POULTRY.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 66, 14 October 1875, Page 7

POULTRY.

j Only young fowls should be kept. /All over three years old should go to | the market at such seasons as prices !Wy i?,e satis'fifctpry.i v No weakly :or sickly i fowls should be kept ; all such should be ;separated"aF once- 1 -and- "treated: until curejd,; when/ they should be -sold. All t^oublesonie,,,nervous,.. ." squ&wkmg r " fowls should bei promoted to domestic uses; Thus the flock is kept young, vigorous, healthy, tame, and easily handled. The treatment should be gentle, 'kind; 1 and regular, so-that fowls are educated to their owner's methods, and they readily fall into the discipline established; The food should, be varied and given in regular rations, over-feed-ing should be avoided, and,,car6 taken to'apportion'their' feed to' their actual wants. One quarter of a pint of grain a.day or its;equivalent of other food is about the. need of-a fowL Pure fresh water- needs to be provided always ready for use ;r especially .for young; chickens. "The roosts should ;be airy, well venti-; Jated, -not, less "than eight feet high, with certain floors-—as,.indeed, should be.all the : houses—r.well lighted, and not too warm. The laying-houses may be made warmer than the roosts, and the sitting; houses should be darkened and kept specially'for this business. All the houses be' swept out daily, and the walls ; should be whitewashed at ' least 'tWice "each year, and the roosting poles-' should -be--kept greased with a mixture of lard, sulphury and kerosene oil—lib.- of the : first, and 1 oz. of each of" the latter is the proper proportion— and every crack -and. crevice should- be filled with the mixture brushed in while melted, These...precautions will keep the flock free ,from vermin and disease of aH lands. ' When properly treated, there is no stock' more healthy than poultry; and'the reverse is equally true when- they are improperly cared for. A run of grass. Jand .should be provided for the flock, and, if possible, the orchard should be fenced with pickets "six feet solely for the Here they may be pentv'dpy wlien the'grain fields need to ■pQ they "will, do the "most v^ludble' ; service v -We have found the location for the fowl[.hoi;ses|p/bVadjoining tlie orchard, witliiilbdrs: opening .into, it, which may be openeqibr^clps:ed-at : pleasure. This arrangement is 'about what is needed up6h^he\ifaritnj;wher.e.there is abundant roo'm._:, r fUpo n : village Jots,. where is 'less., ampler poultry keepingbecomes ;inpre] diniciilt),because there is .always temptation to enlarge the flock beyond'the Capacity of-the-grounds One hundred fpwls to the acre is the extent beyond which no' one', should go who ,wo.uld. succeed in.making poultry profitable. Upon smaller lots of ground the greatest care and watchfulness will be required to prevent loss and disease. Twenty-five to. fifty fowls might be kept upon a quarter of an acre pr - less byproviding two enclosures with the buildings between them. . The fowls should be changed from one to another weekly. While.one is vacant it should be care-, fully.cleaned and dug over at least a .foot in-,.depth,.to bring up fresh, clean soil. :The house should in this case be cleaned daily, and lime : washed at least monthly. Sick fowls should be weeded out of ..the flock on first spmptoms of . disorder, arid either, put in qrarantine or killed, One rooster to twenty-five fowls is sufficient. During the warm weather a.splendid supply of 'dropped cabbage" or bunches of fresh clover should'- be 'givenj and a shady retreat be ;J provided.- The, houses and nests should be made of sihboth,closelyfitting. boards- Matidoevery --crevice >- shouldibe .carefully ifillecU-with. the..lime. wash. -Then.if yoUng. fowls are ; kept one; mayexpect supply .of eggs duringthe year,-and during %ie jsummei- affair supply ;of young, chickens for consumption, and., to re- : theJold ? p]ftce stock? #hich-should be renewed each yeari • ilftfte grand requ-r-----siteßofraomyiipar-tmen t sf-periect.cle-anlinegp, c a/n$ a ?upp|y of-food, varied occasionally, fresh water,, occa>. fsional -doses <if:sulphui?,i pounded oyster slLells, and qujeiness, with perfect, regularity i]ise ' ''tredtmehV'' so'-'that- ;the -fowls 4 K&lthjful, WP ordinjary tact may. provide" without difficulty; for all the contingencies that may arise