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| CHAPTER I.—Introduction | 1 |
| Neglect of Poultry-breeding—Profit of Poultry-keeping—Value to the Farmer—Poultry Shows—Cottage Poultry. |
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| CHAPTER II.—The Fowl-House | 6 |
| Size of the House—Brick and Wood—Cheap Houses—The Roof—Ventilation—Light—Warmth—The Flooring—Perches—Movable Frame—Roosts for Cochin-Chinas and Brahma-Pootras—Nests for laying—Cleanliness—Fowls' Dung—Doors and Entrance-holes—Lime-washing—Fumigating—Raising Chickens under Glass. |
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| CHAPTER III.—The Fowl-Yard | 18 |
| Soil—Situation—Covered Run—Pulverised Earth for deodorising—Diet for confined Fowls—Height of Wall, &c.—Preventing Fowls from flying—The Dust-heap—Material for Shells—Gravel—The Gizzard—The Grass Run. |
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| CHAPTER IV.—Food | 27 |
| Table of relative constituents and qualities of Food—Barley—Wheat—Oats—Meal—Refuse Corn—Boiling Grain—Indian Corn, or Maize—Buckwheat—Peas, Beans and Tares—Rice—Hempseed—Linseed—Potatoes—Roots—Soft Food—Variety of Food—Quantity—Mode of Feeding—Number of Meals—Grass and Vegetables—Insects—Worms—Snails and Slugs—Animal Food—Water—Fountains. |
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| CHAPTER V.—Eggs | 40 |
| Eggs all the Year round—Warmth essential to laying—Forcing Eggs—Soft Shells—Shape and Colour of Eggs—The Air-bag—Preserving Eggs—Keeping and Choosing Eggs for setting—Sex of Eggs—Packing Setting-eggs for travelling. |
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| CHAPTER VI.—The Sitting Hen | 48 |
| Evil of restraining a Hen from sitting—Checking the Desire—A separate House and Run—Nests for sitting in—Damping Eggs—Filling for Nests—Choosing their own Nests—Choosing a Hen for sitting—Number and Age of Eggs—Food and Exercise—Absence from the Nest—Examining the Eggs—Setting two Hens on the same day—Time of Incubation—The "tapping" sound—Breaking the Shell—Emerging from the Shell—Assisting the Chicken—Artificial Mothers—Artificial Incubation. |
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| CHAPTER VII.—Rearing and Fattening Fowls | 63 |
| The Chicken's first Food—Cooping the Brood—Basket and Wooden Coops—Feeding Chickens—Age for Fattening—Barn-door Fattening—Fattening-Houses—Fattening-Coops—Food—"Cramming"—Capons and Poulardes—Killing Poultry—Plucking and packing Fowls—Preserving Feathers. |
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| CHAPTER VIII.—Stock, Breeding, and Crossing | 75 |
| Well-bred Fowls—Choice of Breed—Signs of Age—Breeding in-and-in—Number of Hens to one Cock—Choice of a Cock—To prevent Cocks from fighting—Choice of a Hen—Improved Breeds—Origin of Breeds—Crossing—Choice of Breeding Stock—Keeping a Breed pure. |
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| CHAPTER IX.—Poultry Shows | 83 |
| The first Show—The first Birmingham Show—Influence of Shows—Exhibition Rules—Hatching for Summer and Winter Shows—Weight—Exhibition Fowls sitting—Matching Fowls—Imparting lustre to the Plumage—Washing Fowls—Hampers—Travelling—Treatment on Return—Washing the Hampers and Linings—Exhibition Points—Technical Terms. |
