A Living from the Land Part 11

1:00-2:00 P.M.--Water all stock.

2:00-4:00 P.M.--Same work as from 9:00 to 11:00 A.M.

4:00-5:00 P.M.--Feed and collect eggs.

_Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and Other Fowl._--While the raising and keeping of chickens occupy the largest and most important part of the general operation of poultry keeping, there is a growing interest in the production of other types of fowl, including ducks, geese, turkeys, and in some instances, guinea fowl and pheasants. Each of these really const.i.tutes a separate and distinct poultry industry, requiring specific feeding, breeding and management practices. Some of the fundamental factors in the care of these types of poultry are given for the beginner.

In the case of these fowl, as in chickens, it is essential to start in a small way and develop as experience dictates.

_Ducks._--From a rather obscure and unknown source of poultry meat, the duck and the duckling have become common to restaurants and the home table. This has been accomplished through the operations of large commercial duck farms which sell hundreds of thousands of birds annually.

The selection of breed types, proper feeding and management and skillful marketing have made it possible to attract a wide public interest and an appet.i.te for these fowls on a permanent basis.

The best known varieties of ducks are the Indian Runner, a small type and primarily an egg producer; the Muscovy and the Pekin, both of which are used for meat purposes, the former being best adapted to general farm use and the latter to intensive breeding on large establishments devoted solely to the purpose of duck raising. The old simile, "Like a duck takes to water," implies the fondness of ducks for the aquatic element. However, ducks will do well without swimming facilities.

Incubation of duck eggs can be carried on in the same manner as chicken eggs, except that more moisture is essential to good hatches. The period of incubation is 28 days for all types, except for the Muscovy, for which it is 33 to 35 days. The growing birds, like mature ducks, are hardy and ordinarily show a much lower mortality percentage than chickens. If only a few ducks are kept, they will follow the habits of a flock of chickens and need be given no special attention. When they are raised without other poultry an open shed is all that is necessary for winter quarters and some shade arrangement for protection against hot summer sun.

The feed rations that have been given for baby chicks and growing stock can be used for ducks, or any standard commercial feed for the respective ages. It is recommended that the chick and growing mashes be mixed with fine, chopped greens such as cabbage or lawn clippings, and sufficient water added to the mixture to make it moist. One pound of sand or grit may be added to furnish the duck with grinding material. Fresh water in shallow dishes should be available during the feeding periods which ought to be three times a day. For the mature birds, the laying mash, previously given, and moistened, will be found satisfactory with fresh greens added, unless gra.s.s is available on range. Hoppers containing sand or grit should be available if a number of ducks are kept.

_Geese._--Geese can be raised successfully wherever other types of poultry will grow. That they are not so popular as ducks is shown by the fact that only about one-third as many geese as ducks are raised in this country.

The most popular breeds, in order of popularity, are Toulouse, Embden, African and Chinese. The Toulouse is the largest and most favored, the mature gander weighing 26 pounds and the adult goose about 20 pounds.

Geese are usually kept in small numbers in areas where there is an abundance of gra.s.s and a supply of water for swimming. They, like ducks, are hardy and are rarely affected with diseases or parasites. A plentiful supply of gra.s.s is sufficient feed for the growing goslings. The demand and prices for geese are lower than for most other types of poultry. For housing, only a shed in winter and a sun-shade in summer are required.

The period of incubation varies from 30 to 35 days, depending upon the size of the breed. The young goslings are easily killed by excessive moisture or may become lost and therefore they require considerable attention during the early stages. A good food for the goslings is stale bread soaked in milk or water, fed after they are 48 hours old. Scalded cracked corn may also be given or a mash made of four parts corn meal and one part grain middlings. Plenty of drinking water is essential. Whole grain may be fed after the goslings are well feathered. When the geese near the marketing period they should be kept in confinement and fed a moist mash made of one part grain shorts and two parts corn meal. A bedding of short straw will keep the fattening pens clean and provide roughage. Best prices are obtainable during the late fall and early winter months.

_Turkeys._--Because the turkey is such a popular form of meat during the holidays and so much attention is directed to it as an indigenous native bird, it rivals the American eagle as a national emblem. Turkey raising on a commercial scale has had its ups and downs for a great many years. One of the princ.i.p.al scourges has been the so-called black-head disease and this has destroyed the industry in many areas. It is now known that this disease is carried by a small parasitic worm common to chickens, which, however, it apparently does not seriously injure. The black-head germ, carried by this worm, clogs the blood in the head of the turkey and causes quick death. For this reason, it has been found impracticable to raise turkeys where chickens are present, unless they are kept entirely separate by confinement.

The princ.i.p.al varieties of domesticated turkeys are the Bronze, White Holland, Bourbon Red, Black, Narragansett and Slate. All are large, handsome birds, each breed having a following of admirers. The Bronze is the largest and heaviest and most popular, the mature adult male weighing 36 pounds and the mature hen 20 pounds. Under ordinary conditions turkeys do not require much in the way of housing, except in cold weather when covered roosting sheds should be available. The period of incubation is 28 days and they may be hatched under the same conditions as chickens. The day-old young birds, or poults as they are called, can be shipped in the same manner as day-old chicks.

For feeding the poults, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends fine-chopped hard-boiled eggs, including the sh.e.l.l, mixed with green feed for the first ten days. This may be followed by feeding the chick ration previously mentioned. Milk, especially b.u.t.termilk, is excellent for the poults, and grit must be provided if it is not available on range. Cod liver oil will be found helpful if added to the ration.

Turkeys are great rangers and travelers if they have the opportunity and will pick up enough insects to keep them going through the day. A grain ration should be fed just before they go to roost. Where they are raised in confinement, or semi-confinement, more food must be given and under these conditions the strictest sanitation must be practiced.

Both old and young turkeys should be protected from dampness, and the growing birds, especially, kept free from lice. The turkey grower who practices the best systems of management and feeding will be successful and will find a ready market for his product at Thanksgiving and during the Christmas holidays. A few birds may be successfully kept in confinement and used as a home-raised source of high quality meat during a considerable portion of the year.

_Guinea Fowl._--The guinea is known for its watch-dog proclivities, making a characteristic raucous noise when strangers appear; for the rich quality of the eggs which are produced in good quant.i.ty; and for the delectability of the breast meat when properly prepared. The young guinea may be fed as has been recommended for young chicks. The older birds are excellent foragers and require little attention. The country home owner, if he does not object to their noise, will find a few of these unusual birds an interesting and valuable a.s.set.

_Pheasants._--Many persons with a flair for the new and unusual are successfully raising pheasants, the Ring Neck variety being the most popular. While they are not so hardy as chickens and must be given some added care for that reason, they may be fed in the same manner and kept successfully in confinement. Pheasants may be used as an additional source of income since they are nearly always in demand for meat. The eggs may be hatched in incubators or by hens and the young pheasants brooded like chicks. The period of incubation is 21 days. Shelter is not necessary except in extremely cold weather and not then if trees or shrubs are available. Detailed information on game bird production can be obtained from More Game Birds in America, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

_Do's_

Net income depends upon efficient management and each phase of the latter must be mastered.

Feed a well-balanced chick ration to the very young and growing stock.

Be sure the ration fed to laying stock is adapted to their needs in egg production.

Sanitation measures are fundamental in good management and their neglect may be fatal.

Follow the management recommendations of practical and successful poultrymen.

Use the marketing system best adapted to the locality and the personal factor of sales ability.

Determine possibilities of selling ducks, geese, turkeys and other fowl as a means of supplementing income from chickens.

Remember each type of poultry requires specific management.

_Don'ts_

Don't neglect scientific feeding of the poultry flock.

Don't go into poultry production on a large scale without experience.

Don't neglect local markets as outlets for the sale of eggs and poultry and don't make shipment of eggs and stock to commission houses of unknown rating.

Don't over-extend in poultry investment to the point where temporary reversal would be disastrous.

_Chapter_ XI

THE FAMILY MILK SUPPLY

Living in the country should make possible an adequate and safe milk supply for the family. The transportation of milk from the farm and its distribution in the city const.i.tute a costly process under present methods, and this limits consumption. Furthermore, the ordering in advance of a definite quant.i.ty each day means as a rule that only the milk delivered will be consumed. A maximum amount of milk is thereby set, based upon factors that may be alien to real needs of the family for this food beverage. Using milk and dairy products freely from a near-by supply will contribute much to the health of the entire family and especially of the children. The term "family" is used in this case to denote two or three adults and the same number of children.

Nutritional experts declare that milk is the most important of the "protective" foods. Scientists agree that milk protects by providing in the best form those necessities which are often lacking in other foods.

Milk supplies calcium so necessary for sound bones and teeth, phosphorus, easily digested protein, b.u.t.ter fat and milk sugar. Most important of all are the vitamins found in milk. Milk acquires these properties from the cow, a living factory manufacturing milk from raw products, which are the foods the cow eats--the pasture gra.s.ses and the cured hay, supplemented with carefully blended grain rations. Nutrition authorities recommend at least a quart of milk daily for every child and ample amounts for adults as well.

_Sources of Milk Supply._--The country resident will have little difficulty in securing an adequate supply of wholesome milk at low cost.

He may obtain it from a neighbor who is in the dairy business or he may maintain a cow or two where the area is large enough to provide some pasturage and where a building for stabling is available.

If the milk is bought from some near-by farm it is important that the purchaser a.s.sure himself of the health of the cows producing the milk and of the sanitary conditions surrounding production and handling. Quality in milk is much more than cream content. Cleanliness in production and handling is far more important, and this the country resident can personally determine by occasional visits to the source of supply, an advantage difficult for the urban resident to attain. Quality in milk is not necessarily measured by the investment in the milking barn or the showy external features of the producing and handling plant.

The essential factors in the production of clean, wholesome milk are healthy, clean cows; healthy milkers; clean, sterile utensils; and sanitary stables and premises. These conditions can be attained by any careful dairyman and can be checked by any layman interested in securing a dependable supply of safe milk. The purchaser should insist that the cows be tested regularly under government supervision for tuberculosis and the reactors to the test removed from the herd. This is important in all circ.u.mstances and particularly so where the milk is consumed in the unprocessed state by children.

_Producing Milk at Home._--It is entirely feasible for the rural family to produce at home an ample supply of milk at low cost. To do this it is only necessary to have stabling facilities for one or two cows and to have a member of the family sufficiently interested to feed, care for and milk the cow or cows. If this plan is to be followed the owner, if he is inexperienced, should enlist the aid of a neighbor or friend in making the purchase. The animal should be fresh, that is, just starting the period of lactation, and preferably not more than four or five years of age. A cow that is fresh can be judged as to ability to produce good milk from all four quarters of the udder in adequate amount.

_Selecting the Family Cow._--The breed to be selected is not important, except that for family use a cow of the so-called Channel breeds (Guernsey or Jersey) is considered better adapted because of the higher b.u.t.ter fat content of the milk as compared with the Holstein-Friesian, for example, which usually produces a larger total quant.i.ty of milk with less b.u.t.ter fat. It is not necessary to purchase a pure-bred animal of any of the breeds, so far as milk production is concerned. On the other hand, a pure-bred registered cow may often be purchased at moderate cost. The owner will undoubtedly take greater pride in such an animal and her offspring will have higher selling value.

In making a purchase the new owner should insist upon having a tuberculin test chart delivered with the animal, and certification as to freedom from contagious abortion (B. abortus) should also be obtained if possible. If production records have been kept during the animal's previous lactation periods, these should be secured, as they will definitely indicate milk-producing ability over a considerable period of time. For family use a cow that produces milk steadily in uniform amounts over eight or ten months is far more desirable than one which produces a large volume following freshening and then slumps off rapidly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Desirable types of utensils for a small dairy. _A._ Crock for temporary milk storage or for gravity separation of cream. _B._ Milking stool. _C._ Twenty-quart milk can and cover. _D._ Strainer. _E._ Stirrer. _F._ Circulating water cooler for freshly drawn milk (not essential for a one- or two-cow dairy if other cooling practices are followed). _G._ Sanitary covered-top milk pail. _H._ Measuring rod. _I._ Small churn for family b.u.t.ter making.]

_Importance of Pasture._--Pasturage plays so important a part in economical milk production and in contributing to the health of the animal that it is unwise to consider keeping one's own cow unless 3 or 4 acres of pasture land per animal are available. When the cow is on pasture from May until November no other roughage is required, provided of course the gra.s.ses and clovers are plentiful. Plenty of water is essential, and if this is not made available by a stream in the pasture, it will be necessary to furnish drinking water three times daily.

_Stabling and Feeding._--From early November until May it will be necessary to provide stabling facilities, roughage in the form of hay, ensilage or beet pulp, and concentrated feed to keep the animal producing.

About 3 tons of good timothy-and-clover hay or alfalfa will be needed per animal during these six months. Storage room will be needed in the building for the hay and for the concentrated feed. A good practice is to keep the cow in a box stall 12 by 14 feet in size. Ample bedding should be provided, consisting of straw, wood shavings, shredded corn stalks, peat moss or dried leaves. These will absorb the liquid manure and after such use should be applied to the garden or other land areas for fertilizing purposes.