Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 110, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 May 1917 — POULTRY NOTES [ARTICLE]

POULTRY NOTES

Be sure that all the brood and roosting crops have water-tight roofs and are in good condition generally for the season’s work. Be careful not to feed anything musty or moldy to the poultry, especially the youngsters, because mold spores cause canker and digestive troubles. Remember to protect the early chicks, ducklings, etc., from dampness nnd chilling winds, for chills and resulting digestive troubles will cause trouble and losses. When the nest of a sitting hen is fouled by breaking eggs dr otherwise, take out the soiled material and put in fresh, clean straw or hay and wash the eggs in warm water. There Is no better food for little ducklings for the first three or four days than bread moistened with milk, In which a little fine grit and a little finely granulated charcoal is mixed, If there are two males running in the same flock and they do not agree, It is best ib keep one shut up one day and the other the next, so that only one accompanies the flock at one time. Always keep a supply of head-lice ointment on hand and use It occasionally to protect the little chicks from these destructive pests. Head-lice ointment can be bought from most poultry supply dealers. A good feed for little chicks Is johnnycake baked hard and fed dry. The infertile eggs from the Incubator or from under the hen, if they have been kept In a cool place, can be mixed in this cake befofe it Is baked. In feeding any kind of poultry, young or old, never at one feeding than will be eaten up in a few minutes, except when grain is fed in the litter, and in that case no more should be given than they will work hard to scratch out. When hatching eggs in an Incubator. . those that are marked to indicate certain matings or certain parentage may be placed in small, covered, wire boxes or baskets at the time of the last turning, so that the record may be kept complete. In order to get the best results in hatching eggs from ducks, the breeders must be fed some meat food. Most duck raisers prefer high-grade beef scraps, whjfh can be mixed in the mash and make about 10 per. eent of the mixture, sometimes more.