THE BOOK OF POULTRY 



Falkner's notes. Peat moss litter we have 

 seen condemned by some writers, but after 

 a year's exhaustive trial in our house we 

 found it quite satisfactory, and its deodoris- 

 ing properties were excellent. Here again, 

 as also with soil used alone and renewed 

 at intervals, we found that the whole secret 

 was dryness. 



Another point in h\-giene to be remembered 

 is periodical cleansing and disinfecting of all 

 houses and appliances, and care in seeing 

 that birds are free from insects. If these 

 pests are detected, an occasional thorough 

 dusting with insect powder of the birds them- 

 selves, especially round the head, neck, vent 

 and under the wings, is advisable, and the 

 nest-boxes and crevices of the houses can be 

 treated in the same way. The addition of 

 new birds to the stock should be effected with 

 care m this respect also, and, to avoid any 

 risk of introducing disease, the new-comers 

 should always be given a few days' preliminary 

 quarantine. Fresh birds should always be put 

 into a house at night to avoid sparring, and 

 should one bird be attacked, a judicious ap- 

 plication of a solution of bitter aloes and 

 alcohol on the parts affected is generally 

 successful against further onslaughts. The 

 same remedy is also useful in cases of feather 

 plucking, which sometimes crops up at moult- 

 ing time and amongst young stock. 



Upon feeding there are almost as many 

 theories as there are poultry- 

 F°eding* keepers, and the rations must 



naturally vary with the time of 

 the _\ear and the condition of the stock ; 

 but, broadly speaking, ;\Irs. Baynes sa}-s that 

 the best feeding for intensive purposes is as 

 follows : 



" It must be bulky, whatever it is. In 

 grain I prefer small, sound wheat or oats or 

 cracked maize (this latter very sparingly, for 

 it is too fattening) ;. I use plenty of bran, 

 and give more meat than is usual to birds 

 on free range. Also green food freely, such 

 as lawn clippings, cabbage and lettuce leaves 

 when obtainable, and clover-hay, turnips, 

 swedes, mangolds and sprouted oats in winter. 

 More food is certainly required than for birds 

 on open range, but it must be given in small 

 quantities so as to keep the birds employed. 

 The greater danger to avoid is that of the 

 fowls getting too fat, when they quickly get 

 lazy and liverish. I feel sure that' dry 

 mash will be the food of the future for 

 intensive work, as, if given regularly at stated 

 hours, the birds cannot become too fat and 

 yet get all that they want, and will go to 



roost, as is good for them, with their crops 

 crammed. In this connection, where wet mash 

 is used, it should only be given as the last 

 feed of the day. Overheating foods must 

 be strictly avoided under usual feeding con- 

 ditions. 



" In feeding fowls in close confinement, my 

 ideas are: (i) To make them work hard for 

 their food ; (2) to feed bulky foods ; (3) to 

 always keep laying hens just hungry enough 

 to be always keen on their food ; (4) to judi- 

 ciously use fat-forming foods ; (5) to give 

 variety in food. The daily routine, if 

 wet mash is used, is to start with a 

 feed of corn buried deep in the litter at 

 7 A.M. (the late riser can rake this in over- 

 night); II A.M., another light feed of 

 corn raked in; I P.M., green stuff — if loose 

 leaves, suspended in net bags ; if turnips or 

 mangolds, cut in half and hung up for the 

 birds to peck at; 3 P.M., a little more corn 

 in scratching material ; and the last feed, half 

 an hour before the birds go to roost, is a 

 mash given in troughs, as much as they will 

 clean up. The allowance of grain per bird 

 is about 2 oz. each day, divided over the 

 three feeds, which are varied necessarily in 

 time according to the season of the year. The 

 water supply must be changed frequently, and 

 so placed that it cannot be soiled by the birds' 

 scratchings. 



" I have found, however, after considerable 

 experiment, that dry mash feeding gives de- 

 cidedly tlie best results in every way, particu- 

 larly as regards the ' hatchability ' of eggs. - I 

 have therefore entirely discarded the wet mash 

 feeding, except for table birds. My present 

 daily routine is as follows: First feed to con- 

 sist of green stuff, of which the birds should 

 be tempted to eat as much as possible. Second 

 feed, one heaped tablespoonful of grain per 

 bird well raked into the litter about 10 o'clock. 

 Third and last feed, the hoppers containing 

 the dry mash are put in the houses between 

 I and 2 o'clock and left in till roosting time, 

 when they are removed. I think the intensivist 

 will find this quite the simplest way of feeding 

 and a great saving of labour." {See also p. xx.) 



As to the breeds most suited for such close 

 confinement, Mrs. Baynes says : " For choice. 

 White and Black Leghorns, and particularly 

 the former, which do admirably under the 

 system, and become very tame and docile. 

 I have also done well with Buff Orpingtons 

 and White Wyandottes, and I think there are 

 few breeds which, if judiciously managed, 

 would not give satisfactory results." To this 

 we may add that we have had excellent results 



