Fowls
Fowls.—House.—Where eggs alone are required, a few pullets may be kept in a moderate-sized run, and, when they cease to be prolific, may be changed for fresh birds, whose stamina has not been injured by confinement over ground saturated with their own excretions; but for rearing chickens satisfactorily, a good run is absolutely necessary. No particular dwelling is essential; any unused cart-shed, coach or tool house, stable, or similar building may be modified to suit the requirements of the inmates. It is exceedingly desirable that the perches should be of one uniform height; otherwise the contest for the highest leads to quarrelling and fighting. Nor should the perches be high, as in that case the confined space in a house renders it necessary that the birds should fly down perpendicularly, to the great injury of the feet, and frequent fracture of the keel of the breast bone. The house must be kept clean, which is best accomplished by movable boards under the perches, from which the droppings can be removed daily. The house must be ventilated, and so constructed that the fowls can be out at daybreak. The nest places, if intended for hatching, should be on the ground; eggs, to hatch well, must be placed in natural conditions, i.e. on the comparatively cold ground, so that they are cooler below than above, and exposed to the moisture arising from the soil.
Breeds.—In selecting a breed, the first question is the principal requirement of the household. If eggs are the main object, it would be absurd to select Dorking or game. Nothing can exceed the prolificacy of fowls of the Mediterranean type, which includes Spanish, Andalusian, Leghorn, Minorca, Ancona, and other less known varieties. Of these, as regards hardihood and size, Minorcas are in the front rank, and can be strongly recommended as splendid egg producers—not show birds with combs 4 in. high, such as some breeders aim at producing, but the ordinary bird common in the south-western counties of England. Leghorn is good, but smaller in size of egg; Andalusian very good, but not so much in demand as Minorca. All these birds are non-incubators, and their production of eggs is consequently not interfered with by weeks of broodiness, which renders Cochins, Brahmas, and other birds of the Asiatic type so unprofitable where eggs alone are required; though nothing can surpass the pullets as winter layers, as they produce eggs quite irrespective of temperature. Hamburghs, particularly the black and the spangled breeds, are admirable egg-producers, but the eggs are small as compared with those of the Minorca. The recently introduced Plymouth Rocks are very good layers, but they are sitters, and therefore not as prolific as the Mediterranean type. The same may be said of Houdans and some others. If eggs alone are required, the choice lies between the Minorcas and the Hamburghs. The latter may possibly excel in numbers; but, if weight and size of eggs be taken into consideration, the Minorcas will certainly carry off the palm. The birds of the Mediterranean type may be described as somewhat leggy, of small or moderate size, with largely-developed single combs, which are erect in the cocks and flaccid in the hens. They are not remarkable for abundance of breast meat, plumpness of body when killed, or any great tendency to fatten. The plumpest are the brown Leghorns; but these have been produced by crossing the white Leghorns with black and red game, and what they have gained as table fowl they have lost in egg-producing properties.
If there be no free and extended range, such as a farmyard, or grass run in orchard or paddock, the attempt to rear fowls for the table should be altogether abandoned; the profitable raising of chickens on ground saturated with the excrement of old birds is not to be thought of. But given a good grass run, the question arises as to the variety of fowls to be kept. If large household fowls are desired, the pullets of which will lay well in the winter, the Asiatic breeds may be selected, such as the Cochins, Brahmas, and Plymouth Rock. As table fowl the last is certainly preferable of the three, as, in consequence of its being bred from a cross with the old American farmyard fowl, the Dominique, it has more flesh on the breast, and, being free from the useless incumbrance of feathers on the legs, it is a better forager and scratcher on its own account. But as table fowl these breeds are far surpassed by a variety which has long been most highly esteemed in the West of England, where it is known as Indian Game. For plumpness and quantity of meat on the breast, these birds are unequalled by any large breed. The fighting Indian Game, known as Aseels, equal them in plumpness, but not in size. In both these breeds there is an absence of offal and waste parts that is remarkable. The bones are small, there is no large comb or superfluous feather, and the size of the pectoral muscles, which constitute the flesh on the breast, is very great. As market fowls, the fact that their legs are not white may in some cases be an objection, as there is in the minds of some cooks a stupid prejudice against any but white shanks.
The Dorking is of great excellence, but has its drawbacks. Dorkings are harder to rear than many other varieties; the chickens are delicate; and the deformity of the extra toe is most objectionable, leading to extra deaths among the chickens, which are trampled in the mire by the splay-footed hens; and the plumpness on the breast is not equal to that of the Game or Indian Game. Where fowls are bred for home use, no better large birds can be raised than will result from a cross between the Dorking and a large game, either the ordinary English breed or the so-called Indian Game, which, out of Cornwall and Devon, is frequently termed the Pheasant Malay. (W. B. Tegetmeier.)
The French breeds good for table purposes are La Flèche, Crèvecœur, and Houdan. The two latter have topknots, which are a disadvantage. La Flèche is most prized, as it grows to an enormous size, and is a prolific layer. They are usually prepared for market by penning them separately, fattening them with freshly-ground barley and buckwheat meal, mixed to about the consistency of gruel with milk; they will then require no water. They are crammed for the last few days. Another mode is to force the food down their throats, giving them as much as they can take without overtaxing the digestive organs. The usual time is about 3 weeks, but in France it is carried on sometimes for 3-4 months.
Formation of Eggs.—The chief egg-producing organ is the ovary, which is situated under the backbone at the end of the ribs, and protected by the pelvis. A young chicken has an ovary on both sides of the vertebræ, but only the one on the left side developes. The ova consists of different-sized granules, which, as the bird grows, become larger in size. They are attached to the ovary by a slight pedicle; when ready to enter the oviduct the ova breaks from this membrane, and sometimes, when eggs are formed too rapidly, this becomes ruptured, and a drop of blood will go down with the yolk—eggs in which this occurs should not be kept for breeding purposes. The oviduct is a funnel-mouthed canal into which the yolk enters; at its upper end it is very thin, but thickens as it nears the intestinal canal—the oviduct of a laying fowl is about 2 ft. long, and is folded backwards and forwards in the body of the bird. The yolk or ovum passes down the oviduct in a spiral manner, and becomes covered with layers of albumen, which are secreted by the oviduct. At one place the ovum is covered with a thicker stratum, and here the albumen becomes twisted at either end of the yolk into two cords which fasten the egg to the shell in such a manner, that the yolk, with the germ uppermost, is always near the upper side of the shell, though not touching it; if the egg is kept too long, and in one position, the albumen glues the germ to the shell when its vitality is destroyed. The ovum, covered with several layers of albumen, and the 2 cords (chalazæ), then goes down the oviduct, and becomes covered with 2 skins or membranes, which separate at the larger end to let the air into the germ; finally the egg is covered with its shell, which is formed with great resisting powers, its arch is much like a tunnel arch, and between the particles, or bricks, air passes into the egg. This shell, which is very strong at first, with the heat of the hen’s body disintegrates, and the particles separate, so that, when the chicken is ready to hatch, it is so brittle that the slight pecks of the horny cap on the mandible of the chicken is enough to break it to pieces. If the bird is fed on over-stimulating food, eggs are often produced too quickly. When such is the case monstrosities—such as two yolks in one shell, or two eggs one inside another—are produced, and very often they are laid without a shell.
Laying.—Several circumstances bear on the question of the supply of winter eggs; the most important are—(a) the food of the fowls; (b) their breed; (c) their age; and (d) their locality and lodging.
(a) The Food of the Fowls.—It cannot be too strongly impressed upon all poultry keepers that fowls do not create eggs: they only form them out of the materials existing in their food. This food also serves other purposes—namely, to keep up the warmth of the body, and to support the vital actions. If only sufficient food is given to supply these demands, it is evident that there can be none left for the production of eggs. The obvious inference from this is that it is necessary to feed your fowls very well if eggs are wanted in winter; and as the supply of nitrogenous food in the form of worms and insects is diminished, a little cooked refuse meat may be advantageously added during the very hard weather. A proportion of Indian corn, either whole or in the form of scalded meal, is a good addition to the winter food. It contains a larger amount of warmth-giving fat or oil than any other grain, and, by so keeping up the temperature of the animal, sets free the other foods to be employed in the secretion of the substances that compose the eggs.