A trio of any one of the three varieties will cost from fifteen to twenty dollars, and if only twenty birds are reared the first year for market, they will bring at least sixty dollars. That is placing the average weight at twelve pounds and price twenty-five cents a pound. This is, however, absurd, when you consider that young toms weigh twenty pounds and pullets fifteen, feed could not possibly cost more than ten dollars, which would leave thirty dollars’ profit the first year.
A successful turkey-raiser told me he had kept his birds in yards for twelve years, so I felt safe in adopting the plan. I suppose I ought to have said inclosures, for they covered about half an acre each. The land was shaly4, with a rocky background, but there were plenty of clumps5 of scrub brush and ferns, from the rocks to the top of the two acres they used. 64 The ground sloped to the south; a spot of no earthly good for any other purpose, but perfectly6 ideal for turkeys.
However, as our farm had no such place, I utilised a strip of poor brush land which had good natural drainage and made three inclosures, each one hundred feet wide and three hundred feet long. An open-front shed twelve feet long and ten feet wide was built in each. They were just rough shelters built out of slabs7 and the only fittings were perches8 made out of sassafras poles, none of them less than nine inches in circumference9. This is one of the important items in fixing a place for turkeys. Being heavy, large-footed birds, they are uncomfortable and positively10 suffer if condemned11 to balance themselves on slight perches such as chickens use.
It took four loads of slabs to make the three sheds, and they cost seventy-five cents a load at the sawmill. Wire netting cost forty-eight dollars, perches and posts were cut in our own woods, and the home help did the work.
I got ten female birds from the Massachusetts farm for fifty dollars and two toms from Long Island for twenty dollars. We sent for the birds early in December so that they should have time to get thoroughly12 at home in their new quarters before the laying season. Before they arrived, the front of the sheds was covered with wire netting, so that we could keep them shut up at first, but after two or three weeks it was removed and they were allowed the range of the 65 yards. The wire around the inclosure was only four feet high and one wing of each bird was cut to prevent them flying over it.
A FLOCK OF TURKEYS
Early in March a half-barrel was secreted13 among the brush, in both the occupied yards, so that the hens would be accustomed to their appearance and, we hoped, consider safe hiding-places for their eggs. The plan answered splendidly. About the middle of the month we commenced to keep a lookout14 for eggs in the half-barrel and for stolen nests. When an egg was found, it was purloined15, and a china one put in its place; ditto when the second egg was taken, but after that, no more china eggs were dropped, for two always seemed to satisfy Mrs. Turkey.
Unlike common hens, turkeys are not attracted to a nest by an egg. In fact, they retain so much of the wild bird that they will not adopt a nest that has been used by any other bird, so never distribute nest-eggs as decoys, but only as substitutes for those abstracted.
The matter of feeding the old birds is of great importance and is the rock most farmers founder16 on. Too often the birds are left to forage17 for themselves or, at the best, are given uncertain quantities of corn, which means that they are miserably18 thin and dilapidated or outrageously19 fat. In either case they lack the components20 which the egg for hatching should possess. Result, weak youngsters which are doomed21 to die, no matter how much care is lavished22 on them.
I once heard an old poultryman say that the care 66 of the chick must commence when its mother is hatched. This may seem ambiguous to the amateur, but it is literally23 a fact and one which my Massachusetts friend had made me understand was most potent24 when applied25 to turkeys. So our turkeys are fed with special reference to supplying the ingredients to be converted into bone and vigour26 in the birds to be. Breakfast: Chopped clover-hay, steamed overnight, two quarts; corn and oats ground together, one quart; beef-scraps, half a pint27. At noon, one quart of oats, Kafir-corn or barley28 scattered29 broadcast in the yards. At night, whole corn when the weather is very cold, but as it moderates in the spring the amount is decreased and wheat is used in its place.
These are their regular rations30 from December to April, when the beef-scraps and corn are entirely31 omitted. Water and grit32 is before them all the time. We buy screenings from the stone-crusher and, as it is cheap, dump a lot into each yard twice a year.
I generally steal the first ten eggs from each nest and set them under the hens. However many a turkey lays after that, she is allowed to keep and hatch them. It takes them twenty-nine days to hatch, and large, motherly old hens should be chosen from the chicken-house to do the incubating. It is not safe to put more than five such eggs under an ordinary hen.
When the hatch is over, put the hen into a brood-coop and, in front of it, put a box about nine inches deep and large enough to form a yard for the babies to exercise in. It is, of course, necessary to remove 67 part or the whole of the end of the box which joins the front of the coop, so that the little ones can run in and out. Cover the bottom of the box with coarse sand and put a small drinking-fountain in one corner. Thus the babies will have a safe place to play in the first few days of infancy33, when they must be kept dry. After that the box can be removed and the coop moved a few feet every day for the sake of cleanliness.
When Mrs. Turkey’s brood hatches, we treat them in the same way, only the brood-coop is specially made and is much larger than the ordinary hen-coop. The first feed the babies have is stale home-made bread soaked in scalded milk, which is squeezed out of it before it is fed. Like little chicks, they must have nothing for twenty-four hours, then little and often must be the rule.
Never leave food in front of little turkeys, for they are very apt to overeat. After two weeks they need only be fed four times a day; after the fourth week three times a day. After the first two days add a little hard-boiled egg which has been chopped fine, without removing the shell, and a few days later, pin-head oatmeal and ground charcoal34; about a teaspoonful35 of the latter to a cupful of bread and oatmeal.
By the end of two weeks gradually reduce the bread and increase the oatmeal, which should be cooked about half an hour and allowed to dry out, so it is easily crumbled36 when cool.
After the fourth week, ordinary ground oats, just 68 moistened with scalding milk, may be used. Half-boiled liver, chopped fine, is the best animal food to give. When that is not practicable, use the best brand of commercial ground beef, one teaspoonful to a quart of meal, because it is very strong and liable to produce diarrhea, a disease which attacks young turkeys almost sooner than any other young bird. Watch carefully and at the first evidence of any looseness of the bowels37 give boiled rice to eat and rice-water or cold tea to drink.
Watch newly-hatched babies for a few days at feed-time, for there is often one or more that needs to be taught how to eat. This is especially so when they are with common hens. But a little patience in crumbling38 close in front of them and coaxing39 them to pick it up will overcome the difficulty. After they are eight weeks old we take them from the hens and put them into the third yard, which is kept exclusively for young stock.
At night they are driven into the shed, the front of which is always kept covered with wire netting, so that they can be closed in until they get accustomed to roosting. Of course, the perches in this shed are put nearer the ground and are much smaller than those intended for grown birds. About October 1st they are allowed the free range of the farm and are fed on corn at night and given all the milk they will drink, to get them into good killing40 condition before Thanksgiving, when they are all sold off, except perhaps a few extra good ones, which we may keep for stock. 69 The old birds are also allowed free range from October until February, but they are fed in the yards at night and are shut in so that they don’t form any bad wandering habits.
In buying stock, be generous and get the very best, from some well-known turkey-raiser. Ordinary farm stock is so apt to be inbred that, although the birds may look all right, it is not safe to buy them for breeding purposes, as a want of stamina41 will surely show in the youngsters.
For the same reason it is best to get the hen-birds from one place and the toms from another. If you are going to keep Bourbon Reds or bronze, it is advisable to buy half-wild toms. These are the result of crossing wild gobblers with domestic hens, which is done by large breeders to infuse new blood and keep up the vigour of their stock. Personally, I like the White Holland turkey best, as they are domesticated42 and bear confinement43 well.
If you are only going to keep a few birds, say a trio or five hens and a gobbler, large yards are not necessary, but a shed over which netting can be put, should always be set apart for their use, so that they can be fed and shut up at night. Never, under any circumstances, keep any of the pullets you raise, unless you change your gobbler. Don’t let two gobblers run with the flock at the same time. If you want to increase your number of birds, you must either put up inclosures or alternate the gobblers every two days.
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1
slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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2
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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shaly
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| adj.页岩的 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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8
perches
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| 栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼 | |
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9
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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12
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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13
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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14
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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purloined
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| v.偷窃( purloin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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forage
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| n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻 | |
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18
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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outrageously
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| 凶残地； 肆无忌惮地； 令人不能容忍地； 不寻常地 | |
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20
components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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21
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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27
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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28
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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29
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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30
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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32
grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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34
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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35
teaspoonful
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| n.一茶匙的量；一茶匙容量 | |
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36
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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37
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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38
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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39
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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40
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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41
stamina
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| n.体力；精力；耐力 | |
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42
domesticated
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| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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