162 Farm Poultry 



therefore, the practice of many poultryrnen to 

 keep only young birds for egg production and 

 to force them for this product. When the hens 

 have served a period of forced egg laying, they 

 are replaced by younger fowls. This method 

 will necessitate keeping older fowls as breeding- 

 stock, which is in accord with the most .approved 

 practice. 



Corn. Of. the grain foods that are usually 

 supplied to farm poultry, corn has been, and still 

 is, the most popular. This, no doubt, is largely 

 due to the abundance of this grain arid to its 

 relative cheapness. If the fowls are somewhat 

 closely confined, a corn ration is found to be 

 somewhat too fattening for most satisfactory re- 

 sults, particularly when fed to general -purpose 

 fowls. If this grain is supplied to the noted egg 

 breeds that have a wide range, much more sat- 

 isfactory results are likely to be obtained. It 

 should be the aim of the poultryman to feed 

 considerable grain in such manner as will not 

 cause the fowls to become excessively fat. Fat 

 fowls, as a rule, do not lay so abundantly as do 

 those in moderate flesh. When corn is fed to 

 laying hens that have opportunity to take plenty 

 of - exercise and to secure for themselves insects 

 and green food, much better results will be ob- 

 tained than when it is fed to the same kind of 

 fowls closely confined. Experiments have shown 



