178 Farm Poultry 



give the laying hens considerable exercise, par- 

 ticularly during the winter months, and when they 

 are more or less closely confined. This may be 

 accomplished, in part, by requiring them to 

 scratch in the litter for their grain food. 



Equal parts of corn and oats ground, mixed 

 with an equal weight of wheat bran and fine 

 middlings, make an excellent soft food when 



Fig. 55. Feed trough protected by a revolving rod. 



moistened with milk or water. That is, the 

 bran and fine middlings together constitute one- 

 half the weight of the ration. The proportion of 

 bran and fine -middlings may be varied somewhat. 

 If the mixture appears too sticky, less middlings 

 and more bran should be used. It is usually 

 preferred thoroughly wet; that is, enough milk 

 or water should be added to the ground grain 

 to wet all of the grain after it is thoroughly 

 stirred. It will be necessary to feed this food in 



