l60 BOAIID OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



DISCUSSION. 



Question. What is the value of Guinea hens? 



Mr. Delano. Since the interstate laws, the game laws, 

 have gone into effect, Guineas have had a ready market. They 

 are used by hotel proprietors in place of partridge and other 

 game. They have a decidedly gamey flavor. It is against 

 the law to send Guineas from one State to another all over the 

 country. 



Question. What kind of grain rations do you give poul- 

 try to make them lay eggs the year around? 



Mr. Delano. We never mix grains of any kind. We use 

 wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat, and corn. Our birds get a 

 corn ration twice a week. They do get corn in a mash food, 

 in a cake which we bake, composed of corn, oats, middlings, 

 and bran, then we mix that with beef scrap. 



Question. Which would you feed in the morning, grain 

 or the soft feed? 



Mr. Delano. Hard grain in the morning and soft feed at 

 night. I presume more farmers feed the other way around. 

 There are a number of good reasons for following either course. 

 The only reason I can see for not feeding the hard grain at 

 night is that it will stay in their crop longer and not work 

 through as quickly as the mash. On the contrary, after a hen 

 is gorged with mashed feed it is very apt to go on the roost 

 and sit down and wait for it to digest. It is the birds that 

 work the hardest that lay the most eggs. 



The President. Do you always thrash it for them? 



Mr. Delano. We do not raise grain, simply buy it already 

 thrashed. 



Question. How many birds do you think it wise to have 

 in a flock together? 



Mr. Delano. It all depends on the condition of the coop. 

 If they have a large-sized yard, perhaps twelve or fifteen. 

 You will get more eggs from fifteen than from twenty-five. 

 If they have free range you can keep almost any number — 

 forty, fifty, or a hundred. 



