PROGRESSIVE POULTRY RAISING 



should be removed and replaced with fresh whenever it 

 becomes so broken up that grain thrown out to the birds 

 does not disappear so that the birds have to scratch it out 

 to find it. 



It has been found that on commercial poultry plants 

 where fowls are kept in quite large numbers, the artificial 

 lighting of the houses, morning and evening, proves profita- 

 ble during the winter. Giving the hens n hours of light 

 increases egg production at the season when prices are 

 high. It apparently does not increase the yearly produc- 

 tion. For ordinary farm flocks, however, it would hardly 



pay. 



Whenever it is at all possible, the 

 Yards fowls should be fenced out of the 



places where they are not wanted 

 rather than into yards. Free range is the ideal chicken 

 yard, for it usually furnishes cheap feed and good health. 

 For the general farm, the practice of fencing the chickens 

 out of the door yard and garden and away from the gran- 

 ary and giving them the run of the farm is growing. 

 Where, for any reason, it is necessary to confine the birds, 

 the larger the yards can be made the better. Whenever 

 they are so small that the chickens keep them bare of 

 greenness, the flock is in danger of a bad epidemic of 

 disease. Such yards and the bare areas around the house 

 when the chickens are on range, should be turned over at 

 least once a year (twice a year is better), and seeded down 

 to some quick growing crop. It is only by such means that 

 the soil can be kept sweet and free from disease. 



It is highly important that the pullets be put into the 

 laying house early. They should 'be in winter quarters 

 long before they begin to lay. When they are neglected 

 and are not moved into the permanent laying house 

 until after they begin to lay, they are very likely to be 

 thrown into a molt which will in turn seriously interfere 

 with their winter egg production. 



Page Thirty-One 



