Prairie farmer's poultry book; how to make the farm flock pay

Front matter

AIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK

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WILLIAM OSBURN vHHHk

Preface

THIS book is written to help farmers make more money from their poultry flocks.

Success with poultry on the farm depends on intelligent care and feeding. Any farmer or farmer's wife, or farm boy or girl, who will study the methods described in this book, and follow them carefully, can make the farm poultry flock a highly profitable enterprise. We have endeavored not only to point out profitable methods, but also to indicate dangers and pitfalls to be avoided.

Any branch of farming is always more interesting if we know the "why" of things. We have therefore devoted some space to a discussion of the scientific principles that lie back of successful poultry methods, in order that the reader may understand the wonderful process by which nature produces eggs and meat through the medium of the hen.

The farm flock represents fully 80 per cent of the poultry industry. Ninety per cent of all farms produce poultry. The value of all chickens and eggs produced in 1919 was $1,047,989,919. These figures do not represent the full magnitude of the industry, for they do not include fowls other than chickens, such as turkeys, ducks and geese, nor poultry produced on small estates. A safe estimate of the annual production of poultry and eggs in the United States is $1,500,000,000.

For this large asset to the nation the farmer and his family deserve great credit. As the farmer himself is usually occupied in the larger and heavier tasks of the farm, the care of the poultry generally falls to the farmer's wife or upon the daughter or son, or possibly some elderly member of the household. This is possible because the task does not require heavy manual labor. Wherever the task falls it means constant attention to minute details and a high degree of knowledge and skill. To help solve some of the problems which will surely present themselves is our aim.

Table of Contents

CHAPTERS

Preface vii

I. The Farm Flock 1

Chapter I The Farm Flock

THERE is little danger of overestimating the importance of poultry culture. Compared with other farm interests it has earned a place of deserved recognition. This is proved by the fact that of the 6,448,336 farms in the United States 5,800,000 are engaged in poultry production. And there are good reasons for this recognition.

The flock furnishes a good percentage of the family dietary. It contributes something to every meal, food of high nutritive value. Probably 35 per cent of all poultry products is consumed on the farm. The remaining 65 per cent goes into the channels of trade to feed the world. The larger proportion is consumed locally, but an increasing annual amount is exported, thus adding to the wealth of the nation. It is evident therefore that the farm flock is of no insignificant value, not only as a source of food for the family but as a source of revenue. Sometimes this income furnishes the allowance for the farmer's wife ; sometimes it is sufficient to pay all the table expenses of the household.

The farm flock contributes to other farm interests. Fowls destroy vast numbers of insect pests. It is estimated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture that the annual loss to the farmer by reason of insect pests is $1,555,000,000. The annual saving by birds is $444,000,000. Every agency that reduces this loss aids the farmer in his task of production. If hens are allowed to forage in the orchard they will check the ravages of curculios and moths ; chickens and turkeys in the meadow or cornfields destroy many larvae of harmful insects.

The farm flock utilizes the waste, saving much that would otherwise be lost. Fowls are great foragers and gather much of their subsistence from vegetation, the seeds of noxious weeds, from grain gleaned after harvest, and from waste grain in the feed-lots. These would be a total loss were it not for the farm flock.

There is another consideration outside the commercial importance of the industry. It is the appeal to the aesthetic. What in nature is more beautiful than a bird? Blending colors, symmetry of shape, curved outlines and grace of carriage all appeal to the eye and, through the eye, to the nobler senses, thus contributing something to the joy of living and the development of character.

In order to keep the farm flock at a point of maximum production there should be a program of action. Here is an outline of procedure :

1. Keep a purebred flock. It will cost no more to feed a purebred than a mongrel. The mongrel will be neglected, but the purebred will command greater interest and receive better care and prove more productive.

2. Make conditions favorable for the flock. This means regular care, a dry, well-ventilated building with an abundance of light, and cleanliness in everything — clean water and food in clean vessels for clean fowls in clean buildings upon clean premises.

3. Select good foundation stock, strong in vitality and prepotency, and free from hereditary taint or physical deformity, and follow a system of breeding that will perpetuate the good qualities and eliminate the weaknesses.

4. Plan for early hatching. The early hatched pullet makes the early layer in the fall and the matured breeder in the spring.

5. Eliminate the boarders. Every poultry breeder should qualify to do his own culling. This is especially important in the spring when the majority of the flock is coming into laying condition and in the fall when the "quitters" are easily detected.

6. Adopt a system of feeding that will give results. This means a balanced ration in all seasons. It means food elements which contribute to health, growth and high production. It means planning for green feed in winter by planting cabbage, carrots, mangels, alsike or alfalfa in season.

7. Make a study of enemies and diseases and conduct a vigorous campaign against them. Enormous losses are avoided by outwitting the enemies. The growing stock must be protected. The first approach of disease should be noted by watching for abnormal conditions. If disease appears, sick fowls should be isolated promptly and dead fowls, as well as other dead animals on the premises, should be cremated with dispatch.

8. Store eggs for fall and winter consumption. When prices are not remunerative, why should the poultry farmer sacrifice? He can store for better prices as well as the grain farmer. His product will be of better quality than eggs which go through the cold storage plants, because packed when perfectly fresh.

9. Study the problem of marketing. Culling for market should begin early when prices are good. A broiler will sometimes command a better price than the same fowl held over till the following spring. To market breeding stock and eggs successfully requires discreet advertising.

10. Eliminate waste and all unnecessary expenses. This program may appear visionary because so few attain to its requirements. The ideal is important in any enterprise, for it is only by striving for an ideal that we reach any degree of excellence. To show how in a measure this program may be worked out in practice is our aim in future chapters of this book.

Don't Neglect the Poultry

Opportunity is at the door of every enterprise. Welcomed and seized she leads into fields of promise and reward ; neglected her invitations and counsels are in vain. Neglect spells loss. A beautiful damsel was encouraged by a good genius to pass through a cornfield once, and only once. She was urged to pluck an ear, large and beautiful, for according to its size and beauty would be its value to her. She passed many ears large, ripe and beautiful, but neglected to pluck, hoping to find one yet more beautiful. As the day declined she reached a portion of the field where the stalks were thin and barren. And, at last, as the evening closed upon her she found herself at the end of the field without having plucked an ear of any kind. Opportunity had flown and with it the promised reward.

Neglect is the cause of nearly all our disappointments in poultry raising; it is responsible for nearly all the leaks and iosses which end in failures. Watch the following common leaks and losses that often keep farm flocks from being profitable :

Loss in purchasing. Neglect to secure good foundation stock is a prime cause of failure. To make a beginning with weaklings where physical vigor has been undermined with disease is equivalent to making no beginning at all. It would be better to pay $100 if necessary for a pen of five birds, physically sound, and that meet standard requirements, and to build upon this foundation, than to spend the same money for a hundred specimens devoid of vigor and representing careless breeding.

The same principle applies to the purchase of equipment and feeds and the construction of buildings. It is true that many poultry appliances can be made at home and will give good service, but the things that must be purchased should have quality and durability. Moldy feeds may be cheap but in the end they will mean the loss of the flock, or, at least, the loss of profits. The poultry building need not be expensive but should be well built, sanitary and convenient.

Loss from improper feeding. Excessive feeding may cause intestinal trouble, liver disease or apoplexy, resulting in the loss of many fowls. The lack of a well-balanced ration means a loss in egg production and retarded growth of the edible carcass, and these are the main sources of income. Wasteful feeding often cuts a hole in the profits.

Loss from careless handling of eggs. Let us follow an egg from producer to consumer. It may be cracked at the outset because the nest is not provided with suitable material. It may be overheated, causing incubation and subsequent decomposition. It may be frozen, cracking the shell and producing a so-called leaker. It may be rough handled, breaking up the contents, producing a watery consistency. The same deterioration may happen in the hands of the country merchant or in transportation to the wholesaler. If it goes to cold storage it may be kept in storage too long and become stale. When it goes to the retailer it still further may be subjected to too much cold or heat or dampness or rough handling resulting in more deterioration.

On the table of the consumer it may have a small percentage of the value it had when fresh laid on the farm. The losses on a 30 dozen case of eggs, due to heat and dampness, run from five cents to $3 ; due to freezing, from 10 cents to 60 cents per case ; due to rough handling, from 5 cents to 25 cents. This was the estimate of the food administration during the world war. From producer to consumer the total annual loss of the egg crop is estimated by the government at $50,000,000.

Leaks due to incorrect incubation. Many thousand of eggs should never go to the sitting hen or incubator, because defective in size, shape and contents. Many contain weak germs because of weak foundation stock or improper feeding. Many are destroyed by neglect of the hen or careless handling. A good average hatch is counted at 50 per cent of the eggs set. Here is a 50 per cent loss that to large extent can be eliminated by scientific breeding and more careful management.

Losses due to enemies. Their name is legion. They populate air and water, they teem in untold millions in the soil, they congregate upon the surface of the earth in great armies of destruction; they stand at the gateways of life and gloat over their prospective victims.

"A constant watch they keep; They never slumber, never sleep, Lest they should lose their prey."

The baby chick, emerging from its shell, looks out upon a world of living things in innocence, but is marked for destruction, for there is a constant warfare of life upon life.

It is the aim of every poultry producer to bring to maturity not less than 50 per cent of the chicks hatched. This goal is seldom reached. Here is a 50 per cent loss that may be averted in large measure by eternal vigilance and persistent warfare against the foe's of the flock.

Magnitude of Industry- Here are some figures showing the magnitude of the poultry industry. The following table shows the number of fowls of all kinds on farms, January 1, 1920, also an estimate of all fowls not on farms, but on the back lots of towns and cities and on small estates of less than five acres. It also, shows the value of these fowls and the value of all fowls and eggs produced in 1919. As the government does not collect statistics of poultry on back lots and small estates, the figures given are merely estimates and are indicated by the figures in black face.

PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK Table No. 1. — Poultry in United States.

Items Jan. 1, 1920

Total number on farms and small estates

Value of poultry on farms and small estates

Value of fowls and

eggs produced —

Chickens

Turkeys

Ducks

Geese

Guinea Fowls . .

Other Fowls

On small estates.

12,904,989

3,373,966

5,428,806

1,582,313

595,116

73,970,040

38,714,967

10,121,898

16,286,418

4,746,939

1,758,348

221,910,120

The number of chickens produced in 1919 was 473,923,935 and the number of eggs produced in that year was 1,656,267,200 dozens. In 1909 the Secretary of Agriculture estimated the annual income from poultry products at $750,000,000, and that was equal to the combined value of all the gold, silver, iron, and coal mined in that year. According to the table given above the total value of all poultry products in 1919 is estimated at $1,340,000,000. This is equal to all the oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, flax, and rice produced in that year. This large income is a great asset to the nation for which the farmer receives due credit and full measure of reward.

The value of the industry, measured in money, is not the highest consideration. The food value to the nation is even more important. Consider the quality of the food product. What is more appetizing and nutritious than 1 the flesh of fowl? And the egg, the universal article of diet, finding its way into every home, is the great tissue builder. It supplies the needs of the brain worker as well as the manual laborer. It furnishes the vitamines so much needed by growing children — the growth principles so essential to health and physical development.

If all the farms should cease in poultry production, or if for any cause all the hens should cease to lay, it would be a national calamity.

Chapter II The Factory and Workmen

POULTRY production may be likened to the operation of a great manufacturing concern in which there are the factory, the workmen, the raw material and the finished product. The factory is represented by the living bird, the workmen are energized cells and tissues of its organism, the raw material is the food and other materials which are transformed into poultry products, and the finished product is represented in flesh, eggs and feathers.

The Factory

Our first concern is a study of the factory, its systems of machinery and the work to be accomplished by each. The common hen is our illustration for she is queen of the poultry world. Around her revolve the chief interests of economic importance.

EXTERNAL PARTS. The external structures of a fowl are:

1. Head, consisting of the beak, comb, face, eyes, ears, ear-lobes and wattles.

2. Beak, consisting of upper and lower mandibles.

3. Nostrils, located in the upper mandible.

4. Comb, which may be single, rose, pea, V-shaped or strawberry.

5. Face, naked side of head.

6. Eyes, the color being determined by the iris.

7. Wattles, pendulous membranes beneath the lower mandible.

8. Ear, behind the eye and covered with tuft of feathers.

9. Neck, consisting of front and cape. The cape is called the hackle in the male and comprises the feathers of lower neck resting upon the shoulders.

10. Breast, feathers covering breast bone.

11. Shoulder, feathers covering base of wing.

12. Wing-bow, feathers covering side of wing.

13. Secondaries, or wing-bay, large wing shafts above the primaries.

14. Primaries, lower flight feathers.

15. Primary coverts, smaller feathers covering flights.

16. Secondary coverts, covering base of secondaries.

17. Back and sweep, the latter term applying to feathers over base of tail, called the saddle in the male.

18. Cushion, feathers on each side of base of tail.

POMTp

BLADE. MLS^S

WATTLE?

CLflPT -Vt'

19. Saddle, a term applied to flowing feathers over base of tail in male.

20. Tail, including the main tail feathers and the sickles, the long curved feathers covering the tail shafts.

21. Tail coverts.

22. The fluff, region below the vent.

23. Body, all between back and sternum.

24. Thigh, the leg above the shank.

25. Hock, knee joint, or joint between shank and thigh.

26. Shank, between hock and toes.

27. Spur, a horny growth on side of shank.

28. Feet, including ball of foot, toes and nails.

29. Toes, usually four, may be five in number, and may be feathered or naked.

A knowledge of all these sections of a fowl is necessary to comprehend the descriptions of purebred specimens. They perform very important functions and are designed for protection, locomotion, obtaining food, etc.

Internal Systems and Structures

In a study of the internal structures of a hen we find nine important systems of organs, each having important work to accomplish. They are : Skeleton, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, excretory, reproductive, muscular, nervous, and tegumentary.

The Skeleton

The skeleton is the bony framework *of the body. A bone consists of the periosteum, the white fibrous covering that supplies nourishment ; bone-proper, consisting of the carbonate of lime and phosphate of lime ; and the marrow, or central soft tissue, whose chief work is to help in making red blood cells.

The parts of the skeleton are :

SKULL:

Mandibles, upper and lower jaws.

Cranium, bony box containing the brain.

NECK:

13 vertebrae, the one next the cranium being called the atlas.

TRUNK:

Dorsum, or back, comprising the seven thoracic vertebrae to which the seven pairs of ribs are attached.

Sacrum, a term used to comprise all the vertebrae between the thoracic and the caudal vertebrae. They are fused together so as to form one solid structure.

Caudal Vertebrae, six in number, which support the structures of the tail.

Pelvis, comprising three distinct bones on each side, known as the ilium, ischium and pubis. These form a protection for the kidneys and other viscera. They unite to form a socket for the femur, and they are fused to the sacrum so as to form a continuous arch. The points of the pubis, which can be located just below and on each side of the vent are known as the pubic bones, or so-called "lay-bones."

Shoulder circle, comprising: Scapula, or shoulder blade.

Caracoids, strong bones extending from sternum to shoulder. They form a point of attachment for the humerus and the hold the sternum and shoulders apart.

The Skeleton Intermaxillary Lower mandible Nasal

Interorbital foramen Cervical vertebrae Dorsal vertebrae Sacral vertebra Lumbar vertebrae Caudal vertebrae Anterior process of

same Sternum Body of same Spine of same Clavicle

20 Costal

same

21 Styloid process

same

22 External

same

23 Coracoid

24 Scapula

25 Humerus

26 Radius

27 Ulna Carpals

29 Metacarpals

30 Thumb

31 Third finger

32 Middle nnger

33 Ribs

34 Uncinate processes

35 Sternal ribs

36 Ilium

37 Acetabulum

38 Pubis

39 Ischium

40 Femur

41 Patella

42 Fibula

43 Tibia

44 Calcaneum

45 Tarsals

46 Metatarsal

47 Spur core 48-51 Toes

Clavicles, one on each side, which unite to form the so-called "wish-bone," or "merry-thought."

Sternum, or breast bone, a boat-shaped structure, forming the floor of the vital organs. The sharp, bony edge of the sternum on the lower side is known as the keel, and to this the muscles of the breast are attached.

LIMBS: Wings:

Humerus, or upper arm, attached to the shoulder girdle. Fore-arm, comprising ulna and radius.

Hand, comprising two small bones united at their ends. Fingers, the thumb being attached to the upper end of arm and the two remaining fingers to the lower end. Legs :

Femur, or thigh-bone, attached to the pelvis. Lower leg, consisting of the tibia and fibula, the former, large, and the latter small and splint like.

Shank, or tarso-metarsus, attached to the lower leg at the knee joint, or hock, and bearing the spur. Toes:

Inner toe, or hind toe, which has two joints. Second toe, or inner, front toe, having three joints. Middle front toe, having four joints.

Outer front toe, which has five joints.

A knowledge of the structures of the skeleton will be of value in mating and culling and in preparing the carcass for market as well as dissecting for table use.

The Respiratory System

Respiration in fowls includes the acts of receiving air into the lungs (inspiration) and expelling air from the same (expiration). These processes are accomplished by muscular action, raising and lowering the sternum. By the respiratory system oxygen is conveyed to the blood and vapor of water and waste matter thrown off from the body. As the fowl has no sweat glands to eliminate vapor of water and certain waste matter which accumulates in the blood by the process of oxidation, the respiratory system accomplishes this work to large extent. Respiration in man is 18 times per minute, but in the fowl it is more rapid, or 33 times per minute.

The organs and functions of the respiratory system are :

1. Nostrils, through which the air is conveyed to the pharynx.

2. Pharynx, or throat.

3. Larynx, the enlarged cartilaginous, or gristly, opening into the windpipe, or trachea. It modifies the voice, which is produced at the lower end of the trachea.

4. Trachea, or windpipe, the cartilaginous tube formed by rings of gristle which conveys the air to the lungs.

5. The bronchi, or bronchial tubes, branch from the trachea and enter the lungs. Some pass through the lungs into the large air sacs in the body. Some have blind endings. The small tubes which branch from the bronchi are lined with blood vessels which absorb oxygen.

6. Air sacs, spaces outside of the lungs which receive the air from the bronchial tubes. They are large and lined with thin membranes which contain blood vessels through the walls of which oxygen is taken up. Air spaces also occur in the feathers, bones, and elsewhere, making the bird's body light and buoyant.

A knowledge of the respiratory system is important on account of its bearing upon the hygienic care of the flock and a comprehension of the diseases which attack its organs. The more common diseases of the respiratory system are : Catarrh, roup, diptheria, gapes, pharyngitis, bronchitis, aspergillosis, inflammation of lungs and, occasionally, tuberculosis.

Circulatory System

There are two systems of circulation, the blood vessels and the lymphatics.

Blood circulation. The blood is the red fluid which is the carrier of the food elements to the cells and tissues of the body for their repair and upbuilding and of the waste matter to the lungs and kidneys to be eliminated. About 90 per cent of the blood is water; the remaining portion comprises the corpuscles and the plasma.

The corpuscles are red and white. The red corpuscles in a fowl are nucleated, elliptical discs ; in human blood they are circular discs, non-nucleated, and smaller. The color of the red corpuscle is due to the haemoglobin, containing iron and manganese. The affinity of the haemoglobin for oxygen results in oxyhemoglobin, and this becomes the carrier of oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body. The white corpuscles are nucleated and consist of living protoplasm, exhibiting amoeboid movements. They perform important functions, destroying disease germs, healing wounds and building up tissues.

The organs of circulation are the heart, arteries, capillaries and veins. The contraction of the heart forces the arterial, bright red blood coming from the lungs through the arteries to the capillaries, and the veins collect the venous, dark red blood from the capillaries and convey it back to the heart, whence it is forced to the lungs to be again charged with oxygen and returned to the heart for another journey. The heart is a muscular organ with four cavities — two auricles and two ventricles. The pulsation of the heart is more rapid than in other animals, hence oxidation in the lungs and capillaries is undoubtedly more rapid and the blood is, therefore, hotter.

A temperature test of a number of chickens showed a temperature of 101°. The average for man is 98.6°. In a chicken the heart beat averages 150 per minute; in man it is 72 per minute. This explains why respiration is more rapid in fowls than in many other animals and why they soon get out of condition if kept in stuffy, ill-ventilated quarters. The average respiration per minute of a number of chickens was found to be 33. Human respiration averages about 16 times per minute. Several diseases attack the circulatory system of fowls and the blood, such as dropsy, inflammation and enlargement of the heart; thrombosis; cholera; anaemia, infectious leukaemia; and sleeping disease.

The lymph is a colorless fluid of value to the blood and originates in the region of the capillaries, being an exudate of serum from the blood into the intercellular spaces. It is collected in very small tubes (lymph capillaries) which convey it to two main vessels, one on each side of the spine, thence upward to the base of the neck, where it is emptied into the general circulation. The lymph vessels in the intestines are called lacteals on account of the whitish color of the lymph fluid, known as chyle.

The Digestive System

The digestive system, as its name suggests, receives the crude food, grinds it, and prepares it for absorption into the blood and for assimilation. It is the great workshop of the factory, working over the raw material for replenishing old cells and for the manufacture of new.

The organs of the digestive system are :

1. Pharynx, or throat, which receives the food from the beak and mouth and forces it into the oesophagus.

2. CEsophagus, or gullet, an elongate tube capable of vermicular muscular action by which the food is forced downward into the crop.

3. Crop, a dilation of the oesophagus, where the food is softened and held in reserve for the further processes of digestion.

4. Proventriculus, or stomach. This is the enlarged pouch to which the food passes from the crop. It is provided with glands which secrete the gastric juice, a digestive fluid whose action is to change the food into a condition known as chyme.

5. Gizzard, a receptacle of the food as it passes from the prove ntriculus. The gizzard is provided with a tough inner membrane and powerful muscular walls which assist in grinding the food and mixing it with the digestive fluid, so that before leaving it is reduced to' a pasty mass. The gizzard therefore, is the organ of mastication, and the grit which it contains serves as teeth.

6. Duodenum, the upper intestine. It forms a curve in the shape of the letter U, between the arms of which lies the pancreas. The food passes from the gizzard to the duodenum where it mixes with the fluid from the sweetbread and the bile from the liver. These fluids, acting with the intestinal juices, change the fatty foods into a condition known as chyle. The chyle is absorbed by the lacteals, carried by the lymphatic system to the base of the neck and emptied into the general circulation. Other portions of the food are absorbed by the capillaries and carried by the portal circulation to the liver, there to undergo certain changes preparatory to assimilation. Protein is changed to peptone by the pepsin of the gastric juice, the peptone being soluble and capable of absorption through the intestinal walls into the circulation; carbohydrates, consisting of sugar J J and starches, are changed into glu-

*s cose, which is also soluble and ca-

pable of absorption.

• 7. Small intestine, or ileum, which receives the food from the duodenum. It lies in folds and convolutions which are connected and held together by a thin membrane known as the mesentery.

At the lower end of the small intestine two branches are thrown off, known as ceca. These extend forward, parallel with each other, and are closed at their upper extremities, hence are called blind pouches. The functions of the small intestine are to carry on the work of digestion and complete the work of absorption. To this end it secretes a digestive fluid, known as the intestinal juice, and is covered with elevations known as villi to increase the absorbing surface.

8. Ceca.

9. Large intestine, or colon, which begins where the ceca branch off and is a straight tube to the cloaca. Its function is to convey the undigested portions of the food, or fecal matter, to the cloaca.

10. Cloaca, an enlarged pouch at the end of the large intestine. This receives the waste matter from the raw material and urates from the kidneys and discharges them through the vent.

11. Vent.

12. Pancreas, as stated, lies in the fold of the duodenum. It secretes the pancreatic juice, a digestive fluid which has three ferments, each of which performs an important office in digestion. The trypsin changes the albumin to peptone, the amylopsin changes starch to glucose, and the steapsin acts upon the fat to emulsify it.

13. Unabsorbed yolk.

Other digestive organs are :