Poppy George’s Farm Advice: Farm Animal Care and Raising Poultry

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PHOTO: FOTOLIA/ BRUCE MACQUEEN
Baby turkeys, called poults, must be taught how to eat in their first days of life so that they don't starve to death.

“Poppy George” Plitt graduated from college with a degree in agriculture in 1932. During the years that followed he made a good many friends and a name for himself (as a gentleman, inventor and executive) in the field of bird and animal husbandry and care. At various points in his career, Plitt served as Director of Nutritional Research and Field Services for two of the East’s larger grain mills. He is also the originator of Pride of the Valley Wild Bird Food and Kleen Kitty cat litter. Plitt now raises and trains standard bred horses and keeps a wide variety of other birds and animals on a New York farm.

“Poppy George” is now sharing his experience by giving the MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers down-to-earth advice on the care and feeding of homestead livestock. 

Question: I’m planning to buy 100 baby chicks again this spring. Last year, even though I had an electric brooder stove I lost quite a few of my flock when they smothered in the corners of their 10-by-12 foot coop. Is it possible to prevent this from happening again?

Answer: Yes, it definitely is possible to keep baby chicks from “piling up” and smothering in corners. Simply do away with these trouble spots in your coop! Start by cutting a band of corrugated cardboard (from used supermarket or grocery cartons) about 18 to 24 inches high. Form it into a ring, stand it on edge, overlap the ends and join them on top with plain or clip-type clothes pins. At first, place the circle about 18 inches all the way around from the edge of your brooder stove (whether it’s electric, coal, oil or a homemade unit). Then, each week, make the ring larger as your biddies grow. The youngsters, when their wings develop, will fly up and perch on the fence. At that point simply roll up the cardboard and put it away to be used for the next brood. Just to be sure your flock is safe, however, get some 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch square mesh wire hardware cloth (onion or citrus mesh sacks will also work if securely fastened) and use it to round out the inside corners of your brooder coop so that if the young birds do “pile up”, those on the bottom of the heap can still get air and survive. If you have electricity in the chicks’ quarters, by the way, it’s a good idea for many reasons to keep a 5 or 10-watt red bulb burning at night. The weaker birds can use that time to get water and food without competition from the bosses of the flock.

I have a half dozen white Peking ducks and I’m quite certain that five are females because I’ve gathered that many eggs a day on several occasions. The sixth bird, I believe, is a male, but how can I be sure? Also, can duck eggs be hatched under hens, and how long does it take?

  • Published on Mar 1, 1974
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