Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 December 1890 — THE POULTRY-YARD. [ARTICLE]

THE POULTRY-YARD.

Winter Breeding. Winter breeding is as profitable as it is risky, and the risk can be reduced to a minimum by careful forethought. The chick must bo kept warm until it . is six weeks old, or it will reach a point where growth seems to cease. Like a i young pig it becomes stunted very easily in winter, and it is much easier to stop its growth than to increase it. The young chick will always thrive in winter if given plenty of warmth. It was not orginally intended for the chick to eomo into the world in winter, says the Mirror and Farmer, but as it is now a subject of domestication, the domestic methodsmust be resorted to in order to enable it to thrive and accomplish tho purposes sought by its introduction to existence in the winter season. The greatest loss occurs from disease of the bowels. When this appears the cause is attributed to the food, and tiie attempt ismade to save tho chicks by all manner of feeding, but the real cause of the bowel disease Is cold on the bowels, due to lack of sufficient heat. This <’ol<l does not come from prolonged exposure, or from a lack of warmth during the day, but from the failure to supply warmth at night, at which time tho chicks are quiet, and do not have tho aid of exercise. A single' night's exposure (or even an hour), to a temperature that will cause tho chicks to crowd, will bring on tho bowel disease. When the whole brood is attacked by it, the chances of saving tho chicks are very slim, as they seldom fully recover, or, if they pass tiie critical stage of tho difficulty, they seldom amount to anything afterward. In raising early chicks for broilers, therefore, the main condition is warmth, continual warmth, and plenty of it, as 100 degrees is not too much for very young chicks. Poultry Notes. The India Game and Dorking make an excellent cross for table qualities. They produce a Combination of flavors and the development of breast, formation making it both largo and perfect in form and color. It requires no small amount of tact and study to brood chicks up in the nineties, yet when a breeder “gets there” ho has no difficulty to dispose of his surplus stock at prices that are not ofitem realized on other kinds. Whatever breed l yon keep aim at tho highest degree of perfection; you can’t strike fur off the mark you aim for. The ready sale of fine stock pays to got them up high in* quality. Though many improved cresses have been brought before tho people for favor, the Light Brahma has stood Ms owm ground, and to-day they are as much praised and as highly commended to the farmer as was tho case thirty years ago. Any breed that can stand the test of rivalry so long and still continue to satisfy and please the thousands breeding them, must have qualities of u very high order. Tho Light Brahama lias all these. Old hens Invariably make tho best sitters. They are not so fickle as pullets, and attend to maternal duties better. Nine eggs are sufficient under ordinarysized liens in cold weather, and twelve for Asiatic breeds. It is best to have the' proper number under tiie sitter than to l have more than she can possibly giveproper warmth to. Those under her' wings do not receive much heat, and, consequently, tall to hatch well, or hatch at all. The same is true while brooding them.