The New Student's Reference Work/Poultry

Poul′try (Latin pullus, a chicken), birds domesticated by man, usually embracing chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea-fowl. From the time when men began to abandon their wandering mode of life and settle in fixed habitations poultry in some form or other has taken the place of the wild birds which they are no longer able to snare and kill. Poultry are raised for the food furnished by their flesh and their eggs. Their flesh enters largely into the food-supply, and is both healthy and nutritious. The production of eggs in the United States in 1908 was 1,293,662,433 dozen. In France, where poultry are bred to so great an extent, there are no poultry-farms, in the exclusive sense, but fowls are kept by every farmer and cottager. The same remark applies to Italy, Denmark and Ireland, all of which export large quantities of eggs and poultry. In the vinegrowing districts of France fowls are permitted to wander among the vines nearly all the year, and they do excellent service in cleaning off insects as well as in manuring the ground. To make poultry profitable, they should be well-housed and well-fed, with sufficient space for obtaining gravel, grass, worms, garbage etc. Their houses should also be kept clean, as the richness of their manure makes the ground very foul. For laying-hens it has been found that soft food is very beneficial and that it should be given in the morning, with hard corn in the latter part of the day. Sitting hens should have a quiet nest, where they will not be disturbed during the 21 days required for incubation. Artificial incubation has been very largely adopted by poultry-raisers, most of the machines now sold working with great precision and regularity. The advantage of incubators is that they can be used at all seasons.