply of grey head-lice. 
 When we discovered them we went 
 to work with a lice killer, sprayed the 
 coops, ground and nests, put the 
 cliickcns in a box and left them three 
 hours. We also used crude oil, 
 poured gallons on the ground, painted 
 nests, roosts, etc., but still the lice 
 stayed on the hens' heads. Last 
 week we bought six Buff Orpingtons; 
 yesterday we found they were alive 
 with body lice, yellow lice, especially 
 around the vent; there were thou- 
 sands; then we examined the Leg- 
 horns, found they were infected also. 
 What shall we do? Do you think it 
 would hurt them to wash tlicm now 
 with the kerosene emulsion? Am 
 afraid it might give them a cold. — 
 Mrs. C. S. B. 
 
 Answer — What I should do were I 
 in your place would be to get some 
 Buhach powder, rub it well into the 
 chickens' heads for the head lice, and 
 well into the fluff under the wings and 
 on the backs for the body lice, then 
 put the hens, six or a dozen at a time. 
 
LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 
 
 165 
 
 into a large size dry-goods box, at 
 the bottom of which is a newspaper 
 thoroughly painted with a good lice 
 killer; cover tho top of the box with 
 a carpet and leave them in for three 
 hours, then look them over thorough- 
 ly and pull out every feather that has 
 nits on it. The nits hatch out about 
 every five days, so in a week's time 
 look the hens over again, powder 
 them again, and again put them into 
 the box painted with the lice killer. 
 Two applications should cure them. 
 After this, once a month, at night, 
 powder them with bubach and look 
 them over occasionally, and if neces- 
 sary, go through the performance 
 again. You can paint the roosts with 
 lice killer, but do not put any in the 
 nests, for it will not only flavor the 
 eggs, but will kill the germs and make 
 the eggs unhatchable. The best thing 
 to use for the nests is a kettleful of 
 boiling water with a large handful of 
 salt added to it, or scalding soap- 
 suds, putting in fresh straw, or better 
 still, making the nests of tobacco 
 stems. You can get these for 25 cents 
 a gunny sack full. 
 
 Spray for Houses and Dip for Hens 
 
 — Last suninur 1 found a rcciijc in one 
 of your articles for spraying hen 
 houses. I used it to good advantage, 
 but have misplaced the recipe and 
 cannot remember the mixture exact- 
 
 ly. It was composed of coal oil, car- 
 bolic acid and soap, with a certain 
 proportion of water. If you will 
 kindly send it to me, I will appreciate 
 it.— C. W. 
 
 Answer — I gladly send you the re- 
 cipe, which is excellent. I have used 
 it for ten years or more. It will kill 
 fleas, lice, mites or any insect pests in 
 the henneries. It will also thorough- 
 ly disinfect the premises from infec- 
 tious diseases and if used for a dip 
 for hens in warm, sunny weather, will 
 rid them of lice and will assist the 
 moult: 
 
 Dissolve one pound of hard soap 
 (or soap powder) in one gallon of 
 boiling water, remove from the fire 
 and add immediately one gallon of 
 kerosene and one pint of crude car- 
 bolic acid. Churn or agitate violent- 
 ly for twenty minutes or until you 
 want to use it. If the oil and water 
 separate on standing, then the soap 
 was not caustic enough. Add to this 
 ten gallons of water. 
 
 I keep the stock solution on hand, 
 dip out a quart and add to it ten 
 quarts of water and use it for spray- 
 ing the houses once every three weeks 
 in summer and every month in win- 
 ter. Putting it on hot in summer and 
 slopping it well into dark and dusty 
 corners will kill fleas, which are ex- 
 ceedingly troublesome on sandy soil 
 in this part of the country. 
 
 FEEDING IN GENERAL 
 
 Feeding System — I am not perfectly 
 satisfied witli my feeding system and I 
 follow yours on the food question. I 
 note that you advise dried blood and 
 other food dried in the oven, green cut 
 bone and bone meal. Would you ad- 
 vise boiled liver, lungs and scraps in- 
 stead of prepared meat scraps? Are 
 ground clam shells good in place of 
 cut bone? Could there be any danger 
 from feeding too much ground shell? 
 Should gravel be furnished to chick- 
 ens to pick from? — D. F. 
 
 Answer — Roiled liver and lungs 
 chopped fine are excellent for fowls. 
 I prefer them to prepared meat scraps. 
 They must be fed while fresh, as 
 spoiled meat may poison the fowls. 
 Clam shells cannot take the place of 
 cut bone. Crushed oyster and clam 
 shells contain lime, which is very good 
 
 for making egg shell. There is no 
 danger of the hens eating too much of 
 this. Gravel or grit should always be 
 furnished to chickens. 
 
 Animal Food for Fowls — Kindly in- 
 form me as to the difference, if any, 
 between beef scraps, beef meal, meat 
 meal and blood meal. Which is con- 
 sidered the best to feed laying hens 
 and growing chickens? I have fed 
 beef scraps for nearly a year and had 
 good results from it; at least I think 
 I have. If some of the others are 
 better, I would like to know what one 
 it is.— G. K. W. 
 
 Answer — Beef scraps, beef meal and 
 meat meal are the same, only the lat- 
 ter is ground finer than the former. 
 Blood meal is made from the blood, 
 
166 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 cooked, dried and ground. Pure dried 
 l)K)od contains more protein than the 
 others, therefore is considered better 
 in most cases. The beef scraps and 
 beef meal are the refuse of the slaugh- 
 terhouses, heads, lights, etc., boiled 
 down or cooked with steam, pressed, 
 dried and ground, and are frequently 
 called tankage. 
 
 If you have a good brand, keep to it, 
 because some are no good, and if al- 
 lowed to become damp or heated are 
 injurious to the chickens. 
 
 Bad Meat — I had twelve laying 
 liens, they averaged seven eggs a day, 
 were health}' and never were sick un- 
 til I bought five cents' worth of green 
 ground bone from a wagon that passes 
 my door. It was wet and slimy, and 
 smelled, but he said it was all right. I 
 gave it to the chickens at noon; fed 
 them nothing else then. At four 
 o'clock I went out and found two dy- 
 ing and six more droopy and by eight 
 that night had lost eight. Next day 
 two large BufT Orpington hens died. 
 I looked for some of j'our remedies 
 giving asafoetida pills and the soda 
 you spoke of in the water. I showed 
 the bones to the butcher, and he said 
 he never heard of such a thing as 
 spoiled meat poisoning chickens. He 
 sold it when it smelled like that all 
 the time. — Mrs. D. M. 
 
 Answer — That meat poisoned your 
 chickens evidently. It is called pto- 
 maine poisoning. Butchers sometimes 
 put formaline or some preservative on 
 the meat, which has a verj'^ poisonous 
 effect on chickens, but yours were un- 
 doubtedly poisoned by the putrid 
 meat. You had better not buy any 
 ground bone unless it is quite fresh. 
 
 Blood Meal — Will you please tell 
 me how much blood meal to put into 
 the mash for tliirteen chickens, or in 
 other words, what proportion for each 
 hen?— L. S. 
 
 Answer — Half an ounce per hen ev- 
 ery day at this spring season of the 
 year is about what they need of blood 
 meal mixed in the mash. Weigh out 
 enough for the thirteen hens and 
 measure that in a cup or by a spoon, 
 then you will know how much by 
 measure. 
 
 ducks? Also for fowls and turkeys? 
 Are they as nourishing as alfalfa? 
 My hens are not laying well. The 
 eggs have suddenly dropped off, and 
 I did not know but what the cause 
 might be beet tops. — J. S. Y. 
 
 Answer — In September one is glad 
 to get anything green for the fowls, 
 ducks, geese or turkeys, to eat. Al- 
 most anything green is better than 
 nothing, but alfalfa contains more 
 protein than any other green food 
 except white clover. The per cent 
 of protein in white clover is 15.7, and 
 in alfalfa 14.30, while in beet tops it 
 is only 1.3. By tliis you will see that 
 alfalfa is worth about 14 times as 
 much as beet tops. There is about as 
 much protein in alfalfa as in wheat 
 bran. You complain that your hens 
 do not lay. I think probably they 
 are moulting. You cannot expect 
 hens to lay all the time without tak- 
 ing a rest. 
 
 Dry Hopper Method — I write you 
 regarding the dry hopper method of 
 feeding. How much space do you 
 leave at the bottom for the feed to 
 come through, and how wide do you 
 leave the space for the chickens to 
 eat out of? We made one, but it is not 
 a success, for the box is bloody from 
 their combs hitting against it. They 
 stand and eat all the time and do not 
 go and drink as you saj^ j'ours do. — 
 D. S. M. 
 
 Answer — I had the same experience 
 with hoppers injuring the combs of 
 the fowls, and now I make my hop- 
 pers like those used at the Maine 
 Experiment Station, simply a box 
 with a roof over it. The box is twen- 
 t3'-four inches long and eleven inches 
 wide. The sides are cut like a gable, 
 the highest point being sixteen inches 
 high. The gable roof keeps the food 
 dry and the hens waste scarcely any 
 of it. The roof lift; off cr (.•.tn be slid 
 back to fill it. 
 
 Beet Tops — Will you kindly tell me 
 if beet tops are a good green food for 
 
 Dry Mash — Will you kindly inform 
 me as to the best method of feeding 
 calfalfa meal to hens and pullets? I 
 use hopper constantly filled with dry 
 mash consisting of bran, shorts, feed 
 meal and beef scraps, accessible at 
 all times, and would much prefer add- 
 ing the calfalfa to this. Or would 
 you advise soaking it in water and 
 feeding it separately? The fowls get 
 grain twice a day and now if I add 
 
FEEDING TN GENERAL 
 
 167 
 
 the calfalfa to the mash what propor- 
 tion shall I make it? Also, is it as 
 well to add the charcoal, two or three 
 per cent, to the mash or feed separ- 
 ately? I wish to simplify the routine 
 work as much as possible.- — Mrs. O. K. 
 
 Answer — I advocate adding the cal- 
 falfa meal to the dry mash. It would 
 make a very good ration to simply 
 add one part of calfalfa meal to your 
 present mash, making it one part 
 each of bran, shorts, feed meal, beef 
 scraps and calfalfa meal. I feed this 
 with excellent results, but at first the 
 hens did not like the calfalfa, so I 
 only added one iron spoonful, in- 
 creasing the dose every day, adding 
 one more spoonful until, within a 
 month, they were having the right 
 proportion. You can mix the char- 
 coal in the same way, but I prefer to 
 keep it separate with the grit and 
 the crushed shell. 
 
 Exercise for Fowls — I was greatly 
 interested in an article of yours on 
 feeding. You say give a hen a chance 
 to work and no matter how fat, etc. 
 Now what interests me most to know 
 is just how you manage to give them 
 plenty of work in a limited space. 
 We, who occupy only a village lot, 
 will be greatly helped if you will 
 tell us how to keep hens busy in such 
 limited quarters. — G. P. C. 
 
 Answer — To keep hens busy, give 
 them what is called a "scratching 
 pen." Put a 12-inch board across one 
 corner of your lot and fill that full of 
 good wheat straw or hay; scatter all 
 the grain you feed in that, and the 
 hens will work all day digging out 
 the grain; every grain they scratch 
 out they will bury two, and so will 
 keep up the exercise. If you are 
 feeding the hopper method, put the 
 hopper at one end of the pen and 
 tlie water vessel at the other end; 
 this will give them the exercise of 
 walking back and forth. You can 
 also hang up a cabbage for them to 
 jump at, but scratching is the natural 
 and best exercise for developing the 
 egg organs. 
 
 beginners know what a good balanced 
 ration is. We are just as apt to over- 
 feed as to under-feed. Would you 
 kindly give me formula for a good 
 egg ration? In giving ration, kindly 
 state quantities of each kind of feed 
 used in ration, amount to be fed to 
 twelve hens, whether to be fed wet 
 or dry, morning or night; also amount 
 of grain for twelve hens; in other 
 words, a full day's egg ration for 
 twelve hens; when to feed, how to 
 feed and quantity for daily ration. I 
 have some White Plymouth Rocks, 
 over eight months old, large and well 
 developed, but only two of them have 
 commenced to lay. I feed morning 
 mash of 2 parts bran, 1 shorts, 1 bar- 
 ley meal, 1 cornmeal, 1 alfalfa meal, 
 ^2 blood meal. Wheat at night, about 
 \]/2 pints for twelve hens; good clean 
 yards and houses; fresh cut kale at 
 noon. — W. S. F. 
 
 Answer — The ration you are now 
 feeding is a very good one, but at this 
 time of the year (early spring), I would 
 advise you to double the amount of 
 blood-meal in the mash. I would feed 
 the mash perfectly dry, without mois- 
 tening it in the least, in the morning; 
 the green feed at noon, and the wheat 
 at night, or I would reverse it, feeding 
 the wheat in the scratching pen in the 
 morning, green food at noon, and the 
 mash slightly dampened with table 
 scraps you may have, at night, giving 
 the hens at their supper time what 
 they will eat up clean. Pullets that 
 are ready to lay will sometimes retain 
 their eggs if they do not have com- 
 fortable nests; also sometimes they 
 require a slight shock or stimulants 
 to start they laying. I find chili 
 pepper seeds excellent for starting 
 the laying, or failing to get this, a 
 teaspoonful of red pepper three times 
 a week for a dozen hens, will often 
 start them laying. The ration you 
 are feeding, if you add more blood 
 meal (or animal food) is a well bal- 
 anced ration for eggs. 
 
 Ration for Twelve Hens — I take 
 great pleasure in reading your ar- 
 ticles. One thing I have failed to 
 find and that is a good balanced ra- 
 tion; many writers say, feed a good 
 balanced ration, but few of us new 
 
 Tomatoes — Do tomatoes tend to 
 make tlic hens quit laying? — J. W. 
 
 Answer— Tomatoes will not do the 
 hens any harm unless fed in very 
 large quantities. There is not much 
 nourishment to them and consequent- 
 ly they will not improve the laying 
 qualities; otherwise a reasonable 
 amount will benefit the hens. 
 
168 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTKRN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Formula for Feeding — Your formu- 
 la for feeding — two parts bran, one 
 part cornmeal, one part alfalfa meal, 
 one part shorts, one part beef scraps 
 - — ^is the simplest I have ever seen, so 
 shall try it. 
 
 1. Will the same formula hold 
 good with hens with free range but 
 no green food? 
 
 2. In case they have access to 
 fresh alfalfa hay, would it be neces- 
 sary to use tiie alfalfa meal? 
 
 3. Could I substitute shorts or 
 middlings for the meal in case they 
 are cheaper, and if so, in what pro- 
 portion? 
 
 4. Does the l)alanced ration keep 
 up the egg yield during moulting or 
 is it necessary to add oil meal or some 
 similar meal during tliat period? — 
 Mrs. G. 11. G. 
 
 Answer — The same formula is good 
 for hens with no green food, but it is 
 nuich better to give them green food, 
 or roots, beets, turnips, carrots, 
 pumpkins, or some succulent vege- 
 tal)le if possible. 
 
 2. No, not absolutely necessary, 
 but I always continue the alfalfa meal 
 so the hens may not forget the taste 
 of it, as it is sometimes difficult to 
 break them into the habit of eating it. 
 
 3. You could not substitute shorts 
 or midiUings for it. 
 
 4. During the moult, add oil-meal 
 or linseed meal, about one-fourth of 
 one part, to the feed. Tiiis ripens the 
 feathers, makes them fall out easier 
 and grow more quickly. 
 
 For Young and Old Stock — I am 
 
 very much interested in your articles 
 and would like to ask you for a little 
 advice. Being away from home all 
 day, I have to feed in the morning 
 enough to do all day. This I can 
 manage for the old stock by feeding 
 scratch food in the litter and dry mash 
 in hoppers. But how can I manage 
 tlie growing stock? Please give a 
 formula for dry feed. Do you con- 
 sider the scratch food sold by the 
 poultry houses good food for the 
 young stock? My chicks will not eat 
 tlie baby chick food after a week or 
 ten days. I also give them lawn clip- 
 pings or lettuce every evening. 
 
 Is a handful of scratch feed to the 
 hen once a day enough where they 
 have the dry mash and table scraps? 
 Is cracked corn good food to feed 
 
 alone to young stock? I have Rhode 
 Island Reds.— R. L. P. 
 
 Answer — Your questions relate 
 principally to the feeding of the 
 young stock, and you do not say 
 whether you want to keep them for 
 fattening for the table or for future 
 egg layers. There is of course a dif- 
 ference in the way of feeding, or 
 rather in the quality of the food to 
 be given to them. However, I will 
 tell you the w%-iy I feed for egg laying. 
 As soon as I think the little chicks 
 will eat whole wheat, I add it to the 
 l)aby chick feed, a small quantity. If 
 tiiey pick it up quickly I add more 
 each daj\ and in a few days I give also 
 some kaffir corn or finely cracked 
 corn. It should be finely cracked, as 
 it is difficult of digestion. When it 
 is too long in digesting, the corn 
 ferments in the gizzard and that gives 
 the chick diarrhoea, which often 
 proves fatal. We never want to over- 
 tax the digestion of a chick, so I give 
 corn carefully. This applies to the 
 last (luestion in your letter — -it is not 
 good to feed corn alone. It has been 
 clearly proven that chicks do better, 
 grow more quickly and mature ear- 
 lier if they can have a great variety 
 of seeds to eat. This is the reason 
 we prefer to buy the chick feed al- 
 ready mixed from the supply houses. 
 They have greater facilities for get- 
 ting a variety of grains than we have. 
 
 Wlien the young stock is old 
 enough to eat the wheat and kaffir 
 corn, they can be fed as j^ou do the 
 old hens, only remember to give them 
 nice, clean litter to scratch in. It 
 will need renewing oftener than that 
 of the old hens, for if it gets foul and 
 they pick up some of their own drop- 
 pings, you will soon have a set of 
 sick cliickens. Feed the grains in the 
 scratching pen to the little chicks, and 
 also give them in a hopper bran, al- 
 falfa meal, corn meal, ground bone 
 and either granulated milk or dried 
 blood in equal proportions. The lit- 
 tle chicks will prefer the grains in the 
 scratching pen and eat those the first, 
 wliich is just what they want, but if 
 the}' are hungry tliey will go to the 
 hopper. Most of the poultry supply 
 houses now make an excellent scratch 
 feed; they realize the need of it and 
 are able to mix it scientifically. I al- 
 ways bu3' from them, and if I think 
 there is too much corn and that my 
 fowls will become too fat, I say. 
 
FEEDING IN GENERAL 
 
 169 
 
 "Please economize the corn." You 
 will find most of the poultry supply 
 houses willing to. mix the scratch food 
 just as you want it. You are feeding 
 the mature stock all right. One hand- 
 ful of the scratch food in the litter is 
 about right for the hens. The green 
 food is quite important, the lawn clip- 
 pings should be of clover or as much 
 clover as possible, for the blue grass 
 becomes so hard and stiff as the sum- 
 mer continues that there is not much 
 nourishment in it and the hens will 
 not cat it. Lettuce is good but is 
 sometimes quite expensive and diffi- 
 cult to get, but there is another green 
 food that has been found excellent 
 and is within the reach of any one. 
 This is sprouted oats. Take half a 
 bucket of oats, pour warm water on 
 them and leave them covered all 
 night, then spread them in boxes. 
 Any box will do. Have the oats 
 about two inches deep and keep them 
 damp. In four or five days there 
 will be a mass of tender green 
 sprouts. The hens will eat eagerly 
 of this. A friend of mine has also 
 done this with barley for many years 
 with great success. This green food 
 is as good for the young stock as for 
 the old. 
 
 In your place I would feed as you 
 do, throwing scratch food (a handful 
 to each fowl) in the litter in the 
 early morning, keeping the dry mash 
 in the hopper, and feed the green 
 food in the evening. Some of it may 
 be left till morning, but will not wilt 
 much, and they will eat it the first 
 thing. Be sure they have plenty of 
 water and have it shaded from the 
 sun, either in a box on its side or in 
 some sort of shelter. 
 
 Mixing Foods — I want to ask you 
 if there is any good reason for not 
 mixing foods at the same meal. Prof. 
 Jaffa of the U. C. said on one occa- 
 sion that it was best not to mix foods 
 — in feeding wheat, to feed that alone; 
 the same of barley or of corn. Make 
 either an entire meal. I have ob- 
 served in feeding my chickens that 
 they seem to enjoy a variety of grains 
 fed together. Which method would 
 you think best? 
 
 I am feeding rolled barley dry. 
 Would you think it better to soak it? 
 I give the mash at noon, dry, and 
 green feed morning and evening. The 
 
 fowls seem to like the green feed 
 better at those times than at noon. 
 
 Would you set eggs from well 
 grown White Minorca pullets that 
 are now nearly eight months old? 
 They are now with a rooster of the 
 same age; or if not now, would it 
 be safe to set them after they are 
 nine months old? — G. S. II. 
 
 Answer — The reason Professor 
 Jaffa thinks it best not to mix foods 
 is because some hens will pick out all 
 of a certain grain in a greedy man- 
 ner, and by giving only one grain at 
 a time, they are forced to eat what 
 he chooses to giVe them. I would 
 not venture to differ from so learned 
 a man, but like you, I notice my hens 
 enjoy a variety, so I give it to them, 
 and for the little chicks I am posi- 
 tive a great variety is by far the best 
 for them. I found that the hens en- 
 joyed an occasional feed of soaked 
 barley, so I poured scalding water 
 over a few pailsful of barley, covering 
 it with gunny sacks to keep in the 
 steam and when thoroughly soaked, 
 fed it to the hens. 
 
 I would not set eggs from such 
 young pullets. I would wait until 
 they arc nine or ten months of age; 
 especially as they are mated with a 
 cockerel of their own age. The off- 
 spring of immature fowls is often 
 weakly and delicate. I have found it 
 much more satisfactory to hatch only 
 from two-year-old birds. Then you 
 have the foundation of a vigorous 
 flock of fowls, and I never hatch 
 from Mediterraneans of less than a 
 year. It really pays better and is 
 much less anxious work having only 
 vigorous chickens, chickens that can- 
 not help but grow and develop as we 
 want them. 
 
 How Much to Feed — Can you tell 
 me how much feed an average Leg- 
 horn should have in weight with a 
 free range of two acres of alfalfa? 
 Is green ground bone necessary all 
 the year round or only in the winter? 
 My hens will not lay and I may not 
 be feeding right, although a few 
 Wyandottes I have are too fat, but 
 they get exactly the same food as the 
 Leghorns. I have 72 hens and only 
 got 12 eggs yesterday. Am not satis- 
 fied with the results and desire to 
 have them do better. 
 
 Answer — An average Leghorn hen 
 should have in weight for every 
 
170 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 
 
 pound wciglit of hen an ounce of 
 food. As Leghorns weigh about five 
 pounds each, tliey would require 
 about five ounces of food each per 
 day. Animal food of some kind is 
 necessary for hens if you want them 
 to lay. If you can give them milk 
 in large quantities, that will give 
 tliem all tiie animal food necessary. 
 Green ground bone is, of course, the 
 best food, but it is very difficult to 
 keep it fresh and sweet in the sum- 
 mer time, therefore dried bone and 
 dried blood, or beef scrap or milk 
 must take the place. A hen requires 
 about half an ounce of green ground 
 bone every day or of the dry stuff 
 (bone and blood) half an ounce every 
 other day. If the fowls have plenty 
 of green food and are not laying well, 
 give them more animal food. Per- 
 haps your Leghorns are two years 
 old. in wliich case you had better get 
 younger fowls, as their days of great- 
 est usefulness are over. 
 
 I)()naceous food than hens, and I am 
 afraid if you increase the corn, be- 
 fore you want to fatten them for the 
 market, you will have liver trouble in 
 the flock. Be very careful how you 
 increase the corn or corn meal. 
 
 Feeding for Market — What shall we 
 feed ycunig cockerels to prepare them 
 for market? 
 
 Our turkey hens are still laying. 
 Will they lay next year in time for 
 hatching season, say January or Feb- 
 ruary? Of course, I do not expect 
 you could tell exactly what a turkey 
 hen would do, but would like your 
 idea of it. If I thought thej' would 
 not lay before March, T would rather 
 sell them. What would you advise? 
 — S. L. J. 
 
 Answer — For fattening your cock- 
 erels, coop them in a small place, so 
 they will not exercise. Feed them 
 three times a day a mash composed 
 of one part each of corn meal (feed 
 meal), bran and rolled oats, with a 
 little charcoal, and mix it with milk, 
 if possible. Take away the food in 
 fifteen minutes, leaving only water 
 and grit before them; give them all 
 they will eat of this, and in from two 
 to three weeks they will be delicious, 
 fat and juicy. The last week add five 
 per cent linseed or cotton seed meal. 
 
 Your turkeys that are laying now 
 will moult late and probably not com- 
 mence to lay again before March or 
 April, although as j'ou say, one can- 
 not be very certain what a turkey hen 
 will do. 
 
 I do not think it would be advisable 
 to shorten their ration of meat. Tur- 
 keys require more meat and less car- 
 
 How Much Grain — ^I have been 
 feeding three times a day grain morn- 
 ing and night and u mash at noon. I 
 feed a good handful of Kaffir corn, 
 wheat or Indian corn in the scratch 
 pens. I have a mixed flock; I cannot 
 well use the dry mash. How much 
 of the grain should I give if I only 
 fed once a day? I have fifty or sixty 
 hens kept only for eggs and no good 
 way of weighing grain, so please state 
 quantity per hen and not weight. — C. 
 A. B. 
 
 Answer — It is a good rule to feed a 
 pint of grain for everj^ dozen hens, the 
 grain to be buried in the scratching 
 pens, so they will have to dig it out. 
 Give all the green food, clover, lawn 
 clippings, alfalfa, lettuce, cabliage, 
 vegetables, that they will eat, and one 
 tablespoonful of green cut bone for 
 each hen, three times a week. You 
 do not mention how you make your 
 mash. Remember that a hen needs 
 animal food, green food and cereals; 
 that is the balanced ration that will 
 give plenty of eggs at all times. 
 
 What to Feed and How — Will you 
 kindly tell me what to feed my fowls? 
 I am a stranger in California and 
 cannot make my fiock pay for its feed. 
 Four months ago I bought 25 hens 
 and two cockerels (Buff Orpingtons), 
 ten four-months' pullets and twelve 
 Minorcas. The pullets have never 
 layed, the hens only a few eggs. They 
 have new houses and are in an or- 
 ange grove 100 feet bj^ 65 feet in two 
 pens. I take the Minorcas out of the 
 trees each night. I feed an egg food 
 sold at the supply house here. Grains, 
 alfalfa meal, etc.. is in the egg food. 
 The hens have dust baths and I paint 
 the roosts with a lice killer. I get 
 no eggs; one cockerel rattles in his 
 throat. The leading poultryman here 
 has been up and can find no fault. 
 Will you please tell me wliat and how 
 much and at what time of day they 
 should be fed? They are high-priced 
 fowls and I want to make them lay 
 eggs. The grove is kept cultivated 
 during the summer and everything is 
 new. It seems to be only a question 
 
FEEDING IN GENERAL 
 
 171 
 
 of food and exercise. I get so many 
 different opinions I do not know what 
 to do; some say they are too fat, 
 others not fat enough. How can I 
 make thein scratch any more? I 
 would like to feed as cheaply as pos- 
 sible. Where could I get the Cali- 
 fornia Experiment Station Bulletin? 
 —Mrs. L. S. 
 
 Answer — Your fowls, especially the 
 Orpingtons, should be laying well. It 
 is, as you say, a question of feed and 
 exercise. I find the best results with 
 Orpingtons is to feed grain in the 
 scratching pen in the morning; one 
 small handful scattered in deep straw 
 for each hen. I keep the following 
 mixture in a hopper, or box, before 
 them all the time; also I give them 
 crushed oyster shell, charcoal and 
 granulated bone in a hopper by itself: 
 Mix two quarts of bran, one of corn 
 meal, one of alfalfa meal, one of beef 
 scrap, or of granulated milk. To this 
 I add, on cold days, a tablespoon of 
 ground red peppers, and when they 
 are moulting, half a cup of linseed 
 meal. 
 
 If you feed in this way you cannot 
 fail to have eggs. Besides this, I give 
 the hens lawn clippings, table scraps 
 and refuse vegetables. Hens do much 
 l)etter in this climate when they can 
 have plenty of green food. All the 
 bulletins of the Agricultural Experi- 
 ment Station can be had by writing to 
 the Director of the Station, Univer- 
 sity of California, Berkeley, Cal. 
 They are free to residents in this 
 state. 
 
 Broken Glass for Chickens — Have 
 started in poultry in a small way. 
 Have had very good success so far. 
 However, 'tis somewhat of a trial to 
 get enough gravel or grit for a good 
 sized flock on a small lot. Now, 
 what I want to know is, is pounded 
 glass fit to feed hens? Two of my 
 neighbors have advised its use in the 
 poultry yards, but I am afraid it 
 would act on the chickens the same 
 as it did on foxes we used to poison 
 with it up in the wilds of Wisconsin. 
 —J. G. F. 
 
 Answer — Broken glass or broken 
 crockery make a very fair substitute 
 for grit and gravel. It should be 
 broken not smaller than a grain of 
 wheat and have three sharp edges or 
 corners to each piece. In using glass 
 be sure not to take pointed pieces 
 
 like slivers, because they may pierce 
 the crop or gizzard. For several 
 years when I could not get grit I 
 used broken crockery for the chickens 
 and I know it does well. 
 
 Substitute for Green Food — Will 
 you kindly tell me what would be the 
 quickest and best vegetable for green 
 food I could grow for my poultry? I 
 planted a patch of white clover, but it 
 does not seem to grow at all. Is al- 
 falfa meal a good substitute where 
 green food cannot be had? — G. K. 
 
 Answer — An alfalfa patch is a good 
 thing to have for poultry, but if you 
 cannot have either clover or alfalfa, 
 plant for the little chickens, lettuce, 
 and for the older ones, kale, swiss- 
 chard, cabbage, beets, etc. These in 
 the order in which I have mentioned 
 them are the best foods that I know 
 of. You, of course, must judge what 
 will grow best in your section. Alfal- 
 fa meal is a very fair substitute for 
 green food, but of course does not 
 come up to the crisp succulent fresh 
 growing greens. 
 
 Lack Green Food — I have three 
 pens of White Plymouth Rocks and 
 what bothers me is I only get from 
 four to six eggs from them. They all 
 look fine. I think they are rather fat. As 
 to feed, I give them a small handful 
 of grain in the morning in deep straw, 
 either wheat or barley; about eleven a 
 dry mash — eight quarts bran, four 
 quarts middlings and nearly a quart of 
 beef scraps; at night I give them the 
 dry grain again. Once in a while a 
 tablespoonful of pepper in their mash. 
 They are not troubled with lice or 
 mites, and have grit, oyster shell and 
 coal before them all the time; also 
 good clean water. Can you advise 
 me how to feed them so as to get 
 them down to business? — J. B. 
 
 Answer — What your hens lack is 
 green food. At least one-third of a 
 hen's food should be green — clover, 
 alfalfa or some succulent vegetables. 
 They cannot do well upon the abso- 
 lutely dry food you are giving them. 
 Add the green to your present ration 
 and you should get eggs. 
 
 Millet Seed — Can you tell me what 
 makes my chickens that are from ten 
 weeks to three months old, droopy? 
 Is millet seed good for little chicks 
 
172 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 for the first two or three weeks? I 
 mean millet seed alone. — Mrs. P. E. N. 
 Answer — When chickens are droopy 
 it is a sign that they may have either 
 lice, worms or indigestion. If you are 
 feeding millet seed, that may account 
 for it. Millet seed is very hard, round 
 and slippery, and passes through the 
 gizzard and intestines without being 
 digested, and I have known of several 
 chickens dying from it. A little used 
 in their food may not hurt them, but 
 an exclusive diet of millet is certain to 
 cause trouble. 
 
 Skim Milk — Will you kindly inform 
 me wliethcr skim milk is a good food 
 for young pullets or laying hens? 
 Which is best, sweet, clabber or curd? 
 Is there danger of feeding too much 
 curd or skim milk? Is curd of more 
 value to young stock or to laying 
 hens? I have a bunch of ten-weeks- 
 old pullets that I am feeding clabber 
 and bran mixed until it makes a 
 crumbly mash. Is it a fattening or 
 muscle or bone making ration? How 
 would it do to feed to laj^ing stock? 
 I give skim milk to my laying hens in 
 troughs which set in the sun. Will 
 that kill diseased germs or not? — L. 
 E. E. 
 
 Answer — Skim milk is one of the 
 best foods for chickens or hens at any 
 stage of their lives. It can be fed 
 either sweet, clabber or curd. By 
 curd, I mean cooked. If you cook 
 it, be careful not to heat it above 100 
 degrees or it will become tough and 
 indigestible. There is no danger of 
 feeding too much skim milk or clab- 
 ber to fowls. The crumbly mash is 
 good feed, but you would succeed 
 just as well by giving them the bran 
 dry and letting them drink or eat the 
 milk as they want it. It is a good 
 bone, muscle and egg-making ration. 
 I give my fowls all the milk I can 
 spare, pouring it into troughs and 
 leaving it till they eat it. The sun 
 does not seem to aflfect it badly when 
 it is pure milk, but if bran were 
 mixed with it, the sun might make it 
 ferment and then it would disagree 
 with theiTi. 
 
 Sorghum Seed — Will you tell me 
 the value of sorghum seed for poul- 
 try? Is it fat producing or an egg 
 food, and how would it do for tur- 
 keys?— C. B. C. 
 
 Answer — Sorghum seed, broom 
 corn seed and Egyptian corn have al- 
 most the same nutritive value. They 
 can be fed to both chickens and tur- 
 keys with the same satisfactory re- 
 sults. One year when on the farm I 
 had several tons of broom corn seed 
 which was left where the threshers 
 worked and the fowls had free access 
 to it and the green-growing wheat; 
 they got through the moult early and 
 laycd all winter, eggs galone. I never 
 saw better laying and the turkeys did 
 well on it. Professor Jaflfa in his 
 most valuable bulletin (Farmer's bul- 
 letin 164) on poultry feeding, gives 
 us the nutritive value of broom corn 
 and of sorghum seed as both the same 
 — 1:8.4; of Egyptian corn, 1:8-6; Sor- 
 ghum seed is more fattening than 
 wheat and less fattening than corn. 
 If j'our fowls are on free range and 
 have plenty of green food and animal 
 food or milk, sorghum seed will be 
 an excellent food for them. You 
 should write to the Director Agricul- 
 tural Experiment Station, University 
 of California, Berkeley, and ask him 
 to send you "Bulletin 164 on Poultry 
 Feeding," then you can see just the 
 right way to balance your ration. 
 
 Kaffir Com — 1. Is Kaffir corn the 
 same as Egyptian corn, and is it an 
 egg food or simply a fattening food? 
 
 2. About what should a White 
 Plymouth cockerel weigh at four 
 months old? 
 
 Answer — 1. Kaffir and Egj'ptian 
 corn belong to the same family and 
 are very much alike. They are both 
 fattening grains, and I prefer mixing 
 them with other grains, such as wheat, 
 barley, oats or buckwheat. 
 
 2. A White Rock cockerel at four 
 months of age should weigh about 
 four pounds; at six months, six 
 pounds. 
 
THE EGG QUESTION 
 
 Egg-Bound — I have the White 
 Minorcas. Have IS hens and get 
 from 12 to 14 eggs per day. I have 
 a pullet and an old hen that seem 
 to droop and sit around all day, and 
 sometimes stagger; they had been lay- 
 ing all the time and their combs are 
 still red, but they do not lay now. 
 I feed them bran mash in the morn- 
 ing with alfalfa meal and egg-maker, 
 and once a week chopped onions and 
 red pepper, and at noon we give them 
 green grass, and at night wheat, be- 
 sides this they get lots of meat scraps 
 from the table; they have oystershell 
 and grit before them all the time. 
 They have not eaten anything since 
 they felt this way, but seem to kind 
 of gasp for breath, and they do not 
 seem to have anything in their craws. 
 Thanking you in advance for a reply, 
 I remain. — Mrs. J. W. S. 
 
 Answer — Your hens certainly have 
 been doing very well. Minorcas very 
 often get egg-bound, as their eggs 
 are so large they have difficulty in 
 laying them. This may be the case 
 with yours, and I would advise you 
 to examine them. You might also 
 give them some Epsom salts, half a 
 teaspoonful in a tablespoonful of wa- 
 ter. If they are egg-bound, inject a 
 little olive oil and hold the body of 
 the hen in a pan of warm water, as 
 warm as you can bear your hands 
 in; this will relax the parts and en- 
 able the egg to pass. If it is indi- 
 gestion, the Epsom salts will help 
 that. I think your hens may not be 
 getting green food enough. 
 
 Egg-bound is most common in 
 sluggish birds, or those closely con- 
 fined without opportunity to exercise. 
 Active fowls, such as Leghorns, sel- 
 dom take life easy enough to get fat, 
 hence are not subject to this disease, 
 which is largely owing to an over-fat 
 condition of the entire system, in 
 which the egg passage is pressed upon 
 by the accumulation of fat, hindering 
 the passage of the egg. Not only are 
 there large collections of fat in the ab- 
 dominal cavity, but much of the mus- 
 cular tissue is replaced by streaks of 
 fat. This weakens the muscles of the 
 egg passage, so that the egg may be 
 arrested in the passage where it sets 
 up inflammation. This same egg- 
 bound condition sometimes causes 
 death from heart disease. The bird 
 
 goes on the nest to lay, strains vio- 
 lently to pass the egg, the heart mus- 
 cles are decidedly weak from fatty de- 
 generation, the extra exertion is too 
 much for the weakened heart, and it 
 gives out, the bird being found on the 
 nest dead. 
 
 In the early stages when the irri- 
 tation is slight, it is sufficient to in- 
 ject a small quantity of olive oil and 
 gently manipulate the parts. After- 
 wards give cooling green food, and 
 if the hens are too fat, reduce the 
 ration. In case the expulsion of the 
 egg cannot be obtained by the injec- 
 tion of oil, immerse the lower 
 part of the body in water, as warm 
 as can be used without injury, and 
 hold it there half an hour or more, 
 until the parts are relaxed. Then in- 
 ject oil and endeavor to assist the 
 bird by careful pressure and manipu- 
 lation or by gentle dilatation of the 
 passage. 
 
 It Cured Them — How long can 
 eggs be kept for setting and do they 
 require any special treatment? I have 
 a favorite hen and I want to set as 
 many of her eggs as possible, but 
 I do not know how long they will 
 remain fertile, as I have no hen want- 
 ing to sit at present. Several of my 
 fowls had a touch of roup and I tried 
 a remedy that you gave (castor oil, 
 camphorated oil, kerosene, turpentine 
 and a few drops of carbolic acid) 
 squirted up her nostrils. I also mixed 
 another remedy that you gave (cay- 
 enne pepper, mustard, vinegar, lard 
 and flour) and gave it to the fowls, in 
 pills, as you said. I happened to leave 
 it where they could get at it, and 
 found that I need not give it in pills 
 for they were eating it with relish. 
 I have made the mixture several 
 times since and they seem to be 
 very fond of it. Their combs have 
 become very red and although they 
 are moulting, they are laying well. 
 Would you advise allowing them to 
 eat all they want of it? They are 
 entirely well of the roup. — Mrs. H. 
 A. H. 
 
 Answer — In reply to your first 
 question, it is well to remember that 
 the fresher the eggs you set, the 
 stronger will be the chicks. I have 
 always set them as fresh as I can get 
 them, and I never sold eggs over a 
 
174 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 week old for setting. However, I 
 have kept egg.s from a favorite hen 
 for three weeks and had a very good 
 hatch. To keep them, I always lay 
 the eggs on their side on sawdust or 
 on grain (oats or barley) to keep 
 them from rolling and I turn them 
 every day. By this means the yolk 
 does not adhere to one side, and I 
 have a good hatch. Some advise 
 standing them on the small end, but 
 it docs not succeed as well as my 
 way. I am glad your fowls have 
 gotten over the roup. I would not 
 advise you to let them eat their medi- 
 cine, l)ccause that remedy is a very 
 powerful stimulant, and although ex- 
 cellent for a cold, often curing it in 
 one day, it will prove an irritant if 
 continued too long. It is even now 
 stimulating the cg^ organs and digest- 
 ive organs greatly, as is shown by 
 the comb, and I advise you to dis- 
 continue it, increasing the animal 
 food; and, as yours are Rhode Island 
 Reds, I would advise adding some oil 
 cake (linseed meal) to the food. 
 This will help to give a fine gloss to 
 the new feathers. 
 
 Soft Shelled Eggs — Having i-ead a 
 great deal of your advice, I will ask 
 of you a favor. Would you please 
 tell me what can be the reason chick- 
 ens lay unshelled eggs? They some- 
 times drop them while on the roost 
 or out among the brush. Mine have 
 been very bad of late; I get as many 
 as three or four a day, sometimes, 
 from about thirty hens. I should be 
 real thankful to find out what to do 
 for them.— Mrs. L. K. L. 
 
 Answer — Soft-shelled eggs are not 
 exactly a diseased condition, but may 
 be a symptom of approaching danger. 
 It is usually due to a lack of shell- 
 making material in the food, or to 
 inflammation of the shell-forming 
 chaml)cr of the cgi:!; duct, which no 
 longer secretes calcareous matter. 
 Over-stimulation of the egg organs 
 by the use of pepper or stimulating 
 egg foods, will have this effect. 
 Worms in the intestines may also pro- 
 duce the irritation that will affect the 
 oviduct, and an over-fat condition will 
 increase the tendency to laying soft- 
 shelled eggs. This is the common 
 cause of soft-shelled eggs. 
 
 Treatment — Provided the cause is 
 an over-fat condition, it can be reme- 
 died by giving a ration low in fat-pro- 
 
 ducing elements. Give the fowls 
 plenty of shell-forming material, such 
 as crushed oyster shells and grit, cut 
 bone and green food; make them 
 work for the grain, which should be 
 wheat in preference to other grains. 
 One heaping teaspoonful of Epsom 
 salts to a pint of drinking water kept 
 before the hens for a day twice a 
 week, will help remove the layers of 
 fat. Feed a properly balanced ration 
 and do not try to increase the egg 
 yield by using stimulants that irritate 
 the organs of reproduction. 
 
 Blood Spot on Yolk— I have 150 
 Brown Leghorn pullets just starting 
 to lay, and I supply a few customers 
 with eggs and they have been com- 
 plaining of finding a little blood spot 
 on the yolk. I have plenty of nest 
 room so they are not crowded. I 
 have been picking 70 to 80 eggs a 
 day. They have abundance of green 
 feed. I feed soft feed in the morning, 
 wheat at mid-day, corn at evening, so 
 if you will please let me know what 
 the cause of this is, I will be very 
 much obliged, because my customers 
 are getting dissatisfied. — W. W. M. 
 
 Answer — The small blood clot you 
 describe results from a slight hemor- 
 rhage which has generally occurred 
 in the upper two-thirds of the oviduct. 
 Such hemorrhages are the result of 
 great functional activity and conges- 
 tion of the blood vessels. They are 
 excited by any of the causes which 
 lead to congestion and inflammation 
 and arc to be counteracted by green 
 feed and less animal food and by the 
 suppression of red-pepper or any 
 stimulants. Give a little Epsom salts 
 in the water and add about twice the 
 amount of salt you are giving to the 
 mash in the morning, leaving off the 
 red-pepper. 
 
 Largest White Eggs — I am start- 
 ing or trying to start a poultry ranch 
 and would like to ask you a question 
 recently asked by some one else, but 
 in a little different way. Which of 
 the good laying breeds lay the largest 
 white eggs? My aim is for good city 
 trade.— E. A. M. 
 
 Answer — The Black Minorcas have 
 tlie reputation of laying the largest 
 wliitc eggs. The White Leghorns are 
 their close competitors. It very much 
 depends upon the strain or family. 
 For instance, one set of fowls may 
 
THE EGG QUESTION 
 
 175 
 
 have been selected for beauty of fea- 
 ther and form and their owners may 
 not have chosen those that layed the 
 largest eggs, whilst some have care- 
 fully chosen the largest egg-layers, and 
 bred from those, not caring for ex- 
 hibition birds, and again a third party 
 might have united these two qualities 
 and have both prize winners and the 
 best of layers. It depends upon the 
 ability of the breeder and also upon 
 his object. 
 
 Black Minorcas do admirably in the 
 climate of Southern California. I do 
 not know how they would grow in a 
 damper, colder climate. You would 
 have to inquire of people who have 
 had experience in that kind of a cli- 
 mate. 
 
 Sudden Death — Lately I have ha4 
 three hens die suddenly, and apparent- 
 ly without cause; my neighbors have 
 also lost several. Perhaps you can 
 enlighted us and suggest a remedy. 
 The hens were laying, combs red and 
 large, crops full of wheat, etc., but 
 die on the nest over night. I held a 
 post mortem examination and could 
 find nothing radically wrong. Each 
 had well formed eggs and many of 
 them. They roost high in the open 
 air; run out nights and mornings on 
 alfalfa. I feed wheat mostly, and 
 once every other day, hot bran mash 
 with a spoonful of egg-maker. Have 
 had over 40 dozen eggs without inter- 
 ruption since January 1st, from 
 twelve pullets — -Minorcas — of my own 
 raising. This is the first death I 
 have ever had except of the little 
 chicks. Pens are clean, no lice or 
 mites. Have studied closely and can't 
 "savy." Perhaps you can. The heart 
 of the first one seemed the only cause 
 for death, as it had a large inforct, 
 probably fatty degeneration; the other 
 was normal. — Dr. J. A. B. 
 
 Answer — I think, as your hens died 
 on the nest, that they had some diffi- 
 culty in laying, and were probably 
 egg-bound. The Minorcas laying a 
 large egg, are frequently subject to 
 this trouble, more so, in fact, than 
 the other breeds which lay smaller 
 eggs. Straining in laying frequently 
 is the cause of a blood vessel break- 
 ing in the head, which, of course, re- 
 sults in apoplexy. Minorcas rarely 
 suffer from an over-fat condition, as 
 they are a very active breed. 
 
 Egg-Eating Hens — Would you 
 
 kindly tell me how to treat egg-eating 
 
 hens? What will cure them? — Mrs. 
 R. E. G. 
 
 Answer — The best way is to cut 
 the head off the offender and cat her, 
 for she is certain to be fat. The in- 
 formation you ask for is as follows: 
 Mr. Morse (a chicken expert) gives 
 five remedies for the bad habit of egg- 
 eating. First: Fit up an arrange- 
 ment whereby the eggs, as soon as 
 layed, slide down and out of sight, 
 into a sort of false bottom under the 
 nest. The hens will not eat them 
 because they cannot get them. Sec- 
 ond: Have a lot of China eggs lying 
 about proiTiiscuous-like on the floor. 
 Trying to eat such eggs is likely to 
 discourage egg-eating. Third: Fi.x up 
 a hollow egg with aloes. One bite is 
 enough. Consult the corner druggist 
 as to how to make the iness. Fourth: 
 Have grit and crushed oyster shells 
 about in abundance in self-feeding 
 boxes. Fifth: Do not stuff your 
 hens full of mash in the morning 
 and let them sit around all day, like 
 "Father" in the song, "Everybody 
 Works But Father," but feed them 
 grain in litter and make them hustle 
 all day. This keeps them out of mis- 
 chief. Mr. Morse's advice may be 
 good, but I recommend using trap 
 nests by which means you will easily 
 discover the guilty hen, and if she 
 is not too valuable, the verdict should 
 be decapitation. Keep oyster shells, 
 grit and charcoal before your hens 
 and there will be very little egg-eat- 
 ing for it is a vice which always com- 
 mences with weak or soft egg shells. 
 
 Novel Nests — Do you know the 
 name of the maker of a nest with an 
 opening in the bottom so that the 
 eggs will drop through into a box 
 below to prevent the hens from eat- 
 ing the eggs? 
 
 Answer — I have seen the mention 
 of such nests but have never in all 
 the many poultry ranches I visited, 
 seen such nests in use. You might 
 try darkened nests. They are simply 
 a curtain of burlap hung in front of 
 the nest with a split up the middle.. 
 When the hen has layed and stepped 
 off the nest the curtain closes behind 
 her and she can not see the egg to 
 eat it. Tliis has l)ecn found suc- 
 cessful. 
 
176 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 
 
 Poor Hatches— We have been run- 
 ning our incubator since February 
 and our hatches have been quite poor. 
 Our hens are two years old and so 
 are our roosters. The hens are fed 
 regularly, and have a large run with 
 plenty of alfalfa; a clean airy coop. 
 
 The chicks, when hatched, are 
 strong and vigorous. We have some 
 si.x weeks old and we have not lost 
 one, but when they are hatching 
 many die in their shells. Out of 450 
 eggs n tested out not fertile or dead 
 germs, and out of ZIZ remaining eggs, 
 only 182 hatched. We are hatching 
 White Leghorns. Can you tell us 
 what to do, or what the matter is? 
 We have been following your advice 
 in many things. 
 
 Do you think that slamming of 
 doors or jarring is bad for incubators 
 when hatching? — Mrs. M. F. De W. 
 
 Answer — I think the fault in your 
 incubator is that it has not sufificient 
 ventilation. An insufficiency of oxy- 
 gen will cause poor hatches such as 
 you describe. With the care you give 
 your fowls and their being two years 
 old, the fault does not lie in the par- 
 ent bird or their eggs, therefore it 
 certaintly comes from a faulty incu- 
 bator. In the future, air the eggs 
 three times a day; fan out the stale 
 air of the incubator each time you air 
 the eggs, and if you find they are dry- 
 ing out too much, sprinkle them, af- 
 ter the first week, twice a week with 
 warm water . Slamming the door or 
 jarring the incubator during incuba- 
 tion is not advisable, but on the day 
 of hatching it would not injure them. 
 
 Infertility — Will you kindly tell me 
 what to do to make eggs more fer- 
 tile? I have a fine pen of Colum- 
 bian Wyandottes, eight pullets mated 
 with a cock two years old. They are 
 fed on dry mash of bran, ground bar- 
 ley, corn meal, alfalfa meal and beef 
 scrap with plenty of grit, shell, char- 
 coal and ground bone before them all 
 the time, and are running in a corral 
 of grass and clover; they have plenty 
 of fresh water and the hens lay well. 
 What chicks I do get are strong and 
 iicalthy; out of fifteen eggs only two 
 were fertile. 
 
 I have another pen, four hens, two 
 years old, mated with a cockerel one 
 3'ear old. Fed the same in every way; 
 
 their shells are smooth but full of 
 clear spots. What shall I feed to 
 make shells better? — Mrs. E. H. G. 
 Answer — The usual requirements 
 missing from the food when eggs are 
 infertile are green food and animal 
 food, therefore, I would advise you to 
 feed more green food, more animal 
 food and a great deal less barley and 
 corn meal. Wyandottes are apt to 
 get too fat to have good fertility un- 
 less they have plenty of exercise. 
 From your account, I think neither 
 pen has sufficient exercise and the 
 four old hens require more lime. Mix 
 some fresh quick lime in water to the 
 consistency of pancake batter; let it 
 stand 24 hours, then pour out a cake 
 of it on the ground. It will soon dry, 
 and by crumbling a little of it every 
 day, the hens will pick it up. Add a 
 teaspoonful of baking soda to a quart 
 of their drinking water and keep this 
 before them for a week. By this 
 means I think your ^^^ shells will 
 improve. 
 
 Airing Eggs in Incubator — You 
 
 have stated that you aired your eggs 
 about one hour daily. Would that 
 have a tendency to make your hatch 
 come ofif late, or did you run the ma- 
 chine higher to offset the cooling? 
 Did you start in from the first week 
 to air that length of time, or was 
 it gradual? If I aired them longer 
 without chilling, could I get them 
 out in time, or does airing make them 
 late? The chicks that come out were 
 very wet; some of them stuck in the 
 shell; the stuff drying down and glue- 
 ing them in. — Mrs. N. A. R. 
 
 Answer — After the eggs have been 
 in the incubator 48 hours, I com- 
 mence airing them about five min- 
 utes twice a day, gradually increasing 
 the time two minutes each time. By 
 the third week I am airing them 20 
 minutes twice a day, or if the incu- 
 bator is a hot-water machine, I air 
 them three times a day in a room 
 that is not lower than 70 to 75 de- 
 grees, because I do not want to chill 
 the eggs. If they are too much 
 chilled or cooled off, they are apt to 
 be weakly, the hatch retarded, and 
 the chickens have difficulty in coming 
 out of the shell, such as you describe. 
 Evidently you have either cooled the 
 eggs too much or you have run the 
 
HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 
 
 177 
 
 incubator at too low a temperature. 
 We want to give the eggs as much 
 oxygen (fresh air) as possible without 
 chilling them. 
 
 Cripples — Some of my incubator 
 chickens are almost cripples when 
 they are taken from the incubator. 
 Some have crippled, crooked and 
 crumpled up toes, others have one 
 leg too short, or turned out the wrong 
 way, and some of them are not able 
 to stand up — they hold their head 
 back so far that they fall backward. 
 —A. H. S. 
 
 Answer — The cause of cripples in- 
 variably is irregularity of tempera- 
 ture in the incubator. Your incuba- 
 tor has been too hot at some period, 
 probably the last week; this causes 
 cripples. Those that hold their heads 
 back do so from the eggs not having 
 been turned sufficiently during incu- 
 bation. 
 
 As you do not mention the name 
 of the incubator, I cannot tell you 
 just where the- lack is. It may be 
 poor oil; it may be it is run in a 
 draught and it may lack ventilation. 
 
 Lack Oxygen — I took 200 thrifty 
 chicks from the incubator about eight 
 weeks ago. They did very well for 
 about two weeks, when they began to 
 die and today I have SO left, and these 
 look too scrubby to be worth raising. 
 I have given them extra attention and 
 the best feed. They get pale around 
 the head, grow weak and are skin 
 and bone when they die. I think 
 they have consumption. The brooder 
 is a tight box and no ventilation, ex- 
 cept the lid has a round hole about 
 as large as a teacup, and the little 
 entrance window about six inches 
 square. An iron pipe running through 
 is the heating arrangement. Inside 
 the box, to fit close over the pipe, 
 is a cap of wood with flannel curtains 
 dropping to the floor under which the 
 chicks hover. Don't you think this 
 is too close a place? The outside 
 box is only 6 inches deep, then they 
 hover inside; this only gives 4 inches 
 space for the chicks. Please tell me 
 if you think the lid to brooder would 
 be better of wire or where do you 
 think the trouble is? Also tell me 
 how granulated milk is prepared. We 
 have lately begun feeding to every- 
 thing in the poultry yard, beef scraps, 
 bone meal and linseed meal in what 
 
 we think proper proportions once a 
 day. Should chicks only eight weeks 
 old be fed this ration the same as 
 hens? What causes eggs to be ridgy 
 and uneven? Can one feed to produce 
 larger eggs? Our hens are large, but 
 lay small eggs — Mrs. J. B. S. 
 
 Answer — I think that the lack of 
 oxygen in your brooder is the only 
 difficulty with your chicks. Still I 
 am very much afraid that tuberculosis 
 may have got in, and infected the 
 brooder. If possible, move your 
 chicks into a weaning house, open en- 
 tirely on one side (or only closed 
 with chicken wire). Make a little 
 frame of gunny-sacking or out of a 
 piece of blanket that they can go un- 
 der. This will rest upon their backs 
 to keep them warm. Give them no 
 other heat. At this season of the 
 year (August) eight weeks old chicks 
 should have no heat whatever, at 
 night. I think you are keeping your 
 chickens too warm, without enough 
 fresh air and possibly they may have 
 mites or lice. Air their sleeping 
 place well; put the hover out into the 
 sunshine every day. This will kill 
 the germs of tuberculosis better than 
 anything. 
 
 Granulated milk is made at Bing- 
 hampton, N. Y. I do not know the 
 process. 
 
 Chicks eight weeks old can have 
 the beef-scraps, bone meal and lin- 
 seed meal in the same proportions as 
 hens. 
 
 Uneven eggs are caused either from 
 defect in the oviduct or from an in- 
 sufficiency of lime or hurried laying. 
 
 Some strains of hens lay small eggs 
 and over-fat hens will lay small eggs. 
 More protein added to their food will 
 often increase the size of the eggs: 
 By choosing the large eggs for hatch- 
 ing, you can increase the size of the 
 eggs in the next generation. 
 
 Setting Hens — Can you tell me 
 what is the matter with my chickens? 
 They seem good and healthy until 
 they start to set, then they invariably 
 develop a severe case of diarrhoea, 
 which causes them to leave their eggs 
 after a few days. I have now a hen 
 that wants to set, aad have just re- 
 ceived a setting of thoroughbred eggs.^ 
 but today I noticed the same trouble 
 as with the others, except that she 
 seems to be a great deal worse, for 
 her droppings are of a bloody na- 
 
7S 
 
 MRS i;.\Sl,i:VS WI'.STI'RN rOULTRY BOOK 
 
 turo. (."an it he from too much hluc- 
 ^toiio ill tln'ir wator or bocauso of too 
 imicli i\uK-fi"'>^^*^l? 1 f<-'^"<^l thorn a mixed 
 looil from the food yard, oimsisting- 
 oi oiMii, \vlioat, Kaflir corn, bocf 
 scraps, liono. cluircoal, oyster slioll, 
 liarloy and some other grains 1 can- 
 not classify. They get this twice a 
 day together with all the table scrap 
 and all the grass they can eat. 'riicy 
 also have plenty of exercise. Is there 
 anything 1 can do for this particnlar 
 hen? Shall 1 try to set her or get 
 some other hen for the eggs? Still 
 another question, what causes a milky, 
 watery substance in the whites of the 
 eggs; it runs out after the eggs have 
 been cooked? — G. W. Y. 
 
 Answer — It is the bluostone in the 
 water that thoroughly disagrees with, 
 or poisons the setting hens. Feed a 
 setting hen only grains, wheat and 
 corn mixed, and give her fresh water 
 to drink without any medicine in it. 
 You should not be giving your hens 
 bluostone at this season of the year 
 at all. They do not need it. and it 
 will injure the fertility of the eggs 
 and make the chicks hatching out 
 weakly. Do not sot the hen you men- 
 tioned, as in all probability she will 
 leave the eggs. All setting hens 
 should be in perfect health and entire- 
 ly free from lice or mites. You had 
 better got another hen for those eggs. 
 
 The milkiness in the whites of your 
 eggs is an indication that they are 
 perfectly fresh, that is. now layed. and 
 is a great recommendation for the 
 quality of your eggs. 
 
 Chicks Dying in Shell — A large per 
 cent of my chicks, fully developed, die 
 the day they are due to hatch, even 
 after pipping the shell. They seem 
 to dry in the shell. — Mrs D. D. 
 
 Answer — Float the eggs in warna 
 water. That will help the chicks to 
 break through the shell better than 
 anything 1 know of. Next time try 
 sprinkling the eggs after the oightli 
 day twice a week with warm water. 
 I think you will tuid it is what is 
 needed in your dry climate, and is 
 likely to help matters. 
 
 Answer — If your hen has been sit- 
 ting for a week or ten day, she will 
 "take to" the chicks as well as though 
 she had hatched them herself; espe- 
 cially if she is a Plymouth Rock or 
 Huff Orpington. Those two breeds 
 have a greater atYoction for chickens 
 than some of the others. Be sure 
 that the hen is entirely clear of lice, 
 and if she is a large hen. put from 15 
 to 18 under her at night; a smaller 
 hen should have from 12 to 15, not 
 more, if you expect the chickens to do 
 well. I have trained capons to act as 
 mothers; they do even better than 
 the hens. 
 
 Thermometer — Will you kindly tell 
 mo wlioro 1 could get tested thermom- 
 eter for incubator; also where I could 
 have one tested which I already have? 
 — H. H. C. 
 
 Answer — At any good drug store 
 you can have your thermometer test- 
 ed. If you want to buy a new one, 
 go to the agent selling your make 
 of incubator. Take the new one also 
 to the druggist and have him test it 
 thoroughly, because the thermom- 
 eters, as they are seasoned some- 
 times vary some degrees, and even a 
 now one cannot be trusted. 
 
 Fooling the Hen — Is it possible to 
 fool a sotting hon into caring for some 
 incubator chickens when she has not 
 hatched them herself— Mrs. C. R. 
 
 Helping Them Hatch — I find my 
 \\ bite riymouth Rock eggs are very 
 slow about hatching and sc^me I know 
 would die in the shell if I had not 
 dropped a few drc>ps of lukewarm wa- 
 ter on their heads, as it seemed they 
 would get about half out and then the 
 white skin would dry on their heads 
 and hold them fast. After having two 
 die in the shell. I found they would 
 free themselves if a few drops of 
 warm water were sprinkled on them. 
 I kept moisture in the pans aP three 
 days and part of the fourth and thej- 
 are still slowly hatching. This is fhe 
 twenty-third day. Do you think 1 
 should keep the moisture pan full for 
 a week — I mean the last week of in- 
 cubation? Please send me an '"dea on 
 chick feed, as I can not get good clean 
 chick feed here.— Mrs P. W. B. 
 
 Answer — If you had only men- 
 tioned the name of the incubator you 
 are using. I could have better diag- 
 nosed your case. As it is. all I can 
 say to you is to follow the rules and 
 directions they give you as closely 
 as possible. With some machmes it 
 
HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 
 
 179 
 
 is very advisable to sprinkle the eggs 
 twice a week after the twelfth day 
 with warm water; tliis sceins to make 
 the shells more brittle and prevents 
 the inner lining skin from toughen- 
 ing. I have found this lietter than 
 keeping much moisture in the ma- 
 chine. The moisture in the machinq 
 seems to inake the chick grow, but 
 does not make the shell brittle. Your 
 Plymouth Rock eggs should hatch 
 promptly on the 21st day. The de- 
 layed incubation indicates that part of 
 the time the temperature has been too 
 low. Are you sure that your ther- 
 mometer is perfectly correct; have 
 you had it tested? On the efficiency 
 of the thermometer much depends. 
 Many thermometers that are accurate 
 at first become, through the use of 
 unseasoned glass in their manufac- 
 ture, absolutely incorrect after a few 
 months' use. Others are really only 
 witliin two to four degrees of being 
 correct, therefore, be sure you have 
 your thermometer tested. About the 
 chicken feed, write to the Experiment 
 Station, University of California, Ber- 
 keley, for bulletin 164 on poultry feed- 
 ing. This gives you the lists of foods 
 available in your part of the country, 
 with the proper proportions for mix- 
 ing them, see page 36. 
 
 Eggs for Hatching — Will you kind- 
 ly tell me what is the matter with my 
 eggs? They will not hatch well. Our 
 hens are Brown Leghorns and Rhode 
 Island Reds. I only got fifteen chick- 
 ens in my last batch. When we break 
 the eggs after we know they will not 
 hatch we find the chicks dead, but 
 fully formed and just ready to hatch. 
 Perhaps the shells are too hard. Will 
 you please tell me what to do to 
 make a softer shell? Feed according 
 to your directions. 
 
 Is it necessary to put moisture in 
 the incubator? Does it hurt the eggs 
 to sprinkle them with warm water if 
 we think the shells are too hard? I 
 will be very thankful if you will an- 
 swer this, as I want to know before 
 I commence to save eggs for next in- 
 cubator lot. I do not keep them over 
 two weeks and keep them in a cool, 
 dark place, turning them every day. — 
 Mrs. G. A. M. 
 
 Answer — I wish I could tell you 
 for certain what causes chickens to 
 die in the shell. I have my theories 
 about it, and I believe it comes from 
 
 the eggs not being aired and cooled 
 sufficiently. Cooling them and then 
 warming them up again seems to 
 make the shells more brittle, and this 
 is the same under hens. If I notice 
 that a hen is setting too closely, I 
 take her off twice a day to cool the 
 eggs. With an incubator I would air 
 them and turn them three times a day, 
 and either sprinkle them three times 
 during the last ten days or float them 
 in warm water two days before the 
 hatch is due. Float them from three 
 to five minutes, and then put them 
 back into the tray while they are wet. 
 I do not believe in putting moisture 
 into the incubator unless the direc- 
 tions call for it. 
 
 Incubator Chicks Dying Off — We 
 
 have started in witli the R. I. Reds, 
 and have been fairly successful until 
 our last hatch. Out of 65 eggs 44 
 came out. Last Saturday they com- 
 menced dying ofif, just fell seemingly 
 from weakness and died soon after. 
 We have fed them chick feed, bran, 
 Indian meal, cayenne pepper, beef 
 scraps, twice per day, and a little 
 germazone in water occasionally. — 
 C. R. H. 
 
 Answer — From your description I 
 am afraid that the chickens have 
 either been chilled or may have been 
 over-heated. Either one of these 
 conditions will cause the symptoms 
 you describe. All you can do now is 
 to give them rice boiled in milk, add- 
 ing a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
 mon to each pint. Give them also 
 chopped lettuce and onions. Do not 
 give any cornmeal or beef scraps. 
 When chicks have been over-heated 
 either in the incubator or brooder, it 
 so weakens their bowels that they 
 cannot digest their food and they die 
 of starvation. 
 
 Poor Hatching — I should like very 
 much if you can give me some infor- 
 mation about my hatching eggs in an 
 incubator. I bought a new incubator 
 this spring. I have set it twice and 
 had the same results both times. The 
 chicks form fully and then most of 
 them die in the shell. As the same 
 eggs do fine when put under a hen. I 
 think it must be that I make some 
 mistake in my treatment of the in- 
 cubator. I have as nearly as possible 
 followed the instructions that came 
 
180 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 with it. If you can give me any as- 
 sistance, it will be appreciated very 
 much.— Mrs. W. D. W. 
 
 Answer — Your incubator is a good 
 one. Its fault, for they all have some 
 little fault, is that the ventilation is 
 insufficient. Take the eggs out and air 
 them after the first week three times 
 a day. This will counteract the lack 
 of ventilation. This cooling and then 
 heating up again of the eggs makes 
 the shell more brittle, so that the 
 chick is able to break its way out 
 much more easily. Another thing I 
 found in using that incubator is that 
 by taking the middle eggs out of the 
 row, one in each hand, and putting 
 them at the end of the row, and then 
 pushing the others along into the 
 vacant' places, I got a ten per cent 
 better hatch. I got the idea from 
 Egypt. Of course, you must be sure 
 the machine stands level and that the 
 thermometer is correct. 
 
 Trouble with Incubators — I want to 
 ask your advice about our incubator. 
 We bought it new in January. Out 
 of 200 fertile eggs we got 75 chickens, 
 and all but nine died before they were 
 10 days old. We thought it was the 
 fault of the brooder. There were 
 many cripples among them, but they 
 all died of bowel trouble. On April 
 30th we hatched 117 out of 150 fer- 
 tile eggs, and gave the chicks to old 
 hens, as we had laid our previous 
 trouble to the brooder. But now the 
 last are going the same way. Chicks 
 hatched under hens at the same time 
 are healthy and strong. We have 
 only lost one so far. We feed pre- 
 pared chick feed and take the best 
 of care of the chicks. The incubator 
 runs perfectly, always 103, until the 
 chicks begin to work out of the shell, 
 when it runs up to 104 and 105. We 
 have set the incubator again. It will 
 hatch May 29th. We do not intend 
 to give up. — W. S. R. 
 
 Answer — The trouble is in the in- 
 cubation. At some time or other the 
 heat has been too great. This is 
 shown by there being cripples. I 
 know it, because I have had the same 
 experience several times myself. Once 
 a hat was thrown on the machine; 
 just touched the regulator; was only 
 on for half a day. Another time a 
 newspaper did the same tiling. My 
 big cat slept on the incubator another 
 night and lost me the hatcli. Each 
 
 of the times I worked with the little 
 cliicks, giving them everything I could 
 think of, but without saving them. 
 Now, I think there is a possibility 
 that your incubator does not stand 
 level and that, therefore, one side or 
 corner of the machine is a very little 
 higher than the other. That side or 
 corner would be hotter than the other 
 side without it affecting the ther- 
 mometer and would cause all or most 
 of the trouble. Again, are you sure 
 the thermometer is correct? Borrow 
 the doctor's clinical thermometer. 
 This is what I did and put them both 
 into a bucket containing about two 
 quarts of water at 103 degrees and 
 compared the two. You do not men- 
 tion if the hatch came out on time. 
 I feel sure that the eggs have been 
 overheated, or part of them have, and 
 in this way the bowels of the chick- 
 ens have been weakened, the yolk of 
 the egg has not been digested and 
 they have dwindled and died, or 
 bowel trouble has come on from the 
 undigested yolk putrifying inside of 
 them. I have made so inany post 
 mortem examinations that I feel sure 
 of what I am telling you. Examine 
 your incubator with a spirit level to 
 see that it is level. Test your ther- 
 mometer and then try again, at the 
 same time setting one or two hens, 
 and as incubation proceeds examine 
 the eggs, comparing them. I think 
 you will find that the eggs under the 
 hen dry out less quickly than those 
 in the incubator. However, if this is 
 not the case, if your incubator eggs 
 dry out too quickly (the air space be- 
 ing larger than that under the hens), 
 you will have to regulate this by 
 the ventilators of the incubator. 
 Keep them closed. As yours is a 
 hot-air incubator, there is no need of 
 fanning out the stale air. The fault, 
 if any, with your incubator is too 
 rapid a circulation of air, thereby dry- 
 ing the eggs out too soon. I think 
 you had better run it half a degree 
 cooler than you have been doing. I 
 say this because the cripples and 
 bowel troubles denote too high a tem- 
 perature. I hope these hints may 
 help you. Let me hear from you 
 again if you have any more trouble. 
 
 Willing to • Learn — T am thinking 
 of starting in the poultry business and 
 would like to ask a few questions. Are 
 incubators a success? Why is it nee- 
 
HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 
 
 181 
 
 essary to test the eggs? Is it best to 
 put young chickens in a brooder or to 
 give them to a hen? Why could one 
 not put eggs in the incubator as they 
 are layed, say two or three a day and 
 take the chickens out as they hatch? 
 — F. L. 
 
 Answer — -Incubators are a success 
 if you get a good standard make. 
 Find out what your neighbors are 
 using successfully. It is necessary 
 to test the eggs to take out the in- 
 fertile ones and use them for eating 
 or cooking so as not to waste them, 
 also the infertile egg, not having life 
 in it, is cold and chills the neighbor 
 egg which has life in it. 
 
 If you use an incubator, it is neces- 
 sary to have a brooder, as you will 
 hatch too many chickens to go under 
 a hen. 
 
 It is not best to put eggs into the 
 incubator as they are layed, because 
 for the last two days of incubation the 
 incubator should remain closed, also 
 for the first two days — and between 
 those periods the eggs have to be 
 moved, turned, and taken out of the 
 incubator and cooled, consequently it 
 is best to save the eggs until you 
 have enough either to put under the 
 hen or fill the incubator. 
 
 Incubator — (Mrs. O. B. J., Los An- 
 geles) — Will you please tell me if you 
 have ever used the Cycle Incubator, 
 how you like it and is there any place 
 where I could buy one in Los An- 
 geles? I have inquired, but can not 
 find out, and as you answer questions, 
 I hope you will reply to me as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 Answer — Personally I have not 
 used the incubator, but I have known 
 of it very favorably for some years. 
 And I have heard that one of the 
 most prominent business men in Los 
 Angeles has just bought a large num- 
 ber to supply his broiler plant. 
 
 It is a channing little thing, about 
 the size of a dishpan, easily carried 
 around and could be operated very 
 easily in any living room. It is ex- 
 tremely simple and easily operated. 
 Holds fifty eggs, is heated with a 
 lamp which only needs filling once for 
 a whole hatch. 
 
 I think there is an agency for it in 
 the Chamber of Commerce Building. 
 There were some of these incubators 
 at the poultry show. The incubator 
 has also a brooder attachment and 
 
 can be used as a very efficient brooder 
 at the bottom while another setting 
 of fifty eggs is being incubated above. 
 From what I have heard from others, 
 I think it well adapted for a small 
 place or for any one who does not 
 want to keep eggs for hatching until 
 a large number can be collected. It is 
 called "Cycle" from its being round. 
 
 Natural Incubation — I am a reader 
 of your articles and get much good 
 from them. Am a beginner and have 
 a great deal to learn. Will you kindly 
 answer the following questions: 
 
 1. Should a setting hen be shut 
 on the nest and be let ofif each day? 
 If so, how long should she be allowed 
 to stay off the nest? 
 
 2. Do the eggs get enough mois- 
 ture in natural incubation? 
 
 3. Is it good to sprinkle the eggs 
 with water? If so, how often and 
 in what stages of incubation should 
 this be done? 
 
 4. How long should chick feed be 
 fed to chicks, and what is best after 
 discontinuing this food? — R. M. 
 
 Answer — It is best not to shut a hen 
 on the nest, but to allow her to get 
 on and ofif as she pleases unless there 
 are other hens that can get to the 
 nest to disturb her. It is a good 
 plan to take the hen ofif the nest at 
 a regular hour every day. I prefer 
 about five o'clock in the evening, as 
 then she will go back before supper 
 time. A hen can be ofif the nest in 
 pleasant weather from twenty min- 
 utes to half an hour. She should be 
 allowed to stay off long enough to 
 eat all she wants and to dust herself. 
 It is necessary for her to comeoflf 
 at least once every twenty-four hours. 
 
 2. Eggs usually get moisture 
 enough from the perspiration of the 
 hen. I like to float the eggs in warm 
 v/ater two days before the hatch 
 comes off. I think it helps the eggs 
 to hatch well and it also shows, by 
 the eggs bobbing about on the water 
 which eggs have live chicks in them. 
 
 4. Chick feed should be fed about 
 six weeks, but it is best to begin 
 when the chicks are three or four 
 weeks old to add wheat and Kaffir 
 corn to the chick food and make the 
 change gradual. Commence by one- 
 fourth of the larger grains and three- 
 fourths of chick feed. Then gradu- 
 ally increase the Kaffir corn and 
 wheat until that is the principal feed. 
 
182 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Brooder Chicks — I shall have to 
 come to you for liclp about my little 
 chickens, as I know that you know 
 what to do. 
 
 I am only a bep^inncr. I have an 
 incubator and hot water brooder, and 
 before I bought your book I could not 
 make them hatch, but now, with its 
 help, following your directions, I have 
 a fine liatch. I turned and aired the 
 eggs as 3'ou said. Now my chicks 
 (VVhite Leghorns) are two weeks old 
 and I have lowered the temperature 
 in the brooder about one degree a 
 day; but about every other day one 
 will die. I have thirty-two in the 
 brooder, so they are not crowded at 
 all. I have put insect powder on them 
 and they are fed chick food; they have 
 plenty of fresh water in a fountain, 
 which I keep in their yard. I make 
 them work in alfalfa for their feed, as 
 you instructed. They are not stuck 
 up lichind, as far as I can tell, but 
 when one is about to die, it goes up 
 into a corner of the brooder under 
 the pipe. 
 
 If you will give me advice about 
 what to do, I shall be very much ob- 
 liged, as I am afraid 1 sliall lose tliem 
 all.— N. H. H. 
 
 Answer. — I am glad j'ou had a good 
 liatch. The fault with that incubator 
 is lack of ventilation, and of the 
 brooder is that there is a draught on 
 the floor, so that the chicks' feet are 
 cold. I tried a good many plans with 
 that brooder, and finally I built them 
 over. However, the best plan before 
 I changed them I found was to put 
 on the floor a gunny sack or bit of 
 warm old carpet, and on that put near- 
 ly two inches of chaff or finely cut 
 straw or hay. I also left the lid a lit- 
 tle bit open. Before that the chicks' 
 heads got too hot on the pipes and 
 their little feet too cold. 
 
 I am rather surprised that they have 
 not been troubled with diarrliooa. 
 
 Faulty Incubation — I ;im a begin- 
 Ticr in the poultry business and would 
 like to ask you a few questions that 
 have been troubling me: 
 
 1. I have been hatching chickens 
 and ducks in an incubator and they 
 don't hatch as well as with a hen. I 
 find ([uite a number dead in the shells. 
 I do not understand it as I follow 
 the directions that come with the ma- 
 chine. 
 
 2. A number of the cliicks "walk 
 around on their knees." Some o^ 
 
 tlieir legs -stick straight up and they 
 Hop along on the joint with the aid 
 of tlicir wings. They soon die. Why 
 is tliis? Ls there any way to avoid it? 
 3. I had twenty ducks hatch with 
 liens and have only eleven left. We 
 first notice them to lag behind the 
 rest, then as they grow more stupid 
 they fall over with their heads tlirown 
 back as people do when they have 
 spinal meningitis. Can you tell by 
 this description what was the matter 
 with tlieni? — L. W., Corcoran. 
 
 Answer — The trouble is that the 
 heat has been irregular in your incu- 
 bator, and probably the eggs have 
 not been aired sufficiently. 
 
 2. Crjpples, such as you describe, 
 invariably come from over heating, 
 especially the last ten days in the in- 
 cubator. It may be only for a few 
 hours. It is such a pity, for it alway^ 
 seems to l)e tlie biggest and best 
 chicks. I have once or twice suc- 
 ceeded in straiglitening out the legs 
 and setting the knee, fastening it with 
 a rubber. 
 
 3. The trouble with tlic ducks is 
 severe indigestion. It may be they 
 have not had sand enough in their 
 food, or they have eaten some animai 
 food that was not fresh — was decay- 
 ing. Lack of shade will give the 
 same symptoms. The drinking vessel 
 must be deep enough for them to get 
 tlieir entire bill under water, for they 
 require to rinse their nostrils many 
 times a day and will die if they can- 
 not. 
 
 Brooders— (Airs. S.M.G.)— I would 
 like to tell you about the brooders 1 
 made from your description of them. 
 I have used the Fireless Brooder for 
 five months and have had no trouble 
 in getting the chicks to go inside 
 when they are cold. When I first put 
 fifty chicks into the Fireless, the 
 weather was cold and at first I found, 
 like others, that the little fellows did 
 not know where to go when they felt 
 cold, so on the third day I put a gallon 
 jug of hot water in the center of the 
 brooder, covering the jug with a hood 
 made of several layers of newspaper. 
 I took two or three chicks and held 
 them against the jug until their happy 
 chirping brought all the others; after 
 that I liad no trouble. They no longer 
 needed to be shown. I removed the 
 jug at night and put it back in the 
 morning for a few days, filling it with 
 
YARD ROOM 
 
 183 
 
 less warm water each morning. Dur- 
 ing the summer months I did not find 
 it necessary to -put any attraction in 
 the brooders as the chicks seemed 
 warm enough from the first to spend 
 the entire day in the sun. 
 
 This account fiom Mrs. G. will in- 
 terest and iielp many of our readers. 
 
 Tlic brooders are those made by 
 Mr. Hammons of the Mammoth Pa- 
 cific Poultry Plant at Ingleside, Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 YARD ROOM 
 
 How Many Chickens to Keep on a 
 City Lot — Will you kindly tell me 
 how many chickens can be kept on a 
 city lot seventy-five by a hundred 
 and eighty feet? Do you think chick- 
 ens will lay well during the rainy sea- 
 son in Seattle, Wash., if they are 
 properly fed and housed? How big 
 a house do we need for fifty chickens? 
 
 Last September we bought thirty 
 Plymouth Rock hens and thirty pul- 
 lets. We got from ten to sixteen eggs 
 from the hens per day, until about the 
 middle of December, when they began 
 to fall off. We are still getting that 
 amount, but half of them are from the 
 pullets. Do you think they are doing 
 as well as we could expect? — Mrs. 
 L. E. S. 
 
 Answer — In your climate it would 
 very much depend upon the shelter 
 from the rain that you can give the 
 chickens. Fifty chickens should be 
 divided into two pens with two 
 houses. Each house not less than ten 
 by twelve feet in size. I would ad- 
 vise a good scratching pen to be made 
 either adjoining the house and cov- 
 ered with a roof, or else make the 
 scratching pen to extend underneath 
 the dropping boards. You might 
 keep several hundred hens upon land 
 75 X 180 feet, if you have ample house 
 room for them so they would be well 
 sheltered from the rain. Hens that 
 are wet every day will not lay well. 
 Your fowls are doing well consider- 
 ing the wet weather you are having. 
 
 How Many on Two Acres — I have 
 two acres of land, of which I will have 
 a hundred feet by one hundred feet 
 for an alfalfa patch, the rest for 
 chickens to run around and have the 
 patch for them to feed on for an hour 
 or so before going to roost. Kindly 
 let me know how many chickens I 
 can raise on the two acres at the 
 most.— M. J. P. 
 
 Answer — I think you can keep a 
 thousand chickens on your two acres. 
 
 You must be careful not to liave more 
 than fifty to roost in one house. It 
 is the crowded condition of houses at 
 night that brings trouble and disease. 
 Be sure to give them shade during 
 the day and plenty of good fresh wa- 
 ter, besides, of course, the balanced 
 ration. Allow them two hours a day 
 on the alfalfa patch. 
 
 Five Acres — Will you kindly tell me 
 how many White Leghorns I can suc- 
 cessfully raise on five acres of land? 
 I want to grow alfalfa and some vege- 
 tables for feed. 
 
 Will you also tell me if I can hatch 
 turkeys in an incubator? — J. W. L. 
 
 Answer — You can raise a large 
 number of Leghorns on five acres of 
 land. I know one party that has 
 3,000 Leghorns on three acres, but 
 it entirely depends upon knowing how 
 to do and doing it right. Better be- 
 gin with a small number and when 
 you succeed with those, increase your 
 flock. 
 
 Turkeys can be hatclied in an in- 
 cubator and raised in a brooder, but 
 must be kept entirely separate from 
 chickens or they will die. 
 
 Yard Room — I want to raise about 
 60 pullets for next winter. I have 
 about a hundred chicks hatched out. 
 All the yard room I can spare is on a 
 town lot about 50x75 feet. Do you 
 think this would be enough room for 
 them?— Mrs. J. F. Y. 
 
 Answer — It all depends upon the 
 care you give them; if you can sup- 
 ply them with shade, plenty of green 
 food, clean water and a good scratch- 
 ing place and the proper food, it will 
 be plenty large enough. Be sure to 
 keep them clean and free from mites 
 and lice. 
 
 Burglar Alarm — I refer to the men- 
 tion made by you of an electric burg- 
 
184 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 lar alarm to protect poultry houses, 
 and would venture to inquire whether 
 such an alarm may be installed by 
 one not a professional electrician. 
 Upon what principle is it based, and 
 what are the materials needed? — 
 H. M. 
 
 Answer — I put in the burglar alarm 
 you speak of myself. I am not a 
 professional electrician, but I went to 
 the electrical supply house, bought 
 
 from them the ordinary alarm fixtures 
 which are used at the door and win- 
 dows of residences; they explained to 
 me how to set them, and I did it by 
 their directions. I did not find it dif- 
 ficult. None of the doors or windows 
 in my hennery could be opened four 
 inches without the alarm gong at the 
 head of my bed, ringing. I should 
 think you would have to understand a 
 little about it to put them in. 
 
 MATING AND BREEDING 
 
 Age for Mating — I wish to ask if a 
 cockerel should be mated after he at- 
 tains a year in age or can he just as 
 well stay till a year and a half or two 
 years old before being mated? 
 
 Also I wish to know if it is quite 
 as andvantageous to mate a rooster 
 with a pullet of his own clutch, sup- 
 posing the pullet and rooster are both 
 a year and a half old. I would like to 
 do that if you think it advisable. — 
 M. S. H. 
 
 Answer — The earliest age at which 
 a cockerel may be mated should be 
 about ten months, not earlier if you 
 want large, vigorous chickens. I con- 
 sider the best age for getting sturdy 
 chicks is for both parents to be about 
 two years of age. You can keep a 
 male bird as long as you wish with- 
 out mating him, but he should be en- 
 tirely out of sight and out of hearing 
 of the hens, otlierwise he will fret to 
 get to them. I have known several 
 to drop down dead from getting too 
 much excited at seeing other young 
 males in the pens with the hens. 
 
 From a year and a half to three 
 years of age is undoubtedly the best 
 age at which to mate the fowls, but 
 you can have very good results with 
 older fowls. In your place I would 
 certainly mate the year and a half 
 male with the j'ear and a half hen and 
 expect good results, for they should 
 both be in their prime. 
 
 are all old enough, say a j^ear and a 
 half or two years old?— Mrs. G. S. H. 
 Answer — It is considered best not 
 to mate brother and sister together, 
 yet this is always done in making any 
 new breed, and as yours comes from a 
 three hundred egg a year hen, I would 
 advise you to do so. 
 
 Mating Brother and Sister — Is there 
 any objection to mating a rooster 
 with hens of his own clutch if they 
 
 Breeding — I have a nice R. I. R. 
 cockerel. He is good shape and color 
 but he is not up to standard weight. 
 If I breed from him will he produce 
 chicks larger than himself if they 
 are well taken care of? Is there any 
 cliance of getting perfect specimen 
 from fowls under weight? I bought 
 some very fine looking hens, but their 
 breasts are uneven. I also got eggs 
 from the same stock and the pullets 
 have crooked breasts. Kindly tell me 
 if that trouble will be handed down if 
 I breed from them. — Mrs. C. R. 
 
 Answer — As a rule, the chicks take 
 their size from the mother. If your 
 R. I. R. hens have a good size, the 
 chickens will be larger than the cock- 
 erel, if you feed them for large frame. 
 If the hens are under wciglit and size, 
 you may have diflficulty in increasing 
 the size of the offspring. Some peo- 
 ple think that crooked breastbones 
 come from chickens roosting on a 
 narrow perch when they are young; 
 however, I think it is generally con- 
 ceded that crooked breastbones are 
 often hereditary. You will know if 
 your chickens have roosted at too 
 early an age. If not, it is hereditary 
 and you had better change the strain. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 Shipping Young Chicks — Do you 
 think I can order eggs incubated 31 
 miles from here and have the young 
 chicks sent by stage with perfect 
 safety? 
 
 We are feeding corn of our own 
 growing which is quite musty. I have 
 been afraid of it, but so far cannot 
 sec that it has hurt them, although 
 yesterday a hen sat around all day 
 droopy like. I wondered if the musty 
 corn affected her. 
 
 Last summer I brought into the 
 house some small chicks that seemed 
 about to die, and seeing they had lice, 
 I dusted them thoroughly with bu- 
 hach. The lice soon dropped off of 
 them, but the chickens died. Can too 
 much powder be put on them? — Mrs. 
 C. S. 
 
 Answer — Chickens could travel a 
 thousand miles before they are twen- 
 ty-four hours old, if packed in a box 
 carefully. That is, of course, before 
 they are fed. Last year I sent some 
 from Los Angeles to Berkeley. They 
 were out 36 hours, but arrived in per- 
 fect condition, all vigorous and ready 
 for their first meal in their new home 
 nearly a thousand miles away. 
 
 Musty wheat or corn is very un- 
 wholesome for chickens. Buhach 
 would not kill the most delicate chick- 
 en or turkey, but is death to all in- 
 sect life. The chickens were doubt- 
 less dying before j^ou powdered them. 
 
 Castor Bean Bushes— I have been 
 thinking of planting castor bean 
 bushes in the chicken yard for shade, 
 but was advised by a neighbor not to 
 do it, as the beans would drop off and 
 if chickens ate them they would be 
 poisoned. Would like your advice, 
 please. The bushes grow quickly and 
 make good shade, so would like to try 
 them. Do you think it would be O.K. 
 —J. H. S. 
 
 Answer — Castor beans are poison- 
 ous to both ducks and chickens if 
 they eat them, so I would advise you 
 to plant something else. Get cuttings 
 of fig trees, about ten inches long, 
 bury the whole length except one 
 inch, water well, and you will have 
 shade in a few months and fruit in 
 two years. I find figs excellent in 
 the chicken yard, and the chickens do 
 not eat the leaves and bark. Would 
 
 advise your planting also other fruit 
 trees, such as plum, peach, apricot. 
 The chicken droppings fertilize these 
 trees and the quantities of fruit you 
 will have will soon repay the trouble. 
 In the meantime you might plant 
 sunflowers. They make good shade 
 and their seed is excellent food for 
 the chickens. 
 
 Capons — Will you kindly give us an 
 article on capons? What is the de- 
 mand for them, if any? What do you 
 think of the difference in profits be- 
 tween them and broilers? If there is 
 any truth in the statements published 
 in regard to capons in the Eastern 
 markets, they ought to be money- 
 makers here. Am fitted for the busi- 
 ness, but desire more information in 
 that line before attempting much. I 
 think the R. I. Reds would make extra 
 good ones, and I should like market- 
 ing mature birds instead of those a 
 few months old. Capons for the 
 Philadelphia market have to be a year 
 old to command the best prices. — 
 H. J. K. 
 
 Answer — Capons bring a good price 
 now in Los Angeles, especially if you 
 can make a contract with some of the 
 large hotels for them. This you can 
 only do by having a large and regu- 
 lar supply. The price last year was 
 from 30c to 3Sc per pound, which is 
 a paying price. Broilers pay about 
 as well when you take into considera- 
 tion that you can turn them off at 
 eight weeks of age. This would be 
 your better plan, as you are limited 
 for space and you would not have 
 the expense and trouble of carrying 
 them for another ten months. I 
 would advise you to sell as broilers 
 all the young males you do not wish 
 to keep for breeders. This will give 
 you more room for the pullets and 
 you need space to have your pullets 
 develop well for the fall and winter 
 egg market. Capons are, undoubted- 
 ly, money-makers for those who have 
 plenty of space, and where food is 
 cheaper than it is here this year. Per- 
 sonally I found that capons did not 
 pay as well as roasters. These were 
 young roosters that were about eight 
 months old and that I milk fed. I 
 found I had to keep my young males 
 until I could see how they would de- 
 velop. I began by caponizing, but 
 
186 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 l)oing economically inclined, I found 
 the milk-fed, uncaponizcd eight- 
 months 3'oungstcrs paid me best. 
 Since then the market for capons has 
 improved here, and if you had more 
 room and could buy up young cock- 
 erels, caponize them at about three 
 months of age and turn them ofif in 
 the following spring, just when tur- 
 keys go out, you might make some 
 profit on them. It has been found 
 that the Brahmas or crosses of the 
 Brahmas are the best for capons. 
 
 same time. Some chickens will eat it 
 
 earlier than others; mine, a large 
 
 breed, usually will take it at three 
 weeks. 
 
 From Far Away Alaska — Commenc- 
 ing with the first of March for the 
 last three years my chickens begin 
 to lose their feathers in front of their 
 neck. I feed them wheat, corn, shorts, 
 cooked potatoes and cabbage. They 
 have no lice. I also give them plenty 
 of charcoal and grit. I have a chick- 
 en house 30 X 30, logs with moss be- 
 tween, lined inside with shakes. I 
 also keep fire in a stove to keep out 
 dampness. — H. C. C, Sumdum, Al- 
 aska. 
 
 Answer — Not knowing your climate, 
 scarcely like to venture an opinion, 
 about the reason for your hens los- 
 ing their feathers. Your rations 
 seem good, all except there is no ani- 
 mal food in it. I think you should 
 give them fish with their cooked po- 
 tatoes. Do not feel alarmed about 
 their losing their feathers, as it may 
 be on account of the climate. 
 
 Technical Names — Will you please 
 tell me how old "friers," "broilers" 
 and "springs" are? When is it safe 
 to feed wheat and mash to chicks? — 
 Mrs. M. N. 
 
 Answer — It is not by the age that 
 we decide upon the size of the chick- 
 ens, or their names. "Squab broil- 
 ers" weigh one pound and arc usually 
 from a small breed, fattened as quick-, 
 ly as possible, the age being about 
 six or seven weeks. "Broilers" weigh 
 from one to two pounds, the age be- 
 ing about eight weeks. "Friers" weigh 
 from one pound to two and a half 
 pounds; age, about ten weeks. Young 
 "roasters" from two and a half to 
 three or four pounds, age about three 
 months. 
 
 I'^cd the wlicat to chicks as soon 
 as they will cat it, commencing to 
 add it to the cliick feed. I com- 
 mence also to add Kaffir corn at the 
 
 Henpecked Husbands— I cannot 
 keep my hens from picking the combs 
 of the roosters. Could you tell me 
 the reason for it? Also a remedy for 
 it? I have tried everything I know 
 for it. I feed meat twice a week. — 
 R. M. 
 
 Answer — This habit or vice usually 
 comes from a lack of green food or 
 meat in the ration. Very often the 
 habit is acquired by imitation and 
 thus it may be introduced into a flock 
 by a new bird which had contracted 
 it elsewhere, or it is spread through 
 the flock from a bird which is led to 
 it by indigestion or other disease of 
 the stomach. It is sometimes started 
 by lice. The hen sees one crawling 
 on her mate's comb and tries to peck 
 at it, wounds the comb, tastes the 
 warm sweet blood and keeps up the 
 habit. The others imitate her until 
 the poor henpecked husband is in a 
 sorry plight. The preventive is plenty 
 of green food, plentj'^ of exercise and 
 animal food. The cure, the hatchet 
 for the worst hens, or if they are too 
 valuable, let them run without the 
 male bird, only admitting him to the 
 pen for an hour a day in the after- 
 noon. Give the hens a good run in 
 a grass-covered yard. Feed plenty of 
 green vegetables; onions chopped are 
 particularly efficacious. If the yard 
 is small, prepare a scratching shed, 
 covering the floor deeply with straw 
 and scatter grain in the straw for the 
 morning meal, so the fowls will be 
 compelled to scratch and work to find 
 it. Add bi-carbonate of soda to the 
 drinking water in the proportion of 
 about 20 grains to the quart; put a 
 small quantity in the food, or nail up 
 a piece of salt pork for the hens to 
 peck. 
 
 Will you kindly tell me if painting 
 the brooder on the inside with crude 
 oil will injure little chicks? 
 
 We have ordered 100 Brown Leg- 
 horns for March 15, and have got a 
 second-liand brooder. Of course, we 
 want it perfectly clean, as we are 
 beginners and are striving for success. 
 .\ friend of ours gave us five gallons 
 of crude oil and insisted on our using 
 it, but I thought it wise to ask some 
 
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 187 
 
 one more experienced. Thanking you 
 in advance, yours truly, Mrs. G. S. 
 McW. 
 
 Answer — I would not advise you to 
 paint the inside of your brooder with 
 anything as strong as crude oil. It 
 will do very well to paint the outside 
 of the hen house and the outside of 
 the brooder house, and will last for 
 several years, preserve the wood and 
 keep away vermin, but is too strong 
 for the little chicks. 
 
 I will tell you what I would do were 
 I in your place. I would take good 
 hot suds and a brush, either a whisk 
 broom or a scrubbing brush, and thor- 
 oughly scrub out the brooder. If I 
 thought there were any mites or lice 
 in it, I would add a cupful of coal oil 
 (kerosene) to the suds. I would then 
 put it in the sun to dry, and when it 
 was dry I would wash it all over — 
 hover, felt and everything — with a so- 
 lution of bi-chloride of mercury. You 
 can get tablets of it very cheap at any 
 drug store. Put about four or six 
 tablets in a pint of water and when it 
 is dissolved wash all over the brooders 
 with it. Or get corrosive sublimate; 
 have the druggist dissolve it in alco- 
 •hol, and paint that over the inside of 
 the brooder. This will destroy all 
 germs of any disease or any vermin. 
 This way of soapsuds, followed by 
 the mercury, is the most perfect dis- 
 infectant you can find. It will kill 
 tuberculosis, chicken-pox, cholera, 
 etc., germs, and has no bad smell to 
 injure chicks. 
 
 for the white, enough lime for the 
 shell, each in its right proportion. 
 
 How Long? — Would you kindly an- 
 swer how long after the eggs have 
 started in the hen does it take before 
 the hen lays? Thanking you in anti- 
 cipation. — W. B. M. 
 
 Answer — As soon as a pullet is 
 three months old there will be found 
 inside her a bunch of tiny embryo 
 eggs. These are called the ovaries or 
 egg organs. If the hen is active, in 
 good health and properly fed, these 
 will, one after another, turn into eggs, 
 but the hen must be fed the elements 
 of the egg in order for her to make 
 the eggs, and it all depends upon the 
 food how long it will take the hen to 
 accumulate the proper proportion of 
 each element to make the eggs, Lhat 
 is, the elements of the egg rightly bal- 
 anced, enough fat and protein to make 
 the yolk, enough albumen and water 
 
 Soft Shell Eggs — Please tell me 
 why my chickens and turkeys lay soft 
 shell eggs. — R. A. D. 
 
 Soft shell eggs come either from an 
 insufficient supply of lime in the ra- 
 tions or over stimulation of the egg 
 organs by the use of spice or so-called 
 egg foods. Worms may increase in the 
 intestines to such an extent as to 
 stimulate the egg passage to push 
 along the egg beyond its usual dis- 
 tance. An over fat hen has a ten- 
 dency toward laying thin-shelled eggs. 
 
 Dr. Woods gives this advice: 
 "Fowls kept closely confined in cold 
 weather and not given a sufficient va- 
 riety of food are apt to lay soft- 
 shelled eggs. The trouble may be due 
 to some disturbance of the egg or- 
 gans, or to improper food, careless 
 feeding and lack of exercise. It us- 
 ually responds very promptly to treat- 
 ment. See that the birds are supplied 
 with plenty of good grit and oyster 
 shell. Feed green food, scalded short- 
 cut alfalfa or clover. A'lso give cab- 
 bage, beets and turnips fed raw when- 
 ever they can be obtained. Feed a va- 
 riety of good, sound grain and some 
 animal food. The grain should be fed 
 in the scratching pen." 
 
 Saw Off Long Spurs — I wish a little 
 information in regard to a rose-comb 
 Rhode Island Red rooster two and a 
 half years old. He has very long 
 spurs, which makes it difficult for him 
 in scratching when I feed them in the 
 scratching pen. Is there any way o£ 
 taking them off? 
 
 Answer — It is very advisable always 
 to cut the long spurs off the male 
 birds, as they are very apt to injure 
 the hens with them. I find the best 
 way is to saw them ofif with a fine 
 meat saw about an inch from the leg. 
 I do not saw them close enough to 
 draw blood. You can also file them 
 off, but sawing is quicker, and if the 
 edges are rough, use a small file to 
 make them smooth. 
 
 Chicken Manure — Please answer 
 immediately. How can chicken man- 
 ure be preserved, and where can it 
 be disposed of, and at what price? 
 Answer and oblige, Mrs. M. A. S. 
 
1! 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 Answer — The easiest way of pre- 
 serving chicken droppings is by plac- 
 ing dry earth or sand or kainit under 
 the perches, sweeping this up two or 
 three times a week and placing it in 
 barrels or boxes. Anyone with a cit- 
 rus orchard is glad to get it for fer- 
 tilizing the trees. I know one man 
 who pays $7.50 per ton for it. I do 
 not know what the market value is, 
 but I know that it is considered worth 
 just four times as much as stable 
 manure and tliat it is a most excellent 
 fertilizer. 
 
 Fireless Brooder — I make bold to 
 ask you for a little information. Will 
 you kindly tell me of the fireless 
 brooder? Can you give me the plans 
 for constructing one, or tell me where 
 I can get the plans? Can little chicks 
 just hatched be put in the fireless 
 brooder? — Mrs. W. W. G., Arizona. 
 
 Answer — Take a box about ten 
 inches deep, and from a foot and a 
 half to two feet square. Rip the box 
 six inches from the bottom to four 
 inches from the top, so there will be 
 two boxes, one six inches, the other 
 four inches deep without cover. 
 Hinge them together so they will 
 close as they were before being sawed 
 in two. Near the top make three one- 
 inch holes in the two ends for venti- 
 lation. For the hover make a frame 
 of one-and-a-half by one-inch lumber, 
 so it will fit inside the box. On the 
 under side of this frame tack cloth 
 loosely so it will hang in the center 
 nearly two inches below the frame. 
 The cloth is to touch the chicks' 
 backs. Nail cleats across the ends of 
 the lower box to hold the frame in 
 position. The top of the frame should 
 be even with the top edge of the 
 lower box. Cut a hole on the oppo- 
 site side of the bottom bo.x to the 
 hinges, for the chickens to go in and 
 out. 
 
 A friend who made this brooder 
 tacked a piece of burlap on the floor 
 and then filled it almost up to the 
 cloth on the frame (the hover) with 
 finely cut straw or hay. He then 
 scooped out a nest in the center of it 
 and put the baby chicks into it. The 
 two-foot size is large enough to con- 
 tain from one dozen to fifty chicks 
 for one week, twenty-five till they are 
 three weeks old, and twenty till they 
 are six weeks old, or about that age. 
 On very cold nights at first he put a 
 
 little piece of blanket on top of the 
 hover. As the chicks grew older he 
 lessened the amount of straw or chaff, 
 when the chicks were large enough 
 to raise the heat sufficiently. After 
 using this brooder (home made) all 
 last winter, he said he would never be 
 without it. Personally I think it 
 would be a good plan to let in a slide 
 of glass at one side, as chickens do 
 not like to go into a dark place. I do 
 not know where you can get plans for 
 making a brooder, but you can buy 
 fireless brooders at any of the large 
 poultry supply houses advertising in 
 this paper. This is Mr. Killifer's 
 brooder. 
 
 Dipping Hens — Would you be so 
 kind as to write and let me know 
 about dipping hens, etc? I have a 
 flock of somewhere between five and 
 six hundred, i notice some of them 
 have lice and bunches of nits on their 
 feathers. Whenever I have caught a 
 hen I have greased her well, but this 
 would take too long to go through 
 the bunch. Is there any dip that 
 would be strong enough and do no 
 harm to the birds that would kill the 
 nits with only one dipping? — W. B. 
 
 Answer — As you have so large a 
 flock of hens and do not seem able or 
 inclined to pull out the feathers that 
 have nits upon them, I think you will 
 have to dip them twice, with an inter- 
 val of five or six days. The nits are 
 sure to hatch out in about five days 
 after they are deposited by the lice, 
 and by twice dipping them you should 
 get most of them. It is an excellent 
 plan in warm weather just at the com- 
 mencement of the moult to immerse 
 the fowls in a diluted kerosene emul- 
 sion, wetting them thoroughly to the 
 skin, or dip them in strong tobacco 
 water, or a solution of two per cent 
 creolin or chloro naphtholeum. A 
 well-known poultryman gives the fol- 
 lowing advice: Take the strongest 
 and purest tobacco, 25 cents' worth 
 being ample to clean oflf three hun- 
 dred fowls. Make the decoction quite 
 strong. If the user will observe a 
 few points, no one will ever regret 
 using tobacco to kill lice and not a 
 solitary one will be left. ' 
 
 First, if the dipping is done out of 
 doors, tlie thermometer sliould be at 
 least 80 in the shade; second, the 
 water should never be more than 
 blood warm, say 98 degrees; third. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 189 
 
 and this is the most important point, 
 every solitary feather must be made 
 soaking wet, else you will not make a 
 clean job of it. • In dipping all fowls 
 having heavy plumage, like the Brah- 
 mas and Cochins, the feathers must 
 be raised with the hand and the water 
 allowed to thoroughly wet the bird to 
 the skin. This takes from one to two 
 minutes for large, well feathered 
 fowls. If a dry feather is left there 
 will be lice upon it. Do not dip the 
 head under, but when the fowl is 
 quiet, dip the head until all is under 
 up to the eyes. When they will not 
 hold still, use a small sponge and wet 
 the top of their heads. No one who 
 has fowls troubled with lice need fear 
 to try this. It is very effective. 
 
 You must thoroughly clean the 
 houses to get rid of the lice, and 
 paint the perches with a good lice 
 paint or liquid lice killer. 
 
 Give the hens a nice freshly dug up 
 dust bath and they will keep them- 
 selves clean of lice. You can add one 
 of the good lice powders to the dust 
 bath if you wish. 
 
 Sulphur for Lice — Have you ever 
 had any experience with feeding sul- 
 phur to poultry for exterminating 
 lice? I have been told that sulphur 
 fed to poultry will make their feathers 
 smell of sulphur and kill lice. — C. W. 
 B. 
 
 Answer — I never heard of applying 
 sulphur internally for lice externally. 
 It is not impossible, perhaps, that 
 feeding sulphur would affect the lice. 
 It has a tendency when fed liberally 
 to make fowls very susceptible to 
 colds. This is said to be because it 
 opens the pores of the skin too much. 
 If that is correct, there would be ap- 
 parently some reason in the idea that 
 sulphur taken internally was objec- 
 tionable to lice. However, it is better 
 to use external applications for these 
 parasites. 
 
 Formula for Chick Feed — ^The 
 formula for chick feed that you want 
 is as follows: 
 
 Chick feed for little chicks from the 
 time they are hatched: 30 lbs. cracked 
 wheat, 30 lbs. rolled or steel-cut oats, 
 15 lbs. finely cracked corn, 10 lbs. 
 each of rice, millet, pearl barley, mus- 
 tard or rape seed, granulated or 
 ground bone, dried blood or granu- 
 lated milk, chick grit, 5 lbs. granu- 
 lated charcoal. 
 
 Mix and keep always before the 
 chicks. Also clean water and skiin 
 milk if you have it. Note in the 
 chick feed that wheat, oats and 
 cracked corn are the chief ingredients. 
 The others are to give a variety, and 
 if you cannot get them, you just will 
 have to leave them out. The bone 
 and the dried blood are the animal 
 part of the ration and can be substi- 
 tuted by fresh meat or milk or clab- 
 ber or cottage cheese. 
 
 A formula for laying hens which I 
 have used for years is: Two meas- 
 ures of bran, one measure of alfalfa 
 meal, one measure of beef scraps, and 
 in the breeding season one measure 
 of oatmeal or rolled oats. This mix- 
 ture can be used as a dry mash or 
 mixed with water as a moist (but not 
 sloppy) mash. I add a little pepper 
 and salt to it to season it. 
 
 At moulting time I also add a quar- 
 ter of a measure of linseed meal, or, 
 if I cannot get that, half a measure 
 of cottonseed meal, and sometimes a 
 little tonic to help on the moult. The 
 linseed meal gives a gloss to the new 
 feathers that nothing else will give. 
 The hens should have before them all 
 the time good, sharp grit and oyster 
 shells crushed. The oyster shells is 
 to supply the lime to make the egg 
 shell. 
 
 Broken Down Hen — There are two 
 things I am anxious to know and I 
 think you can help me from your ex- 
 perience. I have a hen whose hind 
 part has been gradually swelling until 
 now it nearly touches the ground. 
 The feathers have all dropped out of 
 her head. I think an egg may have 
 been broken inside, but she seems so 
 healthy that hardly seems possible. 
 Please state cure, if any. — G. F. M. 
 
 Answer — Your hen has what we 
 call a "break down." This is the re- 
 sult of a too fattening diet or too 
 much corn, and too little of the mus- 
 cle, bone forming and egg elements. 
 There is a large fat deposit in the 
 abdomen, bulging and dragging down 
 the skin and muscles, giving an un- 
 gainly appearance to the bird. It is 
 a question whether to diet her or to 
 eat her. I would advise the latter, as 
 she will not prove a very good layer 
 after this. The bareness of head also 
 indicates an unbalanced ration and an 
 insufficiency of "protein," the feather 
 making element. A little carbolated 
 
190 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 vaseline rubbed in twice a week and 
 more green food and more animal 
 food in the ration will rectify this. 
 
 For Layers. — Will you please an- 
 swer the following questions: Will 
 hens lav as well without the male 
 bird? 
 
 Which would you advise me to keep 
 for breeders, pullets hatched last 
 spring, which are laying now, or the 
 one-year-old hens? 
 
 Which is the best feed for them 
 to produce eggs, the warm mash in 
 the morning and corn at night or the 
 dry feed?— Mrs. O. G. L. 
 
 Answer — 1. Yes, and the eggs will 
 keep better. 
 
 2. Keep hens for motlicrs and pul- 
 lets for 3'our winter layers is the best 
 rule. 
 
 3. I prefer to give the mash, if I 
 give any, at night; then I can use 
 up the table scraps, mixing them with 
 bran, corn meal and alfalfa meal, giv- 
 ing the fowls either dry mash in hop- 
 pers or grain in their scratching pen, 
 to induce them to exercise for their 
 day meal. In this way I get more 
 eggs. 
 
 Testing Out Infertile Eggs. — I note 
 in the paper an advertisement for an 
 egg-tester whicli claims that it is pos- 
 sible to test out the infertile eggs be- 
 fore setting. Will you please tell me 
 if you think this is possible? — Mrs. 
 J. F. Y. 
 
 Answer — The advertisement which 
 you mention was misleading. The 
 way in which it tested the eggs was 
 by floating them with the instrument 
 in water; if they proved heavy enough 
 
 to sink to a certain depth it showed 
 that the egg was rich enough to sup- 
 port the life of a chick, should there 
 be a germ in that egg. The machine 
 could not show wdiether there was a 
 germ in the egg, consequently it could 
 not show if the egg was fertilized or 
 not. The little germ is so infinitesi- 
 mally small that it would make no 
 appreciable difference in the weight of 
 the egg. 
 
 Packing Eggs for Hatching. — Will 
 
 3-ou kindly answer the following: 
 
 1. How long can one keep eggs 
 for setting? 
 
 2. How is the best way to ship 
 eggs for setting so they will not get 
 broken?— Mrs. C. D. D. 
 
 Answer — 1. You can keep your 
 eggs three weeks or even more by 
 turning them everj^ day, but you must 
 remember that the longer you keep 
 tliem the fewer will hatch and they 
 will not be as vigorous chicks as if 
 the eggs had been fresh when set. 
 
 2. You can now get egg boxes 
 made for packing eggs for express- 
 ing or you can pack them in common 
 slat baskets or peach baskets. I real- 
 ly prefer the baskets. I put a layer 
 of excelsior in the bottom of the bas- 
 ket, then wrap each egg in a piece 
 of newspaper about six inches square; 
 set tlieni little end down, packing ex- 
 celsior between them, then put a lay- 
 er of excelsior on the top, and cov- 
 er with burlap, sewing it into the 
 basket with twine. Mark plainly, 
 "Eggs for hatching, handle with care." 
 In the many thousands of eggs I have 
 sent out, only two baskets had any 
 broken eggs. 
 
 TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 Tomatoes for Turkeys — I am feed- 
 ing my turkeys a small ration of ripe 
 tomatoes. Is this a proper food for 
 them?— W. F. G. 
 
 Answer — A small amount of ripe 
 tomatoes will not do your turkeys 
 any harm. They are very fond of 
 them, and it will benefit them, al- 
 though there is very little nourish- 
 ment in the tomatoes; the acidity 
 seems to agree with them. 
 
 Turkeys Have Chicken-Pox — What 
 is the matter with my young turkeys. 
 
 and what shall I do for them? All 
 over their heads and bills tliere are 
 lumps forming like warts. Some of 
 them have just a few while others 
 have their lieads covered with them. 
 The turkeys are about half grown 
 They are not penned up and have 
 l)lcnty of green alfalfa. We feed 
 wheat and meat scraps occasionally. — 
 Miss M. M. 
 
 Answer — Your turkeys have cliick- 
 en-pox. The cure is to apply car- 
 bolic salve, or carbolated vaseline. In 
 three days bathe the affected parts 
 
TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 191 
 
 with warm soapsuds in which are a 
 few drops of carbolic acid, and again 
 apply the salve". Add a little sulphur 
 to their food. This will hasten the 
 cure. They should be cured in a little 
 over a week. Be sure to separate all 
 the fowls affected from the flock. 
 This will prevent the spreading of 
 the disease. 
 
 Turkeys Lame^Will you kindly tell 
 me what to do for my turkeys? My 
 early hatches did fine, but of the late 
 hatch, four of them were troubled with 
 stiff legs, one died, and one got well, 
 but the other two are still lame, the 
 knee joints are swollen and kind of 
 pink color. Their appetities are good. 
 — K. C. 
 
 Answer — -Your turkeys have rheu- 
 matism. This comes from their liver 
 being affected, by cold or damp wea- 
 ther. Give each of the affected tur- 
 keys a small liver pill, followed by a 
 one-grain quinine pill every day for a 
 week. Bathe the knee joints with the 
 following: One cup of vinegar, one 
 cup of turpentine, one heaping table- 
 spoon of saltpeter. Mix, keep in a 
 bottle, shake before using. I think 
 .this will cure them. Be careful not 
 to give them any corn or corn meal, 
 and give plenty of lettuce. 
 
 General Care of Turkeys — I would 
 like to ask a few questions about tur- 
 keys. You mentioned raising them 
 in a brooder. 1. How warm should 
 one have the brooder when the poults 
 are first put in? 2. At the end of 
 the first week what should the tem- 
 perature be lowered to? 3. Is al- 
 falfa meal necessary or of any benefit 
 to little poults or to little chicks if 
 they have all the green barley they 
 will eat, cut fine? — A Beginner. 
 
 Answer — The heat under the hover 
 should be about 95. The reason I say 
 "about" is that on a very warm, sun- 
 ny day it might be a little lower, but 
 should the outside temperature be 
 cold or the weather damp and 
 gloomy, it might be up to 95 for the 
 best results. 2. About 85, depend- 
 ing somewhat on the outside air and 
 v/eather. Gradually lower the tem- 
 perature till you get it to 70 or 80, 
 according to the weather. 3. No! 
 Little turkeys require the succulent 
 green, not the dried hay, ground up. 
 Give them lettuce chopped up at first 
 with every meal; then either lettuce, 
 
 dandelion leaves, onion tops chopped 
 fine, or cabbage or the tender leaves 
 of laeets. Any green vegetable that 
 3^ou would eat yourself will do and 
 also the green barley as long as it is 
 succulent and tender. Barley soon 
 gets tough and hard and then it not 
 suitable for the little turkeys. 
 
 Keep Separate from Chicks — Will 
 you kindly give me some information 
 concerning newly hatched turkeys? 
 We have two hens and a toni. Would 
 you advise keeping them away from 
 chickens?— Mrs. C. B. 
 
 Answer — -Little turkeys do much 
 better when kept away from chickens. 
 They require, or do better, on differ- 
 ent food, and when very young re- 
 quire to be kept quiet, whilst the 
 chicks like to scratch and rustle. 
 Turkeys move more slowly and need 
 rest and quiet. Then, again corn, 
 Kaffir corn and corn meal suit chick- 
 ens, but ferment inside the little tur- 
 keys and give them diarrhoea, which 
 is often fatal. Let the turkey mothers 
 take care of the little turkeys and 
 give them grass or alfalfa to run on 
 and they will do well. 
 
 Turkeys — I am glad if I have been 
 able to help you with your turkeys, 
 and will try to reply to your ques- 
 tions, but I wish you could give your 
 turkeys free range as they are the 
 Bronze, for that most beautiful breed 
 is nearer to the wild than any other 
 and, therefore, need more than any, 
 a good wide free range to keep them 
 healthy. A turkey on the range eats 
 a few seeds, then sees an insect, may- 
 be a grasshopper, and chases after 
 that, which is good exercise. After 
 a run he finds perhaps a nice little 
 pebble or a few green leaves or twigs, 
 and so on. He only eats a very little 
 at a time and exercises between each 
 mouthful and this is the way a tur- 
 key should eat. The nearer we can 
 come to copying nature in feeding 
 turkeys, the better success we shall 
 have. Now, with this prelude I will 
 try to answer your questions to the 
 best of my ability. 
 
 1. How much grain and what kinds 
 should I feed? 2. Should I give 
 them bran and beef scraps? 3. Or 
 do you prefer granulated milk? 
 4. How much of the milk should they 
 have? 5. Should I feed more than 
 
192 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 twice a day? 6. Is there any food 
 which should be always before them? 
 —Mrs. C. F. S. 
 
 Keeping twenty young three- 
 month-old turkeys yarded is a very 
 serious proposition, unless your yard 
 is an unusually large one with plenty 
 oi shade and sunshine. 1. Wheat is 
 the best grain for turkeys until about 
 two or three weeks before you want 
 to kill them, then you can add corn. 
 2. You can give bran and beef scraps 
 but, 3. I prefer granulated milk and 
 bran, as it seems to agree better with 
 the turkeys. 4. About an ounce each 
 per day. 5. Twice a day is consid- 
 ered about right for yarded turkeys. 
 6. Turkeys need plenty of fresh, 
 green succulent food, such as clover 
 lawn clippings or lettuce, swiss chard, 
 beet tops, cabbage or the curly kale. 
 They must have green food to do 
 well and should have all they can 
 eat of it, and grain only twice a day. 
 Almost any kind of fruit or nuts or 
 olives suits them. It you want to 
 leave any food always before them 
 you might leave a box of granulated 
 milk and another of bran. Always 
 keep charcoal, grit and granulated 
 bone before them. If you had a wal- 
 nut orchard in which they could roam 
 I would say leave a box of wheat 
 where they can get to it and they will 
 not over eat; they will roam away 
 and only go to it when hungry, but 
 in a yard with nothing to occupy or 
 interest them, I think the bran would 
 be better. Give them at least three 
 or four times a week, onions chopped 
 up and mixed with dry bran. The 
 onions are a wonderful tonic to liver 
 and kidneys and will do more to help 
 you keep the turkeys healthy than 
 anything. They are also a preventive 
 to intestinal worms and roup. Fresh, 
 clean water as cool as possible is also 
 a necessity. 
 
 Turkeys — I have just moved into 
 this valley, on a 120-acre farm and 
 want to raise turkeys. Now, is the 
 White Holland as good to raise for 
 market as the Bronze, if so, do you 
 have their eggs to sell? If you do 
 not have them, will you please send 
 me the address of someone who does. 
 Also the address of someone who has 
 tlie Bronze? Do you have Guinea 
 fowls, and if so what do you charge 
 for a setting of eggs; if you do not 
 keep them will you give me the ad- 
 
 dress of someone who does? I also 
 want to ask you if you think it will 
 pay to raise geese for the feathers, 
 if so, what kind is best? And where 
 can I get the eggs? We have plenty 
 of alfalfa and plenty of water. — Mrs. 
 S. E. S. 
 
 Answer — White Holland turkeys 
 will do equally well with the Bronze. 
 They are not quite as heavy when 
 two years old; they are smaller 
 boned; but I have had them at six 
 months weighing eighteen to twenty- 
 two pounds, which size is preferred 
 on the market to any larger. The 
 White Holland seem to stand hot cli- 
 mate exceedingly well and they do 
 not roam as far as the Bronze. I 
 will try and send you a list of breed- 
 ers of both kinds. There are, how- 
 ever, quite a number of persons in the 
 interior valley breeding turkeys, and 
 my advice to you would be to get 
 the eggs from two or three dififerent 
 parties near you. I saw a large flock 
 at El Centro, and heard of others at 
 Imperial, Thermal and Coachella. 
 
 The Guineas do not begin to lay 
 here before April; if you will write to 
 me then I may be able to give you 
 the address of farmers having some. 
 
 I think it would pay to raise geese. 
 As they are grazing animals they re- 
 quire very little grain and will live 
 almost entirely upon alfalfa. But they 
 must have plenty of grit as well as 
 crushed shell to make egg shell. 
 There is not grit enough in the soil 
 of Imperial valley for domestic fowls 
 of any kind. 
 
 The Toulouse geese are usually the 
 most popular. They are gray and 
 white. I like the Embden; they are 
 the same size but are pure white. I 
 will send you the address of a party 
 keeping the Toulouse geese and will 
 try to find out where you can get the 
 Embden. 
 
 A Lack of Green Food — I have a 
 tom turkey that is sick. He was a 
 year old last May and about six weeks 
 ago he would not eat. He did not 
 look sick, and would strut and gobble 
 a little, but did not eat. I gave him 
 Carters' liver pills and he soon got 
 all right. About a week ago he be- 
 gan to get off his feed again, and I 
 at once began to doctor him. Have 
 given him liver pills and germazone, 
 but he has not eaten anything since 
 last Wednesday. Can you tell me 
 
TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
 
 193 
 
 what ails him and what to do for him? 
 He is a very valuable bird and I am 
 anxious to have him get well. His 
 usual feed is 'bran, barley meal, al- 
 falfa meal and beef scrap in the morn- 
 ing and wheat and Kaffir corn at 
 night, with plenty of grit and oyster 
 shell.— Mrs. G. H. B. 
 
 Answer — I think your turke> re- 
 quires more green food than you are 
 giving him as you only mention al- 
 falfa meal. Give him now, a quinine 
 pill (two grains) every night for a 
 week. Add charcoal and chopped on- 
 ions to his mash in the morning, and 
 plenty of green food once or twice a 
 day. Give him as large a range as 
 possible, or if you cannot give him 
 range, let him out on your own lawn 
 for two hours before sundown. What 
 he needs is fresh green food and 
 chopped onions for the liver tonic. 
 
 up the trees to the turkeys. Pour a 
 little stream of crude petroleum at 
 the foot of the trees to keep off the 
 ticks. 
 
 Turkey's Chickenpox — I have some 
 young turkeys several months old. 
 On the heads of some are round 
 things like warts; on one they are 
 sore looking and are also on each 
 knee-joint of the legs. The turkeys 
 don't appear sick. We have rubbed 
 the heads with axle-grease, as once 
 before that seemed to help. What is 
 the cause of this disease? How can 
 one cure or prevent it and are the 
 fowls good for food if they recover? 
 
 My turkeys have free range and 
 have had plenty of animal food in the 
 shape of bugs, etc., all summer, also 
 of course, green food in as large a 
 quantity as they cared for. I have 
 only fed them wheat. Chicken ticks, 
 these flat bugs, are bad here, but the 
 turkeys roost outside, so should not 
 be bothered much. — M. A. 
 
 Answer — Your turkeys have chick- 
 enpox. It comes from a microbe 
 which gains entrance under the skin 
 from some slight abrasion, such as a 
 scratch, or the bite of an insect. It 
 is very prevalent during the fall, but 
 except in the case of very young 
 chickens, is easily curable, and the 
 remedies you are using will effect a 
 speedy cure. 
 
 Carbolic salve, or carbolized vase- 
 line is the usual cure — or you can 
 wash the spots in hot soapsuds to get 
 off the scab and then grease just only 
 the spots. The carbolic acid in the 
 salve kills the microbe. The turkeys 
 are perfectly fit for food. You had 
 better be sure the ticks do not crawl 
 
 Turkeys — Will you kindly tell how 
 to raise little turkeys without any 
 milk, or can't it be done? We value 
 your writing very much. — H. D. C. 
 
 Answer — The milk that we use in 
 feeding little turkeys, either as plain 
 skim milk for them to drink or as a 
 curd for them to eat, is given be- 
 cause it is found to be the best substi- 
 tute for the insects that would be Na- 
 ture's diet for the little turkeys. The 
 next best substitute is hard boiled 
 eggs and after that ground-up meat, 
 either raw or cooked. 
 
 Here in Los Angeles we can get 
 the granulated and the dried milk and 
 these make a good feed, both for tur- 
 keys and chickens. I should think 
 you could get either of these at the 
 poultry supply houses in Santa Cruz. 
 
 Sick Gobbler — I write again in re- 
 gard to a fine gobbler. He was 
 hatched last May. He has been sick 
 about ten days. Just sits around and 
 does not walk much. Eats very little, 
 and his droppings are nearly all white 
 and small in quantity. His food has 
 been rolled barley, wheat, and we 
 have nine acres in green barley. He 
 has plenty of clean, pure water and 
 is not lousey, as I dust my turkeys 
 with insecticide every week. When 
 he first drooped around I gave him 
 some liver pills, but he does not get 
 much better. I hope you may be able 
 to tell me something that will help 
 him as I should feel very badly to 
 lose him.— Mrs. S. H. J. 
 
 Answer — I would advise you first 
 to stop dusting that gobbler with in- 
 sect powder, as it may be disagreeing 
 with him. Secondly, I would give 
 him small liver pills, and at the same 
 time, for at least a week, a pill of 
 one or two grains of quinine every 
 night. Also notice his droppings, if 
 possible, because he may have in- 
 testinal worms, although the symp- 
 toms are more like kidney trouble. 
 
 Tapeworm in Turkeys — ^I have over 
 100 turkeys that seem to be healthy 
 but do not grow as they should. I 
 find now they are full of long worms. 
 
194 
 
 MRS. P.ASLEVS WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 
 
 I)rol)ably tape worms. What shall I 
 do?— Mrs. L. B. D. 
 
 Answer — If your turkeys have tape- 
 worms, the best remedy I know is 
 male-fern (fclix mas). It may be 
 used in the form of a powder; (dose 
 thirty grains to one dram) or of liquid 
 extract (dose fifteen to thirty drops). 
 It should be given in the morning and 
 evening before feeding. Oil of tur- 
 [)cntine is an excellent remedy for the 
 common round worm; dose one to 
 tliree teaspoonsful in an equal amount 
 of castor oil. Feeding stewed garlic 
 or raw onions will help tlie cure. 
 
 Shipping Turkeys^Can turkey eggs 
 be hatclied successfuly in an incuba- 
 tor or are they more apt to die? 
 W'ill it hurt the little turkeys to be 
 carried on the car any great distance? 
 —Mrs. A. P. 
 
 Answer — Turkey eggs can be 
 hatclied in an incul)ator, if you don't 
 mix them with other eggs, other- 
 wise the}' do better under the hen. 
 They can be raised in brooders, and 
 it will not hurt them to travel on the 
 cars if they do not get chilled. 
 
 How Many Toms? — I want to ask 
 ycut liow many turkey toms I ?houkl 
 have for 24 hens. I have two fine 
 toms weighing about 22 pounds each. 
 Their beards are well developed and 
 I hey appear to be very good birds. 
 Will those two be enough for 24 
 liens?— Mrs. C. B. L. 
 
 Answer — It really would be better 
 to have three toms, but under the cir- 
 cumstances I would rather risk hav- 
 ing two good toms than to buy a 
 tliird of unknown quality. 
 
 The rule is one yearling torn to ten 
 liens. One tom will do for twenty 
 liens some times, but ten hens is about 
 the best number. 
 
 Liver Trouble — -We are in trouble 
 with our little turkeys, and woulc^ 
 like to ask you to help us. They were 
 fine, strong fellows until a few days 
 ago, when four of them suddenly 
 died. I just noticed two of them, a 
 little droopy in the afternoon, and 
 four were dead the next morning. 
 There was the slightest toucli of 
 diarrhoea noticeable, and I immediate- 
 ly put a little germazone in their 
 water, and they have had it for sev- 
 eral days. They have no signs of it 
 now, but four more died last 
 night, and several others are droop- 
 ing. We made an examination this 
 morning and found the liver all 
 blotched and spotted all over in dark 
 rings. That is all we could find 
 wrong. The gizzard was healthy and 
 full of grit and seemed perfect and 
 in order. — Mrs. A. H. 
 
 Answer — The spotted liver is all 
 that killed them. It denotes conges- 
 tion of the liver. This is usually 
 brought on by wrong feeding, or over- 
 feeding, but it also comes from their 
 taking cold; eitlier from being too 
 warm at night, under the chicken hen, 
 getting them hot and sweaty, and 
 then coming out in the morning into 
 the cool, foggy air, which gives them 
 a sudden chill. This would affect the 
 liver, and make even the proper food- 
 disagree with them. They may take 
 cold and get a chill affecting the liver, 
 from running in damp alfalfa; or the 
 cliicken hen may drag them about and 
 make the exercise too much, and this 
 also would weaken their liver and 
 make them susceptible to cold, which 
 would affect their liver. I can only 
 give you these suggestions, as I do 
 not know all your conditions. One of 
 the best remedies for diarrhoea in 
 both cliickcns and little turkeys, is 
 rice boiled in milk, with a tablespoon- 
 ful of ground cinnamon to every pint 
 of milk. Rice given even dry will 
 help in a case of this kind. 
 
ABOUT DUCKS 
 
 Duck Eggs vs. Hen Eggs — What 
 difference, if any, should there be in 
 running an incubator with duck eggs 
 from hen eggs? I am very success- 
 ful with hen eggs but never succeed- 
 ed very well with duck eggs; the 
 same eggs hatch 90 per cent under a 
 hen, and the first test from the incu- 
 bator is about 90 per cent and then 
 they die in the shell. — J. W. L. 
 
 Answer — Duck eggs require differ- 
 ent treatment than the hen eggs. Af- 
 ter the first test when you take- them 
 out to turn them, sprinkle them every 
 day with warm water. Leave them 
 out a few minutes to partially dry off, 
 fan the stale air out of the incubator 
 and then replace them. By this 
 means I think you will have a better 
 hatch. Duck eggs require more dry- 
 ing out than hen eggs and yet the 
 shell must be dampened to make it 
 brittle. Putting water into the incu- 
 bator does, not do as well as sprink- 
 ling. 
 
 Food— Good and Bad— 1. Would 
 lettuce make good greens to sow in 
 runways for Indian Runner ducks? 
 
 2. Will some whole wheat hurt 
 them if they are provided with grit? 
 
 3. At what age should ducks 
 hatched in March commence laying? 
 
 4. Will beef suet and chopped 
 fresh beef do to feed them? — Mrs. 
 F. H. 
 
 Answer — 1. Lettuce is good for all 
 fowls and would be good for the 
 ducks as long as it lasts, but I am 
 afraid the little fellows would soon 
 pull it all up. 
 
 2. Whole wheat is not as good for 
 little ducks as bran and corn meal. 
 See article in this book. 
 
 3. Indian Runners liatched in 
 March will commence laying in Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 4. Beef suet is not the food for 
 ducks, but if you want to fatten them, 
 you might add a little of it to their 
 mash. 
 
 Indigestion — What is wrong with 
 my ducks? They are almost full 
 grown, and they turn over on their 
 backs and are unable to get up; they 
 are very weak; their eyes scale over 
 and some of them have died. They 
 act very much like chickens with the 
 
 roup, only they do not swell around 
 the head.— Mrs. J. G. C. 
 
 Answer^Your ducks are suffering 
 from indigestion and also from their 
 heads being stopped up. The indi- 
 gestion comes partly from their not 
 having sufficient sand with their food, 
 and their heads being stopped up, 
 comes from the drinking vessel not 
 being deep enough so they can rinse 
 their nostrils out many times during 
 the day. If you remedy these two 
 causes of trouble in the duck yard 
 and feed them properly, giving but 
 little whole grain, I think they will 
 soon recover. 
 
 Incubator Ducks — We want to 
 know the proper way to operate an in- 
 cubator to hatch ducks. I have had 
 fairly good luck hatching chickens but 
 not with my ducks. I got only 40 out 
 of 112 fertile eggs, and this time we 
 should like to have a few directions 
 to go by. 
 
 Do they require as much as chick- 
 ens as to moisture; do you sprinkle, 
 also how often, and as to airing the 
 eggs, what time of day and how long 
 do you advise to leave the machine 
 open; how often do you test the 
 eggs? — Mrs. W. 
 
 Answer — -Duck eggs require quite 
 as much heat as those of the chickens; 
 they require more airing. Should be 
 sprinkled with warm water once the 
 first week, twice the second and every 
 day thereafter, but do not put any 
 water in the pans. Sprinkling the 
 eggs helps to make the shells more 
 brittle so the ducks will get out 
 easier. Test the 5th day and again 
 about once every week to take out 
 the dead germs, as they putrify and 
 are injurious to the rest. When you 
 air the eggs, which you should do 
 twice a day, that is every twelve 
 hours, fan the stale air out of the in- 
 cubator and then close up. Com- 
 mence to air the eggs when you com- 
 mence to turn them, that is 48 hours 
 after they have been in the machine. 
 The air space in the egg should be at 
 the large end. I think if you follow 
 the directions from the maker of the 
 machine, and these hints, you will 
 have a good hatch. 
 
 To Secure Fertility — I am starting 
 to raise Indian Runner ducks and 
 
196 
 
 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
 
 want to ask you how many ducks to 
 put with one drake of this variety, so 
 as to secure the highest possible fer- 
 tility of eggs without keeping unnec- 
 essary drakes? I have a flock of 20 
 ducks and within a few days will be 
 ready to start my incubator, so if you 
 will kindly reply as soon as possible, 
 I will be very much obliged to you.— 
 L. F. R. 
 
 Answer — The number of Indian 
 Runner ducks to one drake is ten. 
 This has been found to be the best 
 number for Indian Runners, although 
 you can mate fifteen ducks to one 
 drake and have good fertility. I 
 want, however, to warn you that the 
 eggs are not nearly so fertile in the 
 fall and winter as they are in the 
 spring, so you must not be disap- 
 pointed if at least half of the eggs are 
 infertile at this time of the year. To 
 increase the fertility, would advise 
 you to increase the amount of animal 
 food you are feeding. You can tell in 
 five days of incubation whether the 
 eggs are fertile and those that are not 
 fertile should be removed from the 
 incubator and can be used for cook- 
 ing or eating. They are merely in- 
 fertile eggs that have been kept in a 
 warm place for five days, and are 
 better tlian most store eggs. 
 
 Weight at Ten Weeks— Will you 
 
 please inform me what weight most 
 of the duck men can put on Indian 
 Runner ducks at ten weeks? — I. L. R. 
 Answer — Indian Runners at ten 
 weeks of age weigh as much as do 
 the Pekins at that time, namely, about 
 eight pounds per pair. They should 
 be sent to market at from eight to ten 
 weeks of age. After that the pin 
 feathers develop, making them very 
 hard to pick. I think you will be 
 greatly pleased with the ducks when 
 you try them. Their flesh is very de- 
 licious, fine grained and the bones 
 are small. They have very much the 
 flavor of the canvas-back, and I have 
 heard, are sometimes sold instead of 
 them. They are also the greatest 
 layers of any known fowl; the eggs 
 are white and very delicious, with no 
 strong taste like the eggs of other 
 varieties of ducks. 
 
 Feeding for Eggs — I bouglit some 
 Indian Runner ducks, thirty-six in 
 all, and six drakes. They were lay- 
 
 ing up to the middle of December; 
 since that time have layed none. I 
 feed them about everything that 
 would come from a first-class hotel 
 — bread, meat, oat and corn-meal 
 mush, all kinds of vegetable and fruit. 
 Three times a week I mix cracked 
 corn and bran. I feed in the morn- 
 ing, twelve quarts, same amount at 
 night. They have access to plenty 
 of running water and keep perfectly 
 clean. The pen is covered with for- 
 est leaves that makes it warm. What 
 I want to know is, am I feeding right 
 for laying later on? Is it customary 
 to pick them? Does it affect their 
 laying? I have over two hundred 
 eggs engaged at 10 cents a piece. I 
 want to raise all I can the coming 
 season. — J. W. A. 
 
 Answer — I think that your hotel 
 waste may have rather more bread in 
 it tlian is good for egg production. 
 Indian Runner ducks usually stop lay- 
 ing in October, commencing again in 
 December, and getting into full lay in 
 February. The best time for hatcli- 
 ing Indian Runners is from the first 
 of February to the end of July; the 
 eggs are very fertile at such time. It 
 may be that you are fattening the 
 ducks too much, as over-fat ducks do 
 not lay well. They require much 
 more animal food than chickens. In 
 their wild state they live on grasses, 
 fish, frogs and insects, with but very 
 little grain. If you think they are 
 getting too much bread, j'ou might 
 save some of it for chickens, and in- 
 crease the amount of meat; keep 
 them well supplied with coarse sand, 
 grit and crushed oyster shells. 
 
 Picking the ducks afifects their lay- 
 ing, and it greatly prevents the 
 drakes from being fertile. While 
 they are moulting the eggs are never 
 fertile. 
 
 Eggs, Goose and Duck — I would 
 like to know what care duck and geese 
 eggs should have when a hen is sitting 
 on them instead of the goose or duck. 
 Also, what feed should they have 
 when first hatched? — Mrs. J. A. P. 
 
 Answer — Goose and duck eggs re- 
 quire more heat and a longer period of 
 incubation than hens' eggs. Five 
 goose eggs are sufficient to place un- 
 der a hen, and be sure that she turns 
 the eggs every day or the gosling will 
 be a cripple. The goose eggs are 
 heavy for a hen to turn, and for this 
 reason, and also because they require 
 
GEESE 
 
 197 
 
 more heat, the hen should not have 
 more than five to care for. From nine 
 to eleven duck eggs are the number, 
 for the same reasons, that should be 
 given to a hen. 
 
 Goose eggs require thirty days of 
 incubation; duck eggs twenty-eight. 
 Hens are apt to desert them towards 
 the last and should be watched, as 
 they get tired of waiting for their 
 chicks to come out. I also have had 
 hens that were so much afraid of the 
 queer, green looking babies they 
 hatched out that they would kill them. 
 They seem to know that they are not 
 proper chickens. I feed the little geese 
 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and 
 cracker crumbs moistened with water, 
 and sprinkle a little sand on the food. 
 This is the first food. The next day 
 they get the same, with lettuce 
 chopped fine. After this I add break- 
 fast oats with it and bran. As early 
 as possible I put the geese out on the 
 lawn, take the hen away from them 
 and put them into a box in the wood- 
 shed or kitchen, if the nights are coul, 
 or if I am afraid of cats or other 
 marauders. They do not require heat 
 after a few days, sometimes not after 
 the first day. It depends upon the 
 weather. 
 
 Geese are the easiest of fowls to 
 raise. They are a grazing bird and 
 must have a pasture of something 
 green to graze on. When young they 
 should not have whole grain, but a 
 mash of bran and corn meal with a 
 
 little animal food in it, and always 
 grass or alfalfa to graze on. 
 
 Ducks do well treated in the same 
 way, remembering to give them a lit- 
 tle sand with each meal. 
 
 Died in the Shell— I had two hens 
 sitting on duck eggs and the ducks 
 all died in the shell. The eggs were 
 pipped, but it seemed as though the 
 ducks could not get out. I dipped the 
 eggs the last six days in lukewarm 
 water once a day. I opened two eggs 
 and there was jelly around the ducks. 
 Could you kindly let me know why 
 and how it is, as I have two more 
 hens setting? — Mrs. C. F. N. 
 
 Answer — Sprinkle your ducks eggs, 
 if the weather is warm and dry, three 
 times a week after the first week; let 
 the water be just as hot as you can 
 bear your hand in, and sprinkle it out 
 of a little sprinkling pot or use a 
 whisk broom to sprinkle the eggs with 
 as you would clothes for ironing; 
 leave the eggs damp for the hen to 
 go on them. This is better than float- 
 ing them in the water. Little ducks 
 can be easily helped out of the eggs 
 and still live and be strong; if they 
 seem slow in hatching, bring them 
 into the house and put a warm damp 
 flannel around them and place at the 
 back of the kitchen stove, and I think 
 they will then come out without as- 
 sistance; if not, help them out. 
 
 GSKSK 
 
 Geese — I have a few geese and just 
 lately they have started to lay; gather 
 from four to six daily. Do you think 
 by turning them daily I might save 
 them up for incubation? About what 
 degree should be kept up for them? 
 I put seven eggs under a hen. Would 
 you also tell me what should baby 
 geese be fed? — ^J. W. 
 
 Answer — You can keep geese eggs, 
 by turning them every day, for three 
 weeks. They take thirty days to in- 
 cubate. The incubator should be 
 about 102j^ for the first week and 
 103 afterwards. Five eggs is plenty 
 to put under a hen. See instructions 
 in this book for hatching duck eggs 
 in an incubator. Treat goose eggs in 
 the same way. Feed baby geese the 
 
 same as baby ducks for the first week, 
 gradually adding chopped lettuce un- 
 til at least half their food is green food. 
 Geese are grazing animals and require 
 plenty of green, succulent food. They 
 arc very easy to raise and do not re- 
 quire brooder heat more than a few 
 days. 
 
 Toulouse Geese — First, I have a few 
 geese. I had eight Toulouse goslings. 
 I fed them boiled eggs, bread crumbs, 
 oatmeal (dry), and sometimes clabber 
 cheese with a lot of fine cut grass and 
 young rye from the rye patch, as I 
 have no lettuce yet, plenty of gravel 
 and a pan of water, but they all die 
 from a week to three weeks of age. 
 
198 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 
 
 Now what is the cause and what can day. when they should have nothing 
 
 1 i.\o to raise the others, as I hate to at all to eat. they should he turned 
 
 K)se them so bad. — Mrs. J. B. M. out on the grass or on a clover lawn. 
 
 Answer — You feed your j'oung From the very first they must have 
 
 geese wrong. Geese are grazing ani- grass or clover to crop from. After 
 
 inals and need grass or young tender tlie first week leave the food where; 
 
 clover to eat. Next time you have they can get it all the time and they 
 
 any give them bran (three cups full) will feed themselves without any 
 
 anil corn meal (one cup full) moist- trouble. Geese are the easiest of all 
 
 oned with water, with a teaspoonful of fowls to raise. They must not have 
 
 sand sprinkled over it. This should water to swim in until they have their 
 
 be fed evorv two hours, after the first mature feathers. 
 
We Carry in Stock Almost Everything 
 
 Mrs. Basley Recommends 
 
 In Her Neiv Poultry Book 
 Price $1,00 
 
 LOS ANGELES INCUBATORS 
 
 Make Record Breaking Hatches and are guaranteed Best 
 Hot Water Machines on Earth. 
 
 THE MANDY LEE 
 
 Is the only Incubator equipped with a Moisture Gauge 
 relieving the operator of all guess work, 
 
 CYPHER'S NEW MODEL INCUBATOR 
 
 Of Buffalo, New York. 
 
 VERY POPULAR HOT-AIR MACHINE 
 ACME ROUP CURE IS GUARANTEED 
 
 POULTRY SUPPLIES 
 
 Green Bone Cutters 
 Shell and Grain Mills 
 Alfalfa Cutters 
 Garden Plows 
 Spray Pumps 
 Powder Bellows 
 Warner Jr. Poultry Fence 
 Union Lock Fence 
 Drinking Fountains 
 
 Feed Troughs 
 
 Lee's Lice Killer 
 
 Lee's Egg Maker 
 
 Lee's Germozone 
 
 Lee's Stock Conditioner 
 
 Devil's Dust 
 
 Thermometers 
 
 Leg Bands 
 
 Granite Grit 
 
 Ground Shell 
 Peerless Egg Food 
 Peerless Scratch Food 
 Peerless Chick Feed 
 Peerless Beef Scraps 
 Ground Bone 
 Ground Charcoal 
 Alfalfa Meal 
 Bird Seed 
 
 Send for Free Catalogue 
 
 HENRY ALBERS CO. 
 
 845 S. Spring St. 
 
 Los Angeles, Cal, 
 
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"Huskins" White Wyandottes 
 
 and 
 
 White Orpingtons 
 
 Kellerstrass Strain 
 
 The GRANDEST UTILITY and FANCY 
 ^^: Breeds on record to-day. They are the Big 
 Winter Layers, quick growing, and make the 
 WINNINGS, 1910 finest Broilers of any breeds known. 
 
 Wyandoiies 
 
 1st Cockerel 4th Cockerel . ■■« r t w t<-i w^ v m. t<~i 
 
 o..K:i^" '''"'''^' A. W. HUSKINS 
 
 '''""six^Eatries^'" 713 WateHoo St. (Dept. B) Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 700 REDS 
 20 BREEDING PENS 
 
 HAYES, R. B. 
 
 Rhode Island Red Specialist 
 
 Our birds win their share of the prizes on this coast and are from Eastern 
 
 stock that have been line bred for fifteen years and win in New York and 
 
 Boston. Visitors at our yards say they are the best flock of Reds they 
 
 have ever seen. 
 
 PHONE EAST 1631 
 
 Box 35, Garvanza Station 
 
 Yards in Arroyo 
 
 Opposite Ostrich Farm LOS ANGELES, CAL. 
 
 ^ White. Wyandottes 
 
 , I am ready when you are ready, to supply j^ou 
 
 with stock and eggs from 
 
 STERLING WHITE WYANDOTTES 
 
 while my stock is of the best quality, my prices 
 
 are always reasonable. I will feel highly 
 
 honored to receive your favors 
 
 S P MOOPF 
 
 Owned by S. p. Moore *^^» ' • ' 'V^^'V^^rvl— 
 
 958 Spence St. 
 
 Los Angeles. Cal. 953 Spence St. - Los Angeles, Cal 
 
METAL INCUBATORS AND BROODERS 
 
 The demand (or a practical, simple and inexpensive hatclier and a closer study of the 
 principles underlying the natural process of incubation has enabled us, after twenty years 
 of practical experience in incubating and brooding, to place on the market the Cycle 
 Hatcher, which has been thoroughly tested out during the past five years and which we 
 believe more closely follows natural methods than any other form of incubator heretofore 
 produced. 
 
 All the necessary essentials are provided; a warm nest, a cover to take the place of the 
 hen and the means of supplying a sufficient quantity of fresh air, at the same time retaining 
 the natural moisture contained in the egg and preventing its escape. The heater being 
 circular in shape, with the lamp directly in the center, insures an even distribution of heated 
 air in all parts of the machine, with no corners for dead air spaces. 
 
 Eggs to hatch well must be newly laid, and where the number produced is small, they 
 will not be as fresh when several hundred or more are placed in one incubator as when set 
 more often in separate machines. We make only one size machine, holding fifty eggs, and 
 for large hatches the required number of machines are used. By having the eggs in smaller 
 units they can be more easily controlled and there is never the danger of having the entire 
 hatch ruined. 
 
 The advantages of a small machine are many, as practical poultry keepers will readily 
 appreciate by a careful consideration of the requirements for sucessful incubation. 
 
 CATAI.OGL'E MAILED ON REQUEST 
 
 Brooder Hatching Doing Double Duty 
 
 Cycle Hatcher (for hatching only), 50-egg size $5.50; two for $10.50 
 
 Brooder Hatcher (for hatching and brooding together) 8.00: two for J5.Q0 
 
 THE PHILO SYSTEM 
 
 of progressive poultry keeping is unlike all other ways of raising poultry, and in many re- 
 spects it is just the reverse, accomplishing things that have always been considered impossible 
 and getting results that are hard to believe without seeing. 
 
 This system covers every detail of poultry work from selecting the breeders to marketing 
 the product. It tells how to get eggs that will hatch, how to hatch nearly every egg laid 
 and how to raise nearly all the chicks hatched. It gives complete plans in detail how to 
 make all appliances necessary to run the business at less cost than is required to handle 
 poultry successfully in any other manner. There is nothing complicated about the work and 
 any man or woman w-ho can handle a hammer can construct the apparatus. 
 
 Two-pound broilers are raised in a space less than a square foot to a broiler and the 
 broilers are of the very best quality, usually bringing from three to five cents above the 
 highest market price. Six-months-old pullets lay in a space of two square feet for each bird 
 and breeding pens are allowed three square feet for each fowl. No green cut bone is fed 
 and the food used is inexpensive compared with prepared foods others are using. 
 
 The latest edition of the Philo System Book gives full particulars regarding this method 
 of poultry raising in a simple, easy-to-understand manner with full directions that are right 
 to the point and has fifteen pages of illustrations showing all branches of the work from 
 start to finish. 
 
 A COPY WILL BE SENT BY RETURN MAIL L^PON RECEIPT OF $1.00 
 
 CYCLE HATCHER CO., 
 
 WESTERN OFFICE 
 11 MADISON ST., OAKLAND, CAL. 
 
 Branch, Los Angeles, 541 Chamber of Commerce Building 
 
CALIFORNIA CULTIVATOR 
 
 The big: rural weekly of the Pacific Coast, gives more poultry news than any poultry 
 or farm paper published west of the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 ONE YEAR (52 issues) FOR $1.00 
 
 The only paper for the advertiser to reach the 
 
 FANCIER AND UTILITY MAN 
 
 14200 boua-fide subscribers. Write for sample copy and advertising rates 
 
 CULTIVATOR PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 115 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 l88!)=BARRfD PlTMOyiH RO(KS=l!)lfl 
 
 OCEAN BLUE STRAIN 
 
 Twenty-five regular and special prizes this 
 season on 21 entries under three judges. At 
 Los Angeles, the quality show of the 
 coast, we won 17 regular and special 
 prizes on 15 entries, 4 silver loving cups. 
 Shape, color and head specials. Champion 
 male, 1st and 2d pens. Sweepstakes pen 
 and others too numerous to mention. 
 
 Eggs always for sale, $3.00 to $5.00 per 15 
 
 MR. and MRS. D. T WIELAND 
 
 Moneta, Los Angeles County, Cal. 
 
ROSENEATH EGG RANCH 
 
 lOSWALDM. 
 
 Irotoon 
 
 ARUNQTON 
 CALITORNIA 
 
 S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS 
 
 WYCKOFF and GREGG STRAINS. Two of 
 the best laying strains in the World. 
 
 DAY-OLD CHICKS (My Specialty) 
 
 1252 cents each. 
 
 $10.00 per 100. 
 
 $90.00 per 1000 
 
 (No charge made for chick boxes if returned, 
 express prepaid, within one week) 
 
 I attend personally to selecting and filling all orders, 
 endeavor to treat every patron honorably, and to give 
 full value for their money. Everything as repre- 
 sented. Visitors v^elcome. Inspection invited. 
 
 Yours faithfully 
 
 OSWALD M. ROBERTSON 
 
 Home 4154 
 
 Phones (Riverside) 
 
 Sunset Red 4926 
 
WEST COAST SEED CO. 
 
 No Better Place 
 to Buy the Best 
 
 POULTRY SUPPLIES 
 
 AT LOWEST 
 PRICES 
 
 Also RELIABLE SEEDS at RIGHT PRICES 
 
 Catalogues Free 
 
 5 W. SEVENTH ST. - LOS ANGELES, CAL. 
 
 Red 
 
 Feather 
 
 Farm 
 
 Home of Buckeyes and 
 Bourbon Red Turkeys 
 
 the Slay-at-Home 
 *•' - Turkeys 
 
 
 
 ^ Pea-comb Buckeyes are the only Standard American breed originated by a woman. They 
 are beautiful dark red, ganiy looking birds, splendid winter layers, good sitters and mothiers, and 
 the best of table birds, having abundance of fine-flavored breast meat. No eggs will be shipped 
 from Red Feather Farm hereafter, but the originator and proprietor will herself raise and select 
 pairs, trios and pens of her own breeding at reasonable prices. 
 
 MRS. FRANK METCALF (^BucTeyes°0 Red Feather Farm, Inglewood, Cal. 
 
Heavy Laying White Leghorns Exclusively 
 
 I ADMIT HAVING THE HEAVIEST LAYItJG STRAIN ON THE COAST 
 
 I have a limited number of settings from my 
 220-227 egg hens that I will accept orders for at 
 $4.00 per 15. Cockerels from these hens at $7.00 
 each. 
 
 Our 18 years breeding a heavy strain is what 
 docs it. Our birds never quit laying; they are 
 healthy and happy and almost as large as Rocks. 
 Nice Cockerels from $3.00 to $5.00. EGGS— $2.00 
 per 15, $7.00 per 100 from the cream of the layers 
 that average 192 eggs each. Send for our new 
 24-page catalogue. 
 
 Los Angeles, May 20th. 
 My Dear Sir: I have been intending writing 
 \ ou to let you know how the hens that I raised 
 1 1 om yours eggs are doing. I have just 50 hens 
 nt of the 108 eggs, and they started to lay when 
 '■nly four months old. I intended to keep a record 
 of the number of eggs laid, but failed to do so; 
 when the San Francisco "shake" occured, my wife 
 was in that city, so I placed feed and water in the 
 yard to last them a week and I struck out to find 
 my wife. I was gone just seven days, and I found 
 that the hens had filled the nests and laid in the 
 corners of the house and around on the ground. 
 Wife and I gathered up just 329 eggs, which was 
 an average of 47 eggs per day from the 50 hens, 
 and they have never gone below 40 eggs since. 
 We are more than satisfied, and ought to be. 
 
 J. v.. STONE. 
 
 RICHLAND EGG RANCH 
 
 (W. C. MacFarlane) 
 
 Phone Suburban 287 HANFORD, CAL. 
 
 Trap N 
 
 LAYING 
 
 Jecords 
 
 KOBT. I. PETERS, Prop. 
 
 ORIGINAL WYCKOFF STOCK 
 
 S. C. White Leghorns 
 
 THE BUSINESS HEN 
 
 When it comes to egg production, it would be extremely difficult — probably impossible 
 — to find a more satisfactory breed than the White Leghorn. 
 
 In choosing the foundation for a money-making flock of White Leghorns, you will make 
 no mistake if you adopt the famous Wyckoff strain, which has stood at the head of the heavy 
 laying class for more than a quarter of a century. 
 
 Our breeding pens include a splendid collection of high-class stock — hens of proven 
 merit as egg producers, carefully selected from our heaviest layers, and properly mated to 
 insure best results in the development of the ideal White Leghorn of the genuine laying type. 
 
 Eggs for hatching and high-grade breeding stock furnished at reasonable prices. Cor- 
 respondence solicited. 
 
"BREEDERS" 
 
 The Blue Ribbon Strain 
 Mammoth White Holland Turkeys 
 
 Of all varieties, the Mammoth White Holland is the easiest raised 
 and at the same time the most profitable. Our strain of these beautiful 
 birds is of extra large size, pure white, vigorous, healthy, prolific layers 
 and very domestic. 
 
 "irac^ 
 
 Pen A. — Headed by the First Grand Prize Tom, Madison Square Garden, New York 
 
 OUR GRAND BREEDING PENS are far the best that we have 
 ever mated, also great care has been taken and much money expended 
 to produce birds of the highest type. 
 
 EGGS READY ABOUT MARCN I5TH 
 
 Stock and Show Birds a matter of correspondence 
 
 W. A. DEXTER, red. no. iss, PALMS, CAL. 
 
IMPORTER AND BREEDER 
 
 Mammoth White Holland Turkeys 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,^ 
 
 Iv 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 ^^\ 
 
 
 
 
 Jm^ 
 
 
 J^ 
 
 
 
 
 NELSON'S WHITE BEAUTY, age 11 
 
 mo. 
 
 California 
 
 Tom. 
 
 First Prize Winner | 
 
 Chutes Park, 
 
 Los A 
 
 ng-eles. Ca 
 
 ..Jan. 
 
 10. 
 
 1910 1 
 
 In mating our stock for 1910, 
 great care has been taken, and 
 much money expended to pro- 
 duce the highest type of birds 
 for utility and the show room. 
 
 The big demand for stock 
 and eggs has compelled an in- 
 crease in the size of our plant. 
 
 Our pens are all headed by 
 birds of the highest type, and 
 every order is filled with great 
 care. 
 
 THOMAS E. NELSON 
 
 R. F. D. No. 2, Box 150 
 Los Angeles, California 
 
 GOOD ACRE BROTHERS 
 
 Breeders of the 
 World's Best 
 
 Buff Orpingtons 
 Rhode Island Reds 
 White Leghorns 
 
 and 
 
 Buff Orpington Ducks 
 
 Stock and Eggs for sale 
 the year round 
 
 Thirty-two First Prizes, two Silver 
 Cups, two Sweepstakes Silver Medals, 
 show season 1909 - 10 at Alaska- 
 Yukon - Pacific Exposition, Seattle; 
 the Great Chicago Show, Sacramento, 
 Phcenix, San Jose, Oakland and 
 Los Angeles. 
 
 We keep abreast of the times, and 
 our stock prove good layers as well. 
 We are adding to our present stock 
 
 ANCONAS 
 
 The World's Great Layers 
 
 GOOD ACRE BROS., Box W, Compton, CaL 
 
^:^)'3m^H0¥.% 
 
 One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
 
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