% Soest Se eae hao napa ont ae rete Al eon ne Soar eee eae SS See eg and Ral eeereccreeaaat eae es, y% aSht, visio’ ames ¥Rice MEMORIAL POULTRY LIBRARY CORNELL “aT unveasity (errr rama "THE GIFT OF J. M. GWIN ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS AT CoRNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Libra SF 487.B876 living from eggs and poultry, wie Aijjnog MearA ulejUNOW A Living From Eges and Poultry BY HERBERT W. BROWN oe ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 1916 my kK 34 Copyright, 1916, by ORANGE JUDD COMPANY All Rights Reserved Painted in tHe U.S. A. PREFACE This little book has been written for the. encouragement, as well as the warning of those persons, who starting in a small way, desire to make a living from chickens. I have “no axe to grind’: no blooded stock or hatching eggs for sale, nor day-old chicks to dispose of. My business is the production and marketing of table eggs and poultry. Consequently I have no reason either to ex- ‘aggerate the pleasant features or to withhold any unpleasant truths. The contents of this book are plain, unvarnished facts as I have met them. They are given for what they are worth to those desirous of building up a little plant of 1,000 or so hens. H. W. BROWN, Mountain View Poultry Farm. Saugerties, N. Y. 1g16. Chapter I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX xX XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX xX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII TABLE OF CONTENTS Page The Poultry Business , . ; 1 A Little Personal History ‘ 12 Qualifications Necessary to Success : 21 Selection of the Location for a Poultry Plant 28 Starting and Capital ; ‘ : : 35 Poultry Houses Recommended ; ‘ 43 Breeding and Hatching . 4 z 3 71 Incubating. : ‘ ; ; 76 Pointers on Hen Hatching é ; é 85 Feeding Chickens of Various Ages 3 89 Fattening Broilers and Old Hens. Z 101 Water 3 : ‘ ‘ i < 3 105 Marketing the Eggs ‘ z 4 Z 108 Home Made Cases . : ‘ 5 ; 119 Storing Surplus Eggs 7 r . 124 Tests for Fresh and Stale Bees ‘ 129 Marketing of Broilers 4 i i ‘ 131 Selling Off Old Hens ‘ 3 ‘ 135 Wire Runs and Delivery Crates ‘ ; 138 Cost of Egg Production 3 ss ; 140 Characteristics of Brecds P ‘ : 142 Breeds and Weights of Fowls ‘ 3 144 Growing Own Feed ‘ ‘ ‘ 7 145 Common Diseases of Chickens 5 147 Routine Work in the Spring 152 General Remarks : ‘ ; 155 Don’ts Learned from Experience A 165 Conclusion \ ‘ % ; ‘ 171 Vil LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Mt. View Poultry Farm : Frontispiece The Part of the Poultry Business 4 so Alluring to the Beginner . ‘: 4 Partial View of Farm feodi the Tow of Lane Eisuge 14 One of the Routine Duties of a Conscientious Poultryman . 24 Front View of Part of 128 Foot Laying House 44 Laying House, Interior View . 47 Detail of Front of 47 Foot Section of Laviie Hauce 50 Floor Plan of Same 47 Foot Section : 5 51 Detail of Nests 52 Detail of Ends of Caring! House 53 Home Made Fireless Brooder 56 Same, Showing Corners Rounded 56 Simple Fireless Brooder 57 Colony Brooder House Showing Hover 58 Details 6x 6 Colony Brooder House 59 Commercial Hovers . 60 Water Pan, Feed Trough and Feed Hopper 61 Details of Colony Roosting House 62 Details of Roosting and Brooding Coop 63 Hen Brooder Coop : : 64 Details of Hen Brooder Coon 65 Small Colony House i 66 Brooder House, Half Undereround 68 Details of Brooder House 69 Floor Plan, Brooder House and Tedbatar Cellar 69 Hover Construction in Brooder House 72 Egg Turning Case 74 Little Chicks Feeding at Goseied Troueh 90 1x ILLUSTRATIONS Covered Water Trough : i ‘ 91 Home Made Single Feed Hopper . ; ; 92 Colony House with Wire Run : ‘ : 93 Home Made Double Feed Hopper : : ‘ 96 Details of Double Feed Hopper. 5 97 My Method of Supplying Water to Chickens 106 Details of Home Made Egg Cases 120 Dimensions of Egg Crates, Cost and Cost of Shipping 121 My Method of Packing Eggs : r 122 Wire Run ‘ ‘ 139 Combination Delivery Ceate aiid Wagon 2 Seat : 140 Raising a Colony Coop to Avoid Rats : 158 Hen Catching Crook in Use : ‘ : 161 Feed Trough for Growing Stock . 166 Chickens Feeding at Covered and Uncovered Prati 168 INTRODUCTION A LIVING FROM EGGS AND POULTRY The book is not intended to be a scientific exposition of the chicken business further than a diagnosis of the business methods ap- plying to the business if going into the details of those methods, might be called scientific. It is possible to make a success of the chicken business without any knowledge of the chemical analysis of the egg, the chicken or the chicken feed. It is conceded of course that the more knowledge one has of every possible detail entering into his business the more likeli- hood is there of that one’s success; but we must creep before we walk. No one can expect to be thoroughly con- versant with the practical as well as the scientific elements pertaining to a business at the time he first enters that business, and for this reason business of any kind becomes more interesting. The happiness of life is derived from ever reaching out from one pleasure or attainment to a new one. xi INTRODUCTION Life would indeed be monotonous if we had all our desires and ambitions gratified at once: so with business—unless one takes real pleasure in his work the success of that bus- iness is doubtful but as each day unfolds something new, some added knowledge to be gained, renewed interest urges one on to the attainment of higher standards and more successful work. ' I read one work on Poultry which filled over 1000 pages of very interesting and in- structive matter but from which the beginner would have been able to get but little of practical value. It was like algebra to the student who has finished arithmetic and moves forward into a higher plane—but the arithmetic, the prac- tical value had to come first. Likewise in the chicken business, the nov- ice must have a general understanding of the practical part first, and then add all possible knowledge that will make the business more interesting. I have written this book in the hope of aiding beginners in the chicken business and mean by “beginners” young men from the city like myself, who, when they come to the country are as ignorant of rural life and X11 INTRODUCTION all matters pertaining to country life as I was, who did not know a Leghorn from a Wyandotte. Why I had a friend who was a college graduate say to me not long ago that he in- tended buying a place on which to keep chickens and to avoid having so many young cockerels in the summer he would order his day old chicks to be sent 75 per cent. pullets and 25 per cent. cockerels, and I really won- der how many city men whose thoughts might wander to a poultry farm to be his some day, would know if he was right in his theory? Keeping this fact always in view, that a novice is not supposed to be familiar with any of the details of his new business, I have explained more fully the minute details us- ually omitted from other books, but which are really the most important phases of poul- try keeping and have endeavored to make my story direct and to the point without wasting unnecessary words or including a vast amount of matter that a novice could not master at first, but leaving that for his future study, xiii A Living from Eggs and Poultry CHAPTER I THE POULTRY BUSINESS So much is now being said of the poultry business; so many articles are being contri- buted to the various papers giving exper- iences of some persons who have made good profits from small backyard flocks of hens; so many advertisements are daily appearing in the magazines using the successes of the business, to boom the sale of farms, poultry appliances, day old chicks, etc.; and so many alluring accounts of wonderful, immense poultry farms making thousands of dollars a year profit, that a large proportion of our population must believe the easy road to prosperity is in keeping poultry. I am by no means a pessimist, but I believe as do all these interested writers and adver- tisers, that there is money in chickens: not 1 2 EGGS AND POULTRY barrels of it or a gold mine, but a living, good or bad according to the man himself who develops the business. But I also be- lieve it is time that some one should give to the public the facts as he finds them in estab- lishing a business with 1000 hens—a plant such as the average man would think to be of fair size. IT love the business, but believe I can help the poultry industry more by giving the facts as I have seen them, as they have been driven home to me, as, after having read and planned and worked, I have either failed or succeeded, than by exaggerating these facts or referring to the large successful plants of years development and large investment. The latter methods: of description too often infer that any one can at once do the same as the owners of these plants did only after years of experience. What has been done can be done again. A man can set his ambition as high as he will, the higher the better provided he keeps his feet on earth, realizing that there are many steps between his beginning and the realiza- tion of his hopes and ambitions. It is those first steps, (which perhaps for more than one reason the average advertising chicken book THE POULTRY BUSINESS 3 does not go into too deeply) that the begin- ner should acquaint himself with and which this little book will bring to his notice. Most of the help and inspiration derived by us from reading the history of some great man’s life comes not from the fact alone that his was a successful life, but from the fact that his success was attained by over- coming obstacles such as poverty, the lack of an early education or some physical af- fliction. For this reason any poultry book addressed to beginners, written to. induce. novices to start in the business, a book which points” only to successes, but neglects to: warn of possible failure, and omits the early steps and probable mistakes, the hard work and. the disappointments which must all be met and overcome before the success is attained, does not do justice to the reader who may be de- bating his chances of success in the business. TOOK UP BUSINESS IN QUEST OF HEALTH I came to the country as many others have come and will come, looking for health after having lost the greatest of God’s blessings in the strenuous city business life, that men are daily feeling more and more burdensome. Being located near a summer resort I came 4 EGGS AND POULTRY in contact with a great many men, a majority of whom seem to have the “back to the farm” idea with a preference for poultry. From conversation and reading, I know a ereat many men have in their minds owner- The part of the Poultry Busi- ness so alluring to the beginner. ship of a poultry plant sometime in the future. Most people be- lieve the poultry business an easy and sure way to prosperity. It is to the same extent that any other busi- ness is when prop- erly conducted by a man willing to work. But easy— never; for there are as many details and annoyances con- nected with raising chickens in large numbers as are found in most lines of business; indeed perhaps more. “Ts there money in chickens and can I make a living by keeping a flock of hens?” Every poultryman has been asked this ques- THE POULTRY BUSINESS 5 tion so many times that some have answered in books usually in the affirmative and with glowing accounts of big profits—one as high as $6.41 a year a hen! The profits a man can make a hen are gov- erned by a great many things such as the par- ticular market he may have, whether he can sell his surplus hens and roosters at a high price, or his eggs for hatching or day old chicks at extravagant figures. I have selected the utility branch of the business, the supplying of table eggs and poultry, and will endeavor to show how, dur- ing three years I have averaged from $1.50 to $2 a hen a year and how it will be much safer for the beginner to take these figures, which he will find many others will approve rather than the extravagant estimates of so- called “experts,” under conditions which the beginner cannot hope for, at least for several years. COMPARATIVE INCOMES First of all, what is your income that you purpose to give up to enter the chicken bus- ° iness, and what are the profits you have in mind that you expect to get from chickens. A thousand dollars a year? Then you must plan to keep a flock of 500 to 750 fowls, Two 6 EGGS AND POULTRY thousand dollars a year? Then figure that your plant will have to number 1000 to 1500 hens. On this basis you should be fair- ly safe and could then study the special methods used by these experts who make the vaunted large profits, building your bus- iness and dividends up to these higher es- timates. You must understand that the poultry bus- iness, at least the table egg branch, is a bus- iness made up by the multiplication of small units; that you are not in the line of high fi- nance but engaged in producing and selling very small things. Eggs are sold at 2 to 5 cents each provided you are so fortunate as to sell any at 5 cents. Even if you do you will find at that time they are worth the price, as it is simply the lack of supply that raises the price. The ordinary, good hen will not average much better than one egg in three days the year round when kept in large flocks. Aver- aging these eggs at 2% to 3 cents each, you will find your hens manufacture about I cent a day. Isn’t this a small business? It is only in numbers, therefore, that you can ex- pect to obtain a fair living. The young man expecting to reap a harvest from chickens THE POULTRY BUSINESS y must remember he will require a flock of 500 at least, besides the equipment to keep it, before he can even expect a fair income. If he hopes to add to his plant it will take some of the income to do that. All such details will be gone into at length later in this book. When eggs are quoted at 4 or 5 cents each it is only natural that the uninitiated should think there is lots of money in chickens, or that they are being mulcted for the poultry~ man’s benefit ; but if they could look in on the poultrymen at this time they would see the majority gathering about one-tenth of the eggs gathered when the price is 24% to 3 cents each. At this time it is discouraging to know you are feeding a dollar a day and getting only ro cents in return. Then it is that Mr. Poultryman needs a great gift of patience and of hope for better things to come, and it requires determination of a higher order to work as faithfully as when the hens are mak- ing some returns. Another necessary thing at this time is some cash saved from spring and summer or a little nest egg saved from some other source. Some of the encouraging features of the business, however, are as follows: The flock of hens can always be disposed of at cost 8 EGGS AND POULTRY or at a very slight sacrifice unless it is of a fancy breed, in which case perhaps, this statement might not apply. In the starting of how many other lines of business can the investor be assured that, if at the end of the year he wants to sell at cost, he can do so even without getting any dividends from his stock as he would get from his hens? Every man launching a new business must take into consideration the fact that he or his heirs might wish to sell. It is a good business in- deed that at forced sale would return any- thing like the amount of money invested. Another of the safe, encouraging features is that of the ready market for all that is pro- duced. Compare this advantage with those of other lines. What a snap a manufacturer would feel he had if he knew he was certain that no matter how much he produced he could not glut the market and that without expensive salesmen he could box and ship his product at a fair price. POULTRY A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS The New York Tribune of October 13, 1913, stated that 1,700,480,880 eggs went into the New York market in 1912. Is it likely that the few you and others will produce, THE POULTRY BUSINESS — 9 will affect this market or the price at which they were sold? This is a billion dollar a year industry you contemplate entering. For some years at least, you need not worry about mar- ket and price, at any rate, not until the movement of young men is toward the coun- try rather than the city. This rapid growth of the cities out of proportion to the de- velopment of the country is the main factor causing high prices. Each year by the thousands young men are turned out by the schools and colleges to face a business career for which they are supposed to have been preparing, and each year these thousands find it more and more difficult to obtain lucrative positions, because of that never failing law of supply and de- mand. ‘This is the very law that adds to the chances of success of the poultryman, be- cause, as the cities fill up with their vast populations which have to be fed, so the op- portunities of the poultry business increase. The wages or the salaries of the men we speak of—not mechanics, who partly through their labor unions and _ partly through the young men selecting profes- sions or clerical work, have had increased wages—have not advanced in proportion to 10 EGGS AND POULTRY the advance in living expenses. But how about the cost of food stuffs—have they ad- vanced? You know to your sorrow that milk, butter, eggs, meat and all other farm products have kept climbing up in price. How can it be otherwise when 99 out of 100 young men choose the life of the consumer rather than the life of the producer. Prices will remain high in spite of “trust busting” and lower tariff which, however, may have some slight effect toward a reduction. Until more young men realize the opportunities awaiting them in the food producing lines the trend of prices will be upward rather than downward. The young men, who, seeing the oppor- tunities, studying and gaining all the knowl- edge they can from others and then entering these fields of production, will be at least as well off at the end of five or ten years as their fellows who selected the occupations offered by the city. Last but not least of the favorable features of the poultry business is health. It is a great question whether it was God’s plan to have the cities of vast population, with palaces and hovels, great hotels and apart- ment houses, gigantic office buildings, fac- THE POULTRY BUSINESS 11 tories and sweat shops, with the awful crowds on all the transit lines—while great stretches of open country are lying waste. “God made the country and man the cities” isa wellknown proverb. In following God’s plan the young man will certainly make no mistake. But, another word of advice: Make sure your family will be satisfied and contented with the life you are contemplating.