Poultry for Profit

CHAPTER I.. The Outlook

THE OUTLOOK

When a business reaches the billion dollar mark per year, it is generally looked into by thinking people who like to know the facts of the case, and who want to know just why the business has reached such large proportions. In this little booklet I will endeavor to explain not only why the poultry business has grown so rapidly, but will also reveal the most important secrets that have contributed largely to its rapid growth, so that whether the reader is a farmer, a town lot fancier, or a student of economics, he or she will gain much by the reading and the studying of the principles involved.

The high cost of living has forced many people to economize to the limit, and reduce the family budget to the minimum. People in the small towns and villages, especially, have sought various ways of increasing their earnings, and one of the most popular methods resorted to has been to raise a few chickens, thus utilizing the table scraps, and odds and ends, so that there will be no waste. It has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that chickens can be raised profitably by the person living in town, as well as by the farmer with his vast acres, providing the townsman knows a few essential principles in regard to the proper handling of the birds.

Poultry products are becoming popular more than ever before. This is due in part to the increased price of beef and pork. Eggs are an established part of the nation’s menu, while the meat of the chicken is now within the means of most American families. Since these facts are recognized, there has been a revolution in the poultry industry itself to cope with the increased demand for eggs, meat, and breeding stock.

Many city people have taken advantage of the opportunity of raising chickens, and many an old packing box, or piano box has been relieved of its original purpose of encasing furniture, or other articles, and has done its bit to act as part of a shelter for housing some back-yard lot of chickens. What has been done, can be done, and inasmuch as the value of the egg, or the carcass of the bird still maintains its high standard on the market, it stands to reason that the poultry industry is still in its infancy. Much more will be done in the future than has been done in the past.

Consequently, there is still one industry that is not overcrowded, despite the great number who have taken it up, either as a vocation, or as an avocation. When it is considered that New York City alone cannot get enough eggs to supply the demand during the fall and winter months, and is willing to pay, and pay dearly for breakfast eggs, and that the vicinity of Pataluma, Cal., finds it profitable to ship its eggs across the continent to put them on the New York market, it can be seen quite clearly that there are excellent possibilities in poultry, even in just a small back yard flock.

The remainder of this booklet will be devoted to showing the ordinary layman, who has had no previous knowledge or experience, how he can take a small flock, or a large flock, and turn it into pleasure and profit. However, one word of caution is necessary. Let no one attempt to venture upon a poultry enterprise on a big scale at first. History has shown countless failures in such attempts, and history has a way of repeating itself. It is always wiser to start moderately, and work into it gradually. This method always proves successful if common sense and moderation are exhibited.

CHAPTER II.. The Poultry Breeds

THE POULTRY BREEDS

Before attempting to discuss the methods of raising poultry it is deemed advisable to first take up a discussion of the different breeds and their characteristics. Outside of a few fancy breeds, that are raised more for curiosity or show purposes, we usually think of the breeds of poultry as three distinct classes.

The first of these three classes that we will take up for discussion is what is termed the egg breed. This breed is usually represented by such birds as the Leghorn, Ancona, Campine, Minorca, or the Houdan. Of these five breeds, the Leghorn and the Minorca are by far the most popular. There are different varieties of all these breeds, but the White Leghorn, and the Black Minorca are much more popular in their respective breeds than are any other variety. The other breeds are found scattered here and there, but the Leghorn and Minorca are easily the leading egg breeds. Both of these breeds have many birds with yearly records of over 300 eggs per year. Next let us consider a few of the important characteristics of these egg breeds.

These breeds are small, light of weight, very active, and very hard to confine in a small inclosure. The average adult bird of these breeds weighs about four pounds. They are neat and attractive in appearance, have clean shanks, and have large head parts, which are much more susceptible to being frosted in cold weather, than the other breeds.

The egg production of the egg breed is of the best. As has been stated, there are a great number of birds in this class that have records of over 300 eggs per year. Their eggs are white shelled, of good size, and rather long. However the meat of these birds, especially when matured, is very tough, and the active disposition of the egg breeds do not allow them to put on surplus flesh as with the other class of birds. Quick maturity is characteristic of the egg breeds, however, and because of this fact, they make excellent small broilers when but a few months old. But it is useless to put them on the market for meat when mature, as they will not fatten like the heavier breeds.

The disposition of these breeds, as has been said, is active, nervous, and hard to confine. Therefore, for the person with a small lot on which to raise chickens, it would be well to choose a heavier breed that stands confinement better than these breeds. These birds are active in the house in winter, or on the range in summer, and owing to their natural tendency to roam, they are always uneasy when confined to a small yard. They also have excellent powers of flight, and can usually fly over a fence unless the fence is about eight feet high.

The egg breed, owing to the activity so characteristic to such breeds, makes poor sitters and mothers. It is very seldom that a fowl of these breeds can content herself to sit on a nest of eggs three weeks, which is the time required to hatch the eggs. Their eggs are usually hatched under a general purpose hen, or with an incubator. They make poor mothers, because they usually like to roam too far to properly look after their young.

Another point in favor of the egg breeds, however, is their early maturity. Usually these birds will mature in close to four months. This allows them plenty of time to get into laying condition in the fall, before cold weather starts, and birds that can lay eggs during the months of November and December are certainly an asset, as eggs always bring the highest prices on the market during these two months.

These birds will live on less feed than any other class because of their small size, and their great foraging ability. However, these breeds are not as hardy as the heavier breeds, and will not stand the cold as well, because of their lack of feathers, and large combs and wattles. These large head parts are easily frost bitten in cold weather, and when this happens the birds generally stop laying until they have recovered from the setback. With these few words on the egg breed characteristics, let us next consider the general purpose breed.

When we speak of general purpose breeds, we usually mean one of four different breeds. The Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Orpington, and the Wyandotte are the four leading breeds of this class. Then there are quite a few different varieties of each of these four breeds, such as the Barred Rock, the White Rock, the Buff Rock, etc. These breeds are very good both as egg birds, and for meat purposes, and find favor where ever they go. I will attempt to analyze their characteristics, bringing out their strong points and their weak points, as I have already done with the egg breeds.

These breeds have been developed for egg production, and as a result, have many birds in the 300 egg class, as well as the strictly egg breeds. If any are to be disposed of, they have the ability to put on flesh and to bring a good price on the market for meat. When one realizes that usually one half of a hatch of chickens are males, and the other half females, it can be easily seen that the general purpose bird has an advantage, in the sale of the male birds, and of the surplus females, as they can be fed fattening feeds, and a good profit made from this source.

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