PLAN No. 218. WAYSIDE TEA HOUSE

Chicks having access to a shaded range, such as shown above, develop and thrive better in warm weather than those not having such range.

For the production of infertile eggs, exhaustive information relating to the care of poultry and eggs, along with individual advice on such subjects—write to U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, c/o Animal Husbandry Division, Washington, D. C.

Poultry Houses and Fixtures

Select a location for the poultry house that has natural drainage away from the building. A dry, porous soil, such as sand or gravelly loam, is preferable to a clay soil.

Rebuilding a poultry house out of old lumber at small cost

The building should face the south or southeast to insure the greatest amount of sunlight during the winter.

The roosts should be built on the same level, about 3 feet from the floor with a droppings board about 6 inches below the roosts.

Good roosts may be made of 2 by 2 inch material with the upper edges rounded.

The nests may be placed on the side walls or under the droppings boards. It is best to have them darkened, as hens prefer a secluded place in which to lay. For further information on poultry house construction request Farmers’ Bulletin 574.

Trap Nests

A trap nest is a laying nest so arranged that after a hen enters it she is confined until released by the attendant. The trap nest shown in the accompanying illustration is used with good results on the Government poultry farm and is very similar to the nest used at the Connecticut State experiment station. It is very simple and may be built at a small cost.

When possible it is advisable to trap-nest the layers for the following reasons:

1. To tame the birds, thereby tending toward increased egg production.

2. To furnish definite knowledge concerning traits and habits of individuals.

3. To furnish the only satisfactory basis for utility or other breeding.

4. To eliminate the nonproductive hen.

5. To add mechanical precision to judgment and experience in developing and maintaining the utility of a flock.

For further information and plans showing the construction of a trap nest, send for Farmers’ Bulletin 682, “A Simple Trap Nest for Poultry.”

Feeding for Egg Production

Classification of Poultry Feeds

In order to obtain an abundance of eggs it is necessary to have healthy, vigorous stock, properly fed.

The following are good grain mixtures for the laying stock, the proportions being by weight:

A choice of any one of these rations should be scattered in the litter twice daily, morning and evening.

Either of the following suggested dry-mash mixtures should be fed in a dry-mash hopper such as illustrated, allowing the fowls to have access to it at all times.

When fowls do not have access to natural green feed, sprouted oats, cabbage, mangels, cut clover, etc., should be fed.

When wet mashes are fed, be sure that they are crumbly and not sticky. Plenty of exercise increases the egg yield.

Fresh, clean drinking water should be always provided. Charcoal, grit, and oyster shell should be placed before the fowls so that they can have access to them at all times.

For additional information on feeds and feeding request Farmers’ Bulletin 287, “Poultry Management,” and Farmers’ Bulletin 528, “Hints to Poultry Raisers,” from U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Produce the infertile egg. Infertile eggs are produced by hens that have no male birds with them.

The following table shows that the losses of fertile eggs are computed to be nearly twice as great as in the case of infertile eggs.

Marketing the Product

The hen’s greatest egg-producing periods are the first, second, and third years, depending upon the breed. The heavier breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks, may be profitably kept for two years; the lighter breeds, such as Leghorns, three years.

Market white-shelled and brown-shelled eggs in separate packages. Eggs irregular in shape, those which are unusually long or thin-shelled, or which have shells otherwise defective, should be kept by the producer for home use, so that breakage in transit may be reduced as much as possible.

For additional information on packing and shipping eggs by parcel post request Farmers’ Bulletin 830, “Marketing Eggs by Parcel Post,” issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Eggs from “stolen” nests should not be marketed; they are of unknown age and quality and should be used at home.

When taking eggs to market, protect them from the sun’s rays in warm weather. Ship or deliver eggs twice or three times weekly.

Notice the candler has places for the good eggs as well as for checks (cracked eggs), dirty eggs and “rots.” When selling eggs insist that they be bought on a quality basis.

Infertile eggs will withstand marketing conditions much better than fertile eggs.

All cockerels not intended to be kept or sold for breeders should be marketed when they reach suitable size. Such birds confined in a homemade fattening battery or coop and fed a fattening ration for a week or ten days will not only increase in weight but bring a better price on the market, because of improved quality.

Caponizing

A capon is an unsexed male bird, which when mature is of larger size and more desirable for eating than cockerels or cocks.

By following directions and with a little practice, poultrymen will find caponizing a simple operation. For detailed information on caponizing, request Farmers’ Bulletin 849.

Lice and Mites

The free use of an effective lice powder is always advisable. A dust bath, consisting of road dust and wood ashes, is essential in ridding fowls of lice.

Sodium fluorid, a white powder which can be obtained from druggists, is also effective. Apply a pinch of the powder at the base of the feathers on the head, neck, back, breast, below the vent, base of tail, both thighs, and on the underside of each wing.

An effective remedy for lice on chicks is a small quantity of melted lard rubbed under the wings and on top of the chick’s head.

The free use of kerosene or crude oil on the roosts and in the cracks of the house will help to exterminate mites.

Whitewash is effective against all vermin.

It is possible and thoroughly practicable to keep the poultry flock reasonably free from lice and mites. Such practices should be the aim of every one who is endeavoring to establish a successful flock of poultry.

For complete information on mites and lice, request Farmers’ Bulletin 801.

Common Diseases and Treatment

All diseased birds should be isolated.

Colds and roup.—Disinfect the drinking water as follows: To each gallon of water add one tablespoonful of sodium sulphite or as much potassium permanganate as will remain on the surface of a dime.

Chicken pox.—Put a touch of iodin on each sore and apply carbolated vaseline.

Gapes.—Fresh ground and vigorous cultivation will often remedy this trouble, which is caused by small gapeworms that live in the soil and attach themselves to the inside of the throat.

Diarrhea in hens.—Low-grade wheat flour or middlings is good for this trouble. A teaspoonful of castor oil containing 5 drops of oil of turpentine to each fowl is also good.

Bumblefoot.—When the feet are badly swollen, a small cut should be made with a clean, sharp knife, and the pus removed. Wash the wound out with equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and water, grease with vaseline, and bandage.

Limberneck.—A teaspoonful of castor oil given to the fowl will sometimes effect a cure.

Scaly legs.—Apply vaseline containing 2 per cent of creolin to the affected parts and after 24 hours soak in warm, soapy water. Repeat treatment until cured.

For a detailed discussion of the foregoing and other poultry diseases, request Farmers’ Bulletin 957, “Important Poultry Diseases.”

For further information or individual advice on poultry raising write to your State Agricultural College, or to the Animal Husbandry Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

PLAN No. 221. RAISING CANARIES

A Philadelphia lady who was fond of canaries, and was an adept in their breeding and care, netted over $1,000 every year by raising these beautiful songsters and selling them to people of wealth in various parts of that city. But to make a success of this venture, one must thoroughly understand canaries from every point of view.

PLAN No. 222. LAUNDERING LINGERIE

A Chicago woman, made a comfortable living by laundering and mending lace and other fine articles of women’s wear, which could not be entrusted to a washer woman. She went among the wealthy people and solicited this work.

PLAN No. 223. SMALL-TOWN MANICURING

A young lady, in a Western Washington town, too small to support a professional manicurist, made a good living by studying up on the treatment and care of the nails and hands, and offering her services to the well-to-do people of her town. They were greatly pleased that they could have this service performed for them without going to the city, and kept the young lady busy, at a compensation that afforded her an excellent living.

PLAN No. 224. SHAMPOOING AND HAIR DRESSING

A woman who lived in a small town some distance from a city, where there were many families of wealth, found field for her talents in shampooing and dressing the hair of women and children. Possessing a pleasing personality, she called upon the leading ladies of the place and offered to come to their homes at stated intervals, for the purpose of caring for the hair of the ladies and their daughters, at a stipulated sum per hour, assuring them of satisfactory service. Her offer was accepted by most of the women she visited, and she found her time fully occupied.

PLAN No. 225. MARKETING EGGS BY PARCEL POST

Acknowledgment is due to the United States Department of Agriculture for the following plan.

Contribution from the Bureau of Markets, Charles J. Brand, Chief.

Whether the marketing of eggs by parcel post should be attempted by any particular producer will depend on his present available markets, the possibility of securing a satisfactory customer or customers, and the care taken to follow tested and approved methods in preparing the eggs for shipment. Failures in attempting to ship eggs by parcel post have resulted because proper precautions as to package or container, packing, and labeling were not observed.

This article presents conclusions from investigations made by the Office of Markets and Rural Organization in cooperation with the Post Office Department and gives detailed information as to the use of the parcel post.

The practicability of shipping eggs by parcel post is demonstrated by the fact that more parcels of eggs than of any other one product pass through the mails. In order to test various methods of packing and handling eggs the Office of Markets and Rural Organization has shipped more than 700 dozen eggs through the mails from various points, under various conditions, and in different types of containers, without undue loss, either in the expense of shipment or the condition of the eggs on reaching the consumer’s kitchen.

While the great bulk of eggs which come from distant producing territory will continue to be shipped by other methods, it is no doubt true that many cities can be supplied with a considerable portion of their fresh eggs from within the first and second zones by parcel post to the advantage of both producer and consumer. By such direct contact the producer should secure somewhat better prices for his eggs than are realized by present methods of marketing, and the consumer should obtain a fresher quality at no increased cost, or, frequently, even at a reduction in price. The producer who does not have satisfactory marketing facilities may find in the parcel post a means of solving his egg-marketing problems. This applies especially to the man whose flock is so small that he can not make case shipments, i. e., shipments in the regular 30-dozen-size egg case.

Summary of Results of Experimental Shipments

Four hundred and sixty-six shipments were made in the experiments. They comprised a total of 760¹¹⁄₁₂ dozens, or 9,131 eggs, in lots of from 1 dozen to 10 dozen each. The number of eggs broken was 327, or slightly less than 3.6 per cent of the whole number. Of these, 209 eggs, or slightly less than 2.3 per cent, were broken too badly to use; the remaining 118 were usable. If 91 eggs broken in parcels known to have received violent usage be eliminated, the breakage resulting in loss is less than 1.3 per cent.

The instructions issued by the Post Office Department for the handling of fragile mail matter (which includes eggs) are carefully drawn and quite ample. If the proper preparations were made for mailing, and if all employees of the Postal Service could be educated to observe the instructions faithfully, the breakage could be reduced to a negligible minimum.

These experimental shipments were made over various routes and distances, including not only local shipments over short routes but points as far away from Washington as Minneapolis, Minn., and the Rocky Mountains. They began in October, 1913, and extended to February, 1914, thus including the holiday rush. The shipments were sufficiently numerous to justify the conclusion that eggs can be shipped by mail satisfactorily under the existing postal provisions, provided these are rigorously observed.

The Eggs

The successful use of the parcel post for marketing eggs imposes the need of great care on the producer. Only such eggs should be shipped as are produced by healthy fowls kept under proper sanitary conditions and supplied with sound, wholesome feed. If possible, only infertile eggs should be produced for market; fertile eggs deteriorate rapidly and are the cause of much loss. A broody hen on the nest, or exposure to a temperature from other sources sufficient to start incubation, causes all such eggs to be rejected when they are candled. Eggs should be cared for carefully, beginning with keeping the fowls, under such conditions that the eggs will not be soiled in the nest by mud from the feet of the hens or otherwise; they should be gathered at least once a day (twice would be better) and should be stored in a well-ventilated place, which must be kept as cool as possible. Eggs intended for high-class trade should never be washed, as washing removes the natural mucilaginous coating of the egg and opens the pores of the shell. Eggs which are soiled should be kept for home use or disposed of otherwise than to a parcel-post customer.

In spite of the greatest care it will sometimes happen under ordinary farm conditions that an occasional bad egg will appear among those sent to market. It would be wise to candle every egg shipped. Candling is “the process of testing eggs by passing light through them so as to reveal the condition of the contents.” A simple candling outfit may be made of an ordinary pasteboard box sufficiently large to be placed over a small hand lamp after the ends have been removed. The box should have a hole cut in it on a level with the flame of the lamp. Several notches should be cut in the edges on which the box rests, to supply air to the lamp. The box should be sufficiently large to prevent danger from catching fire. The one shown in figure 1 is made of corrugated pasteboard; ordinary pasteboard will serve the purpose. Candling is done in the dark, or at least away from strong light, and each egg is held against the hole in the side of the box, when its condition may be seen. An egg that shows any defect should not be marketed.