Some idea of the dimensions of this industry were gained during a recent visit made by the author to one of these modern poultry farms. The ranch was of average size, and in the neat yards inclosed by high wire fences I saw some thirteen hundred laying hens, while eight hundred pullets for the market, all graded as to age, were in various yards. From this ranch between five and six cases of eggs are ![]() FEEDING TIME. shipped every week, each case containing thirty-six
dozen; averaging two hundred and seventy-five cases or
thirty thousand eggs per year. |
![]() CHICKEN RANCHES
IN MARIN. |
for the fowls' consumption; the incubator room and the adjoining brooder; the granary, from which at stated periods the food is measured, are all adjuncts of the modern poultry ranch. It is interesting to watch the great flocks of fowl, all snowy white (the white leghorn being preferred), darting noisily toward the attendant as he enters their enclosure at feeding-time, and the ensuing scramble for wheat, and the continuous pick-pick-pick verily make the hen a definition for perpetual motion--in feeding-time, at least. As but five acres of ground are necessary to carry on successfully a moderate size chicken ranch, it may be seen how with less outlay and incident expenses the small rancher can make better profits in this industry than in dairying. West of Tomales Bay a long narrow neck of land stretches far out into the Pacific. Though ![]() DEFACING NATURE. somewhat barren in appearance, owing to the dearth of
trees and the abundance of low, tangled sagebrush, the fact
that grass grows the entire year on its slopes makes Point
Reyes the famous dairying center of Marin. |
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