U. S. DEPARTS AGRICULTURE 
 
 OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS— FARMERS' INSTITUTE LECTURE 10 (Rev.). 
 A. C. TRUE, Director. 
 
 SYLLABI 
 
 OF 
 
 ILLUSTRATED LECTURE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF 
 EGGS AND FOWLS. 
 
 By 
 
 JAMES DRYDEN, 
 
 Professor of Poultry Husbandry, Oregon Agricultural Qpllege, Corvallis, Ortg. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1910. 
 

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATED LECTURES. 
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t26S [flSUed April ."), 1910. 
 
 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS-FARMERS' INSTITUTE LECTURE 10 (Rev.). 
 
 A. C. TRUE. Direct...- 
 
 SYLLABUS 
 
 OF 
 
 ILLUSTRATED LECTURE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF 
 EGGS AND FOWLS. 
 
 By 
 
 JAMES DRYDEX. 
 
 Professor of Poultry Husbandry. Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, Oreg. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 1910. 
 
(EFA70RY NOTE. 
 
 This revised syllabus of a lecture upon the production and market- 
 ing of eggs and fowls, by James Dryden, professor of poultry hus- 
 bandry, Oregon Agricultural College and Experiment Station, is 
 accompanied by 4f> views illustrating this topic. The syllabus and 
 views have been prepared for the purpose of aiding farmers 3 institute 
 lecturers in their presentation of this subject before institute audiences. 
 
 The numbers in the margins of [the pages of the syllabus refer to 
 similar numbers on the lantern slides and to their Legends as given 
 in the Appendix: those in the body of the text refer to the lie 
 authorities and references, page 20. 
 
 In order that those using the lecture may have opportunity to fully 
 acquaint themselves with the subject, references to its recent litera- 
 ture are given in the Appendix. 
 
 Recommended for publication. 
 A. C. True. Director. 
 
 John Hamilton, 
 Farmer^ InstituU Specialist. 
 
 Publication authorized. 
 James Wilson, 
 
 Secretary of AgricuUu 
 
 Washington, D. C March 15. 1910. 
 
 (2) 
 
IHE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF EGGS 
 
 AND FOWLS. 
 
 By James Drydrn. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Probably no other branch of agriculture interests a greater 
 number of people than poultry keeping. Soil or climatic con- 
 ditions do not prescribe limits for the poultiy industry. The 
 poultryman is found in every State and in every county of 
 the Union, and the farm without some poultry is almost an 
 anomaly. The farmer, however, does not monopolize the 
 poultry business. The villager with his back lot, the suburban 
 resident of the city, the needy invalid unable to work at hard 
 labor, the woman in search of a livelihood, the man of wealth 
 on his country estate, the practical farmer on his farm — all 
 have an interest in fowls, either as a means of livelihood, a 
 mental diversion, a pleasure, or a profit. 
 
 Since the last United States census was taken the commer- 
 cial importance of the poultiy industry has been better under- 
 stood. The census returns showed a value of poultry and eggs 
 produced on the farms that year of approximately 8300,000,000, 
 without including the amount produced in towns and villages. 
 (Ref. 1, p. 630.) Since then prices of poultry products have 
 advanced, and the industry has been growing. Taking these 
 factors into consideration, the estimate of the value of poultry 
 products for 1908 of over £600,000,000, made by the United 
 States Department of Agriculture, is undoubtedly conservative. 
 (Ref. 2. p. 15.) The}' equaled the value of the wheat crop of 
 the United States for 1908. and exceeded the value of all the 
 coal and petroleum produced in 1902. (Ref. 3. p. 44.) 
 
 EGG PRODUCTION. 
 
 USES OF EGGS. 
 
 The uses of the egg are varied. As a food it is unexcelled. 
 The invalid and the strong use the egg without question as to 
 its high nutritive qualities, and it has never yet been success- 
 
 (3) 
 
 View. 
 

 t'ull\ substituted or adulterated. In composition eggs resemble 
 moderately lean beef and tish. Eight average eggs will make 
 a pound. Eggs are extensively used in the arts, as in fur- 
 nishing tin- albumen with which photographic paper is coated. 
 
 A writer many year- ago -aid: "Out of bugs and worms and 
 
 seeds and what it can pick and sdratch Prom the waste of 
 nature's laboratory the ben prepares the fair white egg one of 
 
 the most delirious morsels to the human palate and one to till 
 the heart of man with loving kindn< 
 
 QUALITY AND SIZE OF EGGS. 
 
 Eggs vary great U in flavor and quality. Undesirable 
 
 flavors may he detected in the egg after feeding the hen> 
 
 heavily on food- of strong or high flavor. If \'ed in sufficient 
 quantity, beef scrap will give an odor to the egg. It i> im- 
 portant that no beef Bcrap be fed except of good quality. 
 Onions will give an undesirable flavor to th< ,nd if a 
 
 sufficient quantity he eaten by the hen the eggs will he unfit for 
 use. (Kef. I. p. 505.) There will he no perceptible flavor, 
 however, from either onion- or good beef -crap if fed in normal 
 quantities. Only when hens have been starved on green 
 and animal food and then given all they will eat of either onions 
 or heed" scrap will any flavor from these foods he detected in 
 the egg. 
 
 (//) It has been shown that certain food- affect the color of 
 the Qgg\ feeding alfalfa liberally will give yolks of high color. 
 (Ref. 5, p. 174.) Pale color of yolk usually indicates a lack of 
 green food. 
 
 (c) The size of the egg i- influenced by factors under the 
 control of the poultryman. The breed should not always be 
 blamed for small eggs. Eggs from fowls having free range 
 where worm-, insects, and green food were obtained weighed 
 more than eggs from similar hens kept in small yard-. (Ref. »'». 
 j). 207.) Eggs for the fancy market should weigh not Less than 
 22 ounce- per dozen, with quality and color unobjectionable. 
 The color of the shell is immaterial, though in gome markets 
 the white-shell egg and in others the brown-hell coo brings the 
 higher price. There is no difference, however, in quality 
 betweel) the brown-shell and the white-hell egg. 
 
 BREEDS AND LAYING CAPACITY. 
 
 ."> (a) Laying capacity varies greatly among individual hens. 
 
 6 i Kef-. .'). p. 117: 7.) dins has been discovered by the use 
 
 7 of trap nc-t-. Experiment station records show that hens vary 
 
 8 from 2i ggs per year to no egg-. Frequently a good-look- 
 
View. 
 
 ing hen. in good health, will not pay for the food she cats, while 9 
 
 another hen of the same breed and with (he same care will lay 
 eggs worth three or four times the cost of the food. Il is not 
 known that there is a type or shape characteristic of heavy- 
 laying hens; otherwise it would he an easy matter to rid the 
 Hock of the unprofitable fowls. The use of the trap nests in- 
 volves considerable labor in releasing the hens and in record 
 keeping, more than the farmer with a few hens can profitably 
 give, but he should endeavor to secure " pedigreed' 1 males 
 from some of the experiment stations or from reputable private 
 breeders in order to breed up the laying qualities of his flock. 
 
 (h) There is more difference in individuals than in breeds, 10 
 it is true, but the smaller breeds, such as the Leghorns, are 11 
 usually the most profitable for egg" production. The Leghorns 12 
 should lay as many eggs as the Plymouth Rocks and breeds of 
 that class on one-fourth less food. (Ref. 5, p. 159.) But the 
 question of profit does not hinge on egg yield alone. In renew- 
 ing the flock, which it is desirable to do at least once every two 
 years, larger returns will be secured from the sale of the fowls 13 
 of the larger breeds than from the sale of the Leghorns. A 
 Plymouth Rock hen should weigh about 7^ pounds, while the 
 Leghorn will weigh about half as much. Selling at the same 
 price per pound, the Plymouth Rock should bring in the market 
 a* much again as the Leghorn. This will about balance the 
 difference in the cost of feeding. It will cost more to raise the 
 Plymouth Rock to laying maturity than the Leghorn, but this 
 will be offset by the increased price received for the surplus 
 cockerels in the fall. 
 
 Leghorns are poor sitters, and eggs should not be trusted to 
 them to incubate. For this reason where Leghorns are kept 
 recourse must be had to incubators or to hens of sitting breeds 
 to hatch the chicks. Leghorns are active, good foragers, and 
 with good care the pullets will begin to lay at five months of 
 age. The larger breeds are usually a month longer in beginning 
 to lay. 
 
 Large breeds, such as Brahmas, Cochins, and Langshans, 14 
 should not be kept for egg production. These are chiefly used 
 where the market demands a large chicken for table purposes. 
 In most markets, however, smaller fowls find more ready sale. 
 The Brahmas and Cochins have meat of excellent quality, and 
 being of a quiet disposition are fitted for the economical pro- 
 duction of meat. 
 
 (c) In deciding on the breed to keep it should be remembered 
 that the larger the fowl the greater will be the demand for food 
 
for maintenance of the body, and that eggs arc made from the 
 food consumed above that required for maintenance. The 
 smaller breeds, requiring It--- food for maintenance, arc able to 
 produce eggs at a -mallei- cost than the larger breeds. 
 
 The individual differences in fowls, however, are 30 
 that it is possible to find fowls of the iargei a that will lay 
 
 more eggs than some fowls of the -mailer breeds. On the 
 average farm, where fowls are kept principally for home use, 
 the choice of a medium-sized breed, such as the Plymouth Bock 
 or the Wyandotte, will usually be wise. 
 
 That the heavy layers are not confined to any one breed has 
 been shown by laying competition- iii Australia, which have 
 
 15 extended over a period of biz year-, hi three of the >ix yean 
 
 16 the White Leghorns laid the most: in two other years the 
 1? Silver Wyandottes won, and in one year the Black Langshans 
 
 stood first. The-*' breeds represent the three different clai 
 of fowls, namely, egg breeds, general-purpose breeds, and meat 
 breeds. In the 190&-7 contest the pen of Black Langshans laid 
 an average of 247 eggs per fowl, the White Leghorns 239, and 
 the pen of Silver Wyandotte- 1'.*.' eggs per fowl. 
 
 RENEWING THE FLOCK. 
 
 The limit of profitable egg production is probably two laying 
 18 years. (Ref. 5, p. 164.) After the second year the egg yield 
 will scarcely pay for the food consumed by the hen. The first 
 or pullet year is the most productive, and though the egg* laid 
 the second ami subsequent years are larger than the pullet eg 
 the average Hock will make more profit the first year than in 
 any subsequent year. It is important, therefore, that the tioek 
 be renewed at least once every two years. In the case of special 
 breeding stock, or of hens that are known to be very prolific, 
 it will pay to keep them longer for breeding purposes. Where 
 necessary to mark the fowls to keep track or their ages it may 
 be done by punching the web of the foot of the chick when it 
 is hatched. A Dumber o\ different markings may be made in 
 this way. Where fowls are kept two years, it will be sufficient 
 to mark them every other year only. A punch made for the 
 purpose may be purchased of poultry supply dealer-. 
 
 HOUSING OF FOWLS. 
 
 The main consideration in tin 1 building of poultry bouses u 
 
 the health of the fowls. Fowl- usually show more vigor on the 
 general fawn than on the intensive poultry plant. This is largely 
 because intensive method^ are not followed so much on the 
 
Vie w 
 
 farm as on the poultry plant Highly intensive conditions of 
 housing sooner or Inter result in serious impairment of the con- 
 stitutional vigor of the fowls. (Ref. 8.) 
 
 Houses may be divided into two classes: (1) The colony 
 bouse, and (2) the stationary house. 
 
 THE COLONY HOUSE. 
 
 The colony house is a portable house that will accommodate 19 
 anywhere from 25 to 100 fowls and small enough to be pulled 
 readily by a team of horses. It is not desirable to keep more 
 than 100 fowls in a colony house. A house 7 feet by 12 feet, 
 if properly ventilated, will be large enough for 50 fowls in the 
 warmer sections of the country. In sections where the weather 
 conditions in winter are such that the fowls prefer to remain 
 indoors much of the time, it will pa} T to provide additional cheap 
 scratching room, or reduce the number of fowls in a house. It 
 is very essential that the house should provide a copious supply 
 of fresh air at all times, but there should be no drafts of cold 20 
 air on the fowls at night. A low temperature is not neces- 
 sarily- injurious, but extremes of heat and cold should be 21 
 avoided. The danger of keeping large flocks in small, close 
 houses lies largely in the difference in temperature between the 
 air of the house at night and the outside air. The house is 
 warmed by the body heat of the fowls at night, and the sudden 22 
 change of temperature to which the fowls are exposed when let 
 out in the morning is frequently the cause of many of the colds 
 and much of the so-called "roup" in the average flock. On the 
 other hand, a roomy house with a relatively small number of 
 fowls in it, having glass windows in the south, will have a high 23 
 temperature during the day from the sun shining on the glass, 
 while at night there will be a sharp fall in temperature, chill- 
 ing the fowls and producing colds. There should be no great 
 variation of temperature in the house between night and day. 
 
 The most practicable wa} 7 of overcoming this difficulty is to 24 
 leave one end of the house largely open. In a colony house 
 with 50 fowls, the space usually occupied by the door would be 
 left open night and day. For protection from wild animals a 
 door made of poultry netting can be used, closing it at night 
 and opening it in the morning. In sections where the snow 
 drifts badly the door may be covered with burlap or some light 
 fabric that will admit the air and at the same time keep the 
 snow out. The frame of the house may be 2 by 4 stuff covered 25 
 with siding. In place of siding common boards with battens 
 over the cracks may be used. The roof may be of shingles or 26 
 

 r* 
 
 Js 
 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 
 of a good quality of roofing paper. Experiments at the I' tan 
 Agricultural E&xperimenl Station showed good results with the 
 colony open-front bouse during cold winters. (Ref. 6, p. - 
 The body warmth <>t* the fowls is relied upon to keep the tem- 
 perature of the house above thai of outdoors, and at the same 
 rime the cloth window or curtain front admits a copious supply 
 of fresh air. The open front may be adapted to the stationary 
 house as well as to the colony bouse. 
 
 The colony bouses should be kept far enough apart and 
 moved often enough to give the fowls clean, fresh ground to 
 range over. Not more than one breed should be kept on the 
 farm, owing to danger from mixing. 
 
 It will usually be an advantage to have the nests separate 
 from the house. Separate nests may be more easily kept free 
 from lice and mites than nests in the bouse. The California 
 plan is to have a small laying bouse between two colony hoi 
 holding about LOO fowls each. Where fowls are kept in large 
 numbers the plan of a separate laying house is a good one. 
 This house may be used for food hoppers as well a- nests, thus 
 preventing live stock from getting at the food. 
 
 The advantages in favor of the colony-houe m are d) 
 
 that it avoids largely the danger from soil contamination, or 
 "ground poisoning," which will almost certainly result where 
 fowls are confined year after year on the same ground; (l'i it 
 obviates the necessity of building fences where large numl 
 are kept: and (3) it simplifies feeding, inasmuch as the fowls, 
 having fresh ground to ranee over, secure necessary food with 
 which the farmer docs not furnish them, either through neglect 
 or inability to secure it. 
 
 THE STATIONARY HOUSE, 
 
 32 
 
 The long stationary house is usually built with a douhle wall 
 and a dead-air space, and frequently with packing between the 
 walls. Glass windows are usually placed on the south side of 
 the house. It is impossible to keep such a bouse warm during 
 cold weather and at the same time dry without artificial heat. 
 There is too great a range of temperature between night and 
 day, and this causes moisture to condense on the walls. This 
 condition may he partially remedied by taking out the glass 
 window and putting a frame of burlap or other (doth in its place. 
 This will give the moisture a chance to escape and will help to 
 equalize the temperature between night and day. The sun 
 striking through the glass window raises the temperature many 
 degrees, and at night, owing to the glass permitting a rapid 
 
!) 
 
 escape of heat, the temperature falls to 9uch a point that con- 
 densation takes place. A board shutter over t he window at 
 night would check the fall of temperature in the house and to 
 
 that extent prevent condensation, hut in the warmly built house 
 the retention of heat at night is secured at a sacrifice of pure 
 air, while copious ventilation sacrifices the warmth and thus 
 defeats the original plan of the house. To maintain the night 
 temperature and also prevent dampness in the closed type of 
 house it is necessary to heat the house by artificial means, hut 
 artificial heat in poultry houses has not proven profitable. 
 
 The warmly built house with uiass windows, owing* to the 
 humid condition of the air. will be practically as cold as a 33 
 single-hoarded house with an open front and is not conducive to 
 good health and best egg production. Such a house, with glass 
 windows removed and cloth frames put in their places, will 
 result in greater comfort for the fowls and better production. 
 
 It is very essential to avoid drafts in poultry houses. Drafts 
 are very frequent causes of colds and roupy conditions among 34 
 fowls. The long continuous house without partitions is very 
 objectionable on this account. Such a house should have a 
 tight partition, either of boards or of cloth, at least every 50 35 
 feet, better every 25 feet. Building such a house on an incline 
 aggravates the trouble from .drafts. 
 
 It is not disputed that fowls in a long house with proper 
 ventilation kept in proper sanitary condition and with yards 
 will give good results in egg yield. 
 
 Stationary colon} T houses may often be used with advantage 
 in place of a long house. The} T permit of a better arrangement 
 of yards. A convenient arrangement is to place them 20 feet 
 apart and have two yards for each house. By cultivating and 
 growing a crop on every alternate yard the ground may be 
 kept cleaner and the danger of contagious diseases spreading 
 from one flock to another will he greatly minimized. The 
 vacant yard between each flock also obviates the trouble of fowls 
 fighting through the fences and injuring themselves. 
 
 THE FEEDING OF FOWLS. 
 
 In the feeding of poultr} T on the farm it is neither practicable 36 
 nor desirable to compound elaborate rations. Where the fowls 
 have the liberty of the fields the question of feeding is very 
 much simplified; they will there pick up a large proportion 
 of their food. If the farmer were to confine his fowls in close 
 yards and feed them the way he usually does on free range, the 
 effect would be a poor egg yield and a loss of vigor in the fowls. 
 33735—10 2 
 

 10 
 
 The nearer we can follow nature's teachings in the feeding 
 poultry the better will be the results. No set rules can be laid 
 down as to rations, but a knowledge of some of the general 
 principles <>t" food- and feeding, will help the poultryman to 
 a\ oid mistakes. 
 
 FOODS. 
 
 Successful feeding of poultry rests Largely on a proper com- 
 bination of foods rather than on any single food. Then' \& 
 no one food that will meet all requirements of the fowl. It 
 is not a question of wheat or corn or oats so much as it is a 
 question of vegetable or animal food, or again, of protein or 
 fats. The real value of coin or wheat has never been fully 
 determined. The chemical composition of wheat is slightly 
 better than that of corn for egg production: that is, it con- 
 tains more protein than corn. On the other hand, digestion 
 experiments now in progress indicate that a Larger percentage 
 of the corn than of wheat is digested or made use of by fowls 
 (Kef. '.»). but neither corn nor wheat should form the exclusive 
 diet of the fowls. The excess of fat-forming material is not 
 a disadvantage in corn if it he fed in combination with some 
 other foods rich in flesh-forming or egg-making material. If 
 the fowls have access to animal food, such a- meat scraps and 
 the insects that may he found on the farm, they will themselves 
 correct the undue proportion of fat-forming (dements in the 
 corn. In other words, the}' will balance their own rations. 
 
 The feeding of poultry is not a question altogether of balanced 
 rations, because a ration maj be "balanced" without containing 
 any animal food, and the ration must contain a Large proportion 
 of foods of animal origin for good results. The great scarcity 
 of fresh eo-<rs in winter is largely due to a scarcity of animal 
 food and green U'^d. 
 
 There is a close agreement between the food consumed and 
 the product, whether it be egg& or meat. The propel' feeding 
 of poultry necessitates a careful study of the composition of 
 foods, as well as of the product. ( Kef. 10.) 
 
 METHODS OF FEEDING. 
 
 Method- of feeding, as well as rations, vary greatly. Ajs 
 already indicated, methods that would be successful with fowls 
 on free range would not be satisfactory for fowls confined in 
 small yards. Where the fowls have the liberty of the fields, 
 which usually furnish a plentiful supply of animal food, satis- 
 factory results will be secured if the farmer will see that they 
 have a liberal supply of grain. Corn or wheat should furnish 
 
11 
 
 the principal grain fed. Whether corn or wheat be fed would 
 depend on the prices of these grains. So far as is now known, 
 the feeding value of these grains under the conditions stated 
 Would be about equal. The farmer can rest assured that he is 
 making no ven- great mistake in feeding liberally either wheat 
 or corn if the market price per pound is the same for each. To 
 mix the two grains, however, will be an advantage. A variety 
 of food will help the appetite. Oats are also excellent for laying 
 fowls, and a little barley by way of variety may be fed. A good 
 quality of wheat screenings may safely be substituted for higher- 
 priced grain. 
 
 HOPPER FEEDING. 
 
 Tnder the conditions of the free-range system the hopper 
 method of feeding may be used to advantage. It will make a 
 decided saving in labor and insure a plentiful supply of grain 
 at all times for the fowls. The hoppers may be tilled once a 
 week, or as often as necessary, and placed where the fowls can 
 help themselves at will. Dry feeding is more economical in 
 labor than wet mash feeding; but it has not yet been clearly 
 demonstrated that the skillful feeding of wet mash will not pro- 
 duce better results in egg yield than the dry method. (Refs. 11 
 and 12.) 
 
 EXERCISE. 
 
 During the winter, when snow lies on the ground. an} r consid- 
 erable length of time, covering up a large proportion of nature's 
 food, different methods are necessary if eggs are to be secured. 
 In the first place, the exercise which the fowls got in roaming- 
 over the fields will have to be provided in another way. Exer- 
 cise is just as necessary as the food. Access to a straw stack 
 will keep the hens busy scratching for the stray kernel. A pile 
 of clean straw on the floor of the poultry house or in an open 
 shed will be an incentive for exercise if the grain is scattered in 
 it. It is not necessaiy nor desirable to keep the hens shut up 
 in close quarters just to keep them from getting in the snow. 
 The eating of snow is not detrimental to fowls. (Ref. 13, p. 28.) 
 
 ANIMAL FOOD. 
 
 There are various forms in which animal food may be fed. 
 Bones and meat may be secured from the butcher, and a bone 
 cutter used to cut them up into small pieces. Horse meat may 
 also be used, and on account of its comparative freedom from 
 tuberculosis it is safer than meat from the butcher's stalls. 
 Skim milk is a good substitute for animal food, but it has the 
 
 Vit to. 
 

 12 
 
 disadvantage of being bo bulky that low Is ran not drink enough 
 of it t<> Supply tin' need for animal loud. In order to feed 
 enough milk to supply a largo amount of animal protein ; 
 better to feed clabbered milk, or milk after it has become bout 
 
 and thick and the whey ha- been drawn oil'. Animal food i- 
 
 very largely fed in the form of dried-beef scrap. This i- man- 
 ufactured by tin- large packing houses. It may he fed in hop- 
 pers where the fowls can gel it at any time, or if mash, either 
 
 dr\ or wet. he \rA. it may lie mixed with the mash. About 8 
 to LO percent a- much dried-beef scrap as total -rain should he 
 fed laying fowls. < Kef. 1 1. 1 
 
 GREEN FOOD. 
 
 Green food may be fed in a variety of form-. Dry or g 
 clover or alfalfa— preferably the leaves— kale, cab 
 beets, and mangels are all good. ■ Kale, clover, and alfalfa give 
 od color to the yolk. Beets and mangels do not. Fowl* 
 must have a plentiful supply of green food at all times. 
 
 GRIT. 
 
 It is well to keep a constant supply of grit before poult 
 all ages, unless they run on a Boil containing plenty of grit. 
 Gravel, crushed stone, lime mortar, and sharp -and are all 
 valuable a- grit. 
 
 LIME. 
 
 For heavy egg production the ordinary food- do not contain 
 enough lime for the making of shells. Broken oy-ter si 
 serve this purpose well, ami where they may he secured at 
 reasonable price should he kept before the laying hens at all 
 time-. Lime mortar and broken limestone will also furnish 
 shell material. 
 
 POULTRY IN THE ORCHARD. 
 
 Poultry may often with advantage he kept in the orchard. 
 This make- it possible to engage in poultry keeping on a con- 
 siderable scale without any co-t for land. In other word-, a 
 double u.-e of the land may he made. The tree- afford the 
 necessary -hade to the fowl- in warm weather. It will he 
 necessary to furnish them ample green \\nn{ at all time-, espe- 
 cially when the apple- are <>n the ground. If no other green 
 food i- available they are liable to eat an injurious amount of 
 apph -. ( )n the other hand, poultry are a decided advantage to 
 the orchard as an aid in the warfare on insect enemies. The 
 

 colony system of housing the fowls should be used. By moving 
 the houses frequently the fowls may always be kept on clean 
 ground and the droppings will be distributed over the orchard. 
 Fifty hens on an acre of bearing apple orchard will keep it in a 
 
 high state of fertility, so far as nitrogen is concerned. 
 
 INCUBATION. 
 
 Successful incubation of chicks lies at the foundation of 
 successful poultry keeping. The necessity of frequently re- 
 newing the Hock makes it imperative that faulty incubation 
 methods lie avoided, otherwise loss of vigor in the stock will 
 very soon result. Cases are not few where failure in the 
 poultry business can be traced directly to a gradual lowering of 
 vitalit}^ in the Mock from faulty methods of incubation. 
 
 BREEDING STOCK. 
 
 To maintain the health and vigor of the tiock it is very 
 
 essential that the breeding stock be of strong vitality. No 
 
 undersized or inferior fowls should be kept in the tiock from 
 
 which eggs for hatching are gathered. Such stock is not 
 
 profitable to keep, either for laying or for breeding. This is 
 
 important whether the natural or artificial method of incubation 
 
 is used. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 
 
 Incubators, though they are largely used, have not been 
 brought to that state of perfection in which they can be said 
 to do as good work as the hen. (Refs. 6, 19, 20.) On the 
 farm they are hardly necessary. Chicks may be conveniently 
 and cheaply raised by using the hen for hatching and brooding. 
 There is still a missing link in artificial incubation, and it is 
 best for the present at least to follow 7 the old and tried way. 
 
 NATURAL INCUBATION. 
 
 With care in the making of nests and the management of the 
 sitting hens, chicks of good vigor may be raised in large num- 
 bers. Where it is desirable to set a large number of hens, 
 they will be more conveniently looked after by making a bank 
 of nests and placing it along the side of the poultry house or in 
 some unused shed. The nests may be about 12 by 12 by 11 
 inches in size, made by taking two 12-inch boards for the top 
 and bottom, and cutting another 12-inch board into 11-inch 
 lengths for the partitions, then nailing them together, as many 
 as desired. The top of the bottom row will furnish the bottom 
 of the second row, and four or five rows of nests may thus be 
 
14 
 
 placed together. There Bhould b<* a li i n<r«**l hoard in front to 
 confine the sitters. The hens should be lei out every day to 
 -I and *1 rink for about fifteen minutes, the length of time 
 depending on the weather conditions. Use several Inches of 
 fine waste hay in the bottom of the nests. Short-cut straw or 
 dean chaff will also answer the purpose. Pyrethrum powder 
 or tobacco dust should be used on the fowls and in the nests 
 two or three times during the period of incubation to keep the 
 
 lice in check. If lice are found on the heads and throats of the 
 
 chicks two or three days after batching, lard should be rubbed 
 
 on those parts. 
 
 Another method of hen batching in use at the Oregon Station 
 is to use one coop for batching a^ well as raising the chicks. 
 
 This coop may be 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, with a shed roof 
 3 feel high at front and 2 feet at hack. This is large enough to 
 divide into separate apartment- for four sitting bens, using 
 movable partitions. These partitions are of canvas or burlap, 
 with a 4 or 6 inch board at bottom. An outside run covered 
 with wir<> netting for each hen gives her opportunity for exer- 
 
 36 1 cise and dusting. By keeping feed and water in the run- all 
 the time the hens may be allowed to leave the nest and return 
 at will. In this way very little labor is required in caring for 
 sitting hens. This house serves the double purpose of a hatch- 
 ing and brooding coop. It is large enough for the chicks to 
 grow to maturity in. It .should be moved to clean ground occa- 
 sionally. 
 
 After hatching, 15 to 20 chicks may be given to one hen and 
 the^hen confined in a small coop for a few days till the chicks 
 
 3? are strong enough to follow her. The bottom of the coop 
 should be covered with clean sharp sand for the chicks to eat. 
 
 FEEDING THE CHICKS. 
 
 No food should be given the chicks for at least thirty-six 
 
 38 hours after hatching, the yolk which the chick absorbs before 
 
 39 hatching being sufficient to sustain life for three or four days: 
 too early feeding will cause bowel derangement. (Ref. 11.) 
 
 The first feed may be rolled oats or stale bread soaked in 
 milk, and the milk is more important than the bread. Skim 
 milk may profitably lie kept before the chicks all the time for 
 drink. A little hard-boiled egg and the milk will supply the 
 demand for animal food for a week or two. If the hen can be 
 turned onto free range when 4 there is plenty of animal food. 
 green food, and grit, tin 4 only feeding that will be necessary 
 will be to keep a supply of cracked corn or wheat or wheat 
 
15 
 
 screenings in a hopper or box where they can help themselves 
 at will. The rapidity of growth will depend largely on the 
 amount of animal food whieh the chicks find. Without the 
 exercise whieh free range furnishes the chickens they should be 
 fed their grain food in a litter of straw, chaff, or other scratch- 
 ing material to keep them busy. This litter should be about 
 10 inches deep. With chickens confined in yards it will also be 
 necessary to feed them animal food and grit. A hopper of beef 
 scrap and one of grit should be kept where the chickens can 
 get to them at any time. A chick well hatched and provided 
 with abundance of food, free range, and fresh-air coops will 
 make vigorous growth and delight the owner ; * when the frost 
 is on the punkin." 
 
 •FATTENING CHICKENS. 
 
 Young cockerels that have free range on the farm possess a 
 good frame and constitution, but they lack in flesh and in quality 
 of meat. When fed in pens or crates for two or three weeks, 
 the}' gain in flesh very rapidly, while the increase in the bones 
 or frame is relatively very small. Professor Robertson demon- 
 strated by experiment that one fatted chicken had as much 
 edible material on its frame as three like chickens not fatted. 
 (Ref. 16.) Young cockerels of the general-purpose breeds, 2 to 
 4 pounds in weight, are ver} T economical producers of meat 
 when confined in pens and fed properly. In Professor Robert- 
 son's experiments 131 chickens weighing 492 pounds gained in 
 four weeks 335 pounds. The cost per pound of gain was 4.9 
 cents. This represents not only a gain in weight, but a gain in 
 quality, and the market will pay much more for such chickens 
 than for those direct from the range. From lack of exercise 
 the muscles become more edible or tender. A considerable 
 business in fattening or, more property, fleshening chickens has 
 grow r n up in several western States. This business is largely 
 done by the large packing companies, who buy the chickens 
 from the farmers and fatten them at fattening stations. This 
 work might be done on the farm and the profit saved to the 
 farmer. There is probably no class of live stock that will pro- 
 duce meat at less food cost than will young cockerels of the 
 right age, and no other kind of farm animals sell at as high a 
 price per pound as chickens. 
 
 RATIONS. 
 
 W^hich grain to use in fattening will be governed partly by 
 its price. For best results the grain is ground and fed moist. 
 
 View. 
 

 16 
 
 It i- usually mixed with skim milk or buttermilk. Professor 
 Graham, of the Ontario Agricultural College, says t hut the 
 best ration used at that station i- one made of two part- finely 
 
 mid oat-, two <>f finely ground buckwheat, and one of corn 
 meal, mixed with BOUT milk, using one and a halt* time- as much 
 milk as grain, and sometime- twice a- much. Where the mar- 
 ket- demand a yellow-flesh fowl, a- oiost of them do in this 
 country, a larger proportion of corn will he desirable in the 
 ration; but corn alone will prove unsatisfactory. Equal parts 
 of ground oats and corn meal Bhould gn e good results. ( rround 
 oats alone, with the coarser hull- removed, will give good 
 results where white flesh i- not discriminated against. Barley 
 may also form part of the ration. The chickens should he fed 
 lightly the first week: after that all they will eat up dean three 
 time- a day. It is important that they he kept quiet, and the 
 sexes should be separated. After three weeks of feeding, the 
 chicken- begin to lose their appetite-, when they should he 
 marketed. 
 
 PEN AND CRATE FATTENING. 
 
 The relative merits of pen and crate feeding have not been 
 clearly demonstrated. In experiments conducted at the Cana- 
 dian Experimental Farms the results were in fa\or of the pen 
 method, while at the Ontario station the results were in favor 
 of crate feeding. (Refs. 15, 16.) It is certain, however, that 
 profitable results are secured from pen fattening, and it is 
 doubtful whether it will pay the farmer to adopt the crate 
 method, with its additional labor and expense. The use of the 
 cramming machine is practicable only where large numbers of 
 chickens are U^\ and where expert operators are available. 
 
 CAPONIZING. 
 
 40 Caponiziug is chiefly valuable in supplying the demand for 
 
 high-cla-- roasting chicken- in late 1 winter or early spring, 
 when unca-trated male- are salable only at low prices. 'The 
 capon retains its good eating qualities till 1<> or 12 months 
 of age. when prices are good for such stock. Capons are very 
 quite or docile and put on flesh economically. It requires 
 some skill to perform the operation of caponiziug. hut instruc- 
 tions accompany each set of instruments purchased. Unless 
 the farmer possesses the necessary -kill or can engage some one 
 who ha-, and ha- accommodations for keeping the capons over 
 winter, it will pay him better to fatten the cockerel- and sell 
 them in the late summer or fall. 
 
MARKETING THE PRODUCT. 
 
 To get the most from the poultry on the farm some attention 
 
 must be given to methods of marketing the product. It will 
 pay the farmer to cultivate a market in the city if he is within 
 reasonable distance of it. so that he can make regular ship- 
 ments. Where one farmer has not the necessary quantity to 
 make shipments a little cooperation with his neighbors would 
 be of mutual advantage. To secure and hold a select trade it 
 will be necessary to give attention to several points usually 
 neglected on the farm. 
 
 MARKETING EGGS. 
 
 Eggs van in color, size, flavor, and keeping quality just as 
 fruits vary, and it is of as much importance that the poultry- 
 man grade his eggs before marketing as it is for the fruit 
 grower to grade his fruit. The nests in which the eggs ate 
 laid should be clean, otherwise the eggs will lack in keeping 
 quality. The germs of decomposition enter the egg through 
 the shell, and for this reason eggs laid in dirty nests will dete- 
 riorate in quality more rapidly than eggs laid in clean nests. 
 The eggs should be gathered regularly each day, and broody 
 hens should not be allowed to sit on them any length of time. 
 The^ should be of uniform size and color. Where white eggs 
 are demanded, select only white eggs, or keep a breed of fowls 
 that lay white eggs. Those off in size and color should be dis- 
 carded and sold in the local market. In every city there are 
 reliable grocery stores that are willing to pay a premium for 
 .regular shipments of select eggs. It is possible by shipping- 
 eggs directly to the consumer to get higher prices. For this 
 purpose special crates will be necessary. These may be similar 41 
 in construction to the commercial egg crate but smaller, the 
 size depending somewhat on the requirements of the individual 
 customer. For shipping both eggs and poultry a combination 42 
 crate may be used, putting eggs in one end and dressed poultry 
 in the other. (Ref. 17.) 
 
 MARKETING CHICKENS. 
 
 In selling chickens uniformity of product as well as quality 
 should be considered. A crate of chickens of one breed and 
 of the same size will find more ready buyers than a pro- 
 miscuous lot of different sizes and different color. Whether the 43 
 farmer ships the chickens alive or dressed will depend on mar- 
 ket requirements and prices. In catering to a select retail trade, 
 
is 
 
 
 44 
 
 it will usually in- accessary to dress them, but the killing and 
 dressing must be carefully done, otherwise it will pay better to 
 -hip them alive. 
 
 KILLING AND DRESSING. 
 
 Before killing, the chickens should be starved about twenty- 
 four hour-. Food remaining in the crop and intestines will 
 injure the keeping qualities of the chicken and affect Its sale. 
 The most approved method of dressing chickens is to pluck 
 them dry. They should be killed by sticking with a knife in 
 the roof of the mouth. The bird is suspended by the legs, and 
 picking begins as soon as the "stick" has been made. It 
 requires some skill to make a good * 4 <tick.*' If picking is left 
 till the bird begins to get cold, the feathers will be removed 
 with difficulty. The chickens arc usually undrawn, and tin- head 
 and legs are left on. After dressing, the animal heat >hould 
 be removed as quickly as possible, when they should be packed. 
 It is well, however, to study carefully the demands of the 
 market as to dressing, as the requirement.^ vary in different 
 markets. It should be remembered always that cleanliness 
 and neatness have a market value when applied to dressing 
 chicken- and packing them for shipment. 
 
 INSECT PESTS. 
 
 Insect pests are a cause of considerable losses in poultry 
 keeping. It is useless to expect profit from the fowls where 
 no attention i- given to combating lice and mites. Where the 
 fowls have acces> to dust baths they will keep themselves com-' 
 paratively free from lice, but a dusting occasionally with insect 
 powder or tobacco dust may be necessary. The mites, which are 
 sucking insects, require different treatment. They are found 
 usually in the nests and on the roost poles. The roosts and 
 nests should be frequently examined, and when the mites are 
 found, spraying with kerosene, or some effective spray, should 
 be resorted t<» every three or four days. Fumigating the hou>e 
 with sulphur, where it is possible to close the house up tight. 
 is also effective. One spraying or one fumigation, however, i^ 
 not enough, because the eg^rs of the mites will not be killed, 
 and in a few days a fresh crop of mites will hatch, and spray- 
 ing should be repeated to kill successive broods. (Kefs. 18,21.) 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 LANTERN SLIDES 
 
 No. of 
 view. 
 
 :*. 
 
 9. 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 15. 
 
 The beginning. 
 
 Original. 
 
 Flock of young White Plymouth 
 
 Rocks. Indiana. 
 Part of poultry plant at Cornell 
 University, showing gasoline- 
 heated brooders. 
 Utah Agricultural College Experi- 
 ment Station poultry houses. 
 Utah Station trap nest (original), 
 front view. 
 The door is so balanced that the 
 weight of the hen as she enters 
 closes it and confines her until re- 
 leased. 
 
 Utah Station trap nests, another 
 
 view. 
 View of two Maine Experiment 
 Station hens, showing eggs laid 
 by each in one year. 
 Utah Experiment Station fowls, 
 with egg records of each. 
 Hen No. 5 laid 398 eggs in 2 years; No. 
 26, 385; No. 129, 200 in 4 years; No. 
 131, 442 in 2 years, and 677 in 4 years. 
 Original. 
 
 Utah Experiment Station fowls. 
 All good layers. Hen No. 10 laid 199 
 eggs in 1 year: her daughter. No. 
 170, laid 201 eggs in 1 year; No. 361 
 laid 242 in 1 year. Original. 
 
 A lesson in poultry breeding. 
 
 ("tali Station hen, daughter, and 
 granddaughter. Record of hen, 190 
 eggs: of daughter, 226; and of grand 
 daughter, 240. Original. 
 
 A Leghorn pullet. 
 
 A good specimen of the breed. 
 
 White Plymouth Rocks. Indiana. 
 
 White Wyandotte pullet, owned 
 
 by Utah Experiment Station. 
 
 Record, 204 eggs. Original. 
 
 Light Brahma pullet. 
 Original. 
 
 Pen of Black Langshans, winners 
 in Australian laying competi- 
 tion, 1906-7, at Hawkesburv 
 Agricultural College. 
 
 No. of 
 
 view. 
 
 16. 
 17. 
 18. 
 
 19. 
 
 20. 
 21. 
 
 22. 
 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 25. 
 26. 
 27. 
 
 28. 
 
 29. 
 
 30. 
 31. 
 
 Pen of White Leghorns; second 
 
 pen in laying competition. 
 Pen of Silver Wyandottes; among 
 
 the winners. 
 Showing the necessity of frequently 
 renewing the flock. 
 ( Original. The laying flock should be 
 frequently renewed. The baskets 
 represent number of eggs produced 
 in experiments at Utah by pullets, 
 hens 1 year old, and old hens, be- 
 yond what were sufficient to pay 
 for the food eaten. 
 
 A California colony house with 
 fences to keep live stock out of 
 feed hoppers. 
 Originial. 
 
 A Rhode Island colony house. 
 A Rhode Island colony house sho w- 
 iug fences around feed. 
 
 California colony houses. 
 Original. 
 
 Tolman fresh-air house. 
 Utah Station colony house with 
 cloth window. 
 Gave good results in cold winter. 
 Original. 
 
 Same house showing how nests may 
 be arranged. 
 
 Original. 
 
 Colony house, Oregon Agricultural 
 College. 
 
 Original. 
 
 Colony house, framework, Oregon 
 Agricultural College. 
 Original. 
 
 A California poultry farm, where 
 8,000 laying hens are kept. 
 
 Houses scattered over the hills. 
 
 California colony houses showing 
 trough for wet mash. 
 Original. 
 
 A California open-front house. 
 
 Original. 
 
 A colony house with open-front 
 scratching shed attached. 
 Original. 
 
 32. A curtained-front house. 
 
 (19) 
 
20 
 
 
 86. 
 
 Mi. 
 
 Mi 
 
 3 
 
 88. 
 
 Interior \ ien of one pen ol -aim* 
 house -how Ing curtain open. 
 
 \ warmly built house \\ ith g 
 window b; doI conducive to 
 health. 
 
 v long contii ut house without 
 
 partitions. 
 
 tionable on account of draft. 
 Building mi an Incline aggravates 
 the trouble. Original. 
 
 Single .-mail houses placed a dis- 
 tance apart permit of \\ ide yards 
 and easy culth ation. 
 Original. 
 
 \ combination hen-hatching and 
 brooding coop. 
 
 liial. 
 
 A convenient brood coop for ben 
 
 and chicks. 
 A Rhode [eland coop for hen and 
 
 chicks. 
 
 No ..i 
 
 vi.'\v 
 
 '■V.I. Movable colony coops at thi 
 gon Experiment station. 
 By using a lamp and hover chick- an 
 artificially l.ro<Mlf<| in tin — 
 
 lire a 1-" used for hatching by 
 By putting in parti tioi 
 hens are set in each house and the 
 chid I in them. Till- 
 
 ed'.; , i in vj Zt .. 
 
 40. I >ress< d capons showing distinctive 
 
 manner of dressing. 
 
 41. Small crate for shipping egga to 
 
 special customi 
 
 42. A combination crate for shipping 
 
 dressed poultry ai 
 In shipping a distance during warn 
 
 weather ice i~ ;.. 
 
 43. A uniform lot of well fattened and 
 
 properly dressed tow Is 
 
 44. Neatness in dressing lias a market 
 
 value. 
 Two Wyandotte cockerels, 16 w 
 
 old. weighing 9 pounds in oi 
 
 REFERENCES. 
 
 1. Twelfth l". s. Census, A-riculture, Part I. 
 
 2. Yearbook, Department of Agriculture, 1908. 
 
 3. Special Reports of the Census Office, Mines and Quarries, P>02. 
 
 4. North Carolina Experiment Station Bulletin 167. 
 .">. Utah Experiment Station Bulletin 92. 
 
 6. I tali Experiment Station Bulletin 102. 
 
 7. Maine Experiment Station Bulletins 64, 79,93. 
 
 8. Oregon Experiment Station Bulletin 96. 
 
 '». I'. s. Department of Agriculture, Biochemic Division, Bureau of Animal Indus- 
 try Bulletin 
 
 10. California Experiment Station Bulletin 164. 
 
 11. Main.' Experiment Station Bulletins 130. 144. 
 
 12. New York Cornell Experiment Station Bulletin 249. 
 
 13. Connecticut Storrs Experiment station Bulletin 44. 
 
 14. New York state Experiment station Bulletin 149. 
 
 15. Ontario Agricultural College Bulletin 151. 
 
 16. Canada Experimental Farms Report 1902, p. 226. 
 
 17. New York Cornell Experiment Station Bulletin 248. 
 
 18. Iowa Experiment station Bulletin 69. 
 
 \\k Ontario Agricultural College Bulletin if,:;. 
 
 20. Oregon Experiment station Bulletin Mm. 
 
 21. C. s. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology Circular 92. 
 
 Some other book* mid bulletins >>>> poultry keeping. 
 The Poultry Book. New York. 
 Farm Poultry. By G. C. Watson. New York. 
 Poultry Craft. By John II. Robinson. Boston. 
 
 Report on the Poultry Industry in America. By Edward Brown, F. !.. S. London. 
 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fanners' Bulletins 51, 128, S 
 Progressive Poultry Culture. By A. A. Brigham. Brooking-. S. I>ak. 
 Oregon Agricultural College Extension Bulletin 2 on Housing of Chickens, 
 ■n Agricultural College Extension Bulletin 4 on Feeding for I -