Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1912 — POULTRY [ARTICLE]

POULTRY

SOME MISTAKES IN POULTRY Too Many Beginners Start on ( Too Large Scale—Most Common Error Is “Learning Too Fast.” It ds well for the beginner to adoptthe advice of men who are vetferana. in the service, In order that they may avoid many of the stumbling blocks, says the Poultry Journal. Too' many novices start on too large a scale. They are not content to begin at the bottom round of the ladder and gradually climb to the tcfc. That is too slow for them. If blessed with sufficient capital they are pretty sure to start on a large scale. Without experience, is it any wonder that they do not succeed?”

But this is not the only cause of failure with the beginner. The others might briefly be stated as having too much land; “buildings too scattered, entailing too much unnecessary labor; the breed or breeds selected not being suitable for the purpose Intended; house not built upon the sanitary plan; too much changing of the bill of fare; unmindful of small details; harboring too much unprofitable stock; carelessness 1 in eating for ailing birds; relying too much on hired help, and learning too fast.

It is a waste of money to buy too much land. From sto 10 acres is sufficient for the largest kind of plant. A general mistake is the continual changing of the bill of fare. There should be one system of feeding and t&at regularly followed. The bill of fare should contain the greatest variety possible, but the system should not be changed. New articles of food should not be given to the exclusion of others until the fowls haVe had a chance to become acquainted with them. AU additions or changes should be gradually made. If the fovyls are doing well on what they are getting, no change should be made at all.

Probably the most common error is “learning too fast.” It is a noteworthy fact that, as a rule, by the ’Close of the first year the beginner forms the opinion that he knows it all. Thirty years spent in the poultry yard has taught the writer that he has much yet to learn. There is always something new turning up. The wise man rfeads, studies, practices and investigates, thus daily adding to his store of knowledge.