THE VALLEY SETTLER is published
every Friday by the Matanuska
Valley Farmer’s Cboperative
Association at Palmer, Alaska.
Mng.Editor: Marie Wilson
Subscription rates: ijjil.OO year
by mail: 10V5 ’
mailed anywhere 10^ copy
This paper is issued for tho pur
pose of giving information and
news of the Matanuska Valley
Farmers Cooperating Association%
work, problems, accomulisftmonts,
and also, news o1' local and
genor .1 interest? end to foster
tho cooperative spirit of the
farmers of the tiatanuska Valley.
Once mere the v/eter situation
in the Civic Center has become
quite serious. Care must be
taken to conserve on water, do
not leave it running unnecess
arily. The water will again be
turned off for a part of each
day while work is being done on
the well.
We hope this situation will be
3oon corrected.
As the time has come to brood
baby chicks this season, many
questions arise coneerning the
problomd and difficulties we
have here with our chicks.
In the last issue of the Amer
ican Poultry Journal is a very
good article on the problems
which we have and I am going to
reprint it for the information
of those concerned.
GUARD AGAINST CHICK VICES
The two chief so-celled vices
are toe picking, which often
leads to cannibalism, and crowd
ing. Both of these are rerlly
due to faulty management on the
part of the brooder operator.
The habit of crowding is usually
the result of improper temper
ature under the brooder. It
may also be the result of trying
to crowd too many chicks under
one brooder stove. Both of those
are easily corrected. Placing
no more than 2 to 3 chicks under
a brooder for ecch square foot
of floor space in the brooder
house will avoid over-crowding,
and maintaining the proper tem
perature under the horer will
help to avoid the habit of crowd
ing from forming. The use of a
aim light in the brooder house
all night is a great help in this
rospoct, for if chicks should
move away from the brooder stove
during the early evening, the dim
light will enable them to see to
get back to it later on when the
temperature cools down.
Some of the causestof toe picking
start in a flock are too much
bright light, especially in the
early days of the brooding, ir
regularity of feeding when a
syatom of feeding is used that
requires chicks to be fed every
so often, rnd filthy floor litter.
Attention to these items in man
agement of the flock will go a
long ways to avoid the toe picking
habit. The use also of a special
red paint on the windows of the
brooder house that makes red ob
jects within the house appear
colorless will help to solve the
problem.
SPEAKING OP OBNOXIOUS
WEEDS
Have you seen that han.^eono frontle
nan about town who used to wear
all the camouflage on his face?
Recently he spent a month in the
hospital and the steam heat threw
him into a molt. Ho was really
hand someat first but a second
crop has sprouted and unless
he comes under the new clearing
program the Experiment Station
will have something to work on.
Nevertheless he is a good guy
and we like him.