VOL.T.XTX
INDIANAPOLIS, JAN. 31, 1914
NO. 5
Making the Farm Flock J^Sre Profitable
Poultry on the farms of Indiana has
always been a side issue to the general
farm, and it has never played a very
important part in the live stock industry. It has rarely been a good policy
for the farmers of this state to expect
to make a living off of the commercial
poultry business alone, but by combining it with some other industry the
poultry business has been found very
profitable. Since the bulk of the eggs
come from the farm and the consumption is Increasing every year, it is now
more necessary that we pay attention
to the fowls from the commercial
standpoint. The average consumption
of eggs in the United States during the
past year has been over two hundred
and fifty per capita. The time is past
■when eggs sold for eight to ten cents
per dozen and from the market outlook
it will be a long time before they will
sell below fifteen cents on the local
market. It is the financial side of
e\ery question that interests the people,
and when money can be obtained by
changing from old methods to new
ones, these new methods are going to
be investigated and practiced wherever they will result in profit. So it is
with the production of poultry on the
farm.
_ The Vigorous Hen.
We must have vigor and vitality in
our flock if we expect the very best returns. Perhaps the three things that
cause low vitality on the farm are; improper housing, improper breeding and
disease. A poultry raiser from Union
county while speaking to a group of
farmers a short time ago said: "Too
much emphasis can not be given to the
vitality of the fowls, if the maximum
number of eggs are expected."
If the whole flock is so low in constitution that it is no longer profitable,
the owner might just as well sell all the
birds and start with a few strong ones.
On the other hand a farmer can keep
up the vigor of his flock by careful selection and management. The Purdue poultry farm has always found it
more profitable to breed from hens
over a year old; preferably about two
years old. A good method that has
been found profitable is to select the
early laying pullet in January and February and keep account of them by
means of leg bands. Simply put a hog
ring on one leg. Then when fall comes
put these hens in a pen by themselves
and feed for egg production until the
breeding season opens. The pullets that
lay early in the winter are, as a rule,
the strong, vigorous ones and they
should be selected for the breeding
pen. Those with crow heads, long thin
bodies and weak legs can never be expected to be good layers. The raal. n
to be mated with these hens should be
strong and vigorous. They should have
a broad head, bright eye, full, deep
bre.ast, wide back and strong legs. I
once heard a breeder say the good
fighters were always the best breeders.
Keeping Quality of Eggs.
Sometimes people keep their male
birds In the flock too long and in such
a case new blood Introduced by other
Increasing the Vigor and Vitality of the Poultry of
Indiana.—By Claude Harper
cock birds helps to keep up the vitality.
It is a good policy to sell off the male
birds as soon as the breeding season is
over, not only from the stand of being of no use after the breeding season
but infertile eggs are a more marketable   product   In   summer   than   fertile
their male birds then in the late fall he
sells back to these farmers other male
birds for the same price as he paid
them for the birds in the early summer. In this way he is educating the
people to the fact that infertile eggs
are better for market in summer than
A well built house for a small flock.    This type of house will keep the poultry comfortable.
eggs. There are many advantages of
selling infertile eggs, especially from
the consumers standpoint. They do
not develop germs, they withstand the
summer heat better, they are more
easily preserved, are more desirable for
storage and it costs somev.hat less to
keep the flock. One commercial poultry and egg dealer i.i Indianapolis 1 uys
from the farmers in early summer all
fertilo eggs and at the same time the
farmers are getting new blood in their
flocks each year.
Ijovv Vitality Influences Disease.
Vigor has a marked influence on the
fowls in helping to prevent disease.
Some birds never show the least signs
of disease under unfavorable conditions, which proves that health and vl-
Contented Hens Make Oood Layers.
tality does a great deal to prevent disease. Just to illustrate the effect of
some disease on a flock; a farmer had
an excellent hatching record a few seasons ago. The next season the record
was just fair. The fall following this
season a great many of the bir.'s appeared low In vitality and as the result
roup broke out in'the flock. A great
many of the birds died as the result of
the disease, others that had the roup
managed to live and a few did not contract the disease at all. The result was
the birds that did live were very low
in vitality and the hatching record for
last season was very poor.
Housing the Farm Flock.
Housing has much to do with successful poultry keeping, so I heard a
breeder say the other day. Some do
not realize that fowls require shelter
und protection throughout the entire
year, especially during the season when
it is cold and damp. Of all the types
of houses used today, none seem quite
so commendable as the fresh air house.
Dy this we mean a house which is absolutely tight on three sides, dry, well
ventilated and comfortable. This house
should have an opening In front or on
the south side, as all houses should face
the south so the bright, warm sun can
shine in the house and make it cheery.
This type of house is not damp, cold
and uncomfortable, but if properly constructed plenty of fresh air can be obtained without drafts and at the same
time there is warmth and sunshine.
The idea is to make the hen happy by
giving her a comfortable home.
Cheap wintering of 'fowls often
means poor egg records and yet winter
is the season of the year we need eggs
most of all. This is the time when
eggs are high priced and most profitable on  the local markets.
I know of a farmer in northern Indiana that has fully convinced himself
during tbe last few years that an open
front house is the type to have. This
man had on his place an ordinary
gable roof house with no windows. He
attended a farmers' institute one day
and after hearing a lecture on poultry
housing invited the speaker to go to his
house for lunch and see If ho could tell
any reason for his fowls getting sick
every winter. During the drive home
the speaker questioned the gentleman
about his housing conditions, feeding
and care and finally came to the conclusion that the fowls must have roup.
As soon as they reached the farm the
poultry man looked about the place
and finally, after a careful survey, explained to the farmer why. It was because his poultry house was extremely
damp, cold, . unventilated and lacked
sunlight. He then told him how all
these things made the chickens susceptible to disease.
The Poultry-Honse on the Average
Farm.
The result was, this farmer soon had
an open front and windows In his
house. Just these two changes made
a big difference in the house, changing
it from a dark, damp place to one of
Continued on page 4.