890 Rural School LeuVflet. 



and seed, and grass. It is true that they will subsist, even in the winter, 

 on corn and water given them at irregular intervals, but under such 

 care they surely cannot lay eggs. Just notice how much better and 

 cheerier you feel after eating a meal of wholesome, well-cooked food 

 of your liking. Fowls are just as partial and respond when well fed. 



There is no one method of feeding that can be applied equally well 

 under all conditions. The one described in the following paragraphs, 

 however, may be followed to advantage under many conditions and 

 may also serve to suggest ways of improving your present practices. 



Morning feed. — In the morning the fowls are hungry and ready to 

 work for their breakfast. It is well to let them work and keep busy 

 as much as possible. It keeps them warm, healthy, and contented. 

 With this in mind, scatter mixed grains in the litter. Be rather sparing 

 of the feed in the morning, so that the fowls, will not ciuickly obtain 

 their fill, but will continue to w^ork and hunt for the grain for the greater 

 part of the forenoon. This grain should be a mixture of all the kinds 

 grown on the farm. They may be mixed in the proportion of three 

 pounds corn, two pounds wheat and one pound oats, to which may be 

 added, if available, one pound buckwheat and one pound barley. Fresh 

 water should be carried to them every day. 



Noon feeding. — The mid-day meal is the best time to provide those 

 appetizing mixtures so greatly relished by the fowls and so successful 

 in helping to produce eggs. Take the scraps of meat, bread, and veg- 

 etables from the table, mix them with corn meal, wheat bran, and 

 wheat middlings or oatmeal. Moisten the mass with skimmed milk 

 until it is crumbly. When skimmed milk and table scraps are not to 

 be had, take a pail of cut alfalfa or clover hay and pour boiling water 

 on it, allowing it to steam. . Feed 'when it is still warm. A portion of 

 this steamed alfalfa added to the noon mash gives it a pleasant, appetizing 

 odor. A little salt and pepper can also be added to the mash, in about 

 the same proportion as would be used in your own food. At noon-time 

 also feed as much green-food (beets, cabbage, or lettuce) as the fowls 

 will clean up before the following noon. At this time, also, see that 

 the oyster-shell and grit hoppers are filled. 



Night feeding. — Fowls go to roost very early, making it necessary 

 for them to eat before sundown. This requires feeding in the latter pan 

 of the afternoon, while they can still see to pick up the grain. When 

 given the opportunity, a fowl will go to roost with its crop roundmg 

 full of grain, which it gradually digests during the night. This process 

 of digestion warms the body and keeps it more comfortable. An empty 

 crop is a poor bed- fellow for the fowl. The same grains can be fed 



