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Cornell Mniversity Library

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
FROM THE

SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND

THE GIFT OF

Henry W. Sane

1891I

 

 

 

 

RETURN TO
ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY

ITHACA, N. Y.
TTT
Pade

 

From a Photo. by Mr. E. Davey Lavender, Bromley, Kent.

WILLIAM COOK.
Third Edition.

PHEASANTS, TURKEYS

AND
GEESE : pati
THEIR ma}

Management for Pleasure and Profit,

BY

WILLIAM COOK,

author of “The Practical Poultry Breeder and Feeder: or, how to
make Poultry pay ;” The Book on Ducks, and how to make then
pay 3” The Horse: tts keep and management.” Editor and Proprietor -
of “The Poultry Journal ;” Conductor of Poultry Department “ Farm,
Field and Fireside ;” Weekly Contributor to “* Poultry,” &e., ce.

PRICE 2s. 6d.

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR AT
QUEEN’S HEAD YARD, 105, BOROUGH, LONDON, 5.E.,
AND
ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY KENT.
ENTERED AT STATIONERS’ HALL.

a

eh)
BROMLEY, KENT:
E. CLARKE AND SON,
PRINTING WORKS, 53, UIGH STREET,
AND AT ST. MARY CRAY.
PREFACE.

Pheasants, Turkeys, and Geese, it
would be well to give a few of the
reasons that have led me to undertake
its publication. For some years past

 

 

: many persons have written me, asking
for more ‘fall and detailed information respecting Turkeys
and Geese than the necessarily limited chapters contained
in my “ Poultry Breeder and Feeder” could possibly give
them. I have noted these applications, and now having
found time amid all my other calls to devote to this
subject, I have put into printed form the results of many
experiments, much observation, and a long and wide
experience of the birds I speak of, and the persons for
whose information I am writing.

Pheasant breeding and rearing is an_ industry
carried on very largely in some parts of our country,
but on going over some of the Pheasantries, I
was sorry to find much that seemed to me mis-
management, and many things that needed speedy
reformation, so I have combined in this little work some
chapters upon this subject, it being one in which I am
deeply interested, and upon which I have spent a good
deal of time in patient observation. All the information
PREFACE,

 

‘contained in the book is practical, and if any readers should
find it differ from some work that has come under their
notice prior to its appearance, let me ask them to
compare results, and then’ give their verdict’ as to which
system—the one I advocate, or the one they had previously
believed in—is that which is likely to make their birds
healthy, and themselves more wealthy ; as in stock breeding
and rearing, that desideratum is only to be achieved by
the most careful attention to little things, and the avoidance
of any conditions which are likely to hinder the well-
being of the stock.

My thanks are due to the public for the kind
way in which they have received all my books and
articles, and I trust this further contribution may
add to my readers’ benefit, and better still, to my
readers’ fund of knowledge, which shall help them the
better to manage their stock, so that much profit may be
gained. I would still re-echo my old watchword, and
show “How to make Poultry Pay,” and, in this case,

Pheasants too.
W. COOK.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

 

HE book of Pheasants, Turkeys, and
Geese has now assumed a definite
form, and the Author is sending it
forth to enlighten, and win its way
among, the many Poultry-Keepers and

S=seeoeer others, who have long struggled on

   

 

 

amid many disadvantages which have come to them in
consequence of a lack of that knowledge which is of the
first importance with regard to matters which affect living
animals of any kind. The book has been written— as
have been all the Author’s works—as the result of practical
experience ; the Author making it always a tule to investi-
gate the habits of any bird or animal upon which he
writes, so as to give to the public the results of patient
observation and actual contact with that which he speaks’
of. Thus, many things not to be learned in any other
way are found in the pages of his books, detailed in
simple language, so that young and old may learn those
conditions, the observance of which lead to success and
consequently to pleasure and profit. The portion of the
book which deals with pheasant rearing will be found
valuable by those who, in the past, have lost many young
birds and had many a disastrous failure, the result of
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

 

mismanagement in breeding and feeding; and the
Chapters on Turkeys and Geese will show many how to
rear those larger birds to good advantage, and make the
best prices by having their birds ready at times, when
high prices are realised and also how to manage them,
so that the corn bill is reduced to the minimum by killing
at the most advantageous time, and so avoid keeping them
to no purpose. Diseases, their prevention and cure, are
dealt with fully, the symptoms being shown, and the
proper precautions in cases of infectious diseases being
given, so that the danger might be reduced to the lowest
point and many birds saved, which, if no care were taken,
would be lost.

The question of sharp grit for poultry—always an
important matter—is fully dealt with, and as many people
do not think how important the proper supply of this
most necessary article is, the book will prove a further
warning even in this matter.

The Author's other publications, viz :—“ Practical Poultry
Breeder and Feeder : or, how to make Poultry pay ;” “The
Book on Ducks, and how to make them pay;” “The
Horse: its keep and management ; ” have proved very
useful to the public, and he indulges the hope that this
further contribution to his works will meet the great
need and necessity it is written to deal with. He is
willing, if any reader should desire further information, to
give it, if application is made by letter, enclosing a
stamped and addressed envelope for reply, to Orpington
House St. Mary Cray, Kent.
SECTION I.

“s PHEASANTS.
en oa eee
a) fea
; Te

5
Eu iis

 

CONTENTS.

SECTION I.-—-PHEASANTS.

PAGES.

Section I.

Nrock PHEASANTS For BREEDING PURPOSES ..,

Pheasants in enclosed runs : how to avoid weakening
influences of confinement—C rass for stock Pheasants

~Pheasants in their wild state, how they look after
their young—White Pheasants and their crosses—
Mating stock Pheasants.

FEEDING PHEASANTS... at wi ass aie

Pheasants being wild birds should be treated
accordingly — Maize ; injurious effects following
excessive use of it-—Weakly Pheasants and their
susceptibility to all diseases—Grain meal and mangel
wurzel for Pheasants—Dust and Poultry Powder for
Pheasants bring good results and good profits.

SITTING AND HATCHING _... oes ss tee ase

Hatching Pheasants under hens—‘‘Silkies” for
hatching Pheasants—Lice on sitting hens: how to
destroy—Pheasants turn their eggs.

Feepina AND MANAGEMENT oF YOUNG PHEASANTS

Young Pheasants: the care of them after hatching
—The care of hens when sitting—The feeding of
young Pheasants—Runs, &c., for young Pheasants
—How to place young Pheasants in the best positions
to fit them for sport,

1—9

11—16

17—21

23—32
CONTENTS.

 

PAGES.
Section [.

DISEASES... ar av Esy os sti ate .. 33-36

Pheasants not subject to so many diseases as some
think—Young Pheasants delicate—Cold, roup, con-
gested lungs and liver disease.

Coops AND RUNS FOR YOUNG PHEASANTS _... .. 387-42

Pheasant coops: their use and how to make them—
Covered runs: their value and use—Tarring and
lime-washing.

PHEASANT Runs bas ae we ais oe ww. 48—49

The peculiarities of Pheasants and their preference
for the open—Pheasant runs: how to make and
arrange—Dust for Pheasants, and weather hoards
for pens.

SSO
 

voXx INDEX—Section I, k.

PHEASANTS.

PAGES.

Section I.
Arrongement of coops for pheasants... a sie a 31
Arrangemont of breeding pens... is an ae was 45
Cock pheasants + how to keep from fighting ai a 3
Chinese pheasants sigs os es sa st i 4
Clipping wings of pheasants —... Wit Soh esta. ces 7
Care of pheasants in confinement or say + 11
Care of hens while sitting on pheasant eggs... ie si 19
Coops for bringing wp young pheasants ie sit ity 2
Congestion of lungs among pheasants 9 wai iad 35
Cost of rearing pheasants ‘sis cig aa Ki sia 40
Care of pheasants : to avoid fright during breeding season AZ
Collection of pheasants’ eggs: how best to manage aes 46
Dust for pheasants hi Sie xt we ae ki 47
Dummy eggs for inducing birds to lay = Sou ‘ 48
Frames, food and runs for young pheasants... wes us 235
Feeding pheasants in cold weather... i aes ia 31
Croats and oatmeal for growing pheasants ... te ane 26
Grain for pheasants i wat sar ss ss sink 28
Gamo meal and © Crissel”” for pheasants —... ant aia 29
Gapes among phoasants ... at sok ant oo its Mt
Creon stuff and herbs for pheasants... sin uA sn 48
en pheasants and their young a ii ai is 3
Natehing phoasants ae se ag a de ia 7
Hons for hatehing pheasant eges : best kinds of... ey 18
How to roar pheasants in woods wis ind Sit . a2
Hurdles for ponning pheasants ; how to make and arrange 43

Insect food for pheasants es ais oa on ea 13
INDEX-—-SECTION I.

¥

PAGES.
Section I.
Laying qualities of pheasants ... 6
Liver disease among pheasants... ie 36
Lime washing coops : how best to manage as 42
Mating stock pheasants .. 4
Maize for pheasants : how to give and how not 13
Maggots for young pheasants : how to produce 27
Number of eags laid by pheasants 7
Nests for hatching pheasants ... 20
Old English pheasants 4
Popular ideas concerning weakness of i ai 1
Pheasants—wild birds 2
Pied pheasants : disadvantages in using same for spor ting
purposes te : 3 A 3
Pheasant runs 6
Pinioning pheasants 7
Price of pheasants’ Obs ane es 8
Pheasants and their habits in wild state 12
Pheasant eggs : how to keep 21
Pheasants and disease a 33
Pheasant aa ground for same ... 34
Pheasants after breeding season : how to deal with 36
Perches for pheasant runs * 47
Roup among pheasants : how to deal with ... 34
Runs for rearing young pheasants, sizes, Ke. 38
Stock pheasants: their management for successful
breeding a wt kl 2
Selection of breeding pens ‘ 8
‘* Silkies ” for hatching pheasants 19
String, not wire netting, for tops of pens 45
Shelters for pheasant runs ose 47
Sharp grit for pheasants... 48
Straying pheasants: how ‘to catch 49
Tarring pheasant coops : how best to manage it 41
White pheasants .. 5
Weakening influences of too much maize 15
Water for ‘pheasants ee ae 30
Young pheasants: how to care for. 23
Young pheasants: their food in a wild state 2G
Young pheasants: how to deal with ... ag 37
‘LNVSV4Hd MOOD

 
ina a
1 we <a an ry) eae a

 

PHEASANTS.

STOCK PHEASANTS
FOR BREEDING PURPOSES.

Pheasants in enclosed runs: how to avoid weakening influences of
confinement—Grass for stock Pheasants—Pheasants in their wild
state, how they look after their young—White pheasants and
their crosses—Mating stock Pheasants.

T is said by people of experience who keep pheasants
enclosed for the purpose of breeding, that the young
pheasants become weaker every year. That is, if the
stock birds are always enclosed and never have their
liberty. Of course, it depends a great deal upon the
circumstances under which they are kept. Some breeders
will keep their birds in very small pens where all the
grass is worn down,
Pheasants, above all other birds, should be penned so
that they can get plenty of grass.
I
2 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

I lately called upon a pheasant breeder, who kept some
hundreds of stock birds, and they were in pens about
three yards by six, with one cock and six hens in each
pen. To my idea, it is unnatural to keep pheasants in
this way for breeding purposes. When these birds are
shut up in confined runs it is unnatural to them, though
they may be kept in that way and bred from successfully,
only under these circumstances they require a great deal
more care.

Pheasants to a certain extent are more of a wild
nature than poultry, as the latter have been domesticated
for many years, and consequently are more tame and
docile. It is natural for pheasants to run and fly about
more than fowls, they ought therefore to be treated
accordingly.

I do not mean to condemn keeping pheasants in
confined runs, as long as they have proper management.

Pheasants, in their natural state, eat a great deal of
green-stuff and take a large amount of exercise.
The more of the latter we can allow them, and
the greater facility they have for getting herbage, the:
stronger will the young ones be which are produced from
such stock birds. If we take any live stock from their
natural course of living and partly domesticate them, we
must copy nature as near as possible, both as regards
feeding and the arrangements of their dwelling places.

It is an old saying, when pheasants are at large and
breed as they like, they are much stronger than those
which are kept shut up. Yet they interbreed without
fresh blood being introduced.
W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 3

There is a great deal in this, but it must be borne
in mind when pheasants have their liberty, the male
birds will often go miles in search of other hens. In
this way fresh blood is obtained.or partly so, then again,
as a rule, it is only the strongest of the young pheasants
survive,

Cock pheasants will fight a great deal, and if there is
a weakly one, the strongest are sure to kill him or drive
him away, so that he has no opportunity to have any
intercourse with the hens. Should there be any weakly
young ones hatched out when they are all running at
liberty, what becomes of them? They die off before
they are ten days old, it is only the strongest which
survive.

Tf a hen pheasant hatches fifteen or eighteen young
ones, there is seldom more than from six to nine reared,
and they are just the strongest which can follow the hen.

A hen pheasant is not so careful of her young as an
ordinary hen, or even a partridge. ‘The latter is far more
intelligent than a pheasant. Ifa hen partridge misses a
young one or two, she will go back and brood them
when they are weakly and have been dabbling through
the wet grass, and the strong ones she will call to her,
or in many cases the cock bird takes charge of them and
broods them.

A hen pheasant will walk alone and the strong ones have
to follow her, while the weaker ones are left behind to
die. Partridges are particularly intelligent as regards
rearing their young, the latter are under great control.

. The hen will not allow the little ones to go from her in
1*
4 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

wet weather, unless she ge.s frightened or upset in any
way. In that case the oid birds just give a call, and the
little things are underneath the grass hidden away
directly.

A cock partridge will attend to the young just the
same as an old hen, not only that, but in wet weather
he will take the food to them, and the old hen will take
great care they do not go far in the wet grass. Pheasants
are quite different to this.

When pheasants are enclosed for the purpose of
breeding from them, care should always be taken to mate
them together as much unrelated as possible. The young
birds always grow out so much stronger and there are
less deaths among them, which is more satisfactory both
to the owner and the seller.

Though I rear pheasants I always take care to breed
from unrelated birds, and as I have two farms I have
little difficulty in keeping the birds distinct.

There is often a discussion amongst pheasant breeders
as to which are the best breeds to keep, as there are
so many various sorts. Our old English pheasants were
originally very handsome dark birds, but for many years
they have been crossed. Principally the Chinese have
been used for this purpose. They have a white ring
round the neck and are rather larger than our English
pheasants. The hens also are paler in colour, and the
cocks are not such a dark brilliant brown colour. At the
same time they are very handsome.

When hens have a great deal of Chinese blood in
them, sometimes the progeny will come pied, and
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 5

 

occasionally a few white ones will crop up. As a rule,
however, the hen will kill the white ones, as they are a
different colour.

There is no doubt many of the pheasants have the
Bohemian blood in them, as a large number of breeders
use that blood on account of the size. The hens are a kind
of creamy mottled colour, and the body of the cock is
of the same colour only a little more mottled. The male
has usually a black or green head. It is by crossing
these birds with the old English pheasants, or in some
cases the Chinese, we get the pied and white specimens.

I know one breeder in Bedfordshire, who rears a
number of white pheasants, but these usually originate
from the Bohemians, as he crosses a cock of that breed
with the ordinary pheasant hens to obtain the white
birds.

It is never well to turn pied or white birds down for
shooting purposes, as they are seen so easily from a
distance by the poachers. They can be seen when on the
ground a long way off, but when they are brown, that is
a pheasant’s natural colour, as a rule they are not
noticed till they fly up.

When the hen pheasants are rather light in colour, it
is best to use cocks with a dark neck without a ring
round them, it brings the progeny darker, but this is only
a matter of fancy.

The principal thing in keeping stock birds in confined
runs is to have fresh blood, and always breed from very
strong male birds. They should have as much room as
possible, so that they can take exercise. A pheasant pen
6  W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

should always be rather longer than wide. No matter
how long the pen is, the pheasants. keep walking up and
down from end to end. This will be more fully
explained in the chapter on pheasant runs. The question
is often asked, “ How is it best to keep pheasants ? ”
Do they do best divided into small pens, say one cock
and from four to seven hens, or let run altogether in
one large pen of about fifty, so that they can have a
good range. Now, I have tried this experiment myself,
and have also seen many pheasant breeders do the same,
so I will give my experience. I do not find they lay .
quite as many eggs in proportion where there is a large
number running together, but in the latter case they seem
to be happier, the eggs are more fertile as a rule, and
the young ones from the stock birds are strong and vigorous,
at any rate they are in most cases.

Some years ago, pheasant breeders used to think three
or four hens was the largest number anyone should put
with one male bird. Experience teaches differently, for
the eggs are as fertile from a strong cock with seven
hens, in fact more so, than where there are only three
hens.

I do not consider it safe to let one cock run with less
than four hens, especially if he is active, as he cuts the
hens about so much and the eggs are not so fertile.
This is easily accounted for by the fact that the hen
pheasant is afraid of him.

In a few instances, I have met with cases where a
pheasant cock has died, and the owner has let two pens
run together and made one large pen. In several cases
WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, ah

twelve and fourteen hens have run with one cock, and
as a rule, eighteen eggs out of every twenty have been
fertile, so that amateur pheasant breeders need not be
afraid of putting six or eight hens with one male bird.
Some breeders put eight or ten fowls with one cock, and
it is possible for one male bird to run with twenty or
twenty-five hens and yet all the eggs turn out fertile,
but of course that is an exception and not the rule.

Many pheasant breeders make a custom of pinioning
their birds. This I think is wrong, because should one
get out of the pens and a dog, fox, or poacher go after
it, the poor thing is bound to get captured. If the
pheasants have their wings cut the feathers grow again.
Only one wing should be clipped fairly short.

Some people cut both wings a little, in this case they
will run up the wire, as they can balance themselves, but
if one wing is cut fairly short and the other left, when
they attempt to climb they over-balance and fall down.

Stock pheasants always lay better, and as a rule a few
days earlier if the pens are situated towards the south
and sheltered from the north-east winds. When they are
‘in their natural state they always get along by the side
of a nice sunny bank, wood, or hedge-row. In this we
should copy nature and shelter the birds from the winds,
letting them have as much sun as possible.

It used to be thought if pheasants laid from fifteen
to twenty-five eggs in the year that was a very fair number,
but they have been improved upon very much in this
respect during the last few years, and they will now lay
from thirty-five up to sixty-five.
8 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

Of course, the eggs laid during April are more valuable
than those produced at any other time, and my readers
must understand also there is a great difference in the
laying qualities of pheasants, just the same as there is in
fowls. When the Chinese blood is introduced, it brings
larger eggs and a greater number of them.

Pheasant-keeping has become quite an industry during
the last few years. Many hundreds of Cottagers keep
them for the purpose of selling their eggs in the season.

There is always a great demand for stock pheasants
during January and February, and the hens make long prices,
seldom realising less than 10/6 and 21/- ; cocks can be bought
a trifle cheaper. There is also a deal of disappointment
in buying pheasants, as some breeders buy up a lot of
two-year-old birds, and sell them as young ones, and it
these happen to have been fed on maize, not more than
three out of twenty live to the next August.

After hen pheasants have laid for two years they are
not of much value, unless they have been brought up
with a good range, then they are as likely to lay as well
as they did in their second year, but when they have
been kept in close confinement they are bound to fall off
in condition after the first two years. I always think
two-year-old hens produce rather stronger young pheasants
than young hens, because the eggs are a trifle larger and
the germ is stronger.

I usually mate those with young cocks and the young
hens I mate with two-year-old cocks, that strengthens
the germs. I do not mean to imply that the young
pheasants the first year will not breed together, they will,
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 9

 

and it is possible to get some fine birds. Some breeders
will have nothing else. I mention mating the old hens
with the young cocks, and the old cocks with the young
hens, especially when they are kept in close confinement,
because in that way the germs are stronger, and as young
pheasants are always rather delicate it is best to breed the
way they come strongest.

 
 
  
 

 

CSG Tor

   

FEEDING PHEASANTS.

Pheasants being wild birds should be treated accordingly—Maize :
inlurious effects following excessive use of it—Weakly Pheasants
and their susceptibility to all disenses—Grain meal and mangel
wurzel for Pheasants—Dust and Poultry Powder for Pheasants
bring good results and good profits.

HEASANTS in their natural state get their own
living, but of course, where they are kept too
thick upon the ground they do not get on so well unless they
are fed a little by hand. Pheasants, properly speaking,
are wild birds, and it comes natural for them to get their
own living. When the young birds are first hatched they
search for their food quite differently to young chickens.
As a rule there is more meat upon the breast than
there is on most birds, that is, according to size.
This is often a mystery to many people, as they
wonder why they should have so much meat upon the
breast when they are not fed upon grain.
12 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

Pheasants will go a long way in search of food. ‘They
are out first thing in the morning, as soon as it is day-
light, searching for worms, slugs, grubs, &c. Then
again, pheasants eat a great deal of green stuff. In the
winter time they will frequently visit turnip fields. They
will do this in the summer, but more especially in the
winter, they are particularly fond of turnip tops and
chickweed. People often wonder how pheasants get on
in the very hard winter weather, when there is no possi-
bility of them getting worms and grubs.

I have watched them very carefully and find they turn
the leaves over in the wood, especially with their beak.
There is always a certain amount of insect life in a wood,
under the dead foliage, but small acorns are their principal
food in the severe weather.-

They also eat the large acorns, but those they
usually peck to pieces. The small ones they swallow
whole.

Then again, when the weather is very sharp the keepers
often feed them on grain. Of course, there are pheasants
kept at different parts of the country, where there is no
keeper, but in such cases the pheasants are nothing like
so thick upon the ground, perhaps in such an instance
as the latter there would not be more than one or two
hen pheasants in a large wood for the breeding season,
and that only means two or three broods of young ones. As
pheasants are naturally wild birds, insect life is their
principal food, and it is rather unnatural for them to be
kept in confinement and fed upon grain. What I want
more particularly to refer to is the use of Indian corn.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 13

 

Seventeen people out of every twenty, especially in some
districts, who rear pheasants and shut them up for breeding
purposes, feed them principally on Indian. corn all the
winter. This is a most unnatural grain to give these
birds, as it is very fattening, and does not make just what
is wanted. Barley is far superior, buckwheat is better
still, but pheasants in their natural state are accustomed
to a variety of things. There are two reasons why
people usually feed on Indian corn. First, because it is
cheap, and secondly, it is very warming, and of course
when pheasants are confined they have nothing like the
exercise in flying and running about as when they
have their liberty. When they are fed upon Indian corn
in the winter, and they have their liberty and can get
insects, herbs, and all kinds of green-stuff, the corn
does not have such an injurious effect upon them. It
is when they are kept in confinement during the winter
months and fed principally upon the Indian corn the
mischief is done, in that case the birds seldom last more
than two years. This grain is too stimulating and heats
the blood and brings on liver disease.

In some cases, where there have been twenty pheasants
kept in one pen, I have known only three to be left out
of that number at the end of the breeding season of the
third year. They have died with ulcerated stomachs, spleen
and kidney, as well as a tuberculous liver. When
pheasants are enclosed they should be fed on less Indian
corn than any other grain.

As a large poultry breeder, I have found too much
maize or Indian corn very injurious to fowls when they
14 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

are kept in confinement, hut it affects pheasants far more
than fowls.

Then again it not only affects the old stock birds, but
also the young ones very materially. For instance, if a
person buys 100 eggs from a pheasant breeder, where the
stock birds have been fed on buckwheat and barley, and
too eggs from another place, where the stock birds
have been fed chiefly on Indian corn, he will find the
eggs from the former produce considerably stronger and
healthier young birds than the latter. The strong youngsters.
too will grow much faster, and there will be fewer deaths
amongst the stock birds which have been fed on French
buckwheat, wheat and barley (I mention French buck-
wheat because it is so much better than the English or
German for feeding).

In many cases, where a pheasant breeder has been
rearing young ones, they have rot brought up more
than twenty-five out of too when the eggs have come
from stock birds which have been fed largely on Indian
corn. This I have proved to be a fact over and over
again. Yet strange to say people often wonder why it is
their young pheasants die.

I have tried the experiment myself, and have also
visited many pheasantries during my travels, that is over
30,000 miles a year, lecturing and giving advice on the
subject, so that I speak from experience in this respect.

Again, when young pheasants are weakly they are more
susceptible to gapes, cold, roup, and congestion of the lungs.

I believe there are more young pheasants die from
the latter cause than any other, but there are many lost with
W. COOKS TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. I5

 

cold and roup. They get a cold and sore throat, and the:
nostrils get stuffed up, and they open their little mouth, as
they have to breathe out of it instead of their nostrils.
Many people when they see them doing this put it down to
gapes, but it is merely a cold or roup. Pheasants are often
sent to me for post-mortem examination, the owners
saying they believe it to be a case of “gapes,” when.
there has not even been a sign of gapes, it has more often
been roup, brought on through the bird taking cold..
This will be dealt with more fully in a later chapter.

When stock pheasants are confined in small ‘pens their
treatment in the way of diet should be as near ragure as
possible, not. only in the breeding season, but all through
the winter. What I mean to say is, that when thesp birds
are kept in confinement they should have sometling in.
the place of insect life during the winter.

A little granulated meat or crissel mixed in thgir soft
food during the winter is a good thing. i

It is quite unnatural to feed them upon all grain and
nothing else, as when they have their liberty their
principal food is soft insect life, and as a rule, when they
-are fed on all grain it shortens their lives. It is not
necessary to give pheasants warm soft food in the
morning, the same as we give fowls during the cold
weather, but if they have it given them warm after March
comes in, it often brings them on to lay a little earlier
than they otherwise would do.

There is nothing like changing the grain for pheasants
as much as possible when they are kept in confinement.
French buckwheat, barley, wheat and occasionally a few
16 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

oats are all good grains for them, and a little Indian corn,
say once a week, will not hurt them.

Plenty of -green-stuff should be provided for these birds
through the winter, as when they have that they do not
require so much grain.

Pheasants should have a grass run, if possible, if not, they
will require a great deal more attention, and either turnips
or small pieces of mangel-wurzel cut up and thrown in to
them occasionally.

When pheasants are looking a little drooping, water-cresses
cut up fine and thrown into the run, are very beneficial.
Where a large number of these birds are kept, and there is a
stream running near the house, it is well to have a water-cress
bed. If this can be managed it does them so much good
and keeps them in prime condition, and at the same time
they are very fond of them.

In all cases where stock pheasants are kept in confine-
ment they should have a good supply of grit to help
them masticate their food. Road scrapings, put in a little
heap in the run, not only does for grit but makes a nice dust
heap for them to dust themselves in.

Pheasant breeders are using the Poultry Powders largely
through Marchand April, to bring the stock birds on to laya
little earlier, and where this is done they lay far more eggs
during the first months. It is a stimulant and tonic which
does not injure the birds.
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SITTING AND HATCHING.

Hatching Pheasants under hens—“‘Silkies ” for hatching Pheasants—
Lice on sitting hens ; how to destroy—Pheasants turn their eggs.
HOSE who hatch young pheasants, as a rule use
ordinary hens, as they make far better mothers
than pheasant hens do. The latter do not do well
confined in a coop, as they are too restless, therefore,
those who hatch a lot of young pheasants should always
be prepared with a good class of hens for sitting
Experienced pheasant keepers usually look out and
get a hen which has only four toes on each foot, as when
a hen has five she often crushes the young birds when
hatched out, a great deal more than those which have
four.
Fowls with a lot of feathers on the legs, such as
Brahmas and Cochins, should be avoided as much as

possible.
2
18 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

Half bred Dorkings. make splendid sitters and mothers
for pheasants, especially those which come with four
toes.

Of course, early in the season all those who hatch
pheasants are wise to get any broody hens they can lay
hands on, but where they are bred especially for sitting
purposes, I like Orpington Game, Plymouth Rock Game,
Game-Cochin and Game-Brahma.

Why I mention these breeds is because they usually
take care of the pheasants for a long time.

When any variety is crossed with a Minorca, Leghorn,
or some other non-sitting variety, they will often
commence laying at from eighteen to twenty-one days,
and they are liable to peck their young family instead of
protecting and taking care of them.

It is always well to get game blood if possible in a
broody hen, as they are such splendid birds to keep to
their young ones, and do not come on to lay as a rule
so soon as other breeds after the period of incubation.

Some people do not like heavy hens for hatching
pheasant eggs, but it is not weight so much as the
breed. Cochins and Erahmas in their pure state are
big, heavy, clumsy birds, but when they are crossed with
other breeds, especially game, they are very careful in
going on the nest. It is not always the heaviest birds
which break the eggs or kill the chickens. The best
hens to use for sitting on pheasants’ and partridges’ eggs
are ‘“Silkies.” They are small hens and are very
careful, both with the eggs and young ones. These
birds are very valuable for sitting purposes, in fact,
WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. I9

 

where partridges are reared these hens should always be
kept.

If a good sized ‘“Silkie” cock can be obtained, and
crossed with small Indian Game hens or Black Breasted
Red Game hens, the pullets they produce are the best
sitters of any breed I know of, but there are so few people
who wili take the trouble to breed them.

The next thing is the number of eggs which should be
put under the hen. Opinions differ in this respect, but
as a rule I never put less than twenty under a fair sized
hen. Fifteen or seventeen under a small hen is quite
sufficient, but in case of an extra large hen, she should never
have more than twenty or twenty-three at most. Of
course, the hen might cover more, but the eggs are more
liable to roll on the top of each other, more so than
the hens’ eggs, and they are liable to get crushed.

A hen should always be dusted well with insect powder
when sitting, and at the same time should be allowed
a dust bath, but no lime should be put in: the dust.
During the hatching season there should always be slack-
lime put in the bottom of the nest and fine hay on the top
of that before a hen is set, as vermin breed very fast
while the hen is sitting, then the little things get on the
young birds, and that is the cause of one third of our
pheasants dying.

If more care were bestowed on the hens while sitting,
it would save breeders a great deal of trouble. When the
vermin once get on the young pheasants it weakens them
so much that they will often die in from three to ten

days.
2 *
20 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

These small lice are the same colour as the skin of the
pheasant, so it is only those who are experienced and
know where to look for them are able to find them, as
they run very fast.

When setting pheasant eggs it is always best to make
the nest with soil, then a thin coat of lime and some
fine hay on the top of that. The pheasants usually
hatch out much better if the nests are made with damp
soil.

When these birds make their own nests it is in almost
every case on the’ ground. The warmth from the
pheasant’s body draws the moisture from the ground,
which softens the inner membrane of the egg. If
there is not a good thickness of soil when the hen is
sitting upon the pheasant eggs, it is well to sprinkle a
little water on the eggs the last four days, so that the
water runs to the bottom of the nest, then the warmth
from the hen’s body draws the moisture round the eggs,
‘making it warm by the heat which comes from her body.
As a rule, pheasant eggs are very fertile and hatch
out better than hens’ eggs. When they are once chipped
they soon hatch out.

Pheasants’ eggs take twenty-four days to hatch,
occasionally they will come out on the 23rd day, and in
a few cases I have known them go twenty-six days, but
that is unusual.

It is often a mystery to people when pheasants lay
from fifteen to nineteen eggs in a nest, as a rule they
hatch out well, because it is always thought the eggs
require turning. That is quite right, and both pheasants
W. COOK's TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, 21

 

and partridges turn their eggs over when they go to lay
an egg in the nest. This can easily be told by marking
the eggs.

When pheasants’ eggs have to be kept any length of
time, it is best to keep them on the small end. They
will keep from fifteen to twenty-eight days and hatch out
well, but of course it is much better to set them as fresh
as possible,

AG
 
 

FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT
OF YOUNG PHEASANTS.

Young Pheasants : the care of them after hatching —The care of hens
when sitting—The feeding of young pheasants—Runs, etc., for
young pheasants—How to place young pheasants in the best
positions to fit them for sport.

VV" EN young pheasants are first hatched, they are

very small. This is easily accounted for,
because the eggs are so small in proportion to the size of
the birds. The young pheasants have not much stamina in
them the first few days of their existence, therefore they
want dealing with very carefully.

A novice often makes great mistakes in hatching
pheasants.

To begin with, they take them and set them in the open
with the hen in a coop before they are one day old, the
result is they find several missing and wonder where they
have got to. When first hatched it is their nature to be shy
and timid. When a hen is cooped up, if they once get out
24 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

of the sound of her call, they get lost and have no idea of
the’way back. In some cases they will go in search of flies
and insects before they are three days old and often get
lost. It is not so much their being frightened away as losing
their way, and when they are unable to find the way back
they get very frightened.

When there are several hens sitting on pheasant eggs at
the same time, one or two may be quieter than the others,
especially if they are very docile. Here a little discretion
is needed. The quietest hen should be taken off the nest
first, and the pheasants which are hatched out first should
be given to her; then the next quietest, and so on; then
the wildest hen will be left till last, and in the meantime
those first hatched will be getting strong and should be
given to the hen which came off last.

Some hens when they are put in a coop are restless and
walk about, but a good mother will settle down quietly and
the young pheasants will take protection under her wings.
Such hens should always be used as nurses, then when the
young birds get strong they can be given to a more restless
hen and other young ones can be put under the quiet hen
for a time while they require more care. If more attention
were bestowed upon the young pheasants when first hatched
a great deal of trouble would be saved, as the little things
often get trampled upon when they are very young. As
soon as the pheasants are hatched out they should have a
little frame made of small quartering and then boards put
.. before the coop from 3ft. to 4ft. long, the same width as the
coop, to fit close up, half-inch mesh wire should be put over
the top, boards from 12 to 18 inches high will do. These
a

W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 25

 

protect them from the cold winds when they are very young
and also prevent them from straying away until they get
strong. It isa good plan to leave the end of the frame
open and wire it over just the same as the top with half-
inch mesh wire. ‘This gives the young birds an opportunity
of seeing outside, and they get more accustomed to the
place, though there are a good many frames used with no
wire at the end, only boards.

It is best to keep young pheasants from four to seven
days in these frames, moving them every day or every other
day, so that they are on fresh ground. Here a difficulty
presents itself in wet weather or when the grass is very damp.
‘Though it is natural for young pheasants to sleep on the
bare ground with the old ones protecting them, it is much
better to have boarded bottoms to the coops and peat moss
about two inches thick, this is both warm and dry to their
little feet, and when the moss peat is used the ground does
not get stale. (Refer to chapter on Pheasant Runs.)

Young pheasants when first hatched should be fed very
carefully, that is to say, they should have good nutritious
food, a little ata time. When a lot of food is put down
and tumed sour by the sun it is sure to upset them, nothing
relaxes the bowels of young pheasants quicker than sour
food or anything which is stale. Everything should be
perfectly fresh. Hard-boiled egg chopped up and mixed
with a little of Spratts’ biscuit meal, just damped, and young
grown mustard (that which is used with cress) are good
things. A young pheasant when first hatched has scarcely
any warmth in it, therefore it wants something of a warming
nature, and the green mustard is the finest thing possibie,
26 W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

The egg should be chopped up fine and mixed with the
biscuit meal, and just soaked a little, and not mixed sloppy.
The young mustard should be cut up very fine and rubbed
in between the palms of the hands so that it all mixes.
This should be done twice a day, so that it is perfectly fresh.

It is surprising how young pheasants will grow if treated
in this way. When about two days old they may have a few
groats, but they should always be split, or oats with the
husks taken off, split up in small pieces, similar to coarse
oatmeal, may be given. Where a person has none of
these, it is well to buy some coarse oatmeal, sift it, and give
the pheasants the siftings.

The attendant should always test the groats or oatmeal to
see they are not stale. There will be a sharp hot taste with
them if they are stale, if fresh, the taste is sweet. When
young pheasants are noticed to be relaxed in the bowels,
give a little broken dry rice the first few days, that will stop
it quicker'than anything else. After they are three days old
they may have a little hemp seed once a day, just a few
kernels, they are stimulating. The first three weeks is
where the greatest danger lies of young pheasants going
wrong, but if they are attended to carefully very few die.

When young pheasants are running in their natural state,
they live principally upon slugs, grubs, maggots, wire-
worms, and a great number of green flies, some of which
are so minute they cannot be seen with the naked eye-
When therefore they are brought up in large numbers
and thickly on the ground they should have a substitute
for these. Gentles, which most people call maggots, are
the best to give them for this purpose.
W, COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 27

 

Many people hang up a dead fowl, rabbit, piece of horse-
flesh, or piece of dead sheep, and the young pheasants are
allowed to go underneath and pick up the maggots as they
fall.

This is altogether wrong for two reasons, first of all it
makes the young pheasants dainty, they get so fond of them
that they will not eat their food. Secondly, there is a nasty
slime upon the maggots when they first leave the meat, and
that brings on diarrhoea in the young birds. Then again,
the meat, or whatever it may be, must hang up a certain
time until it smells, in hot weather it smells very badly,
which is most unpleasant. Now it is much better to bury
the meat in the ground and put half or three-quarters of an
inch of soil or chaff on the top and some sawdust, just to
make it light, then the maggots in working through to the
top of this cleanse themselves. It is well to lay a thin bag
over the place, so that it is kept dark and the maggots will
always come to the top when they are full. The old sack
or bag answers two purposes, in the first place it makes it
dark for them, secondly, it is a protection against all kinds
of birds fetching the maggots away, which sparrows and
other birds are always ready to do if they once find out
where they are. The maggots can then be gathered up and
put under a box or pail. This should be done in the
evening, so that the pheasants can have two good feeds
before it becomes dark. If managed in this way it does
not make the birds dainty, but when they have too many
maggots given them they turn against their other food.
When young pheasants are not doing well or drooping a
little, they should have a few given them three or four times
28 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

a day, they will often eat them when they will not touch
anything else. When the young birds are fed in this way
they appear to grow even faster than chickens, and feather
very quickly. After they get fourteen days old they may havea
little French buckwheat, not English or German, as the skin
upon both those grains is much thicker, and the kernel
inside is not so large as the French. Putting it plainiy, the
English and German buckwheat is too tough to grind or-
masticate. If young pheasants get over the first month or
six weeks, they are as hardy as any others of the feathered
tribe, that is, after they once get their feathers, especially
when the second tai] begins to shoot out about two inches
long. I use a little roup powder to mix in the soft food for
my young pheasants, and many other breeders have done
the same these last few years, and where it has been used I
have not known one breeder out of ten to havea single
attack of gapes.

I provide a special meal for young pheasants after they
get a fortnight old, one which will not stick. Pheasants do
not like anything which will stick to the beak.

It is very disappointing when so many young pheasants
die off, but this cannot always be avoided. There seem to
be more die with congested lungs than from any other
cause, that is when they are from two to seven days
old.

This complaint is chiefly brought on through the sudden
changes in the weather. The little things are under the
hen all night, and are very warm, and if they are allowed to
run in the damp grass they soon go wrong, as it is very cold
before the sun rises
W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, 29

 

I have many young pheasants sent to me for post-mortem
examination from different parts of the country, and I find
there are more die between the age of two and fourteen
days from congested lungs than from any other cause.
They appear to be in good health, only failing for a few hours
before death,

Early hatched pheasants should always be protected by
small covered runs, which will be found more fully described
in the chapter on coops. The small runs protect them
from the wet as well as the cold weather.

Several good pheasant meals have been advertised during
the last few years. Spratts’ Patent have brought out an
excellent game meal for this purpose, which I can
strongly recommend, but very little meal of any
kind should be given till the birds are at least seven days
old. Crissel, or granulated meat, mixed with the meals is
splendid for young pheasants, but it should never be put in
the pheasant meal by the manufacturer, as these birds are
brought up under such different circumstances. So much
depends upon whether they are kept thick upon the ground
or have a large range. ‘Then again, some ground is so much
fuller of grub and insect life than others, therefore it would
not do to lay down any hard and fast rule as to the quantity
of ‘ Crissel ' which should be given, or whether any should
be given at all, it must be left to the attendant’s judgment.

The ‘Crissel’ answers well for grub and insect life. In all
cases it should be scalded, that is, have boiling water poured
upon it, then the meal mixed with it. Some people put a lot of
water on, then squeeze it out, but this is wrong, as it takes
a great deal of nutriment from the meat, not only that, but
30 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

there is also a quantity of salt which gets drawn from the
meat. The salt is very good for young pheasants and
chickens, and acts as a medicine, but care must
be taken not to give them too much, if so, it makes them
thirsty, which brings on diarrhcea. Whenever this occurs
give dry rice, that is the best thing they can have.

Young pheasants should not have any water the first two
days, then it should be given quite fresh and not stagnant
from a pool.

The water should always be tipped over at night, not left
till the morning, so that they can run to it directly they
come from the hen, if so, it will do them a great deal of
injury, as the water is very cold right up to the middle of
June, and is almost sure to upset the young pheasants when.
they are allowed to have it very early. They ought always
to be fed: well before they are allowed to drink. Dari,
which is a splendid grain for young pheasants, can be
given them after they are two days old.

When rearing these birds care must be taken not to have
some three weeks and some three days old in coops near
each other, if so, they are almost sure to go to the wrong
coop. When they do that it usually means death, as the
hens will peck either smaller or larger young ones than their
own, therefore it is advisable, where it can be managed, to
have them all as near one age as possible.

Strict observation has taught me there are hundreds of
young pheasants lost every year simply through the coops
standing within a few yards of each other.

It is well to have a match-board about 18 in. wide and
2 ft. long, planed, nailed on to two small pieces of
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 31

 

quartering, so that it lies almost close to the ground, and if
the foo! is put on it there is nothing wasted. Should the
young pheasants not peck it off clean it can be swept off at
once. Why I say the board should be planed is, so that it
can be washed occasionally, whereas if the board is rough it
soon begins to smell on account of the food getting into the
crevices and growing stale and consequently offensive.

After the young pheasants get a month or five weeks old
such great care is not always necessary. Their food can
then be thrown on the grass, but I do not advise such a
method, even in that case, especially the last thing at night,
because if it is thrown on the ground it cannot be got up,
whereas when it is put on the boards it can be taken away.
Then again, if the food is allowed to lie on the ground,
rats are almost certain to get to it and itis a great waste ;
and even supposing it does not entice the rats, the birds are
sure to get it.

Whenever the morning is cold and wet young pheasants
should always have a little stimulant put in their soft food,
roup powder is the best I know of for this purpose, as it is a
stimulant and acts as a tonic as well.

As soon as the young pheasants begin to grow, feed them
on barley and French buckwheat, and for a change give
wheat and dari. Maize should be avoided till the cold
weather comes, and then the finest maize which can he
bought should be used.

During the cold winter weather, when the young pheasants
are not turned down for shooting purposes, it is well to sweep
up a lot of leaves and put in one corner of their run, and
sprinkle a little grain amongst the leaves. This will give
32 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

them employment searching for it. Young pheasants which
are intended for sport for the coming autumn should be
placed near a wood, when they are about three months old,
so that they can get accustomed to it, and it is a good thing
to keep the old hens in the coops as long as possible. In
fact, they are often kept in over three months, as they are
a great protection for the young ones. It is well to put the
coops right in the middle of the wood, as the birds become
much wilder than if they are put in the open. Of course the
wilder they are kept the better, as it makes more sport when
the final time comes for shooting.

 
 

DISEASES.

Pheasants not subject to so many diseases as some think—Young
Pheasants delicate—Cold, roup, congested lungs and liver disease.
Pee are not subject to so many diseases as
some varieties of the feathered tribes, especially
fowls. Their principal diseases as young ones are gapes,
congested lungs and diphtheric roup. Many people make
a mistake about gapes. If the pheasants open their little
mouths, the owner or attendant often puts it down as
gapes. These young birds will often take a slight cold,
the nostrils become stopped up and they breathe through
the mouth instead of the nostrils, but. these are not signs
of gapes. The latter, however, is a very bad thing when
it once sets in, and we cannot always tell what it comes
from. Nothing will bring it on quicker than stagnant
water.

Young pheasants should never be allowed to drink
water which has been exposed to the sun, such as would
come from a ditch or pond, it should always be got
fresh from the pump or spring daily.

3
34 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

These birds nearly always do well in the natural state
where there is a running stream, so that the old parents
can take them down to drink. Strange to say, however,
a great many young pheasants in their natural state never
have anything to drink till they are half-grown, unless it
rains, and there are puddles standing about, except the
dew drops in the morning which they take off the grass as
soon as it is daylight. Many pheasants are reared on
chalk hills, where there is not a drop of water for miles.
To prevent gapes, it is best to give some roup powder
about three times a week in the soft food in the morning.
I have never known a single case of gapes amongst
pheasants where the roup powder has been used.

As young pheasants are very delicate, it is well to rear
them on fresh ground as much as possible, this too will
often prevent gapes, and a preventative is always better
than a cure. The best cure I know of for this disease
in pheasants is to put about four of the birds at a time
in a small box, and a little slack lime, then shake the box
up and the pheasants inhale the lime down the windpipe
and that kills the worms. If the young birds are not
too weak, they will throw up the worms in coughing, but,
as a rule, there are very few cured, whatever measures are
used. With great care the worms may be got out of
the windpipe with a feather from the pheasant’s wings.
One of the flight feathers should be put down the wind
pipe, about two-and-a-half inches, and twisted round three
‘or four times quickly. If this is done, it will often bring
‘from two to six of the worms up and a few young
‘pheasants may be saved, but I repeat again, it is much
Ww. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 35

 

better to look for a preventative, as these birds cannot
stand much handling when they are not well.

Cold or roup is usually brought on through the birds
being kept too warm at night, then allowed out in the
wet grass in the morning. When young pheasants are
drooping their wings or opening their mouth they should
always be noticed particularly, and if there is any
discharge from the nostrils it should be removed or it
may accumulate, but if the roup powders are given it is
very seldom anything of this occurs. Should it turn to
diphtheric roup the birds are usually dead in two or three
days. That is, when there are white spots on the tongue
and fungus matter corrodes round the windpipe and
chokes them.

Congestion of the lungs is brought on much in the
same way as roup, in fact, the pheasants are more subject
to congested lungs than they are roup, it is through
shutting them up too warm at night, and allowing them
out first thing in the morning before sunrise, while the
dew is on the grass. (The greatest preventative of this
is the little covered run mentioned in the chapter on
coops and runs).

As a rule, when pheasants’ lungs become congested
they do not live more than two or three hours. I never
noticed these birds dying from this complaint so particularly
till the last few years. I have had many sent to me
for post-mortem examination. If more care were taken, a
great many more pheasants might be reared than there
are. Adult pheasants are very hardy, nothing seems to
ail them except liver disease. That is a tuberculous

at
2
36 W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

liver. They suffer from that more than anything else, or
rather die through it.

When once pheasants get the liver disease there is no
cure for them, the liver becomes from four to six times
the size it ought to be. The symptoms of liver disease
in pheasants are: the birds eat a great deal of food, and
the flesh on the breast wastes away. When pheasants
are seen moping and yet eat well, it is always best to
kill them at once, as it is a sure sign of liver disease
coming on. Occasionally, it prolongs life to turn them
out and let them have their liberty, but pheasants should
never be shut up in a pen for more than two years.

As soon as the breeding season is over, they should be
turned out and have their liberty, but.those who have a
good number of pheasants, it is more profitable to turn
them out for shooting purposes every year; when that is
done, there is not much fear of liver disease creeping in
amongst the birds, unless they are fed on too much
Indian corn.

If stock pheasants are a little drooping, three or five
doses of roup powder will soon bring them round and
give them an appetite.

SEO
ae SN
eae fe <r ear

TS

 

COOPS AND RUNS FOR YOUNG
PHEASANTS.

Pheasant coops: their use and how tomake them—Covered runs:
their value and use—Tarring and lime-washing.

HEASANT coops are usually about 2o0in. square,
made light, with no bottoms, so that they can be

easily moved about. This is very well where the soil is
light and dry and there is no wet, but it is well to have some
of both sorts, so that all the young pheasants which are
hatched out first can be put into coops with bottoms to them,
with about an inch to two inches of moss peat on the
bottom, that is both warm and dry, so that if the young
pheasants get their legs and feet damp by running through
the wet grass, they get dry and warm at once directly they
38 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

get under the hen. If they only run under the coop and
the ground is damp they often get chilled, even while they
are under the hen. Iam quite aware it is natural for young
pheasants in their wild state to sit upon the ground when
. the hen broods them, but it must be remembered
that in wet weather pheasants will go into a
wood to brood their young, at the foot of a
tree, or in a hedgerow, or under a high bank, anywhere
for shelter.

Though hen pheasants are not intelligent, they are
sufficiently so to take the young birds as much as possible
in a dry place to brood them. It is impossible to ceop the
hens in a hedgerow or dry spot, they are cooped on the
ground, whether wet or dry, that is why I say it is much
safer to have some of the coops with boarded bottoms, so
that, should it come on a wet summer, the early young ones
can be put in them. All young pheasants under
ten days should be put in coops with bottoms,
and peat moss under their feet, that is of course when
it is wet.

I know this is a little more expense, but I often meet
with gentlemen who do not rear twenty pheasants
ont of every hundred they hatch, for the simple
reason that not sufficient care has been bestowed
upon them, or perhaps I should say, not proper
care

It is not so much the shape of the coop, but it is wise to
make them with a slide in front. That is to say, the laths
should be 2in. or 2% in. wide in front, and so arranged
that they will shut up at night. When the coop is closed
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 39

 

they fit fairly tight, but when open one lath slides behind
the other—refer to illustration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There should be a small handle attached to the movable
frame, to pull it to and fro, to shut the coop up at night, and
for the purpose of opening it. If the coop is closed in this
way, rats and mice cannot get in and yet it is not air tight,
there is a little ventilation.

The hole to put the hen in should be at the side of the coop.
It is also an easy matter to make a sliding bottom to the coop,
so that it can be taken out when required, only of course it
comes rather more expensive to make them in this way.

It is not necessary to have high coops for hens as long as.
the birds can stand upright, but there should always be a
good fall, so that the water runs off them quickly. A nice
convenient size to make them is, say from 21 to 23in. high
in front, with a six inch slope, and from 20 to 23in. wide,
and 16 or 17 in. high at back. That makes a fair sized
coop, but of course they can be made larger or smaller
according to the size of the hen.

The coops should never be too small for the young
pheasants, as they sleep in them for a long time.

It is a well-known fact, nothing causes these young
birds to die so much as running in the long wet
40 wW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

grass, therefore this should be guarded against.

This can only be done by small covered runs being
attached to the coop in wet weather, which comes rather
expensive. In wet weather the grass should be cut very
close, just round where the coop stands. Some of my
readers may say it would cost too much to provide these
covered runs, but we will suppose a person has five
hundred young pheasants and no shelter, except just the
ordinary coop, if it happens to come a wet week, at least
one hundred and fifty, as a rule, die in less than
seven days out of the five hundred. In all probability
the eggs, hens, labour, &c., would cost from £12 to £17
to produce one hundred and fifty pheasants, which amount
would be lost, whereas, if small covered runs were attached
to the coops, the probability is that the birds would be
saved. The cost of one coop and run attached would
be from 12/6 to 15/6, lasting at least from ten to fifteen
years if taken care of and put away when not required.
Make them according to drawing. Coops should always

 

 

 

 

 

be made the same width, so that they fit, and half inch
mesh wire should be used in front, so that the pheasants
WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, 4I

 

cannot get through when they are young. The ends and
sides should be boarded up. The covered runs can be
made various heights, twenty-three or twenty-four inches in
front, and the roof sloping down to fifteen inches behind,
made of three-quarter. match boarding. It is well to nail
German felt on the top, this prevents any wet getting
through and will last for many years. I would advise
pheasant breeders to try one or two, then they will see
the advantage of them. Sometimes during the first and
second week in May, when pheasant eggs are hatched,
the weather is very chilly, especially first thing in the
morning, and in that case the runs are invaluable for
the early pheasants. The first few days pheasants are
hatched out they should always have something in the
front of the coop to prevent them from runring away,
as they are very timid.

The runs should be made with nine or twelve inch
boards on each side, that shelters them from the wind.
(Refer to illustration.) The top should be covered over
with half mesh wire. In wet weather a sack can be laid over
the top so as not to quite cover the whole of the wire, then it
gives them light. All coops and runs should be stowed away
in some old building or open shed for the winter, to keep
them dry, but it is well to give a coat of tar mixed with
paraffin or paint, while they are dry, before stowing them
away. As a rule, when tarring anything people heat the
tar, but when paraffin is used there is no need for this.
When tarring, the operator should keep on adding
paraffin to the tar, a little at a time, that will make it dry
so much quicker, and it will not stick to the hands. The
42 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

coops should be lime-washed inside, that does away with
any germs of disease which there may have been among the
birds.

 

 

 

-. dl oan
oe a x

—
 

PHEASANT RUNS.

The peculiarities of Pheasants and their preference for the open—
Pheasant runs, how to make and arrange—Dust for Pheasants
and weather boards for pens.

HEASANTS are quite different in one respect from

fowls, as they usually prefer sitting out in the open

air. Indeed, if a nice house or shed is provided for them

they will seldom go into it. Ifit happens to be raining and

there is an open shed handy, they will occasionally use it

during the daytime. When pheasants arrive at the age of
two months they are like turkeys, very hardy.

There is really no stated size for a pheasant run.
Many people have them made square, and in the
midland counties there are what they call pheasant
hurdles, which are made with battens about two inches
wide and half-inch thick, sawn out of half-inch boards. They
should be about six or seven feet high. The bottom of the
hurdles and battens are nailed close to each other, that is
44 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

to say, take two battens, one 6ft. long and one 3ft. long,
and nail them together uprightly, so that the bottom of the
hurdle is quite close, and at the top there is one batten and
then miss one, making 48 battens in one hurdle.

Of course, there should. be a frame for them to be nailed
on. These hurdles are very good for the pheasants, because
they shelter them from the wind and prevent persons from
frightening them as they walk past.

Many breeders have no top to the runs, but merely cut
the pheasants’ wings to prevent them flying, and a number
of pens are usually put side by side in blocks of from
twenty to one hundred pens.

Sometimes they are ten deep each way, and the birds in
the centre pens cannot be seen as one walks round the
outside. I know one large breeder who has tried different
experiments these last few years and finds it answer well to
have the pens arranged side by side as I have described.
He has the hurdles all round the outsides of the pens. The
latter are partitioned off from each other with wire netting:
two-inch mesh, and this answers well, as the birds can see
each other right along.

Suppose, for instance, there are ten pens square, that is,
ten pens each way, this makes a large block and it costs asa
rule one third less in price to have wire in between the pens
instead of the hurdles, Still there are advantages in using
the wire and there are also disadvantages. Some people
have a square block, that is, they take eight hurdles to make
a pen, and if they are all joined together it takes a less
number of hurdles. The disadvantage in using the wire to
separate them in the middle is, the pheasants get into the
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 45

 

way of running up the wire, as they can get foothold so
much better than they can if there were straight battens,
but the great advantage is in the cocks being able to see
each other right through the pens. When the male birds
can see each other with the hens the eggs are in almost
every case more fertile, as it stimulates them when they can
see each other with their hens. I prefer the pens being
long and not square, then they can be covered over the top
so much easier.

If the runs are only 6ft. wide they are easily covered,
whereas if they are square the top is such a long way across,
and there has to be something in the way ofa post and
quartering right across the pen to keep the netting up.
One advantage in having the hurdles is they can be shifted
from one place to the other.

When the pens are going to be made permanent, as some
people have them, and only used in the breeding season,
that is between February and June, it is best to have
6ft. wire, two-inch mesh, then nail boards round the
outside of the pens, up to the wire, two or three feet high.
One plank sawn through eight times, which makes nine
boards (this must be done by a steam saw), will do nicely
in 12 or r4ft. lengths. It not only comes inexpensive but
makes a good shelter for the birds. Itis best to use string
netting to go over the top, as when wire netting is used the
pheasants cut themselves when they fly up, but the string
does not hurt them.

If pheasant breeders make their runs long instead
of square, say about 4ft. to 6ft. wide, it is much
better, as the netting is not so liable to get broken
46 WW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

down by the snow, that is, of course supposing the birds
are kept in the run altogether.

When the pens are only used in the breeding season,
the string netting should be taken off and put by in the dry
during the winter months.

Those young pheasants which are kept altogether in one
large pen until it is time to mate them should be provided
with two long pens side by side, one for the cocks and the
other for the hens. If they are not separated the young
cocks begin to pull the hens about very much in December
and January. Of course the length of the pen should
usually depend upon the number of birds it is required to
put inthem. Ifa pen is two yards wide and 50 yards long,
fifty pheasants could be put in very easily and they will get
plenty of exercise to keep them healthy and vigorous.

One of these pens the size I have mentioned will do well
for thirty hens and five cocks for breeding purposes, and if
there are any shrubs and little trees in the run the male birds
will not fight to hurt as they can get out of each other’s way.

Where such pens are provided there should always be a
gate at each end for the attendant to go in to collect the
eggs, if not he will have to pass the birds twice. By having
a gate at each end he can collect the eggs at one end, then
walk round the outside of the pen and collect them from
the other end. The birds will then gradually draw off to
the end opposite to which the eggs are being collected from,
and do not become frightened at all.

Pheasants are birds which keep themselves wonderfully
clean, and when running about in their natural state they
qust themselves on sunny banks in dry earth.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 47

 

There are thousands of breeders who never think of
providing dust of any kind for their birds to dust themselves
in. Now this is wrong. At the end of the pens facing
south there should always be two or three weather boards.
It does not matter if they are only two feet from the ground, if
that height so much the better. Some loose earth should
be put under the boards, that will usually keep the earth
dry, and the pheasants will dust themselves in that. If
something in this way is not arranged for them they are
almost sure to pick and scratch holes in the ground all
round the outside of the runs and they very often get out
underneath.

Strangers should never be allowed to go near pheasants
in the breeding season, if so, it makes them timid, but in
all pheasant runs there should be faggots leaning towards
each other. They will keep upright themselves.

Some people put two posts in the ground and nail a pole
across them, then lean the faggots against the pole. This
affords shelter for them from the hot sun and also some
protection from the rain.

It is well to provide a perch or two in the run, say two
feet from the ground, as it is natural for pheasants to sleep
on something, if there are faggots or bavins they will
usually roost on them. Many pheasant breeders do not
give them anything to roost upon, but merely let them
sit upon the ground at night.

This, of course is unnatural. There should always be a
little rough stuff of some kind for them to hide under, as
when strangers go past it is natural for the birds to get out
of sight.
48 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

If ferns or nettles are grown in the run so much the
better. I have planted gooseberry trees in some of my
runs, which give them shelter in the summer. Shrubs are
the best because they are evergreens. Greenstuff should
always be provided for pheasants, especially if they wear the
grass down in the runs.

A few turnips ought to be set in their runs, as pheasants
are particularly fond of turnip tops.

If the turnips are grown elsewhere, and transplanted in
February or March into the runs with just a few bushes laid
over them slightly they will begin to sprout out, and after
they begin to get green the bushes should be taken off, and
the pheasants will keep pecking the tops as they grow.
White turnips are better than swedes as they have more
tops.

A little piece of rape can be sown the last week in March
or the first week in April, and just protected with a few
thin bushes till it gets well up. Turnip seed can be sown
in just the same way only later. Where pheasants are kept
in large numbers during the winter, swede turnips should
be cut in two and put into the runs, then they will peck the
middle out.

In all cases, pheasants should have sharp grit laid in their
runs for them to help themselves. Some breeders never
think of supplying them with this necessary material.
Road scrapings will do very well if it is from a flint or
gravel road, but I always provide mine with flint grit and
they keep in splendid condition.

During the breeding season dummy eggs should always
be laid about the pens, if not, the cocks are liable to begin
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 49

 

eating the eggs and when they once begin that practice it
is difficult to break them off, it also teaches the hens to do
it as well.

It is always well to throw a few cinder ashes and some
oyster shells in the breeding pens, as this helps to form the
hard shell upon the eggs.

In my travels I occasionally come across those who keep
four or five hen pheasants and one male bird closed up in
one small yard, say two yards by three, where they have
not a particle of green-stuff on the ground. In this case
they should have cabbage leaves cut up and thrown into
them, lettuce also can be thrown into them whole, as they
are tender, and the birds can pick them to pieces.
Pheasants eat more green-stuff in proportion to the size
than ordinary laying hens do.

Where a large number of pens of pheasants are kept in
the way I have described in the earlier part of this chapter,
there is sure to be one or two get out occasionally. To be
ready for this, it is well to form a little shed at one corner
of the run outside, which can be done by leaning one of
the six feet hurdles against the other, then stop it up at
one end. The pheasants will then run round the outside of
the pen, and if the attendant walks round very steadily
they will go in the open shed.

Some breeders use string netting outside for them to go
in which is very convenient, but it is far better not to hurry
the birds or hunt them round, if so, they are liable to run
away, but they seldom go far, if they do they will come
back unless they are frightened or shot at.

4
 
SECTION II.

TURKEYS & GEESE.
 
CONTENTS.

SECTION Il. TURKEYS & GEESE.

BLACK NORFOLK TURKEYS...

Black Norfolk Turkeys: their points and cenlieee
ities. Crosses with the Black Norfolk—The value
of fresh blood.

THE WHITE TURKEY...

White Turkeys—Crossing for ‘Bult ‘Birds—White
Turkeys, difficult to rear.

Nest MAKING FOR TURKEYS

- Turkey hens steal their nests—The nest, sc size and
position—How to make a tackey nest—Food for
sitting Turkeys—Testing Turkey Eggs.

MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG TURKEYS

Young Turkeys hatched and growing capidlyy—<Htidles
attending their early growth—F ood for young
Turkeys—Young Tur keys must be kept dry.

REARING TURKEYS IN TOWNS AND THE oe
OF THEM IN CONFINED RuNS..

Turkeys do not need so much space as is singin
helieved—Turkeys in conffned Runs—Meat for
Turkeys—Green stuff: its value and production—
Boiled Corn and Grit for Turkeys.

THE CAMBRIDGE BRONZE, OR AMERICAN MAMMOTH
TURKEYS ‘i

The name of the Varieky—How it was made—
Comparative merits of Black, White, and Bronze
Varieties— Turkey Cocks : their characteristics,
and management so as to produce fertile eggs—
The selection of Breeding Turkeys—Young Tur ‘keys:
their Feeding and General Management.

FEEDING STocK TURKEYS ...

Food for stock Turkeys: what to give ait ea
Laying Turkeys: how to hinder or r help—Confined
runs for Turkeys—Mangold Wurtzel for Turkeys.

Section IT.

PaGES.

j—2

9—15

17—23

25—32

33—3d
CONTENTS—SECTION fi.

 

Section IT.

GRIT FOR TURKEYS wes See ne sie iss
Grit for Turkeys when cooped—Grit should be pro-
vided for Turkeys of all ages—Grit the mainspring
of health in Turkeys.

DISEASES as aie we ve ani sine as
Popular opinions regarding the delicacy of Turkeys
Colds among Turkeys, their causes and avoidance
—Roup, how to relieve in case of—Liver Disease—
Over-crowding, the cause of weakness and disease

GEESE.

GENERAL REMARKS si et i ae oe
Common superstitions with regard to antipathy
existing among Cattle for Geese-—Feather plucking
—Geese as watchers—Geese for stubble fields—Geese
for market—Old Geese and how they are disposed of.

TOULOUSE GEESE se Biss see oa ee
The comparative advantages of pure and cross-bred
Geese—White and Brown Geese: the value of
their feathers—Toulouse Geese: their points and
peculiarities—Geese for breeding: their condition
and weight.

ITALIAN GEESE... i ass site aa a
Italian Geese: their origin and plumage—Ditliculties
in breeding Italian Geese—Italians crossed : peculiar-
ities and difficulties—The laying qualities of Italian
Geese.

CHINESE GEESE ig 3 sia se ‘a
Chinese Geese breed true to type—The popularity
of Chinese—The laying qualities—Chinese Geese for
crossing and market.

EMBDEN GEESE ies st was ase gg
Embden Geese: their size and points—The bad laying
qualities of Embden Geese—How to cross to develop
laying qualities—Results of Embden and Italian
cross.

CROSSING GEESE fini as oe a ci
Crossing Geese—The best crosses and how to obtain
them—The utility of crossing Geese—Geese for waste
land—Goose Egys, fertile and otherwise : how to
examine.

GRIT FOR GEESE vee eee see wee si
Geese need grit—No grit: bad digestion—Grit and
no grit: nothing compensates for loss of this neces-
sary article

 

PAGES.
37—38

39—42

43—19

51—83

59—60

61—62

63—65

67—69
GX INDEX-—Section II. 1.

TURKEYS AND GEESE,

Section Uf.
American Mammoth Turkeys: their origination and
amalgamation with ¢ anbr idge Bronze ...
Ameriean Mammoths not cross Ir ed.
American Manmoths ; their plinage and w eight ..

 

Black Norfolk Turkeys ... wa ea ee sn
Black Norfolks as market birds as aes sie soe
Boiled Corn for Turkeys a ai faa

Cunbridge Bronze and Black Norfolk Cross ss
Christmas Turkeys : how to have them nepal
Cinders and oyster shells for Turkeys ‘
Chinese Geese : their points and polarity

Chinese Geese for market i
Crossing Geese : the value of the sy stem

Embden Geese : laying and table qualities of

Fresh blood : its introduction advantageous

Feeding Turkeys : how best to manage

Foreed Turkeys : the disadvantages of the sy ‘stem and the
uselessness of the birds for breeding aia eh

Feeding of Stock Turkeys si sae is 2h vy

Fighting Turkeys : how to eure ah wi a ae

Grain for Turkeys: the best sorts to use ‘

Green stuf and roots for Turkeys in confinement .

Grit for Turkeys ... ws

Geese and_pasturage : popular fears, exposed and ‘proved
groundless

Geese in yards : their value for giving a sig nal when

 

strangers are about . ain ad he a
Geese in stubble fields... 0 sec ae
Goslings for table: when to kill 8 eo ies
Goslings for market : prices, Xe. ~ a
Goose eges : how to hatch 3s nek ins
Ganders : how to deal with spiteful ones... is tig
Geese : cross or pure bred zs 28 sii on
Geese and sharp grit... et - eh sa

Hatching Turkeys : how to assist so as to avoid deaths
Herbs and green stuff for Turkeys...

Italian Geese markings, and dev elopment into present
form... a ss ey

Ttalian Geese : laying qualities. ee he ei ss
Ttalian Geese for crossing oak aie ee te
Ttalian and Chinese crosses... oa exe es
TIneuhation of Goose eges: how to test, Xe... ss

Liver disease : how to deal with , as .
Laying qualities of Embdens 000 es

Paaes,

on

YE
a
~t

45
46
INDEX—SECTION II.

~ Section cre PAGES.

 

 

Milk for young Turkeys... 12
Nest making for Turkeys sae ad ais 5
Nests for Turkeys: size, Ke. Gy cleat a8 32
Onions for Turkeys es is sie sie sas i
Overcrowding Turkeys: detrimental effects ee ae 41
Period of Incubation of Turkey eggs ... ats pis aa 6
Perches for Turkeys : how to make ... aise via a lt
Points of good stock Turkey cocks __... ot 4 ens 30
Plucking Geese ee ea eds oa at is 44
Runs for Turkeys... as seis i aa as 60 13
toots and green stuff for Turkeys: how to grow and
prepare ae eae te oe ae 88 ies D2
Roup among Turkeys : how to avoid and deal with sa 40
Rear your own Geese... a6 G3 Pa ag sb 47
Sitting Turkeys: how to feed and tend them sa sit 6
Scraps for Turkeys sale sis ssi Nes saa si 21
Sharp grit for Turkeys ... sie a ie amy at 23
Stock Turkey-cocks : how to manage se cit ak 27
Stock Turkeys: special feeding for... 2s er ak 34
Sitting Geese: how to tend... Ls wat a Bad 48
Turkey eggs : how to manage during incubation ... ar 6
Testing Turkey eggs: how to detect unfertile ones si 6
Turkey rearin, and feeding... be ses wes Leis 10
Turkeys must be kept dry a as wi we eat 13
Turkeys in the fields... “as sar i oe a 13
Turkeys after leaving the hen: how to manage... si l4
Turkeys sleeping in open air: the benefit of such a syste
Turkeys : the demand for in the markets... ae = 7
Turkey rearing in confinement athe Ans ea a i
Turkey rearing on gravel sa ats si xe ae 18
Turkeys for Christmas ... ae si ve ihe ey 20
Turkeys: very tame and tractable... sake oid ar 20
Turkey hens : their points and plumage... wei sen 31
Turkeys and disease... sie se ae as a 39
Toulouse geese as layers... ; sa ais dite se 52
White Turkeys: their characteristics ies one Ri 3
Water for young Turkeys : how and when to give it... ll
Weight of stock Turkey-cocks sive sd aa = 28
Weighing Turkeys: how to doit and how not — ... sa 29
White Geese for feathers ch age ae tas as 51
Weight of Toulouse Geese nas sad a Seg cits 53
Weight of cross-bred Geese... ao ae aes be 63
Young Turkeys: their management immediately after
hatching ae i: ce se or an 9
Young Turkeys must be keptdry —... aes Jae - 19
Young Turkeys need grit most a 35

Young Geese: their advantages and disadvantages under
certain circumstances i 64
re, a

jt?

en

faa
ig

Z

my,

 

Y cock.

a
4

TURKI
 

BLACK NORFOLK TURKEYS.

Black Norfolk Turkeys: their points and peculiarities. Crosses with
the Black Norfolk—The value of fresh blood.

cHIS variety of Turkeys is best known
in Norfolk. They are kept very largely
in that district. They are much the
same shape as the Cambridge Bronze,
only their plumage is black. As
a rule the Black Norfolk Turkeys
do not sell so well in the London markets as the Cambridge
Bronze, neither do they grow quite so large unless crossed
with another variety. I find many Norfolk farmers who
breed a large number of this variety cross them with Cam-
bridge Bronze. This is noticed more particularly in the
turkey pullets than in the cocks, as a few of the feathers
show a white edging, and a pure Norfolk turkey is quite

black. The legs are of a dark colour, not so pinky as the
B

 

 
2  W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

legs of a Cambridge Bronze. The advantage in crossing
these two varieties is that fresh blood is introduced, which
increases the size of the birds, and improves the laying quali-
ties. One great objection to this cross is if there should be
any fine large turkey cocks, people do not care about using
them for stock purposes, as they are of a mixed colour, of
course, not being pure. My own experience is it is better to
keep them pure, and procure fresh blood every year.

 
 

THE WHITE TURKEY.

White Turkeys—Crossing for Buff Birds—White Turkeys, difficult to

rear.

Altes variety came in the first place from a sport of
nature and were bred from. When the Cambridge

Bronze is crossed with the white variety they often produce
a buff bird. [t is not an uncommon thing to see two or
three perfectly buff specimens in a flock of fifty. Some
people have an idea that the flesh and skin of these turkeys
are whiter than those of the coloured turkeys, but I do not
find such to be the case. The white variety are far more
trouble to rear than either the Cambridge Bronze or Black
Norfolk in their pure state ; that is on account of the diffi
culty there is in procuring fresh blood.
 
 

NEST MAKING FOR TURKEYS.

Turkey hens steal their nests—The nest, its size and position—How to
make a Turkey nest—Food for sitting Turkeys—Testing Turkey
Eggs.

URKEY hens very often steal their nests, or I ought
to say lay away, and it is often a difficult matter
to find the eggs, especially when they are kept on a farm.

Wherever they have a large range, a big nest should always

be provided for a turkey, from 20 to 24 inches square, if not

they often injure their tails, and the feathers do not
get straight again before they moult. A large tub or barrel
laid on one side and some soil put in, which should be well
shaped in the form of a nest, made perfectly round, will do
well.

The proper way is to put a little damp soil in the nest,
beat it down well, so that it is quite firm, then shake a little
slack lime all over it. This causes the inside of the nest to
6  W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

become firm. It should then be lined with fine hay A
turkey hen can be set on from seventeen to twenty eggs
easily if set carefully. A larger number can be put under
her, but it is always better to put one or two less than too
many. The first batch of turkey eggs should be put under
ordinary hens. A good-sized hen can take nine or eleven
turkey eggs very well. Hens will take great care of them.
If a turkey hen is put up in a large coop with bars to it, as
soon as she becomes broody, and is fed liberally, she will
soon come on to lay again. Then when she comes on
broody the second time, if the owner has a sufficient number
of eggs, set the turkey, but if not, set the hens, and the
former will lay another batch of eggs the same as before.
While sitting, a turkey hen should always be covered or put
in a dark place, and if she does not come off in the morning
to feed, she should be lifted off steadily, and have proper
food given her. Maize, barley, and dry rice are the best
grains for turkeys while they are sitting.

If they are fed well they will sit two months if allowed.

After a turkey hen has been sitting nine days the eggs
should be tested before a candle or lamp in the evening.
The best way is to hold the large end of the egg between
the thumb and finger and turn steadily round before the
light. If the eggs are fertile they will be very cloudy, and
a dark speck will be seen rataer nearer the large end, but if
they are unfertile, the eggs will be quite clear. They are
very easy to test on the ninth day. Turkey eggs as a rule
take 27 or 28 days to hatch out, but they should be left till
the morning of the 29th day, because they may be a little
late in hatching out.
Ww. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 7

 

Ifan egg is not chipped by the zgth day, an incision
should be made in the end, just at the top, and if the skin is
white, it is a sign the young turkey is alive, but if it is dark
the youngster is dead. If alive the egg should be held up
carefully, the small end to the light, and just tapped
lightly with the finger, and the position of the beak will be
seen at once. As an egg is oval, unless the beak lies per-
fectly straight, it slips, and the youngsters cannot break the
shell. Numbers of young turkeys die in the shell every
year for want of a helping hand. If a little care is bestowed
hundreds can be saved.

SOO
 
 

MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG
TURKEYS.

Young Turkeys hatched and growing rapidly—Risks attending their
early growth—Food for young Turkeys—Young Turkeys must be
kept dry.

OUNG turkeys when hatched are very small in

proportion to the size of the adult birds. This

is accounted for by the fact that turkeys lay considerably

smaller eggs for their size than any other variety of the

feathered tribes, and it is impossible to get a large turkey
chick out of a small egg.

That is not the worst, however. These birds when
young are very weakly and their systems altogether are very
delicate ; they are very different from young chickens, and
should therefore be treated differently. The first six weeks
Io W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOk.

 

with young turkeys means either success or failure. Let me
say here, at the very commencement of this chapter, sharp
flint grint should always be given them, even from the first
two days of their existence. This is where a great many
fail in rearing turkeys.

Of course they are likely to die at any time, just the same
as chickens, however they are managed. There is always a
certain risk in rearing chickens, goslings, ducklings, young
pheasants, young turkeys, or any live stock, but those who
have anything to do with hatching and rearing turkeys know
what delicate little things they are when young, so they
guard against anything which is likely to throw them back.
Young turkeys also differ very much from chickens, as they
seldom droop their wings or look as if there was anything
the matter with them, and the owner or attendant is often
surprised to find one or two lying dead on his return after
being absent perhaps only an hour or two.

A person who is accustomed to the rearing and manage
ment of these birds can tell when anything is wrong with
them, but a novice finds great difficulty in this respect, except
that they do not appear to eat very much.

Some of my readers may think I am drawing a very dark
picture, but I am simply putting it plainly, so that a novice
who goes in for rearing turkeys may know just what to expect.

I am pleased tosay I have known many people commence
keeping turkeys these last few years, and as a rule, 18 out
of every 20 have been successful, for the simple reason they
give attention to them when they most need it. Women
are the most successful in rearing turkeys and have more
patience than men.
W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSKE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. IT

As soon as young turkeys are hatched, and when they
get fairly strong on their legs, they should have a little hard-
boiled chopped egg, with a few dry bread crumbs and a
sprinkling of mustard and ground ginger in it.

Young turkeys seem to have but little heat or warmth in
themselves, and therefore some of their food the first six
weeks ought to have something hot mixed in it after they
are two days old.

They may have a little boiled rice to tempt them and
Spratt’s biscuit meal. The latter should be just soaked a
little in warm water.

After they are four days old, onions should be chopped
up to mix with their soft food, which should be made of
oatmeal, Spratt’s biscuit meal, and a little rice. Nothing
is better than the Roup powder to mix with this food, as it
is very warmth-giving and acts as a tonic at the same time.

Where milk is plentiful it should be boiled and after it
has stood about ten minutes, it should be used to mix up
the food, but it must not be too wet.

Young turkeys should not have anything wet or sloppy.

Never give scalded bread under any circumstances, if so,
it brings on diarrhoea. If one meal of dry rice once a day
can be given it will usually keep the bowels in order.

Water should only be given once a day when they are
very young, if they are allowed to have as much as they like
they drink too much.

Should it be a very ccld morning it is better to give it
warm, as when young turkeys are not very well, they are
always thirsty and drink a quantity of cold water, and in that
case it usually means death in less than three hours, but when
12 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

the water is warmed it rather helps the system than
otherwise.

Farmers’ wives for many years have used many different
things chopped up for the young turkeys, which some of our
modern turkey keepers smile at now. nevertheless, our fore-
fathers used some excellent things in the way of herbs for
young turkeys, viz., docks, chick weed, dandelions, young
nettles, hyssop, etc. It is not everyone who can get these
things, but they are all good in their way. I prefer dande-
lions, as they act as a tonic; or nettles, they keep the blood
right; and chopped-up onions. They are almostindispensable.

Young lettuce and green mustard mixed together, and
chopped up fine, are splendid for young turkeys, the first
few weeks of their existence. Of course, the information
I am giving here is for those who have a good range for
their turkeys. After they get about 5 or 6 weeks old they
will pull all the green stuff they need themselves, as they
eat an immense quantity of it; they must be supplied with
some green stuff while they are young.

I ought to mention their food for the first meal in the
morning should always be warm, if possible, and no more
should be mixed in one morning than they can eat, as it is
very dangerous to give young turkeys sour food. They are
very fond of curds from milk, that is, milk turned in boiling
into whey.

They may have a little meat mixed with their food for
the first six weeks, viz., “ Crissel,” or granulated meat, but
not much ofit. In feeding, care must be taken so that there
is no food left ; nothing turns them against their food so
much as having too much.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 13

 

The great secret in rearing young turkeys is keeping them
dry. They ought never to be let out when the grass is wet
with dew or rain in the morning, that is, the first six weeks
of their existence.

The best way to manage is to havea covered run attached
to the coop where they sleep at night, and have dry dust of
some kind at the bottom. In this way the young turkeys
are not only kept dry under foot, but the cover shelters
them from the cold winds.

The run should always be set back to the wind.

When the young turkeys are hatched the hen should not
be allowed out of the coup till they are a week old, if so,
she takes them too far and they usually become exhausted.

When a farmer rears turkeys they should be taken out
where sheep are grazing, if possible, after they get fairly
strong, as the sheep keep the grass down close, and should
it rain, or if they are let out before the dew is well off the
grass, it only wets their feet, and not the fluff or
feather.

Hemp seed and French buckwheat are the best grains
for young turkeys. The former is very stimulating and
warmth-giving, and they ought to have a little hemp seed
until they are fairly well feathered, that will be when they
are about six weeks old, but after that age these grains are
not really necessary.

They can, of course, be fed on barley, wheat, and maize,
_ just the same as any other poultry, but in all cases meal
should be given them at least twice a day for-at least three
months, that is, if the owner wishes them to grow fast and

do well.
Iy  W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT kOOK.

 

Up till the time they are six weeks old, they cannot be
fed too often as long as they clear up all the food : in fact,
they ought to have a little given them every hour in the day
till they get that age, and from then till they are four months
old or more, four times a day will be often enough.

The meal used for mixing up in their soft food should
be pea or bean meal, barley meal and sharps, with a little
of Spratts’ biscuit meal to make it light without sticking.
It should be mixed so that it is not too dry and will cling
nicely together so that there is no waste.

As soon as young turkeys leave the hen, they should have
a covered shed to go into,open in front,and a flat perch inside,
not less than three inches wide, as so many of them are
liable to crooked breast-bones through going to perch too
soon on round narrow perches.

Nothing is so detrimental to the sale of turkeys, either
alive or dead, as crooked breast-bones.

Many people make a great mistake in allowing hens,
when they have their liberty, to take the young turkeys into
fowls’ houses, as they get accustomed to sleeping with the
hens and become too hot at night. When this is the
case they never grow so fast, and very often roup will break
out amongst them.

Turkeys should never be shut up in a warm place. I
always keep my turkeys in a house with a wire front, then
they keep hardy. I ought rather to say, I provide such a
house for them, but they usually prefer sitting outside, as I
havea large perch out in the run for them to sun themselves,
but they like sleeping upon the perch better than in the
houses.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 15

 

During the severe winter of 1891 my young turkeys sat out
in the open with no shelter whatever, and not one of them
took any harm. I just mention this to show that the
delicacy of turkeys all passes away as they grow up.

When once they get their feathers they are one of the
hardiest of the feathered tribes, but in no case should they
sleep in the house one night, and outside the next, if so
they are sure to take cold.

EEO
 
 

TURKEY HEN.
 

REARING TURKEYS IN TOWNS
AND THE MANAGEMENT
OF THEM IN CONFINED RUNS.

Turkeys do not need so much space as is popularly believed—Turkeys
in confined Runs—Meat for Turkeys—Green stuff: its value and
production—Boiled Corn and Grit for Turkeys.

URKEYS at the present day forma great part of

our bill of fare in England. Some ten years

ago there were very few turkeys bred in this country
in comparison to the number produced now.

People used to have an idea that young turkeys could
not be reared unless a person had an immense plot of
Jand, or in other words, unless they could be moved to
fresh ground each year, as it got stale if they were reared

on the same place two years running.
c
18 W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

This is only theory. It may have happened that a
person has reared a few turkeys in one place for two or
three years, and some of them have died off, and it has
been put down that turkeys have been reared there before,
so naturally they would not do well.

Ten years ago if a person had mentioned rearing these
birds in a back yard in London, or a town, he would have
been put down as being half mad.

I am pleased to say however that I have known turkeys
reared successfully in back yards in London. Many of
of them have turned the scale at 16 lbs. at Christmas,
which had not been hatched till the first week in July,
in fact, I may say I have seen them larger when reared in
his way than those which have had a farm to run over. I
do not wish my readers to think that I condemn large runs
for turkeys, there is no doubt they like plenty of space
when they can get it, and they do well, but what I wish to
make plain is, they will grow well, healthy and strong in
towns as well as when they have a large range.

I have known them to be reared in runs two yards wide
and 15 yards long, but I do not recommend rearing stock
turkeys in such a small space. Those who only want a
nice young turkey or two at Christmas need not hesitate for
one moment to bring them up in a confined run without
any grass, but stock turkeys are different and must have
space. ‘

When turkeys are hatched early in the season they
usually grow quite as heavy when reared on gravel or
where there is no grass, as when they have a large grass
field to run over.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 19

 

I will just mention why this is. In the first place where
a person has only a limited space of ground in towns it is
an impossibility to rear many turkeys, and as a rule the
owner only attempts to hatch one brood. If there are
from four to seven young ones, that is quite as many as
may be expected out of an early brood, and of course
there is not such a large number running together while
they are young, and as they are close to the house they can
be fed several times in the day and attended to properly
with but little trouble.

Those who understand this business well as regards
rearing turkeys in such small places always have a covered
run for them, so that, should it come on to rain, and the
little things are running about in the open, they can be
placed under shelter at once.

It is quite different on a farm. One often has to go
a quarter-of-a-mile before he can get to them, and when he
does, they are wet to the skin, which often causes death
when they are very young. Young turkeys cannot stand
the wet.

Then again, when there are only a few they get looked
after better, and they come in for many bits from the table,
that is another advantage the townsman gets.

This is not all however, there is still another advantage
which people do not often think of, that is, when the little
things are let out to have a run in a small place there is no
wet grass. As soonas it has done raining, and the sun
comes out, they can run about.

A good turkey is expensive at Christmas, and that is the

time when English people want them. There is a certain
c2
20 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

amount of pleasure when one can rear his own turkey for
the table, besides having one or two to give away to a
friend, and should it be a poor man, who cannot afford to
give it away, a nice fat turkey will always sell well
at Christmas.

They cost but very little to keep; be a man ever so
poor he can always manage to find a few coppers each
week for their food, besides people living in towns come in
for so many scraps from the neighbours, who are often only
too pleased to get rid of all the refuse.

In all cases it is better to have the run long and narrow,
rather than wide and short, and the turkeys can walk from
end to end fly catching during the Summer. ,

Young turkeys which are reared in confined runs are
wonderfully tame, and those who are experienced in the
management of them know how easy it is to drive them about.

They can be driven through a town like a flock of
sheep, especially when they have been reared on a small
space of ground, so that if the owner has another piece of
garden or path where they can get a little exercise, he need
not be at all frightened of them running away, and turkeys
are not like fowls, they do not scratch.

When turkeys are brought up in confinement they
have to be fed in a little different way if size is an object,
because when they have a large range they are able to pick
up an immense quantity of green-stuff, especially dande-
lions, and a substitute for these must be given when they
have only a small run.

They should be fed the first few weeks exactly in the way
laid down in the chapter on “feeding,” and after they are
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 21

 

five or six weeks old, the owner or attendant should look
out and see they have meat of some kind, such as
“Crissel,” or granulated meat soaked and mixed with
ordinary meat.

I may say here that cottagers, and those who have time
to prepare cooked meat, viz., a sheep’s paunch, or any offal
in the way of outside cuts from the butcher’s shop, which
can usually be had for 114d. and 2d. per lb., will do well
to give this to their young turkeys. The meat should be

- boiled and chopped up fine.

Where a person gets a number of good table scraps, it
is not necessary to look after such sweet morsels of meat
for the young turkeys. I wish my readers to distinctly
understand that when turkeys are reared in confinement,
unless they are given flesh food as well as corn, they will
not grow anything like so fast, besides looking very rough
in their plumage. It is also very important that green-stuff
should be chopped up for them.

Some people imagine they have a difficulty in getting
green-stuff in towns, especially during the winter, but I
find it is much easier, as a rule, than in the country, as
greengrocers always have a lot of refuse leaves.. Those
who are unable to get these should cut some grass off
the bank every day and some dandelions, which should he
laid on a board and cut up into pieces of a quarter-of-an-inch
in length. Lettuce leaves are another splendid food, but it
must be remembered when turkeys are reared it is
usually Summer, and though green-stuff can be easily
obtained it soon withers, while in cold weather it lasts for
days.
22 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

To overcome this difficulty it is best to sow a little
wheat, barley, or oats in small boxes and let them grow
from 1} in. to 3in. If there is a scarcity of ground, these
boxes can be placed in any little out-buildings, or even up
the garden path.

When corn is sown in the Summer it comes up in two

or three days, and if it is well watered is about 3% in. long
in three or four days. One box should be given to the
turkeys each day, the size of the box being according to
the number of turkeys. It is a good thing to sow lettuce
seeds in this way, but the best food of all for young
turkeys is mustard seed, that grows wonderfully fast, and if
put in the sun is up in a couple of days at most. It
should be allowed to grow rather long, as it gets much
otter, which makes it excellent for young turkeys. There
is nothing they do so well on in the way of green food as
young mustard, and the birds are very fond of it at
he same time.

Turkeys which are kept in confinement should have a
good deal of their corn boiled and given to them hot.
It should be put in cold water in a saucepan by the fire,
and when it comes to the boil it should be stood on one
side at once, then it will soak the water up and not burst.

If young turkeys hatched in April are fed and managed
in the way I have described, and the eggs come
from large stock birds, they can be got up to between
18 and 26 lbs. by Christmas.

If the run gets dirty in any way it should be swept up in
dry weather, but if it is wet the top should be just skimmed
off, and some fresh soil and cinder ashes laid down.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, 23

It is most important that turkeys should have a good
supply of sharp grit when kept in confinement, for
digesting their food ; where there is a scarcity of that, glass
and old crockery-ware can be broken up for them.
Turkeys need a good supply of sharp grit, more even than
other domestic poultry, as the gizzard is so small in
proportion to the size of their body.
 
 

THE CAMBRIDGE BRONZE, OR
AMERICAN MAMMOTH TURKEY.

The name of the Variety—How it was made—Comparative merits of
Black, White, and Bronze Varieties—Turkey cocks: their charac-
teristics, and management so as to produce fertile eggs—The
selection of Breeding Turkeys—Young Turkeys: their Feeding
and General Management.

HIS may appear rather a peculiar heading, and some

of my readers may be somewhat puzzled to know which

is right, Cambridge Bronze or American Mammoth, — First of

all, then I will just explain how they came to be called by

cither or both of these names. Whichever name they are

advertised under they are one and the same thing. The

Cambridge Bronze has been an old standing breed for

years, but has been considerably improved by cressing it
with the American Mammoth.
26 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOUSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

I cannot find the breed distinct by itself in any part of
the country, they all have more or less American Mammoth
blood in them.

In the first place they were only called the Cambridge
Bronze, but when the American Mammoth was introduced
it produced a better gloss upon the plumage. It aiso
increased the size of the birds considerably.

It was a good thing for England when the American
Mammoth was introduced, because the Cambridge
Bronze was getting very small for’ want of fresh blood.
Some of my readers may say: ‘“ But were not the American
Mammoth turkeys when they were first imported different from
those we have now?” There is so little difference between
the two that if they were put side by side it would take a very
experienced judge to detect which was which. I fancy I
can hear some people say, “Oh, they must be cross-bred
then.” No, they cannot be called cross-bred turkeys
because they breed true, and anything which is cross-bred
will not breed the same as the parent. People usually go
in for size in turkeys more than purity of blood. I call the
American Mammoth or Cambridge Bronze a distinct variety
because they breed true. When turkey hens come a little
light in the lacing it shows there is a little more of the
“‘ Cambridge Bronze” blood than the * American Mammoth ”
in them, When people are ordering turkey eggs it does not
matter which of these two names they call them.

The Norfolk turkeys are quite a different variety, they
are black but are kept very little outside the county of
Norfolk. ‘There is also a white variety of turkeys. Many
noblemen in England will have nothing but the white
W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 27

 

colour. These are rather more delicate than the other
varieties, as it is so difficult to get fresh blood. They do
not grow anything like the size of the other varieties.

I find nineteen people go in for Cambridge or American
Mammoth turkeys, where only one keeps any other breed.
They are certainly the leading variety in England as well as
the most profitable. ‘They are very handsome. The feathers
of a turkey differ very much from those of any other of the
domestic feathered tribe as well as the shape of the bird. The
ends of the feathers are wide at the top,just as though they kad
been cut across. This is noticeable in both cocks and
hens. The male birds are very massive, I have had them
weigh considerably over golbs. each, and I believe there
are several in England weighing 44 and 46lbs. each at the
present time. They seldom reach 46lbs until their third
year. This weight is too heavy for general purposes,
though it answers well when the birds are required for
exhibition. In that case it is necessary to have huge birds.
In the show pen size in a turkey counts more than all other
points put together, because they are kept more particularly
for eating purposes than for fancy.

A turkey cock weighing golbs. or nearly that weight is
very dangerous to the hens. I have had as many as four
out of eight killed in one year through the male bird being
too heavy. ‘Chey tear the skin from the backbone, right
down to the middle of the thigh. Those who have anything
to do with turkeys know that the male birds are exceedingly
rough in paying their attentions to the hens, Where the
cock weighs over 35lbs. it should not be allowed to go with
the hens all the time. ‘There should be wire in between
28 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

them, and he should only be let in to them occasionally.
The attendant can easily tell when it is time to put the
male birds with the hens, as the latter lie down on the
ground in quite a different way to any other variety of the
feathered tribe, and if they co-habit once that is sufficient
for a batch of eggs. A good strong turkey cock when
treated in this way, if only put with the hens when required
will manage thirty hens just as well as he will eight. In
country districts, where a person only keeps three or four
hens, they do not keep a male bird, but take them toa
neighbour who keeps one. This sort of thing is often done.
Some people charge 1/-, and others 2/6 for each hen which
is put with the male bird, but there are many neighbouring
farmers who do not charge anything ; they merely oblige
their neighbours.

After a turkey hen has laid her batch of eggs and comes
on broody the operation should be repeated. I would
rather put a turkey cock weighing from 23 to 28lbs. with
hens their first year than I would a two year old bird
weighing 35lbs., because the eggs as a rule are more fertile
when the younger and lighter cock is used.

Many turkey breeders force young birds on with stimu-
lating food to get them to a greater weight, but when this
is done the progeny of these birds are no larger than those
at the same age which were bred from birds that had not
been fed up.

Suppose for instance a man has two turkey cocks-hatched
about the same time, and equal in weight at three months
old, he commences to feed one on stimulating food to get
it up to a good size, say 34lbs. the first season, while the
W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 29

 

other only weighs about 23lbs. or 25!bs. Both these birds
may be bred from the same stock, though one may be rolbs.
heavier than the other, but the larger bird will not produce
any larger young stock the following season than the other
bird, and in some cases the eggs will not be anything
like so fertile. I mention this to show that people who
want such immense turkeys can only get them to such an
extraordinary weight by forcing them and feeding them up
with stimulating food.

I find by practical experience that when birds are forced
to such a weight, no matter whether they are cocks, drakes,
ganders or turkey cocks, the eggs from them will not turn
out so reliable for breeding purposes. A lot of surplus fat
is no good for breeding stock as it is rather detrimental as
regards the fertility of eggs than otherwise.

No other variety of birds lose weight so quickly, when
sent on a journey, as turkeys.

A bird weighing 25lbs. is sent on a journey, and perhaps
has not been on the road 24 hours before reaching its
destination, and has lost from 1 to 2%4lbs. in weight.
This may appear to many people almost an impossibility,
but [ have many times proved it to be a fact. I have
myself sent off turkeys weighing so many pounds, and they
have been weighed at the other end of the journey and
found not to be so heavy by 1 to 2%lbs. I may say also
I have bought in turkeys and of course have had the same
disappointment in the weight myself.

Some people when they weigh turkeys tie a string upon the
legs and allow the bird to hang head downwards ; but this is
a very dangerous practice, nothing is so injurious to turkeys
30 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

as holding them up by the legs with their head downwards.
When they are weighed they should either be put in a
“bag or laid on one side on the scale. A stock turkey cock
should have a nice straight breast, but when young should
not be allowed to roost on a perch, as such a thing may
urn the breast bone or make a dent in the middle of
it. The latter would not be detrimental to the
breeding stock in any way unless the breast bone is
curved, but they look so much better on the table with a
nice straight breast. Should both ends of the breast be
quite straight, with only a dent in the middle, the turkey
cocks may be bred from, but to make sure of this the bird
should be laid on its back and a rule put up the breast.
If a male bird with a curved breast is used for breeding,
more than one third of the stock will be spoiled for
market purposes. I am always careful when mating my
birds to see their breasts are quite straight and introduce
fresh blood every year, and by this means I find the young
turkeys grow wonderfully strong and healthy. A few of
-my best young turkey hens have turned the scale at rglbs.
at ‘9 months old, and several of them have weighed 17 and
18lbs. at that age.

I do not wish my readers to misunderstand me. All
turkey hens do not come up to the weights I have named
when they reach the age of eight months old. It is a good
turkey hen which will weigh from 1234 up to 16%lbs.,
unless it is fattened up for the purpose. I do not mind
breeding from hens if they are a little light in colour as long
as they have large frames. When purchasing a hen for
stock purposes a big boned bird should always be sought
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 31

 

after rather than weight. It is an easy matter to put fat
on turkeys, but those which are fattened up to such an
immense size seldom lay anything like so many eggs. The
male bird represented here is a good specimen. ;

The breast and shoulders should have a brilliant gloss
of a bronze shade, the edge of the feathers just showing a
little dark rim, but the feathers lying on the top of the
back leading to the tail should be just tipped with white,
or as some people call it stone or drab colour, and the tail
feathers themselves brown, edged with the same colour at
the ends. When the turkey cock puts up his tail the long
feathers upon the back stand up and help to form a fan
edged with white. After January comes in a healthy
turkey cock has his tail out nine hours out of fifteen right
up to the autumn. The legs should be rather a pale
colour, between a white and pink, and the larger the frame
the better. A hen should be the same shape, and the
breast and shoulders the same colour as the cock, only not
quite such a brilliant gloss. A few of the feathers may
show a slight edging of white or drab, but not too much.
Some show every feather tipped with this colour right
through the body. This is rather an objection in the show
pen, but it makes no difference whatever when one only
requires the birds for breeding from. Very few people
exhibit turkeys, as the carriage to and fro runs so heavy in
comparison to the prizes given.

The tail of a turkey hen is the same colour as that of the
male bird, only a trifle lighter. The cocks can easily be
distinguished from the hens, as they have a larger head and
a great deal more red round the head and neck. The
32 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

piece of skin on the top of the beak comes down over the
beak, while in the hen it sticks up like a little horn.
The male birds have power either to let it down
over the beak from 2 to 3 inches, or draw it up in
the shape of a horn. It also has power to change the
colour of its head and neck, sometimes the latter
is quite blue, another time perfectly white, but as a rule it
is red.

A turkey cock is very amusing to look at, especially
where one has a nice place for him to strut about. It is
very seldom a hen spreads her tail out in the same way as
the cock, though they do occasionally, but when they do
the tail is a little on one side.

One or two large nests should always be provided for
turkey hens, they should not be less than 2 or 2%4ft.
square, if so the tails get rubbed so much. The nest
should have a top to it. A large tub or barrel makes a
very good nest for them, and it should be made as dark as
possible, if not, when the birds have their liberty they are
likely to go and lay away, as turkeys are very shy when
laying. There is a great difference in the laying strains of
these birds. I have had them lay not more than fifteen
eggs before coming broody, and I have had them lay as
many as 45 before wanting to sit.

ohn

SMELT
 

FEEDING STOCK TURKEYS.

Food for stock Turkeys: what to give and when—Laying Turkeys -
how to hinder or help—Confined runs for Turkeys—Mangold.
Wurtzel for Turkeys.

AM often asked how stock turkeys should be fed.
When they are only required for breeding purposes,
after they have done growing, say up till Christmas, they
should be fed on grain, such as wheat, barley or maize, all
mixed together or separate. After Christmas no meal
should be given until the beginning of February. After
that time they may have soft warm meal in the morning for
the first meal. This should consist of barley meal, sharps,.
and pea or bean meal, if convenient, but the latter is not
really necessary.
If the weather is very cold, a little granulated meat or
‘Crissel,” and Spratt’s biscuit meal isa good thing for

them.
D
34 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

When turkeys are fed in this way at the beginning of
February they usually commence laying by the end of that
month, sometimes in the middle of the month, but if they
commence to lay the last week in February, or the first week
in March, that is quite early enough. If young turkeys are
hatched too early, the cold chilly mornings are liable to check
them very much.

When turkeys commence laying or are about to lay they
should always have a good supply of cinders and oyster
shells for making the egg shell, plenty of sharp grit must be
given also; flint grit is the best, as it is harder and lasts
longer in the gizzard. If turkeys have a large range, they
may have a good deal of maize given them. When they
commence laying, maize, wheat, barley, and French buck-
wheat are the best grains for them.

Turkeys should be fed much in the’ same way as laying
hens, with a good supply of fresh water. The latter is very
necessary when they are in full lay.

Good laying turkeys will sometimes lay 20 eggs in 21
days, in fact, if the laying qualities of these birds were
studied more we should get a far larger number of eggs
than we do at the present time. I know some now which
lay right up in the autumn. A turkey egg is very rich for
eating purposes, as the yolk is very large for the size of the
egg.

When stock turkeys are kept in confined runs, if they
have no grass to range over they should have plenty of cab-
bage leaves or other green stuff cut up for them. Mangel
wurzels are good for them to pick up. They should always
be supplied with a certain amount of flesh food in the lay-
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 35

 

ing season, because when they have their liberty it is natural
for them to take a very large range in the field, where they
get plenty of slugs, worms, etc., therefore they should have
a substitute for that when closed up in wire pens.

 

D2
 

GRIT FOR TURKEYS.

Grit for Turkeys when cooped--Grit should be provided for Turkeys of
all ages—Grit the mainspring of health in Turkeys.
ANY people keep turkeys who do not think it is
necessary to provide them with sharp grit to mas-
ticate or grind their food. In many cases when they are
kept without it, it is simply an oversight on the part of the
owners ; while other people again think they are bound to
get sufficient for themselves while they are running about
the farmyard. I may mention here old turkeys do not
suffer for want of sharp grit so much as young ones. The
latter are, as a rule, cooped up in meadows where there is
scarcely a particle of grit, and, as a natural consequence,
some of them begin to die off, and the owner’ or attendant
has but very little idea of the cause.
It will be noticed, however, that where there is a sufficiency
of sharp grit only the strongest survive.
38 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT ROOK.

 

Young turkeys can be supplied with sharp material for
masticating their food at two days old. Turkeys are birds
which require a great deal of sharp grit, on account of
the gizzard being so small in proportion to the size of the
body.

The best they can have is flint grit, broken up by
hand, that is by hammers, not that which passes through a
machine, as by that means many of the sharp edges are
broken off, and a great part of it does not do its work
properly.

Young turkeys up to a month old have but little energy
to find grit for themselves, therefore fine grit should be
mixed with the soft meal, then they are bound to get it.
When it is put down for them the weaker ones seldom eat it,
but the stronger ones usually take sufficient.

Old stock turkeys should always be provided with sharp
grit, though they are very active in searching for it when
there is any to find. In some cases they have been known
to walk a mile in search of grit, especially on a road.

One teaspoonful of flint grit once a week is quite suff-
cient for a turkey, as it lies in the gizzard from ten to six-
teen days, but when they pick up round material or anything
which has no sharp edges, the greater part of it will pass
through the gizzard in 24 hours.

Some of my readers may perhaps think I am too particu-
lar over this question, but sharp material for masticating
the food is the mainspring of life and health to all domestic
varieties of the feathered tribes.
 

DISEASES.

Popular opinions regarding the delicacy,.of Turkeys—Colds among
Turkeys, their causes and avoidance—Roup, how to relieve in case
of—Liver Disease—Over-crowding, the cause of weakness and
disease.

ee are looked upon by many people as being

very delicate, but I am pleased to say that these
birds are not subject to half as many ordinary ailments as
most other domestic poultry are.

It is very seldom anything happens to turkeys after they
are six or eight weeks old except roup, but they are just as
subject to that complaint as hens, because they are much
larger than ordinary poultry, and when there are a number
in one house it becomes very hot, especially if there is not
much ventilation. If young turkeys.or. even old stock birds
are put in close, ill-ventilated houses, and are allowed to
run out in the cold air on a sharp frosty morning, they are
almost sure to take cold, and then if they are not seen to at
40 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

once roup follows, which of course stops the growth of
young turkeys very much. They soon begin to look rough
in feather and as a rule they become very small and stunted
birds. . I always believe that “ prevention is better than cure,”
though it is not thought so much of.

It is very seldom indeed that turkeys will have roup
unless, of course, they are mismanaged in some way. For
instance, when there is a large flock of turkeys running
together and there is an extra hen or two put down, the
original birds always commence to fight. In some cases
the head will get the skin off, which causes a great loss of
blood, and roup follows, which is not always easy to cure.

_ When a strange turkey is put down with another flock
and they commence fighting, the owner or attendant should
give them a good knock on one side of the head with the
hand or an old cloth, this usually checks them and -they
soon settle down.

Properly speaking, turkeys should always be put together
not later than January, if possible in December. They are
not nearly so likely to fight then as they are in the Spring.
When they are put together later it upsets them for the
laying season. Early turkey eggs are a matter of great
importance.

Roup usually shows itself in the first instance by a
swelling under the eye, and if this is not attended to
the latter closes up entirely. My* readers know there is a
large vacant space underneath the turkey’s eye, and when
it is swollen it hangs like a little bag at the side of the head.
When this is noticed it should be fomented with water that
has had camomile flowers boiled in it. After being bathed the
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 41

 

place should be wiped dry, and a little spirits of arnica
rubbed on ; that prevents the birds taking cold after the hot
fomentations. ;

If the swelling does not go down with this treatment, an
incision should be made under the eye witha large penknife
and the liquid squeezed out, the forefinger should be put in
the root of the mouth at the same time, as there will be a
lot come from the nostrils.

If the incision is not made the liquid forms a hard
cheesy matter, and when that is the case the incision
should be made exactly in the same way, only larger, and
the cheesy matter will usually come out in one piece, some-
times weighing as much as half-an-ounce.

The Roup Powders should be given whenever turkeys
show the least signs of a cold orroup. Ifthey are put in an
open shed, and not kept too warm, they do not feel the
sudden changes so much and it is very seldom they will
have either a cold or roup.

Occasionally turkeys will suffer with liver disease, this is
often the case when the parents have been fed largely on
Indian Corn or have been in-bred. When a turkey hen or
cock gets very thin and is wasting away, the bird should
always be killed at once, as it is only waste of time to keep
them. The symptoms are usually a stiffness in walking, as
though there was a pin pricking them inside the stomach. I
wish to make myself quite plain here, because during the
breeding season turkey hens often get injured by the male
bird and are apt to walk stiff or lame on one leg, so the owner
or attendant must be very careful and make sure the birds -
have liver disease before killing them.
x

42 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

If people would only guard against over-crowding their
turkeys a great deal of trouble and disappointment would
be saved.

 
 

GEESE.

GENERAL REMARKS.

Common superstitions with regard to antipathy existing among
cattle for geese-—Feather plucking—Geese as watchers—Geese for
stubble flelds—Geese for market—Old Geese and how they are

disposed of.

HERE is a common saying amongst English farmers
that no cattle will eat after geese, but I am pleased
to state this is only a saying, and not a true one. Either
sheep, horses, or cows will eat after geese if there is any
grass left for them to eat. I think it would be much
nearer the mark if it were said cattle have a difficulty
in eating after geese, especially when kept in large
numbers, as they usually eat nearly all the grass. It is

nonsense to suppose cattle will not eat grass after geese.
44 W. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

I have penned geese on the grass so that their excrements
have covered the ground and the following year, when the
grass has grown again, I found my cattle ate it as close as
any other part, if anything closer.

There is another old adage which says geese will not pay
to eat unless they are plucked three or four times a year for
their feathers. This practice is believed in and carried on
very largely in Lincolnshire because goose feathers are
valuable.

Some people have an idea that it 1s very cruel to deprive
them of their feathers. I used to think so myself, but it
was before I saw it done. It is not a practice I would
recommend to anyone. Though there is a certain amount
of down left upon the birds’ bodies to keep them warm it
must hurt them a little when the feathers are pulled from:
their bodies, but the farmers tell me they do not think
it does. I cannot have any hair pulled from my head
without I feel it. I am quite aware feathers are different
to hair and come out much easier, still it leaves a larger
hole in the skin. The quill of a feather goes right through
the skin. No matter how fine the quill is it must be six
times the size of an ordinary hair, so that though I do not
recommend this system the Lincolnshire farmers tell me I
must not condemn it.

I am pleased to say geese are kept much more than they
were years ago, in some parts of the country there are ten
times the number of geese reared for the markets in com-
parison to what there used to be a few years ago.

Geese are very useful birds, they are almost as good as a
yard dog and in some cases better.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 45

 

I have known geese when they have been running about
with poultry to keep foxes away in the day-time. I have
often heard of geese driving foxes away, but have never
known a fox to kill a goose though I have Aeard of foxes
fetching them away.

The ganders will detect a strange walk, even though
they may not see anyone; if shut up in a building and
a stranger walked past they could tell at once.

No poultry farm should be without one pen of geese, as.
they will soon give the warning, both at night and in the
daytime, when strangers approach.

Geese differ very much from any other variety of
domestic poultry, as they live upon grass. After the old-
birds have done laying in the middle of the summer they
will keep in grand condition if they are allowed to run
about on a grass field till the next Christmas. After that time
they should be fed upon a little grain of some kind to bring
them on to lay early. They are very useful to farmers,
more so than pigs, to go in the stubble fields to pick up
the waste corn. If farmers would breed a large flock of
geese they would pay them far better than having so many
pigs for the stubble fields, as they want no boy to mind
them. They not only eat the loose corn, but a great many
weeds also, besides slugs, grubs, and wire-worms. They
are about the most useful things a farmer can have for this.
purpose, as they help to purify the ground so much.

All early goslings which are not intended for stock
purposes should be killed at the end of the summer, about
September, or earlier if possible. That is to say, they
should all be killed at from ten to thirteen weeks old, as
46 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

after that time they begin to shed their feathers, but they
should be fed well on meal the last three weeks of their
existence. I have had them weigh 13 Ibs. at 12 weeks old.
Stock geese I have had to turn the scale at 151% lbs. at 12
weeks old, but if they can be got to weigh 9% or 10 lbs. at
13 weeks old, that is very fair.

I know many farmers make gd. and rod. per Ib. of their
goslings and they are less trouble to rear than any other
variety of the feathered tribe I know of. After they are
two days old they will eat anything which is given them,
I have known geese to be turned out at four days old and
never have anything given them except the grass they eat,
but, of course, when they are reared in that way they never
turn out to be very large. If size is required they must be
fed on good nutritious food as well as grass.

There is nothing so disappointing: when. one goes to
market to buy dead geese as to find they have purchased a
tough old bird. Geese live to an immense age, and in
many cases old ones get killed in mistake for young ones
and are sent to market ; those who buy them find out their
error when it is too late.

A gentleman I knew went once to a country town market
a few days before Christmas to buy a fine goose, at a little
place called Coleford, in Gloucestershire, and seeing a
young girl who had two splendid geese at the market, he
enquired the price: “ ten shillings each” was the reply. My
friend said he only wanted one, he would give more for that,
but the girl said she could not separate them.

The gentleman, seeing a friend of his in the market, asked
him if he could do with a goose and he said “ by all means,
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 47

 

just what I want.” My friend then went back to the girl
and said “I will take the two geese my girl, here is the
pound (which she took), but now tell me why you would
not separate them.” ‘Well, sir,” was the unexpected reply,
“my father said I was not to part them, as they had been
running together 19 years before the speech-house, so it
would be a pity to part them.” My readers can judge the
feelings of my friend. He sold the geese again, as he knew
better than to take them home to his wife, and a fine joke
the gentleman had with the friends he sold them to. It is
really a fact, geese will live to be 50 years old.

The advice I would give to all those who buy geese is,
see that you get them first-hand from the breeders if
possible.

Those who have every convenience for keeping geese
should rear a few for their own table, then they will be
quite sure they are young.

Geese are very easy to rear after they are two days old,
they require scarcely any attention, and they can be brought
up where there is no water for them to swim in equally as
well as if they have a pond.

The first batch of eggs should always be set, if possible,
under large hens, four or five can be placed under her
according to the size of the hen and eggs. Some geese
eggs are much larger than others, especially when the stock
birds are old.

When the goslings are first hatched out they should
always be put away if possible from the old ganders and not
allowed to run in the same place, because the ganders are so
proud of them and take such care of the young ones that in
48 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

many cases they neglect the geese, and the eggs are not
fertile.

When the hen has sat upon them, after the young ones
are hatched out, the goslings need only run with her for
about a week or ten days, after that time they will take care
of themselves.

Should they be hatched out early in the season they want
putting in a warm place, but after May comes in no matter
if they stay out all night, as long as they are well protected
from thieves and vermin.

When the old stock geese have finished sitting and the
young ones are hatched out, the old ganders become very
spiteful, in fact, they are really dangerous, especially where
there are children running about. They will seize a child
with their bill, and striking it with their wings, which
are very strong, are liable to break its arm or leg,
so that it is important that children should be kept out
of the way while ganders are running about during the
breeding season. They do not usually take much notice in
any other part of the year.

If a gander is noticed to be very spiteful, a good plan is.
to give it a blow on the head with a wisp of straw or some--
thing soft that would not injure it. I usually give mine a
blow with my open hand on the side of the head. This.
frightens them, but if the first punishment is not effectual,
it should be repeated, and the desired result will be
obtained.

A goose should be allowed a large nest or box, a hole
scooped out of the ground with some hay or straw (the
former is best) will do well, geese will make their own nests,
WwW. COOK’s TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 49

 

but it is always best to scoop a hole in the ground. They
should, if possible, be taken off in the morning and fed
because some geese sit so close they will not come off for
three days. Geese are different from hens, they seldom go
wrong while sitting, even if they do not come off to get
their food.

 
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TOULOUSE GEESE.

The comparative advantages of pure and cross-bred Geese—White
and Brown Geese: the value of their feathers—Toulouse Geese:
their points and peculiarities—Geese for breeding : theircondition
and weight.

‘| am often asked which are the best geese to keep, pure
or cross-breds. This depends a great deal upon

what they are required for, or perhaps it is better to say

whether they are required for stock or eating purposes.

If they are wanted for stock, pure breeds pay the best, a
large number of people like to have their stock pure. To
such I would say by all means go in for pure geese.

To those who want to turn them into money as quickly
as possible for eating purposes, I would say, go in for
cross-breds.

The feathers of white geese are worth considerably more
when the birds are killed than those from brown birds
This is, of course, a consideration where people keep a

large flock, as goose feathers always sell well.
E2

“fo
52 WwW. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

Toulouse geese grow to an immense size, the illustration
will give my readers an idea what they are like. The
underneath part of a Toulouse goose when pure is very close
to the ground, and some poulterers do not like them for the
table so well as other breeds, as they say there is a great deal
of offal or surplus fat, especially at the end of the breast
and round the abdomen. Notwithstanding this they are
very large birds. The colour of them is grey and they are
good layers, usually commencing about the end of January
or the beginning of February, if they are seen to properly.
Sometimes they are a little later, it depends a great deal
upon the season. The Toulouse have the largest frame of
any geese we have in England, and being good layers as
well, form one of the best varieties for crossing with other
geese. This will be referred to more fully in the chapter on
crossing.

A well-bred Toulouse goose or gander is pencilled with
a dark and light brown shade all over the back and breast,
on the wings and down to the thigh. The fluff underneath
is almost white.

A pure Toulouse can easily be detected because there is
an opening between the end of the breast-bone, giving the
appearance of two ridges between the legs, while in other
geese the breast-bone comes down level. The abdomen is
much nearer the ground than that of any other variety, and
when they get two or three years old there is usually a long
piece of skin hanging down underneath the throat. The
colour of the bill and legs is orange, and should there be
white on the bill it denotes either careless breeding or a
touch of some other blood.
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOkK. 53

 

When these geese are old the bills will sometimes turn
almost white.

If this variety are fed well and attended to properly
while young they grow to an immense size. I once had
two ganders at 15 weeks old weighing 19 lbs. each.

Prize-bred ganders which are shown will often weigh from
25 lbs. to 30 lbs., but I do not advise such immense birds
for breeding from, as they themselves do not breed well and
their progeny are even worse in this respect. Geese which
are kept in just stock condition are much better for breeding
from.
 
 

ITALIAN,

Italian geese: their origin and plumage—Difficulties in breeding
Italian Geese—Italians crossed: peculiarities and difficulties—The
laying qualities of Italian geese.

TALIAN Geese have not been in England very long,

but they made a great start when they first came over
on account of their splendid laying qualities. I must admit
that as far as I am concerned I tried to push them as much
as possible, and endeavoured to get people to breed them
all through the country.

Ever since they first came out they have continued to
give satisfaction as being good layers, and they also mature
very quickly.

The birds of this variety are not so large as some, but they
are very profitable.

Those people who want plenty of eggs cannot do better
than keep Italian. I am often asked what is the proper
colour of this variety.
56 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

When they first came over, years ago, I saw nothing but a
white goose with a grey head and a grey mark upon the thighs
and middle of the back. The marking was quite even as
though they had been painted. A few years after quite
white geese were imported into England, but I could not
say they were pure, and as I have never been to Italy to see
how they were bred, I am obliged to go by what are
produced in England.

I find many breeders have bred from coloured geese and
have produced many white ones, but I have an idea that
the Italian are not pire because they do not all breed the
same colour, and it would be very difficult to detect pure
Italian.

For instance, very often a cross between the Embden and
Toulouse are exactly the same stamp and colour as the
Italian, only larger, while others come with grey heads and
just a patch on the thighs and middle of the back. This
makes me think Italian geese are merely a cross and cannot
be depended upon for breeding true.

As geese are bred more for domestic purposes than for
exhibition, it matters but little even if they are not pure, as
long as they produce a good number of eggs and breed fine
healthy stock.

I recommend those who keep Italians to use an
Embden or Toulouse gander, then they get a good number
of eggs and the goslings come to a larger size and are better
for market.

Italian, or rather geese which go by that name, are not so
large as Embden, in fact the largest of the Italian are about
the size of the smallest Embden, when they are put together
W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 57

 

it would take a clever person to tell the difference. If the
Italians were really pure they would breed true to colour the
same as Embden and all other varieties. The fact is, they
get crossed to produce size, and the first crosses come like
the pure parents on one side and get sold as pure.

Suppose an Embden is crossed with a Toulouse, in many
cases some of the offspring will come quite white and
represent a pure Embden, and in many cases they are sold
as such, but if they are bred from again they throw goslings
with dark or grey feathers, which proves at once that there
is other blood in them besides Embden.

My Italian are, I believe, about as pure as they are bred,
but I feel sure they have two breeds in them. Iam inclined
to think, however, that the original colour of the Italian is
white, though I am not quite certain, and then the Italians
have had grey geese over from England to cross with them
to increase size, so that there is a mixture of colour.

I mention these facts so that those who go in for Italian
geese will not expect them all to come one colour or evenly
marked, but I will admit that any breed which has Italian
blood in it always makes good layers.

EOP
 
 

CHINESE GEESE.

 

————

Chinese geese breed true to type—The popularity of Chinese—The
laying qualities—Chinese geese for crossing and market.

HINESE Geese breed truer to type than any other
variety I know of in England. They are not large,
but are certainly by far the handsomest geese which have
ever been bred for domestic purposes in this country. They
are an ornament to any place. They havea long and grace-
ful neck, very thin and curved, much the same as that of a
swan. The bill is black, with a kind of a horn or peak
right at the top between the eyes, and a beautiful grey
pencilled body.

I have every reason to believe this variety will become
very popular in England. I am breeding a large number
of them now as there is a great demand for them. The eggs
are very fertile, and one reason people like them so much
in their pure state is, they breed so true to colour and look
such an ornament to any place.

—_
60 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.
2 2

 

They are the smallest variety we have in England, but
they are tight in feather and are much heavier than they
look. Those who only keep geese for their own domestic
purposes I would recommend to try the Chinese, as they
are the best layers. They will lay right up in the
autumn. The late hatched ones can be got up
for Christmas, and the early ones can be killed
off. Ordinary geese do not lay at the end of the
summer, so the Chinese just fill up the gap. A Chinese
gander can be told much better than any other variety, as
the horn on the head is considerably larger, and the neck is
a trifle thicker and longer and more curved than in the
geese, though it is possible to make a mistake even in this
variety.

I recommend those who want geese for practical purposes,
that is to breed for market, to use Chinese geese, and a
Toulouse or Embden gander, then they can hatch right up
in the autumn, and the goslings will come up well at
Christmas. This would save from 25 per cent. to 35 per
cent., as when young geese have to be kept from the middle
of the summer right up to Christmas it comes expensive, but
if they are hatched in the autumn, and get grown by
Christmas, there is neither time nor food wasted.

SSP
 

EMBDEN GEESE.

Ce aN eee

Embden geese: their size and points—The bad laying qualities of Embden
geese—How to cross to develop laying qualities —Results of Embden
and Italian cross.

MBDEN Geese are pure white, with pale light grey
eyes and pink bill and legs.

For many years I have found the Embden better layers
than the Toulouse in their pure state, but the last few years
the latter have gone right before the Embden, both in their
laying qualities and also weight, though I believe that when
the Embden have been bred for show they have beaten the
Toulouse in weight.

Just with ordinary feeding my Toulouse outstrip the
Embden altogether in weight, but I must say the latter are
the best geese for the table, as there is no offal about them
and they are much heavier than they look. Poulterers
usually prefer them because of their white feathers, as they
are more valuable.
62 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

Many farmers, however, who have kept them the last few
years, have been crying out about them being such bad
layers, and that is one reason why they are not more
generally kept. They are quite as easy to rear as any other
geese.

Those who have already got Embden geese and are not
satisfied with the laying qualities, but want to keep them
white, should get some Italian, as there are some of that
variety which come quite white, and they improve the laying
qualities of the Embden very much, but for weight they are
best crossed with the Toulouse.

Some will come quite white, while others will come brown
and white, that cross (Embden and Italian) are often sold
for pure Italian and sometimes for pure Embden. That is.
why some people say Embden geese are splendid layers.
In most cases where they get this character they are in
reality a cross between the Italian and Embden or Toulouse
and Embden.

 
 

GANDER.

TOULUUSE
 

CROSSING GEESE.

 

Crossing Geese—The best Crosses and how to obtain them—The utility
of crossing Geese—Geese for waste land—Goose Eggs, fertile and
otherwise : how to examine.

I am often asked which are the best geese to keep as

cross breds. If a person is just about to start
keeping geese and has no stock by him, I would say
procure Italian or Chinese geese and cross them with
either an Embden or Toulouse gander, and the results
will be very satisfactory.

If they are bred from Chinese they are a better shape
and there is not more than from %lb. to 1%lbs. difference
in weight. When crossed with an Italian they are rather
larger, but not so tight in feather.
64 W. COOK’S TURKEY, GOOSE, 4ND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

I will give my reasons why the Chinese or Italian geese
are the best to use forcrossing. To begin with both varieties
are splendid layers, especially the Chinese, and these also
lay later in the season, so that more young geese can be
hatched. This isa very important feature. If they are crossed
the other way, viz., with a Chinese or Italian gander, I
should recommend Toulouse geese in preference to Embden.

Some people may ask the question, ‘‘ Why cross geese at
all, as they are very hardy in their pure state?”

Why I recommend crossing geese occasionally is, because
it often comes cheaper to buy in a stock for crossing.
Then again they mature quickly and are ready for the table
at an earlier age, and the eggs are more fertile. Not only
that, the goslings hatch out better when there is entirely
fresh blood.

When the young ones are not hatching out well it is
always better to get another gander.

The eggs from young geese are not quite so fertile as
from birds over a year old ; at the same time it is better for
people to start with young geese, then they know the age of
them, but if they start with old ones they cannot tell
whether they are two years old or twenty.

When a person has a nice piece of cheap land for their
geese to run over, there is a great deal of profit obtained
from rearing geese for the markets.

Goose eggs take 27 or 28 days to hatch out, but it is
always better to test them after they have been sat upon
eight or ten days.

This should be done with a lamp or candle. If they are
unfertile they are quite clear. .
     

         
 

pill
ily)
aly

yy
I

    

             

   

          

  
 

 
W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOsSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK, 65

 

When they are fertile a large dark speck will be seen
rather nearer the large end than the small, and as the egg is
gently turned round before the light a dark speck is noticed
to move about.

That is the eye of the gosling. If the eggs are tested in
this way it saves 2 great deal of time.

LORS
 
 

GRIT FOR GEESE.

Geese need grit—No grit: bad digestton—Grit and no grit: nothing
compensates for loss of this necessary article.
EESE are domestic birds, and are a variety which
range a long way in search of all kinds of grit to
digest their food. If they cannot get it on the surface
of the ground, they will put their bill or beak in the banks,
ditches or anywhere where it is to be found. Grit is as
necessary for geese as it is for any other variety of the
feathered tribes, though many people never give this
subject a thought. As geese feed principally upon grass
they usually consider it is not necessary.

This is altogether a wrong idea. Where a number of
geese have been penned out in a grass field, where there is
scarcely any grit to be found, I have often noticed the
grass passed through the geese undigested as well as the
grain, especially oats. It is just as necessary for geese

as it is for turkeys, pheasants and fowls. I find when
F2
68 Ww. COOK’s TURKEY, GOUSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK.

 

young geese are supplied with sharp grit, to masticate or
grind their food, they grow to a much heavier weight in
a shorter time than when they are kept without sharp
grit.

It must be remembered geese do not chew their food,
but swallow it just as they take it into their mouth. As
I have mentioned before, if there is a possibility of them
finding any grit they will do so, as they know by instinct
they ‘require it.

When young or old geese are penned off, as they are
occasionally in grass fields, they are deprived of this
necessity. I always consider grit to the feathered tribes is
the mainspring of life.

If a number of geese were penned in a lovely meadow,
with good grass to peck at, and another batch were let
run on a common, not more than half-a-mile away,
where there was but very little grass, the latter would do
better than the former, which had the good pasture.

Some of my readers may ask the question, ‘Why is
this?” Simply because those which run on the common
have a good supply of grit from the roads or pathways,
whilst those in the grass-field do not get an opportunity
of supplying themselves with this necessary material.

Where a number of geese are kept and they have no
Opportunity of getting on the roads where waggons or
arts pass along, they should have some flint grit put
at the bottom of a trough with water in it, a little grain,
viz :—barley, buckwheat, oats, or something of that kind
should also be put in the trough. The geese will put
their bill into the water and forage after the grain, then
W. COOK'S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 69

they find the grit and will afterwards help themselves
-when they feel they require it. Ordinary fowl-grit is quite
large enough for geese. Goslings should have it very
fine and sharp, such as is used for chickens. It is well
to mix some about once a week in their meal for the
first month of their existence, which helps their growth
very much. Grit is a very simple thing and yet necessary

for geese. It is only by observation and experience one
finds these things out.

 
ADVERVISEMENTS.

 

The most successful Rural Journal ever Published in Gt. Britain.

 

An Agricultural, Rural, and Domestic Journal.

 

For the Country Gentleman, Farmer, Rural & Suburban Resident,
/ AND ALL INTERESTED IN

The Farm, the Dairy, Live Stock, the Stable,
Poultry, Garden, or the Home.

 

In all cases where possible, it is advisable to obtain the Paper through
a Newsagent, Railway Bookstall, or Bookseller. If, however, it is not
obtainable at the published price, it can be ordered direct from the
Publishing Oftice, post free at the following rates, payable in advance :—

ONE YEAR, 6s. 6d. HALF-YEAR, 3s. 3d.

 

A Journal for Everybody.

 

QUERIES & ANSWERS.

Especial attention is called to this feature of the paper, as the columns
of every department of ‘‘ FARM, FIELD, AND FIRESIDE ” are freely
open to all, and offer a means of exchanging opinions and obtaining
information such as can be met with in no other way.

 

N.B.—‘‘ FARM, FIELD, & FIRESIDE” is the only paper offering
24 pages of well-printed useful information in a handy, compact form,
Illustrated, stitched and cut, for the sum of

=SoOoNnh PHNN Y. @&

Specimen Copies can be obtained from Newsagents, Booksellers, and
Bookstalls, or direct from the Publishing Office,

1, ESSEX STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.

 
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

W. COOK’S SPECIALITIES.

 

¥ have not mentioned my Specialities in the body of this book
except by simply referring once or twice to the Poultry and
Roup Powders, of which I am the sole manufacturer. The Poultry
Powder is prepared especially for strengthening the organs of the
body, and acts more particularly on the laying hens in the egg
organs. It is a stimulant, and at the same time does not injure
the bird in any way. The Powders can be discontinued at any time,
and will leave the birds stronger and better for their having been
given. They are used very largely in the autumn to bring young
ullets on to lay, and to assist the old birds through the moult.
here is no doubt but what the Poultry and Roup Powders have
been one of the causes of my success in Poultry keeping as I
always use them during the autumn and winter, and have about
40,000 customers for them. There are tonics sold which will make
hens lay, but in many cases they only leave the birds weak and injure
the egs organs, but there is not the least fear of this with my
Poultry Powder. Some people use these Powders the whole year
round, they say they get 1/- worth of eggs for every 4d. they
spend on the Powder, so that it pays them very well, but I do not
ae anyone to use it during the whole of the summer for the stock
birds.

If the birds stop laying or get a little out of condition in the
summer time, then a Kittle of the Powder will bring them on to
lay again, but when they always have it, it does not have such
effect upon the bird’s system because they get used to it. Poultry
Keepers who use the Powder during the autumn and winter are
seldom without eggs. This Powder is also used very largely for
rearing Chickens the first three months of their existence, as it
revents gapes and cramp, besides assisting them to feather quickly.
t is also used a great deal in rearing young Turkeys and Pheasants,
but I prefer the Roup Powder for that purpose as it acts more
upon the liver, and is at the same time a very strengthening tonic.
It prevents Fowls, Turkeys and Pheasants from taking cold in wet
weather, in fact, it is used very largely for this purpose, both in
summer and winter. Exhibitors also use it for getting their birds
into prime condition, as it makes them healthy and vigorous and
brings « splendid gloss upon their plumage, but it does not act so
much upon the egg organs as the Poultry Powders. Fowls before
being sent to a Show should always have a pill made up of Roup
Powder and again when they come back. I may »ay the Roup Powder
was the first remedy in England introduced for curiny Roup, and it has
cured thousands of birds these last few vears. I receive te-timonials
ADVERTISMENTS.

 

from all classes of breeders almost every week in the year. I usually
give my fowls Poultry Powder all through the winter about four
times a week, but should it be a bitterly cold morning I give them
the Roup Powder as that is a stronger tonic, and acts a great deal
upon the liver. It also helps digestion rather quicker than the
Poultry Powder, but’ I do not advise giving it regularly to laying
hens. I also manufacture Roup Pills: these are always handy for a
Poultry Keeper to have by him in case a bird gets out of sorts..

One shilling’s worth of the Powder is worth eighteenpenny worth
of Pills, only there is the trouble of making the latter up. In case
of Diphtheric Roup, I have prepared a lotion which will take all the
mucus from the mouth and throat. Some fowls are subject to scales
or seurf upon the legs, and I have brought out an ointment which
is used very largely at the present time amongst Poultry Keepers
for clearing the scales off the legs.

I have also prepared an Insect Powder especially for Poultry,
‘Pigeons, Cagebirds and Rabbits, so that it will not injure the birds or
animals, but will destroy all the vermin in a few minutes if the birds are
dusted with it, but it must be rubbed well into the feathers so that the
skin becomes covered. In cases where there are nits round the head of
the fowl the Powder will not kill them, but [ have brought out an
Ointment specially for destroying these pests. Some fowls have cramp
in the legs, and to cure this I have prepared an Embrocation which
usually puts the birds right after two or three times dressing.

Many Poultry Keepers have a ditticulty in fattening their birds,
and to make this easier I have brought out a fattening powder for the
purpose. One shilling tin is sufficient for 10 or 15 birds while they
are in the coop. It sharpens the appetite and helps them to digest
their food. Most Poultry Keepers are troubled more or less with
rats, and I have prepared a Rat Destroyer which is non-poisonous,
and one which will poison and, kill quickly. The first named will
answer well where there are no dwelling houses near, and is splendid
for poultry houses, but should the rats get in the house and under
the floor they go in and die, which of course makes things rather
unpleasant; but the poison kills them quickly and does away with
that unpleasantness. I found by experience some years ago it was
very necessary that fowls should have sharp grit, but it was a long
time before I could pitch upon which was the best kind to give them
I tried glass and crockery ware broken up, pebble stones and oyster
shellx, but by opening the gizzards of the birds I found the edges of
these materials were worn as smooth as marble, the glass lasting
longer in the gizzard than the crockery ware, but it occurred to me
flint stones might answer ‘well, so I set to work to smash some in
small pieces, and since then have kept my birds regularly supplied
with this sharp flint grit for many years. “This has also been one of
the secrets of ny success in poultry farming.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

T had more eges from 30 birds during the winter than those who
kept 60 or 100 fowls. Then it began to get known about that I
used flint grit, and for some time I used to give a little away, but at
last it came to knocking up a large quantity, and as it was a slow
process I used to employ men when they were out of work in the
winter. When I first started the grit three men in a whole day
would not knock up one ewt. Those who know what flint is, know
it is nearly as hard as steel and it is « very difficult matter to break
it up. When fowls have the advantage of this, however, as it lasts
so long in the gizzard before it is worn smooth, therefore, everything
in the way of grain, Crissel, &e., which goes in the gizzard gets
masticated properly. Liver disease comes on very frequently through
the lack of proper grit. At the present time I send the flint grit to
almost all parts of the world for poultry, turkeys, geese, ducks,
pigeons, and pheasants, when the latter are kept in confinement.
My flint grit is all broken up by hand, and I shall never alter my
course.

Since I started many other manufacturers have commenced
smashing grit by machinery, and are able to put it in the market at
a much lower price, but many of the sharp edges become broken in
the grinding of the rollers, which lessens the value of it very
materially. One ewt. of sharp flint grit would last 150 fowls twelve
months, so that it only costs a trifle over 1d. per head to use the flint
grit for one year, if it is broken by hand and is not thrown down to
waste. It should be put in a little vessel so that they can help
themselves. Occasionally I put a little piece in the soft food in case
there may he a bird or two rather idle as regards picking it up,
but the best layers are almost sure to eat it. It is necessary
that chickens should have sharp grit the first two days they are
hatched. :

Some of iy readers may be surprised to see so many specialities
at the end of ny book, but there is a use for every one of them.
Those which I first brought out I offered to give away for the public
benefit, but none of my friends would take them up. Knowing they
were all useful and necessary for poultry I sell them, and they have

roved a great boon to the poultry world. There was no book on
oultry to give anyone practical advice, until the Poultry Breeder
and Feeder appeared. There was nothing brought out to cure Roup
and Colds, till I introduced the Roup Powder. Grit was never once
thought of as long as there was plenty of gravel till I commenced
using it. There was nothing out to my knowledge to induce hens to
lay without leaving them weak till the Poultry Powders appeared.
The other little specialities I have mentioned were not known till I
brought them out myself, viz.:—The Ointment for Scaly Legs,
Embrecation, Insect Powder, Nit Ointment, &c. Not only have I
brought these out, but it has been my greatest pleasure to help
people in all matters concerning Poultry. I have given my whole
time for many years, usually from 14 to 18 hours a day to travelling
about 35,000 miles a year giving advice where I have been able to
do so. My readers must not think I have said this for an apology for
bringing out so many specialities for Poultry, but merely to state
why [ did it.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

LECTURES.

—— 0: ——

W. Cook gives Lectures on Practical Poultry-Keeping and Pheasant-
Rearing throughout the country. His object is, as fully expressed in
this Book, to draw the attention of the labouring classes to this
easily-attained means of adding to their income and increasing their
present limited sources of Home Comforts.

It is necessary that Secretaries or other persons making the engage-
ments should correspond with him early, as he is continually making
arrangements for Lectures in various parts six and eight months in
advance. In many cases these could be arranged so as to fit in with
others in neighbouring districts, and expense of travelling lessened.

Fee, £1 ls. and travelling expenses.

Address all letters and orders to Orpington House St. Mary Cray,
Kent.

ADVICE AND CONSULTATIONS

:0:

He vives information free to all poultry-keepers on the management
of poultry, also answers any questions on receipt of stamped and ad-
dressed envelope. All communications concerning thix should be
addressed to Orpington House, St. Mary Cray, Kent. He also travels
to all parts of the United Kingdom for the purpose of planning-out
poultry farms and runs, mating breeding birds, &e., for the nominal sum
of 21s. and travelling expenses.

NOTICE TO VISITORS.

=== 0

The Breeding Pens and Stock Birds are open for inspection every week
day. W. Cook is at home on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1.30 p.m.
till evening, to supply every necessary information concerning the birds
and vive advice. For the benetit of the working classes the place is open
for inspection on Bank Holidays. Orpington House, St. Mary Cray,
is 3 miles from Orpington Station on the South-Eastern Railway, a
little over «# mile and a half from St. Mary Cray Station on the L. C.
& D. Railway, and 2 miles from Swanley Junction on the same line.
Anyone who cannot conveniently walk can be met by a conveyance at
either station "% appointment. = Address all telegrams :—‘ Cuok, St.
Mary Cray.” he porterage on each telecram is 6d.. and this should be
prepaid.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

POULTRY JOURNAL:

How to make Poultry Pay.

EDITED BY WILLIAM COOk.

 

 

PUBLISHED BY

E. W. ALLEN, 4, Ave Maria Lane, E.C.

 

 

as is the only monthly journal in England which is devoted

entirely to the interests of Poultry. It has been said that a
paper which did not include other pets (such as Rabbits, Pigeons and
Cage Birds) would not pay. The first number appeared in June, 1886.
In each issue there is a chapter of hints for the current month, according
to the season of the year, showing how to manage both the old and young
stock, &c. There are short chapters on Ducks, Turkeys, Geese, and
Pheasants and their management, c. Questions are answered
through the columns of this paper, and also free by post if
a stamped addressed envelope is enclosed Post mortem Examinations
are made on all kinds of Poultry, for the nominal sum of Is. each. All
specimens for examination to be sent, carriage paid, to 105, Borough,
London, 8.E. The reports appear in the Monthly Journal, and in cases
of urgency, if a stamped addressed envelope is enclosed, they are
answered by post. In cases of contagious diseases, a letter of instruction
is sent free of any other charge. Specimen copy of the journal sent post
free upon application.

ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY.

PRICE, TWOPENCE MONTHLY.

Postal Subseription : Three Months, 73d. ; Six Months, is. 3d.
Twelve Months, 2s. 6d.; payable in advance.
ADVERTISEMENTS

DUCK REARING & BREEDING MADE SIMPLE
THE BOOK ON DUCKS,

AND

HOW TO MAKE THEM PAY,
By W. COOK.

 

 

 

PRICE, 2s. POST FHESB, 2s. 3d.

 

Duck rearing being an industry largely on the increase, W. Cook
felt that those engaging in it would do better if they treated their birds
more intelligently in many instances.

The book goes into detail concerning all the most important

.. branches of duck breeding and rearing, shewing the characteristic
features of the breeds, and giving directions for crossing so as to produce
birds suited to the varied requirements of the Markets and circumstances ~

of small rearers.

As its title would suggest, the book is intended to help towards
making duck rearing pay. Its pages abound with useful hints and plain
and practical information, all intended to help cottagers and others to
add to both comfort and income hy keeping ducks and ‘thereby combining
pleasure with profit. :

The information, which ix based upon knowledge gained during an
,extensive experience, will be found practical in every detail, and most

useful to all who have anything to do with duck rearing either on a large
or small seale.

Bh id Hepsi aR

 

AAA ee

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,

WILLIAM COOK,
QUEENS HEAD YARD, 105, BOROUGH, LONDON ;

AND

ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY, KENT.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

PHEASANT EGGS.

—- WV. CGOO0o Kk. —

Can supply Pheasant Eggs during April at
12’- per Dozen.

 

 

From the middle of May to the middle of
June, 8- per Dozen,

After 14th June, 4- per Dozen.

ALL EGGS GUARANTEED FROM UNRELATED STOCK.

 

HEN PHEASANTS

During January, February and March for
Stock purposes, 15/6 each.

Unrelated Cocks, 8:6 and 10/6 each.

 

It is well for people to lodge their orders
early when requiring either Pheasants or
Eggs, as W. Cook often books Eggs and
Stock Birds from eight to twelve months
ahead, and book customers always come
first.

 

ADDRESS—

WW. COO EB.
ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY, KENT
ADVERTISEMENTS.

RABBITS

Stock and Sporting Purposes.

 

 

As W. COOK breeds Rabbits on a very large scale he has some to
spare for Stock purposes. He has,
BELGIAN HARES, SILVER GREYS,
And a cross between those two breeds.

They are bred just the same as wild ones, and are bred especially to
turn down for fresh blood for those who go in for breeding wild
rabbits. They not only increase the size of the wild rabbits, but
there are less deaths among them when they are used. When wild
rabbits are allowed to in-breed year after year they become too small

without fresh blood, and many of the young ones die off between the
age of three and six weeks with enlarged livers.

It is but little use to turn down either Belgian Hares, Silver Greys,

or any other tame rabbits to cross with the wild unless they have

been bred wild themselves, if so the foxes, stoats, weasels, dogs, or
poachers clear them off at once.

SILVER GREYS, 4/- and 5/6 each. BELGIAN HARES,
5/- and 66 each.
Cross-Breds between Silver Greys & Belgian Hares, 4/6 each.

Jf a number is ordered before they are full-grown a reduction
will be made.

W. Cook has also some HIMALAYAN, bred in the same way,
from 4/6 to 6/6 each.

They are excellent to turn down with the wild ones where a person
has an‘enclosed warren. They cross well, are very hardy, and breed
wonderfully fast with wild rabbits.

WILD RABBITS FOR STOCK

During September and October, 2/- each; November and December,
2/3 each. January—Does, 2/9; Bucks—2/3 each. The warren they
are bred in is an extensive enclosure nearly two miles round.

 

 

 

Any gentlemen wishing to view W. Cook’s Rabbit Farm must
apply to him for that purpose, as he does not throw his large Farm
open to the public the same as he does his Poultry Farm at Orpington

ouse. It is only ladies and gentlemen who will be allowed to visit
the Farm by special appointment with W. Cook, as it is between six
and seven miles from Orpington House.
ADVERTISEMENT».

 

w. COOK’S
IMPROVED SITTING COOP.

THis Coop will be found very useful by poultry-keepers, as timid
hens often refuse to take to a nest when it is placed in a strange house.

The Coop can be placed in the house, close to the position in which
the original nest was situated, and the hen will scarcely notice the
difference. After the hen has taken to the nest, it can be removed to
any convenient spot.

It is made so that it can be closed up to prevent rats or other vermin
getting at the eggs, and will be found most convenient for sending
broody hens by rail. It is also arranged so that, although the hen
cannot get off the nest, sufficient light and air are admitted by means of
a sliding door.

a 7 oa
IMPROVED POULTRY HOUSES.

(MOVABLE).

 

 

Put together with Bolts; and free on rail.

SIZES. PRICES.

LONG. WIDE. HIGH. £. d.
0 ft. O in. x 5 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft. 0 in. 310 oO
O ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft. 0 in. 305 0
o ft. 4 in. x 5 it. 3 in. x 6 ft. O in. 3.3 0
0 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft. O in. 219 wo
O ft. 6 in. x 8 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 8 in. oF Ap

 

Broody Coops for Six Hens, Price 13/6.

 

W. COOK, Orpington House, St. Mary Cray.
ADVERLISEMENTS,

 

W. COOK'S

EMBROCATION FOR HORSES.

Safe and Simple Remedy for Sprains and Rheumatism.

 

There are several vood embrocations for horses manufactured. I
have tried most of them, and some I have found to answer the purpose
very well. The embrocation I am offering to the Public I find is a great
boon and should Se kept in every stable. It is splendid for sprains and
bruises, both in the legs and shoulders of horses. When they have been
on a long journey, or running on the hard road, the sinews are often
strained, but when this occurs, if they are rubbed with this embrocation
it prevents them from getting puffy and stiff in the legs. It will also be
found a great boon when a horse goes lame, or stiff anywhere in the joints
or round the gullet. Many horses suffer a great deal with rheumatism
and by rubbing a little of the embrocation well in, it will ease the pain
and in many cases entirely relieve them. J do not say in every case,
because what will cure one horse will not always relieve another ; it is a
matter of impossibility to bring about a complete cure in every case but
T have found it to be the very best embrocation I have ever used for
horses suffering from any of the complaints I have mentioned. It will be
found also a spendid thing for rheumatism : the horsekeepers, themselves,
might use it and find it very efficacious in case of aching feos or shoulders,
as if it is well rubbed in, it alleviates the pain in less than ten minutes.
When using it for horses, rub it in very hard against the hair, then it
works into the skin better. It is well to bandage the animal afterwards.
The horse’s legs may smart a little and the animal may get a little fidgety,
but it does not take the hair off the horse’s lees “atlloss it is used very
often, especially if the animal is bandaged after. Those who want to

‘blister their horses should get something more powerful, but this is a
simple and safe remedy. It ix also very good for a horse with a sore
throat. They will often swell round the gullet and between the jaws,
the glands becoming enlarged. When a horse coughs or runs a little at the
nostrils it is well to rub a little of this round the throat, as they are
almost sure to have a sore throat. Sometimes when a horse comes in hot
it may be a little tender on the shoulders, but if it is sponged down first
with water, and then a little of the embrocation rubbed in, it will prevent
the shoulders from becoming sore.

Price, 2/6 and 5/- per bottle. Post free, 3/- and 5/-.

W. COOK, Queen’s Head Yard, 105, Boro’, London, S.E.

AND

ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. WARY CRAY, RENT.

 
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

W. COOK’S HORSE POWDERS.

This Powder is a good thing to give a horse when in low condition.
It acts as a tonic when the animal has been on a long journey. The
animal can be worked the following day. It makes the coat look like a
piece of silk. This tonic is 4 good thing to give a horse when it is
changing its coat in the Spring and Autunn. The powder will be found
all I have represented it to be by those who use it. It should be given in
bran and a little chaff mixed with it, just moistened with water, not
quite so soft as a bran mash. If the horse ix only a little out of sorts he
will not require it more than two or three times. Two dessert spoonfuls
at a time is sufficient for a horse from 14 to 15 hands high. A cart horse
should have two table spoonfuls. It is sold in tins, 1/-, 2/-, and 5/-.
Special quotations for larger quantities. Post free 1/3, 2/44, and 3/-
carriage paid. :

W. COOKS OINTMENT
Chipped Knees or any kind of Sores.

 

 

 

Horses are very subject to accidents, perhaps more so than any other
animal. The greatest misfortune which befals them is falling down and
cutting their knees, which of course lessens the value of an animal greatly,
especially when the knees are cut deeply. It is said by experienced
people when the hair is once cut off it does not grow smooth again
like that which is remaining on the leg. I have tried many experiments
for this, and have at last found an ointment which causes the hair to grow
smooth, so that it is not noticed. The hair does not grow very strong
and long when the knees are cut deeply and pieces taken out of them.
In that case nothing will cause the hair to grow properly: Thave dressed
horse’s knees which have been cut very much and the hair has
grown again. The ointment can be used for any.sores on horses, which
may. be caused by friction of the harness. It can also be used for cuts
or bruises in any other animal. Full directions sent with the ointment.
Sold in 2/- and 5/- pots, post free 2/43, or 5/- worth carriage paid.

 

W COOK,

QUEEN’S HEAD YARD, 105, BOROUGH, LONDON, 8.E.,
And ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

DUCK MEAL.

W COOK has brought out a Meal especially for Ducks, but
* has not offered it to the public till now. He has used'it
himself for many years, and has every reason to believe that it
is the best meal that has been manufactured for Ducks. He does
not know anybody who has got Ducks up to the weight of his
at the same age, although there may be some. Those who feel
inclined to give this Duck Meal a trial will be more than satisfied
with the result. It mixes without sticking; there is no waste
whatever, andthe Ducks are very fond of it. It does either for
rearing the young Ducklings or for stock Ducks, but biscuit meal
should be used the tirst fortnight after the young ones are hatched.

 

THE PRICES OF THIS MEAL ARE AS FOLLOWS:

I4s. per cwt. ; 7s. 6d. 3-cwt.; 4s. 4-cwt.

CARRIAGE PAID TO ANY COUNTY IN ENGLAND.

This meal is made up of the most nutritious materials, inclu-
ding a great deal of meat, bonemeal, and oatmeal. It is excellent
for its purpose, but it is not to be inferred that there are no other
good Duck Meals in the market.

 

 

ww. COOK,
Queen’s Head Yard, 105, Borough, London,

AND

ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

ww. COOK’S
Ointment for Destroying Nits on Fowls.

This is prepared for destroying nits on poultry, which are usually
found round the head and under the throat. I have given the recipe in
many of. my writings for making the ointment, but there are numbers of

eople who will not go to the trouble of preparing it. I have therefore
improved upon the recipe, and produced a preparation which will destroy
every nit. It should be Dibbedt in carefully as far as the nits extend, and
at the same time it does not injure the birds in any way. No matter
whether the fowls are old or young, they should be well dusted all over
with insect powder. DIRECTIONS :—Lay the bird on a large sheet of
paper, which should be placed on a table, so that the powder, which rests
on the outside feathers, can be shaken off with the hand on the paper,
and put back in the box. When chickens, or hens, are ver iy of
vermin twice dressing will do, but if not, once doing will be quite
sufficient. This ointment will be found a great boon to poultry keepers,
as it not only destroys the little vermin, but also the larger ones, which
some people eall ‘ ticks,” which collect round the head, and destroy
thousands of chickens.

SOLD IN 6d. AND 1/- BOTTLES. POST FREE, 8d. AND 1/3.

 

New Edition.

THE POULTRY KEEPER'S ACCOUNT BOOK,

(Ww. COOK’S).
THE Most COMPLETE METHOD PUBLISHED, PRICE 1/- ; Post FREE 1/1.

 

To be obtained of—
WILLTAM Cook,

Orpington House, St. Mary Cray, Kent.

 

PUPILS.
:0:——

W. COOK, having an extensive Poultry Farm, has every facility
for Teaching Practical Poultry Farming in every branch. is former
upils are very successful poultry farmers at the present time.
aisrences can be given to them if required. The Fee for Tuition is
Ten Guineas, and the pupils can stay from three to six months as they

lease. They take apartments in the village at_their own expense.
veryone wishing to go in for Poultry Farming or Keeping should write
to W. COOK.

G2

 
ADVERTISEMENTS.

INSECT POWDER.

W. Cook’s Improved Insect Powder will destroy all insects on Pooley
igeons, cage birds, dogs, and cats; also destroys black beetles, and is used
lereely for household purposes; its use is indispensable in keeping the nest
and sitting hen free from insects, is perfectly harmless. Should be freely
used just before hatching, both on the hen and in the nest, as it is im-
possible for chickens to thrive when covered with vermin. Sold in tins,
6d. and 1s. ; by post, 8d. and 1s. 3d. ; or ds. tins, carriage paid.

W. GOOK’S FATTENING POWDERS.

These powders are very useful in assisting poultry to put on fat and to
keep them in health at the same time; they give them a keen appetite,
and assist digestion.

For 12 Fowls, one dessert-spoonful three times a week
», 10 Ducks 95
»  §6 Turkeys sy

 

 

 

2

29

Sold in Tins, 1s., 5s., and 10s.; by post, 1s. 83d.;
carriage paid on the 3s. and 10s. tins.

SPECIAL QUOTATIONS FOR LARGER ORDERS

 

W. COOK'S

OINTMENT FOR SCALY LEGS.

Sold in 6d. and 1s. Boxes. Post Free, 734d. and 1s. 3d.

W. COOK’S EMBROCATION
FOR CRAMP IN THE LEGS.
Sold in 6d. and 1s. bottles, Free by post for 8d. and 1s. 3d.

W. COOK, Orpington House, St. Mary Cray, Kent.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

W. . CoO K’S
PRIGE LIST OF EGGS FOR SITTING.

Eves of the following breeds supplied from December to June from
strong healthy birds, carefully mated. Birds can be inspected on any
week day. Broody hens supplied at reasonable prices.

PRICES PER SITTING OF 12 EGGS (PACKING INCLUDED.)

£5 da
Buff Leghorn —... > 1210
Golden Wyandotte ve es ae as 110
Rose-Comb Langshan ... a Re eas ed a, Se 10 6
Plymouth Rock. by wes 8 i aie ee Be 10 6
Black Minorea ... ae aie oe te os sas ae 10 6
White Minorea ... ee oe ee =e si Ai ae 10 6
Partridge Cochin uo ae oes oe oe Bee th 10 6
Buff Cochin a8 sie she ae ae he a sale 10 6
White Leghorn ... cis ca wai sina a ss he 10 6
Brown Leghorn .. oe “i nike ee ee sie sti 10 6
Langshan.. as sie ies cet ele 308 a6 10 6
Silver W yandotte : si ae 3 ae a Asi 10 6
Black Breasted Red Game aig ats bas Ae o 5 10 6
Indian Game __... ate sis one ats ste fa rset 10 6
Silver Grey Dorking ... ise ads ag id et ina 10 6
Light Brahma... ay soi see an es ei sige 10 6
Dark Brahma... Sete ois oe ia sia sie 10 0
Silver Spangled Hamburgh any os sek ae ais seis 10 6
Golden Pencilled Hambur: ‘ehs sg sits sas ae — 10 6
Biack Hamburgh ats ‘ eas tee ie de rae 10 6
Houdan ... Se ase ae ts sae x8 ans ag 10 6
Andalusian ah aes sae oa ae are ses is 10 6
Scotch Grey... Sie ae ia _ ae 188 2 10 6
Redcap... se sick ee es at a 8 10 6
Coloured Dorking eee abe ais ie sg 10 6
Black Rose-combed Bantam :. as aot “iss bas eye 10 6
Silver Sebright Bantam og aS ae se ak it 10 6
Golden Sebright Bantam nei uo sie ai sist aes 10 6
Pekin Bantam ... sia ss iis ack 10 6
Black Breasted Red Game Bantam... ae eek ee 10 6

These are all prize birds, with levinw ualities combined. ‘Bindreds
of birds have been successfully exhibited, bred from Eggs supplied by
W. Cook.

 

Orpington Rs 10s. 6d. and 21s. Od. per sitting.
Rose- Combed Black ditto 10s. 6d. and 21s. 0d. 53
Rose-Combed White ditto 10s. 6d. and 15s. 6d. 33
This breed, which W. Cook has brought out, combines a handsome
appearance with good winter and summer laying, and excellent table
qualities. ‘Ihe birds have fine white flesh, and lay brown eggs. All the
egys sold at 21s. are laid by his eup and prize winners.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

The following are Pure Birds, but bred especially for laying

qualities :—

Buff Leghorn

Plymouth Rock

Black Minorca

White Minorca

Partridge Cochin

Buff Cochin

Andalusian...

Silver Wyandotte

Langshan te

Dark Brahma sail
Light Brahma

Black Hambur: eh

Silver- spangled ditto | ‘
Golden Pencilled Hambur, gh
Brown Leghorn

White Leghorn

Redcap

Colanred Dorking me
Black-breasted Red Game
Silver-Grey Dorking
Houdan 3
Indian Game ..

Scotch Grey ...

Silver Sebright Bantam
Black Rose-Com) Bantam..
White Rose-Comb Bantam _
Black Breasted Red Game Bantam

Langshan-Minorea ...
Houdan-Minorca
Houdan-Dorking_... fe
Golden- spangled Poland-Cochin ..
Hamburgh-Cochin ae
Redecap- Gochin

Houdan-Cochin

Minorca-Brahma

Houdan-Brahma

Indian Game-Dorking -
Houdan-Plymouth Rock a
Leghorn-Plymouth Rock ...
Plymouth Rock-Dorking ...
Langshan-Plymouth Rock...

Indian Game-Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock-Brahma.
Orpington-Brahma ...

Hondan- Leghorn

Orpington- Minorea. ..

Eges from selected cross-bred hens mated with Orpington cockerels

FIRST Sen ere

. per sitting

per sittin

DRARABHBRAARBARMAABDAAMRBAGARARARAA”

oe
D

Hee OR OR Oe ee OTT re em
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

DUCK EGGS.

ip to After that

 

 

PER SITTING OF 1] EGGS. March ist. date,

£s. d. s da.

Prize Aylesbury ... 11 0 15 0

Aylesbury ... aN 7 6 6 6

Muscovy 7 6 6 6

Rouen 7 6 6 6

Pekin 7 6 6 6

Cayuga... 7 6 6 6

Indian Runner 7 6 6 6

Rouen-Aylesbury 6 0 5 0

Muscovy-Aylesbury 6 0 5 0

Pekin-Aylesbury... “as 6 0 5 0

Aylesbury Indian Runner 6 0 5 0

GOOSE EGGS. gh?

Baek: “ee pet

s. d. s. d.

Toulouse 1 6 14 6

Italian... st dee ad ooh ae as 1 6 14 6

Italian and Toulouse Cross... wis ih rt 1 3 ‘ll 0

Embden and Toulouse ... i 1 3 ll 0

Chinese Geese 1 3 ll 0

TURKEY EGGS. Pe

Each. a Eggs.

s. de s. d.

Black Norfolk... ate — is as ss 1 4 15 0
Cambridge Bronze from Prize Birds mated with a

massive cock ... & wa we ie si _— 21 0

American Mammoth or Cambridge Bronze ... fas 1 6 15 0

 

Special quotations for large orders and Incubators. After the
ist of June the price of Eggs is reduced.

 

 

Eight Eggs guaranteed fertile in each Sitting up to March
21st, after that date Ten in each Sitting.

Unfertiles under the numbers mentioned replaced if returned per
Parcels Post to ‘‘Orpington House,” St. Mary Cray, Kent.

 

 

Name and Address of sender with particulars to be enclosed in each box
of returned Euys.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

EGG TESTIMONIALS.

As W. COOK sends out a large number of eggs in a year, and he has
been fortunate enough to have a large proportion of them fertile he has
received very man letters of thanks for the good results obtained. He
appends a few of these, and may here say that he is always glad to hear
from those purchasing eggs from him, and if the results are not quite as
satisfactory as might be wished, he is anxious to meet his customers in
the matter.

DEAR S1Rz,—I an entirely satisfied with result of the White Leghorn
eggs you sent me, every ege having produced a chicken, and they have
grown into beautiful youngsters, and are very much admired. I have
much pleasure in expressing my entire satisfaction in the way in which

you conduct your business, having dealt with you for five years.
Tremain, Yours truly, T. H. EVERSLEY.

 

DEAR Siz,—I am pleased to tell you that the eges you supplied me
w th have resulted in eleven fine chickens. The other two were fully
developed, but crushed by the hen. Thinking you might like to know
the result, Iam, Yours faithfully, JOHN PERRY.

DEAR SiR,—I am very pleased to be able to give such a good account
of the hatching from the prize Plymouth Rock eggs, obtained from you
on April 8th. There were thirteen fine chicks from the thirteen eggs;
but unfortunately one died in the shell, and the hen crushed two. "The
remaining ten are thriving well, and are well marked with fine legs and
beaks. Yours truly, T. SMALLWOOD.

Dear Sir,—While renewing my subscription for your ‘“ Poultry
Journal,” I have much pleasure in being able to give you « good report
as to the quality of the sitting of Brown Leghorn eggs I purchased from
you. I had one dead in shell, one rotten, and I broke one myself when
setting the hen, but now at a month old Ihave 11 asnice healthychickens
as Teversaw. I may say this is the best result I ever had from pur-
chased eggs. Yours faithfully, GEORGE MACKIE.

DEAR SiR,—Am very pleased with the sitting of Black Minorca
eggs purchased of you. Out of 15 eggs, 13 strong and healthy chicks,
all doing well. I have also one of your last year’s pullets, having proved
herself very profitable, having laid at the age of 6 months, and, up to
the present, 80 eggs. Tam, yours truly, C. HAWKINS.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

EGG TESTMONIALS (continued).

S1r,—I am very pleased to tell you that out of the sitting of White
Leghorn eggs you sent me I have thirteen fine chicks, now a fortnight
old Will you please send me a shilling tin of you: Poultry Powder for
same by return of post, stamps enclosed. :

Yours truly, A. WHETREN.

DEAR Si1r,—My five Minorca-Rock chickens, that I hatched from your
eggs have grown very nice birds, and have all turned out pullets. I
have just purchased your ‘“ Poultry Breeder and Feéder,” and am
highly delighted with it. I think by comparing the photographed heads
of your layers some of my above-named pullets will turn out capital
layers. I may here state also I very much like your peat moss litter for
the house. Yours respectfully, A. JACKSON.

DEAR S1r,—I thought you would like to hear the results of the two
sittings of eggs I had from you in February- From the Plymouth Rocks
I had twelve strong chickens, and also twelve from the Minorcas. One

has since died, so that I have twenty-three good chickens left.
Yours truly, A. JEFFERSON,

DeEAR Sir,—I just drop you a line to inform you of the results of
sitting of Brown Leghorn eggs you sent me. I received them three
weeks ago to-day, and placed them immediately under a hen I had
waiting. I forgot to say one egg was cracked in transit I suppose. Of
the remaining twelve I have eleven strong chickens, the other egg being

unfertile, and I take t 1is opportunity of thanking you:
Yours, &c., W. H. NEWHAM.

DEAR Srr,—I am happy to say that I have had a splendid hatch from
the Light Brahma eggs—twelve chicks and_one bad egg. Hatching
results only very middling with us here. Ducks are the most, mine
were just commencing to lay at the end of February, when the severe
weather set in and stopped them, and with the eae pe of one, none
have since laid an egg. Yours truly, WILLIAM McMURRAY.

DEAR SrR,—I am much pleased to let you know that out of the mixed
sitting of White Leghorns and Black Minoreas sent me last month, I
have this morning eleven fine chicks. This result with the temperature
outside at 25 F. during one half the term of sitting, I consider really
good. Yours truly, ROBERT HART.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

EGG TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR SIR,—Last summer I got from you a sitting of Orpington Eggs.
I think it no more than right to let you know that I got from the same
eggs a lot of very grand birds. Ihave killed them all lut one pullet,.
as I find the Orpington has a very good flavour when well cooked. The
one pullet that I have yet I have saved until I hear from you, that is if
ou will be so good as to give me your advice. This same pullet has
tat the extraordinary number of 59 eggs in 59 days, fed on plain food
night and morning. She is now casting her feathers. You certainly
deserve much credit for bringing out the Orpington fowl for they are a
first class bird for eggs or table, ‘‘the proof of the pudding is in the
eating.” Yours truly, E. W. POULTNEY.

Srr,—Referring to the sittings of Orpingtons I had from you, I am
glad to be able to tell you that I hatched eleven chickens from the sitting
of Single Combs, and ten from the Rose Combs. I am very pleased
with them as they have come so uniformly marked. :

Faithfully yours, F. HUGHES.

Sir,—As the result of the sitting of Langshan eggs I had from you,
I wish to say that I have been fortunate enough to get eleven strong and
healthy chickens. They were somewhat late in hatching, but now that
they have come I am more than pleased. My hen did not sit very
closely, so perhaps this accounts for the overtime. I shall recommend
your eggs to my friends as I have always found them good.
Yours obliged, A. J. MARTINEAU.

 

Sir,—You asked me at your office to let you know what results I had
from the sitting of White Leghorn eggs I had, and I am pleased to do
so. I have ten beautiful chickens with which I am more than satisfied.
I shall be glad in future to purchase my sittings from you.

Faithfully yours, F. HOLMES.

Dear Sir,—I had from you in the end of February two sittings of
cioss-bred eggs, one of Langshan-Minorcas and one of Houdan-Leghorns.
Judge of my delight when I found I had ten Langshan-Minorca chickens
and ten Houdan-Leghorns. I should have had two more of the latter
but they died in shell. Yours gratefully, T. SIMMONS.

 

DEAR Sir,—From the sitting of Pure Minorca eggs you sent me 1 have
succeeded in hatching eleven beautiful chickens. My neighbours who
sent elsewhere for their eggs have not been half so fortunate, and they all
agree with me that your eggs are thoroughly good. I shall let you know
in course of time what the laying, ete., results of the brood are.

Yours truly, A. RHODES.

 

DEAR SiR,—The sitting of Orpington eggs has given me every satis-
faction. IT have hatched twelve chickens which are all thriving and.
doing well. Yours truly, J. FRYER.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

EGG TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR Sir,—I am happy to inform you that I have hatched out a good
brood of Plymouth Rocks from the eggs supplied March 2nd. They
travelled 200 miles, and the result is eleven chickens. I consider it
eapitally good, and it is to me a proof that eggs for sitting will, if
properly packed, hatch out all right. I shall buy some more from you
shortly. Truly yours, EDW. LORENZO.

 

DEAR Siz.—I enclose 6s. 6d. in payment of the sitting of ‘* White Leg-
horns” I had from you about three weeks old. I have much pleasure in
telling you that the eggs have turned out beautifully. have ten
healthy chicks out of the thirteen eggs—one egg the hen broke herself
the third day after sitting. Yours faithfully, R. GIBB.

 

S1r,—The results of hatching from three sittings of eggs is as follows :
Orpingtons, ten live chickens, one dead in shell; Houdans, nine live
chickens, two dead in shell; Langshans, ten chickens, three eggs addled.
Considering the long railway journey from you up to the North of Scot-
Jand I consider the results Al. Doitd truly, ALEXR. MURRAY.

 

Sir,—I am glad to be able to tell you that I have hatched nineteen
chickens from the twenty-four cross-bred eggs which arrived unbroken.
The incubator is one of my own making.

Yours faithfully, T. WILLIAMS.

 

Srz,—I have hatched ten chickens from the Orpington eggs, and they
are all free from leg-feathering, I am glad to say, which is an improve-
ment on last year. Yours, ete. FARQUHAR.

DEAR S1R,—I now write to inform you of result of the sitting of twelve
Plymouth Rock eggs which you supplied me with in March last.
Every egg was fertile, and I have eleven strong chickens and_one
crushedin hatching. I need not tell you I am very well pleased. It is
the best hatch I have ever had since I started poultry keeping in 1880.
My accommodation limits me to one brood ace apnwn, so you see the
more in that brood the better for myself. When I require more sittings
I shal] as usual apply to you. ’ Yours truly, A. G. SMITH.

S1r,—I am very pleased to tell you that I have eleven strong chicks
out of the Orpington eggs to-day, that is, only sitting twenty days, it
shows me the freshness of the eggs. I had a sitting of Leghorns from a
friend that was 48 hours hatching off—the consequence was I lost chree
of them. Yours respectfully, E. HAYWARD.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

EGG TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR SiR,—The Silver Grey Dorking eggs I received from you on the
Ist day of May have hatched very well, having got twelve chickens out
of the thirteen eggs, the other being clear. I have some Dorking
cockerels, which were hatched from your eggs, that weigh 33 lbs., being
only eleven weeks old. I have also some Brown Leghorns from your
eggs, four cockerels and five pullets; the cockerels all weighing over
23 Ibs., the same age. Yours truly, R. BROWN.

DEAR Sir,—I am glad to tell you I had twelve chickens out of a
sitting of White Minorcas I had from you this year (1892).
Yours faithfully, J. HOPWOOD.

Sir,—I have had good results from the Rose-Combed Orpington eggs,
viz., eleven chicken~. Yours truly, FL BONNIE.

Mrs. Layden has had very fortunate results with the Minorca eggs
supplied by Mr. Cook—twenty-five chickens out of twenty-six eggs.

Mrs. Keeling is happy to inform Mr. Cook that the Plymouth Rock
eggs have hatched well—of the eighteen eggs sixteen hatched, and the
chickens thriving well.

Sir,—I am very pleased to tell you that the hens I have—which I
hatched from eggs procured from you—have laid better than any I have
ever had; and I have bred over ninety chickens from them this season.

Yours faithfully, A. GREAVES.

Dear Str,—I am sure you will be glad to hear that I have had a most
satisfactory result from the sitting of Orpington eggs I bought from you
lately. Out of thirteen eggs I had twelve ‘beautiful chicks, all marked
in exactly the same way, and no feathers on their legs. I have never
had such results from bought eggs before.

enue truly, AGNES F. HAMILTON,

EEO
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

W. COOK’S POULTRY POWDERS.

These powders are an invaluable composition for poultry under all
circumstances. They are prepared especially to act upon every organ of
the body, being stimulating, strengthening and warmth giving—in fact,
they counteract many diseases poultry are subject to, improve their
appearance by al gee a gloss and beauty to the plumage, and keep
the fowls in good health by preventing colds and hardening the birds
against the severe and constant changes they are subject to in this
climate.

They are especially useful to birds while moulting, when there is a
great strain upon the system in the growth of the young feathers and
they are down in condition and need something to help them. They
are also useful in cases where fowls mope about and do not care for their
food, being « little out of sorts. The powders will be found most
beneficial by acting upon the liver and bringing the birds on to full lay.
Those who use them are seldom without eges all the winter
months. They are used very largely and have proved a great boon to
pouliry keepers. They do not over stimulate the fowls and leave them
weak, like most other tonics do ; chey strengthen every organ of the body
and can be discontinued at any time without injury to the fowls.
They should be used from August to April, about tour or five times a
week, and if the weather is severe every day. Many people have
used them all through the Summer of the past tew ‘years with
excellent results ; they do not injure the birds in the least, or wear
them out sooner, as customers testify. They are invaluable for birds
during the breeding season as they help them to produce fertile eggs
in abundance. The saine powders are used for Tae iag up young
chickens, turkeys, and pheasants, and also with great advantage for
young ducks ; they have a good effect on all young poultry, assisting
them in their growth, getting their feathers, and giving them health
and vigour.

The quantity to be used is a full teaspoonful for eight full grown
fowls and chickens proportionate to age, given from three to five times a
week with the morning meal of soft food ; it is best to mix the powder
in the dry meal previous to adding the water, or it can be mixed in any
kind of soft food. When the fowls are in full lay, or the weather mild,
the powder may be omitted for a week or so. A change does them
good. Early-hatched birds require it oftener than Tater-hatched,
as the former suffer much from cramp, cold, &c., according to the
weather. The use of it must depend upon the feeder’s judgement.

These powders are sent to all parts of the world. They help the fowls
to produce eggs in the coldest weather, and also when kept in close
confinement eggs are produced in abundance. Where many did not get
an egg for three months together, since using the powders they are never
without them.

Sold in 6d., 1s., and 2s. tins, post free, 84d., 1s. 3d., and 2s. 43d., or
5s., carriage paid ; 12s. tin for 10s., carriage paid; also supplied to
larger breeders in linen bags at a reduced rate. Cash to accompany all
orders

W. COOK, Orpington House, St. Mary Cray, Kent.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

POULTRY POWDER TESTIMONIALS.

W. COOK has received thousands of letters speaking of the wonder-
ful results obtained from the use of his Poultry Powders. _A number of
these unsolicited testimonials have been published, and he has thousands
more. Space can only be found in this book for the following sample
letters.

DEAR Mr. Cook,—Will you please forward me a shilling tin of
Poultry Powder, for which I enclose 15 stamps. I have used it summer
and winter for two years, and have never found it fail. I have been
receiving eggs all through the two past severe winters, for which the
credit is due to you, besides having healthier birds than before. Before
I commenced using them I was always losing hens, which was a great
loss on the score book. It is my intention to purchase some eges from
you in the coming season as soon as a hen becomes broody.

DeEAR Sir,—T was well pleased with the results of your Poultry
‘Powders which T had from you last. I therefore enclose stamps for

another tin of them.
Yours, ete., J. A. MILLAR.

Sir,—Enclosing P.O. for 5s., I will be obliged by your sending me
five 1s. tins of Poultry Powder, which I have found exceedingly good.
Yours faithfully, E. WOODROFFE.

Sir,—I enclose an order ds. for a box of your Poultry Powders. I got
a shilling box a short time ago, and find them so good that I require a
larger quantity. Hoping to have the Powder soon,
. Tam, Sir, yours truly, A. LASSEN.

Dear S1r,—Will es send me one tin of Poultry Powder. I have
enclosed you a postal order. I tind that the Poultry Powder is a good
thing. Ihave never had so many eges in winter ‘as since using your

Powder.
Yours truly, W. HUGHENDEN.

Dear Srr,—Your powder ix a thing no one can do without who re-
quires abundant supply of eggs. I have sixteen young hens fifteen
months old, they have averaged 118 each since first January, not bad,
thanks to the powder. Please send twelve Is. tins, carriage paid, for
10s. Postal Order for 10s. Please send off at once and oblige

Yours truly, A. WICKHAM.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

POULTRY POWDER TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR Sir,—I must tell you that since I have used your Poultry Pow-
der I have literally had double the number of eggs. I wrote to you two
months ago, when I was getting only four or five eggs from fourteen
laying hens. Now I have had eight, nine, and ten eggs every day for
the last month from the same number of hens, and they seem in splendid
condition. I had almost made up my mind to give up fowls, as 1 thought
T could not make them pay in my small run. ;

Yours truly, NORAH SEDGEWICK.

MRS. FRENCH MULLEN is very much pleased with the Poultry
Powder she had from Mr. Cook. Her hens commenced to lay four days,
after taking it, and they had not laid an egg for five whole months, One
hen laid all through her moult, though quite naked for a long time,
through her use of the powder. :

Sin,—Just a line to thank you for the 5s. tin of Poultry Powder. The
results have been marvellous. All my pullets started laying within three
weeks of my commencing to use it, although they looked very bad before
that. I shall recommend it to all my friends.

I remain, Yours truly, JOHN LANDON-JONES.

DEAR Srr,—I am sure you will be glad to know what a great help
your Poultry Powder has been to me during the past bitter winter. I
hare never been without eggs one day, although I have only twelve
fowls. Hundreds of people round me have been without eggs for months,
and I attribute my splendid success to the use of your Poultry Powders.

Yours faithfully, A: MERREWEATHER

 

MRS. GEORGE WARD will feel obliged by Mr. Cook cent her
28lbs. of his Poultry Powder and 14lbs of his Roup Powder. Mrs. Ward
has much pleasure in informing Mr. Cook of her thorough approval of
both Powders. Since using the former, which she has done or several
months, heregg supply has been nearly doubled, and she has found the
latter a most efficacious preventive in all cases of threatened diseases.

Mr. Cook is at liberty to make any use he pleases of this letter.

Dear Sir,—Owing to using your Powders, and following the instrue-
tions laid down in your book, I had from thirty fowls 240 eggs in
December and 185 in January. Yours sincerely, W. DAVENPORT.

DEAR SiR,--Would you kindly forward at your earliest a 5s. tin of
Poultry Powder, find enclosed P.O. value 5s. I should not like to be
long without it, as I do not think there is anything can equal it, where
egy production is the point in view. Yours respectfully, A. MOORE.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

POULTRY POWDER TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR Sir,—Please forward per first post one tin of your Poultry
Powders at 1/3, as I find them very good for making my poultry lay. I
have a hen laying now, a thing [never had before in such frosty weather.

Yours truly, E. I. SIDGWICK.

Srr,—Would you oblige in sending one box of Poultry Powders at 5/.,
and one box of Roup at 1/-. I must say a word in praise of your
Powders. A few doses soon began to work wonders. I have twelve
laying fowls. The last three weeks I have taken an account of the
number of eggs, viz. :—53, 51 and 64. I have not used it all myself.
My neighbours have seen the result—my fowls averaging double the
number of eggs to theirs—they were induced to borrow, and now they
are co-operating with me for more, as it has benefited their fowls as
well as mine. Yours, C. GREEN.

 

POULTRY MEAL.

LADY ROSE will be obliged if Mr. Cook willsend her, to Loudwater
Station, one ewt. Special Poultry Meal, and 10s. worth of Poultry Pow-
ders. Lady Rose hears from her farm that her hens have never laid so
well as they have this winter, and they put it down to Mr. Cook’s Food.

 

INSECT POWDERS.

DEAR Srr,—Many thanks for sending the Insect Powder, and I must
say that it is really wonderful how quickly it destroys the insects, and
gives the little chicks rest. I really should not have believed the effect,
if I had not tried it, and I am sure anyone rearing young chickens should
not be without it, and your Poultry Powders too, for mine grow very
quickly by the use of it. I remain, yours truly, JAMES RUSSELL.

 

RAT DESTROYER.

Sir,—I now enclose two postal orders, amount of the accounc. We
have used most of the second popply of Rat Destroyer, and though we
do not see any dead rats, we think the number of living ones decidedly
diminished. There are still a good many going about outside. The’
run up the ivy, and would come in at the windows in the old Tower if
they could. We have caught several in traps.

Yours faithfully, B. A. HAMILTON.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

STOCK BIRDS.

WW. CO0K

SUPPLIES ALL KINDS OF

Stock Birds for Pure Breeding & Crossing Purposes,

ALSO

BEST QUALITY BIRDS FOR THE SHOW PEN

REASONABLE PRICES.

 

 

 

He Rears over 15,000 Birds Annually, having a Farm of almost 300
Acres for this purpose, in addition to his extensive Poultry Farm at
Orpington House, and many smaller runs in different parts of the
country. His Birds are well known in the show pen, he having
been a successful Exhibitor for many tia —toml ening excellent
Jaying qualities with exhibition points.

Those requiring Fowls for Laying, Showing, or Exporting, should

write to W. Cook, as he can always supply Good Birds for all

purposes at a Moderate Price. It ts impossible to state the exact

brices here as they vary according to the season and quality of
the Birds.

All Birds are sent on approval to any part of the country, on
eustomer paying carriage both ways if Birds are returned.

 

CASH WITH ALI ORDERS.

 

Good Cocks for crossing purposes run from 7s. 6d. to 15s. 6d.
each; for breeding pure from 10s. 6d. to 21s. each. Pullets from
7s. 6d. to 15s. 6d. otis Birds supplied, prices according to quality.
Pure stock Drakes from 7s. 6d. to £2 2s. each. Good cross-bred Ducks,
5s. 6d. and 6s. 6d. each, for breeding purposes; these should always
have a pure Drake mated with them; Drakes supplied for this purpose
at 10s. 6d. and 12s. 6d. each. Cross-bred Pullets from 5s. to 6s. 6d.
each. In the middle of the summer he has occasionally a few oung
hens at 4s. each. Eggs can be obtained at any time at London Office if
notice is sent a day or two beforehand to Orpington House. Export
orders can always be supplied, and good reliable birds sent to any part
of the world.

 

Address all Letters respecting Birds to—

ORPINGTON HOUSE, ST. MARY CRAY, KENT.

H
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

BIRD TESTIMONIALS.

It is utterly impossible to give a full and complete list of letters
received b: W. Cook speaking of satisfaction and good results with
birds supplied by him. He annexes a few selected at random from
thousands on hand.

Dear Sir,--I am more than pleased with the White Leghorn
cockerel which you sent me six months ago. Every egg laid by the
hens mated to him have been fertile, and the chickens have hatched out
remarkably strong and hardy. Yours truly, W. SHODAY.

DEAR SiR,—I bought a White Leghorn cockerel of you on your
recommendation to improve my flock and produce eggs, he is a splendid
fellow now and has answered Al. I am perfectly satisfied.

Faithfully yours, BARNES BROWN.

DEAR SiR,—I am very pleased with the Minoreas you sold me in the
spring. They have proved themselves excellent layers, and I have bred
some splendid young birds this season. I thought it fair to let you
know. Yours truly, J. W. CARTER.

DEAR Sir,—The Dark Brahma cockerel you sent me has arrived and
gives me good satisfaction. The Light Brahma cock you sent me with
the hens some time since has again swept all before him, winning first
in a class of nine imported birds at our last show.

Yours faithfully, J. HUNEBERG.

DEAR Sir, —I received the three pullets on Tuesday, and am very
much pleased with their appearance, and I hope they will be good
layers. The basket will be sent away to-day. I enclose postal order
for 1s. 3d. for you to send me one tin of poultry powder.

Yours truly, JEANNIE A. SWANNOR.

DEAR Sir,—I received the birds safely this afternoon, and glad to say
am delighted with them, I think they are splendid birds for fe money.
Have enclosed P. O. for birds received for which please acknowledge.

I remain, Yours truly, J. H. SILVERSIDES.

Dear Sir,—The Orpington cockerel arrived safely, except for a slight
cold, which your wonderful roup powder soon put right. I beg to thank
also you for sending such a fine, good bird, he is very tame and also
attentive to the hens. I must also say what a grand thing your poultry
powder is for the birds. I have had a larger number of eggs since using
it with your special meal. Yours respectfully, G. CROFT, ~
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

BIRD TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR Sir,—The Orpington cockerel came safely to hand on
Wednesday mid-day in fine condition. I am not only satisfied but very
much pleased with him, I must certainly say you selected me 3
beautiful bird. I have had a few friends call to rec hin and they all say
what a handsome bird he is, I sent the basket back by return, hoping
you will receive it all right. I shall send for an Orpington pullet very
shortly, and I feel sure you will give me every reason to be satisfied.

Yours faithfully, SERGEANT W. BLACKWELL.

DEAR Si1r,—Enclosed is cheque £8 8s. for the four Orpingtons. I
am wanting a White Leghorn cockerel to mate with some cross-bred
hens, if you have a good laying strain you may send it on approval, and
please state price. In the Orpingtons I consider you have given me
excellent value for money, and should I know of anyone wanting
poultry or sitting eggs I shall recommend them to go to you.

Yours truly, ROWLAND SMITH.

DEAR Sir,—I enclose cheque for Brown Leghorn cockerel you sent
me, with which I am highly pleased. He has been very much admired
by all who have seen him, and it clearly shows that anyone living in
the country can safely leave the selection of their birds to you. Put
in the run with some of my best pullets, together they make a splendid
picture. Respectfully yours, S. BAILEY

Dear SirR,—The Plymouth Rock pullets arrived safely. I am
exceptionally well pleased with them, and shall certainly introduce
yonr birds to poultry keepers here. Yours faithfully, J. MALLEY.

Dear Sik —Birds received. Asoort my thanks for the handsome
way in which you have treated me. I shall not forget you when I want
birds or eggs. Yours truly, G. T. BASSETT.

DEAR Sir,—I must tell you I am very well satisfied with the way in
which you have treated me. I think the four pullets you have sent me
are really good Orpingtons. I kept a pen of this breed last year, which
I bought from you, and they were some of the best layers I ever had.

c Yours truly, W. TWELVES.

Dear Sir,—I have this day returned your hamper. I am pleased
with the Rose-combed Orpington pullet. The last lot of eggs Tact of
you have turned out all rullets. ‘W.H.H.

DEAR Sir,—I received the pullets this morning early safely, and am
much pleased with them. Ihave sent the basket back this morning,

d have paid the carriage. Hoping to have success with them.
Bert e ears sincerely, THOMAS TAYLOR.

 

Wo
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

BIRD TESTIMONIALS (continued).

DEAR S1R,—I received the cross-bred pullets quite safe on Tuesday
~ morning, and am very pleased with them. The box was returned on
Tuesday. Yours faithfully, THOS. KNAPMAN.

DEAR SiR,—The White Leghorn cock arrived safely Saturday night ;
am very satisfied with him and hope to have good results. I have
returned hamper. Yours truly, GREVILLE WAY.

Dear SiR,—The two Orpington cockerels have arrived in safety I
am very pleased with them; they are the best I have ever seen at their
age. Ill return the empty basket as early as possibly.

Yours faithfully, H. EAST.

Srr,—I am in receipt of the fowls. The Black Hamburgh cockerel is
a little gem, and I am highly pleased. Yours truly, JOHN LEE.

DEAR Mr. CooK,—I received the Plymouth Rock cock quite safely.
He has been much admired, but not any more than he deserved. I am
much obliged to you for sending him. I enclose 10/6in,P.O. The
basket I have returned. Lam, yours faithfully, TOM BROWN.

DEAR SiR,—1 received this morning the Orpington cockerel and
three pullets. I am very pleased with them, they are really good
birds, and denote good laying qualities by the pee of their heads,
being intelligent joking, and not sleepy headed like some breeds, and
they handle like good table birds as well. I congratulate you on
making such a good hit in their production.

Remaining, yours faithfully, JAMES WARD.

DEAR SiR,—It gives me great pleasure in writing to you to inform
you of my success in showing my Orpingtons, which I hatched from
eggs that I had from you. I have taken first with cockerels and second
with pullets, which I am very much pleased with, as I know they are
the coming birds for working men to keep. I must also say that they
are excellent layers. Yours truly, JACOB BRISTOW.

Dear Sir,--I am sending back your basket, in which you sent the
Minorca Cockerel, and 1 should Vike to take this opportunity of
thanking you for sending me such a nice bird. He has a splendid comb
and head, and I hope will breed me some good stock. 1 should like to
tell you that the Orpington Cockerels I purchased of you, about three
weeks ago, are very much admired by all who have seen them.

Yours truly, M. STUART.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

BIRD TESTIMONIALS (continued),

The Hon. R. W. Coen be obliged by Mr. Cook sending two
more Hamburgh Cochin pullets for laying by October. One of those
supplied last year was the best layer he ever had.

DEAR Sir,—I received fowls safely last Friday, and I returned your
basket on Monday last. Iam much pleased with birds.
Yours &e., F. E. BOHN.

DEAR Sir,—I received the fifteen Langshan-Minorcas, and am very
much pleased with their appearance. They all match well and do you
great credit. Yours truly, M. PEET.

DEAR Srr,—I have received the pen of Langshans, and am quite
satisfied with them. They are good value for the money.
Yours truly, J. H. WOODS.

DeEAR SiR,—Please send me one box of Roup Pills for poultry. I am
pleased to tell you I took first prize at our Show for a Plymouth Rock
cockerel and pullet under six months old, and shown with adult birds.
These were bred from a cockerel and pullet I bought from you. I have
three pullets, the same age as those shown, and they all commenced
laying when they were four months and three freee old, and have
continued laying ever since. Yours truly, T. KITLEY.

 

GERMAN MOSS PEAT LITTER.

Moss Peat instead of dust, ashes, or lime in the house is the greatest
boon to poultry keepers of anything that I know. It saves time, keeps
the houses clean, and is in every way a comfort to the fowls themselves.
See my remarks on this subject in my book. _If the houses are cleaned
out three or four times a year it is quite often enough, as the peat
does away with all smells, an occasional stir-up being all that is
required. When once used a poultry-keeper would not be without it
for anything.

Sold in half-hundred-weight bags ... 3/3 | Bag and free delivery per
Three bags — i ste ... 9/- J Carter Paterson included.

Bales, weighing from 2 to 3ewt. ... sf Purchasers must pay car-
By the ton 2g wt si . 45/- . bape
,, half-ton ... a oe 93). riage on these quantities. . .
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

W. COOK’S ROUP POWDERS.

 

These powders are used with excellent results for birds affected
with Roup. When badly affected they can be cured by the use of
it, and it is also invaluable for those fowls which have only a slight
cold. The Powder is made into pills for those which have the
disease fully developed. Full particulars and directions being given
on the tins. For preparing birds for the show pen, and for
keeping fowls generally in_ good condition and plumage, there is
nothing to equal these Powders. When the birds have Row
and cannot eat they should have something nouriehing: such
as bread and milk or stewed linseed given warm. Always let them
have as much food as they can digest. When the fowls first
show symptoms of Roup they ought to have a tea-spoonsful of castor
oil given them, and half-a-teaspoonful of glycerme, even when they
show signs of a cold they can have this given them. Isolate affected
birds, and add camphor to all drinking water. Give the unaffected
birds the Roup Powders in the morning meal—one heaped up tea-
spoonful to 8 or 10 fowls. This will often stop the malady from going
further. Onacold damp oe ee ot it is most valuable. When fowls
are going on a journey a Pill or two will often prevent them from
catching cold. A preventive is better than a cure. Jt has
saved the lives of thousands of fowls all over the world. In
many cases it has cured them when all other advertised remedies
have failed. If fowls are suffering from lowness, or their liver
is out of order, it soon puts them right and brings a bright lustre
on their plumage, which improves them very much for the show

en. When a fowl has a rattlingin her throat and a difficulty
in drawing her breath, give a teaspoonful of glycerine, and when
convenient stew some linseed and give from six to eight teaspoonfuls
warm. Keep the affected birds on straw or moss peat. The latter is
much the best. When the birds have swollen eyes, bathe them in milk
and water with a little camphor in it. Always wipe the face and eyes
ary, if not they catch fresh cold. When a fowl has a thick discharge
called mucus, which corrodes round the tongue and throat, the Roup
Lotion supplied by W. Cook, at 104d per bottle, should be used.
Directions tor the use of same:—Take a feather, which dip in
lotion, apply to the Dird’s mouth and throat, and turn the
feather well round the mouth. In this way it will bring much
of the thick slime away. In bad cases it requires a second feather
to repeat; then it is well to take a feather and dip in glycerine, and
also mop out mouth with that. This heals the wound. if this treat-
ment is continued night and morning the reward will be the bird’s
recovery. Price:—6d. tin, by post 9d.; 1s. tin, by post Is. 3d. ;
2s, tin, hy post 2s. 44d. ; 5s. tin, sent post free ; 12s. tin, post free 10s.

 

W. COOK, Orpingto House, St. Mary Cray, Kent.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

ROUP POWDER TESTIMONIALS.

The following letters are a one of those daily received by W. Cook
testifying to the efficiency of his Roup Powder.

DEAR S1r,—You will be pleased to hear that your Roup Powder has
worked wonders with the hen you advised me to in five weeks ago.
have to-day weighed her and she is nearly 2 lbs. heavier than she was
before, and she has re-commenced laying, having laid five days in
succession. This is, indeed, a wonderful cure, as she was almost dead
when I adopted your course of treatment with Roup Powder, Lotion. &e.
Yours faithfully, F. J. DAILAY.

Dear S1r,—Please send us a tin of your Roup Powder. The last we
had cured every case, and some of the fowls were nearly dead with roup.
We are, yours respectfully, A. & W. GALLARD.

S1r,—Please send me 5/- worth of your Roup Powders, as I find them
excellent for young chickens and hens going light. I will not be without
them if I can avoid it. I remain, yours, &c., A. CROSS.

DEAR Sir,—With reference to your Roup Powders, allow me_to
testify to their efficiency. To poultry keepers they are indispensable ;
they are the finest thing out for the cure of this disease. They act like
magic, and soon cure the most obstinate cases. For the future I shall
never be without it in the house. Please forward me two more 1/- tins,
for which I enclose stamps to the amount. You are at liberty to make
what use of this note you like. Yours truly, JOHN MOCKFORD.

DEAR Srr,—Please forward me by return of post another tin af Roup
Powder, for which I enclose stamps value 1s. 3d. Also tin of Poultr
Powder, same price. I consider your powders the best I have ever used,
and would not be without them at any price. Iused some last year for
turkeys very bad with roup, and the result was a speedy cure.

Yours truly, A. L. ABRAHAM.

DEAR Srr,—Have enclosed Order and Stamps for the amount of Pow-
der sent. I have found great benefit from using your Roup Powders,
which cured several seemingly hopeless cases. T have not had a case till
last week of roup for weeks, so now I shall operate upon that. Thanking
you for so promptly sending the powders. I am very pleased with the

Orpington cockerel, and shall recommend the breed to my friends.
Yours truly, M. HARVEY.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

Grit for the Feathered Tribes.

Sharp Grit is most essential to the feathered tribes ; whey cannot
thrive without it. Flint Grit is the best. W. Cook supplies Flint Grit
for Fowls, Turkeys, Pigeons, Chickens, and Cage Birds at 14/- per cwt.,
7/6 per 3-cwt., and 4/- per }-cwt. (State which it is required for when
ordering). He pays carriage on not less than 4 cwt. to customers
residing in England, and within Carter Paterson’s radius, also on
4 ewt. quantities, and half carriage to Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

FLINT DUST,

Which is invaluable for laying Fowls, strengthening the egg organs
better even than Bone Meal.—See Meal and Corn List.

PHEASANT MEAL.

W. COOK has brought out a Pheasant Meal—one which does not
stick when mixed up.’ The young Pheasants do wonderfully well
upon it. Not only is it good for the young birds, but it can be
used in March and April to. bring on the Stock Pheasants for early
laying. Those who use it appreciate it very much, and we feel
sure it is one of the best which has ever been brought out, though
it does not lessen the value of other people’s meals in the least.

W. Cook is often asked what Pheasant Meal is the best. Both
in lecturing and paying professional visits he rarely speaks of his
own, he usually recommends Spratt’s. The best way is to give both
a trial, then the breeder can see which is the best.

 

 

 

 

The price is 19/- per Cwt., carriage paid to any part of
England, Ireland and Scotland.

Half Cwt., 10/-, carriage paid. (Not supplied through Agents, °
only direct from 105, Borough, S.E.)

This Meal is also used largely for rearing young Turkeys the first
. six weeks of their existence.

FNRI EN RRR RA CA

W. COOK, 105, Borough, London, SE.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

Ww. COOK’S

PRICE LISTS OF MEAL AND CORN.

 

1 ewt. | 4-ewt. | j-cwt.
Poultry Biscuit Meal ... 0... 0.0. 0...) 17 0 8 10 4 8
General Meal. wee tee ef 12 6 6 6 3 6
W. Cook’s Special Poultry Meal... ... ...) 15 0 79 4 0
W. Cook’s Duck Meal... ...00..00.04.  ..| 14 0 7 6 40
Fattening Meal for Ducks... ... 2. «. ...) 14 0 7 6 4 0
Bone Meal. ese sys: esse way Ga wee ws] 14 7 0 3 9
Granulated Meat ... 0.00... 6. ue ue ef 21 0 «1:10 6 5 6
Ground Oyster Shells... 0.00. 1. et 8 0 4 6 2 6
Flint Grit for Fowls, Pigeons, Cage Birds and
Chickens sic as aes ee ee eee es DO 7 6 4 0
Flint Dust... . . | 8 0 4 6 2 6

 

 

 

Delivered free to any Railway Station in England. Half carriage paid
on 1 cwt. bags to customers in Ireland and Scotland.

 

 

Sack. | $-sack. | Bush.
Wheat (best) 0.0... eee cee nee eee eee | 20° 0 | 10 0 5 3
Buck Wheat (best French)... ... ... ... ...{ 18 0 9 0 4 6
Barley 0.00. ee ee ee ee se ef 18-0 | 9 0 | 4 6
Maize (smallround) ... ... ... .. ws «| 19 0 9 6 & 0
Dari... ... 18 0 9 0 4 6

Groats (whole) extra quality, 19/6 per 112 lbs. ; 10/- per 56 lbs. ;
5/3 per 28 lbs.
Carriage Paid ONLY within the delivery of Carter, Paterson & Co.

Orders for CORN cannot be executed unless a remittance for Sacks or
Bags accompany the Orders.

Sacks charged 1/4, 1-bushel bags, 6d., but allowed for when returned
to London Warehouse, 105, Borough, S.E.

CASH TO ACCOMPANY ALL ORDERS.
W. COOK will be glad if Customers will specify the Station to which
their goods should be addressed to avoid errors.

Customers favouring us with orders tor Meals, Corn and Moss Peat,

should write direct to 105, Borough. By doing so, great delay is saved,

as sending to the Poultry Farm necessitates the re-posting of these

orders to London Warehouse.
- Norwoop, S.E., March r6th, 1891.

Dear Sir,—I am very pleased to tell you how splendidly my fowls are doing on your

food. I have kept fowls for years, but never had them do half so well as now. I have had

eggs all through the past severe winter, which I attribute to the use of your Meals and
Poultry Powder.

Yours truly, Joun Witson.

 

 

W. COOK, Orpington House, St. Mary Cray, Kent,
and Queen’s Head Yard, 105, Boro., London, S.E.
ADVERTISEMENTS.

“THE HORSE: Its Keep and Management.”

PRICE, 2/6. POST FREE, 2/9.

The Book contains Chapters on Feeding Horses—Watering . Horses
—Tying Horses up in the Stable—Bedding down in_ the Stable—
Cleaning Horses— nevis and Singeing—Horses’ Feet—Bandaging and
Managing Horses in the Stable—Colds—Diseases and Shoeing—Breeding
—Rearing Young Colts—Breaking-in—Driving—What is the best
Material for the Stable Floor—Fever in Horses’ Feet and Weak Joints—
Ilustrated.

W. COOK is also a Horse Breeder of Ponies, Cobs, and Hunters: he also
breeds a few Cart Horses.

Any gentleman wishing to view his Stock should apply to him as
they can only be seen by'appointment. W. Cook. has also a few Young
Horses for sale annually, well broken-in and trained, as he keeps a
professional horse-breaker for the purpose.

 

 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR—

W. COOK, Orpington House, St. Mary Cray.

 

CHRISTY’S

INCUBATORS & POULTRY APPLIANCES.

The well-known
THERMOSTATIC
INCUBATOR

has been further improved in

its details, and is now fitted

with a very superior method
of regulation.

   

—o—
25 Egg (Metal) Price £3 Os.
40 EGG METAL INCUBATOR oa = we 22 eae
WITH SLIDE DOOR REMOVED SHEWING INTERIOR iy 7 a8 Ss.
THROUGH INNER GLAZED DOOR. ” » £8 Os.

Artificial Mothers and other Appliances of the newest types.
APPLY TO THE MANUFACTURERS—

ED. SPENCER & CO.,
87, FENCHURCH ST., LONDON EQ.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

C. FRAZER'S EXECUTORS,

MANUFACTURERS, NORWICH.
No. 77. Improved Pheasant Feeder. (Design Registered.)

 

 

This Pheasant Feeder is constructed on quite « new and improved
Prone adapted to the purpose for which itisintended, and com ining
ightness with strength. Is very simple and noiseless in working, an
cannot get out of order. Constructed so as to be self-feeding—the corn
being put in the bin at the top, and as taken away by the birds,
gradually runs down into the feeding tray. The birds ean see the food
through the glass panel, and when they alight on the step it moves
inwards with them, exposing the food. When the bird flies away, the

step returns to its position, and the food is again covered.

REDUCED CASH PRICES—Carriage Paid on orders 40s. value and upwards.

For Six Pheasants... se ie sia £2 5s. Od.
», Four x ee sti site ist £1 12s. 6d.
Two 35 att sis ant ae 17s. 6d.

 

No. 78. Coop and Run for Poultry or Game.

 

Coop and Run 7ft. long by
ft. wide, lft. 2ins. high
at eaves, 2ft. high at
ridge.

 

CASH PRICES—Carriage Paid on orders 40/- value.
Coop and Run complete sit a sip . £1 Os. Od.
Coop only as ae vi st io a ee lds. Od.
ds. Od.

Run only me ee si sa i ai bas
Runs can be supplied any length or height required.

Orders of 40/- value Carriage Paid to any Station in England. New
Tilustrated Catalogue of Conservatories, Greenhouses, Garden Frames,

ace. shes hai iw eteS
ADVERTISEMENTS.

The Great Grimsby Poultry Grit aud Meal Co.

=! Proprietor = J. RUSSELL. (=

 

 

 

 

 

RHE Grit and Meal produced by this Firm is without doubt the most perfect yet put on

= the market. It will be found to contain all the necessary properties required to keep
Poultry in good health under all conditions. The preparations will produce bone and muscle,
and will keep the birds in good bright plumage. . Being easy of digestion, it will bring hens
on to lay at seven months, and sustain a prolific yield during the winter. Fowls in small
runs thrive capitally upon it. Fowls with a field run will be greatly improved with a night
meal of the food and a good supply of the grit always available. The condiments used in
the manufacture being purely vegetable and medicinal, the largest breeders declare the
Preparations perfect.

+ ++ THE PERFECT MEAL. + + +

Special Meal for Poultry and Game containing Egg, Plumage, and Fattening
properties, 15s. per Cwt.

——:0:——

ap de SPecealilise— GRIT. + + +

 

Per Cwt.
ce pnHED Flint (Poultry) Tee Sat ' Clarified Oyster Shells, Coarse 6s. Od.
Coa 6s. Od. | i 53 Granulated 6s. 3d.
Shell ‘Gravil (Pigeons, &e.) 3s. 9d. ' a 34 Fine 7s. Od.

All above Carriage Paid to any Railway Station.
Special preparation for Canaries. Pure Shell Grit, Quarter-Cwt., 4s.;  Half-Cwt., 6s.
ne Cwt., 115.3; very highly recommended.
Write for Circular and Saniples. Sample Bag of the above r]- each.

 

WHY HAVE BAD Crops?) WHEN YOU CAN Buy FROM

The Great Grimsby Poultry Grit & Meal Company

A SPLENDID MANUFACTURED

+++ FISH + MANURE +++

AT THE Low FIGURE or 4&3 Per Ton put on Ratt HERE.

 

 

20:
Analysis of above sent Free on receipt of Stamped Envelope.

JOSEPH RUSSELL,

Fish Factor, Ice Merchant, Herring and Haddock Curer,
FISH DOCKS,. GRIMSBY,

I will send to any Station in Great Brit. sin, Carriage Paid, a parcel containing a splendid
selection of Fresh and Cured Fish, on receipt of postal order for 26. and umunarde acanadtn—
to quantity and kind. Special terms f * ee

Bags of the abo. dae Sh

 
ADVERTISEMENTS,

Silber Medal, ie ) Birmingham, 1892

 

 

CAPTAIN TUNNARD’S

PATENT POULTRY & PHEASANT REARER.

Wide.
ft.
2ft. 61
3ft. 6i

89 OF
80 #F
“8G SF

SIZES.
Long.
5ft.

6ft. 6in.
ft.
“PO
PO
“po

25
50
100

 

Number of
Chickens,

 

Specimen Testimonials.

 

Erin Manor Poultry Farm,
Burgess Hill, Sussex.
DEAR SiR,—We are very pleased indeed with the Rearer and think
it perfection, it seems by far the best one that has yet come out.
Yours truly, J. and A. TURTLE.

The Farms, Knighton,

May, 1892.
DEAR S1R,—Enclosed you will find cheque value £4 in payment of
Rearer I had from you. I should be glad if you will please forward me
another, same size, as soon as possible. I am exceedingly pleased with
the one I have in use, it being simple in construction and very easily
managed. I feel sure that anyone who has once used your Rearer would

avoid—in future—rearing with hens if possible.
Faithfully yours, JOHN R. BACHE.

Cool Rearers, Fowl Houses, Safety Laying Boxes, Broody
Coops, Fattening Pens, Feeding Troughs, Grit Boxes,
Wire Netting, &c., &c.

FOR PRICES & PARTICULARS APPLY TO—

AAPTAIN TUNNARD. RUGBY

 

 

Saoldd
ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

THOMAS’S
Pheasantry, Poultry Yard & Field Requisites.

BEST | QUALITY GALVANIZED WIRE NETTING.

 

Reduced Prices per Roll of 50 yds. Cash with Order only.
\ Mesh. wt. Wide. 2ft. Wide. 3ft. Wide. gft. Wide. Of. Wide.
A gin. 1/9 3/5 5/2 6/10 10/3
Qin. 2/5 4/10 7/3 9/8 14/6
{ Jdin. 3/5 6/10 10/3 13/8 20/6

 

arate On 3 :
es lin. 4/6 9/0 13/6 18/0 27/0 *

= Netting Staples 2d. & 3d. per gross.
a Nopers 1/3 per pair, very useful for Cutting Wire, &c.

NETTING STAKES.
. aft. eft. 6in. 3ft. 4ft. 6ft. above ground.
Painted 3/9 4l9 5/6 7/- 12/6 per dozen.
Galv’zd 4/3 6/o 7lo g/g 18/0

_IMPROVED PHEASANT & POULTRY FENCING—No. 691.
; In Hurdles, 6ft. long, 6ft.

 

 

 

  
    
  
  
 

 

high . 2/3 yard.
Gate, 2ft. w: ide, ‘Focluding

Standards and Arche

Stay ah .. 7/6 each.
Angle Iron Pillars, for

Corners... .. 1/6 each.

Light Poultry Hurdles,
for Temporary Pens,
4ft. long, 3ft. high ... 1/6 each.

Very suitable for Pheasant Enclosures.

STEEL WIiIRE-Galvanized,

 

 

2 — Reels a ee i 2/5.
fi 280 os ” half’ cwt. ote ar oe 9/3.
560 ,, one cwt. a of s i
Solid Fencing Wire .. 9/6 per cwt.
Straining Screws & Nuts, r2in. ” Galvanized 3/0 ,, doz
Fencing Staples, one and-a-half inch long 1/0 ,, gross.
Galvanized Wire Cab! . we 1 1, «cCwt.
Jet Varnish in Casks . : a 1/6 ,, gallon.
Special Quotatione for Large Quantities.
Sheep Hurdles se ao 3/0 each. Soft Galvanized Tying
Cattle Hurdles iis + 4/0 ,, Wire 4d. per lb.
Field Gates, oft. wide - 27/6 ,, Roofing Felt, 3ein. “wide /! 8d. per yd.
Continuous Fencing 1/9 per yd. | Corrugated Iron Roofing .. 1/9 sheet.
Unclimbable Hurdles, aft Galvanized Ridge Capping 6d. per ft.
igh .. ° fi 4/3 ,, Poultry Troughs .. 1/0 each.
Kennel Railing... he 4/0 ,, Poultry Houses .. 60/0 ,,

 

J. J. THOMAS & CoO.,
87, Queen Victoria St., 360 & 362, Edgware Rd., London.
ADVERTISEMENTS,

 

ESTABLISHED 1860.

E. CLARKE & SON,

Letterpress, Lithographic and Copperplate

PRINTERS,

Publishers, Gholesale and Metail Stationers, PBookbinders
and Booksellers,

63, HIGH STREET, BROMLEY, KENT,

And the Printing Works, St. Mary Cray,

Offer the resources of their large and most completely appointed
Works to all who are desirous of obtaining First Class Printing
either Plain or in Colour, at Moderate Prices.

Their Works at Bromley and St. Mary Cray are among the best equipped

in the County—Spacious Premises, Powerful and most approved

machinery driven by Gas Power, a very extensive assortment of the

Newest Types and Ornaments, a complete Stereotyping Foundry, and

Bookbinding Plant and Machinery, together with a Large Staff of

Competent ‘Workmen, enablé them to undertake Printing and Book-
binding Contracts of any magnitude.

 

TESTIMONIALS.

Quernmore, Bromley, Kent,
March ryth, r&go.

I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the excellent work turned out for me by» +:

Mr. Clarke, who has printed several of my books, not only in English, but also in classical and
modern languages. The work is characterised by care, neatness, precision, and good style.

JOHN GIBSON, M.A.

REV. J. G. GARDNER, B.A., St. Paul’s Cray, Kent.

It would be ungracious concluding this little book without returning my best thanks
to Mr. E. Clarke, Printer, of Bromley, and St. Mary Cray, for the taste and care bestowed in its.
publication. From his very moderate charges, I should imagine would-be-publishers of their
own works could not do better than consylt him before doing so.

Printers of ‘‘ The Poultry Journal,” edited by W. Cook,
and other publications.

 

Estimates promptly furnished for all kinds of abate | including Music
Printing, and Works in Classical, Oriental, and Modern Languages.
 
° «The EARL OF SHANNON will
be obliged if Spratt’s Patent will forward
him one ‘Kennel Medicine Chest’ to below

address as soon as possible.

Lord Shannon used Spratt’s ‘ Game
Meal’ and  ‘ Crissel , for rearing his
Pheasants this year, and NOT ONE BIRD
died of any DISEASE, of course there were

some losses from vermin, etc.”

Castle Martyr,
Ireland.

16/10/91.
SPRATTS PATENT

Coarse, Medium, or Fine Ground.

GAME MEAT,
20/- per Cwt.

Mix with hot or cold water a few hours before use, so as to allow it to
thoroughly swell. Make it crumbly moist, and if given warm do not
give to birds too hot.

 

 

Patent Granulated Prairie Meat

“CRISSEL.”

A pure preparation of Meat, taking the place of Ants’ Eggs & Insect Food.
26/- per Cwt.

 

 

 

CARDIAC,
A Tonie Powder, 2/6 per 7lb. Bag. Also in Shilling Packets.

Dust a little over the Food in cold or inclement weather, or when
there is any tendency to diarrhea.

BONE MEAL FOR YOUNG PHEASANTS,

1/- per Tin.
Ditto for Chicks, Is. per Tin.

Bone Meal for Full-Grown Pheasants or Fowls

14/6 per Cwt.

 

 

 

-SAMPLES POST FREE. —

PAMPHLET ON PHEASANT REARING. POST FREE.

 

ALL DEALERS, OR OF

SPRATT’S. PATENT

(LIMITED),
Henry St., Bermondsey, London.
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