Ground Food and Feeding Troughs 179 



troughs. Considerable ingenuity has been exer- 

 cised in devising convenient troughs that will 

 keep the food clean. A swinging trough, or one 

 protected by an easy -turning rod, as shown in 

 the illustrations, will answer . the purpose very 

 well. See Figs. 55 and 56. Any safe and con- 

 venient arrangement that will prevent the fowls 

 from perching on the sides of the troughs, will 

 meet the requirements of a satisfactory device. 



Fig. 56. A swinging feed trough. 



Many poultrymen prefer to feed animal meal 

 in this soft food. From one to two pounds of 

 animal meal per day should suffice for twenty- 

 five hens, particularly if milk is used to moisten 

 the ground grain. A little linseed meal, which 

 is particularly valuable during the moulting pe- 

 riod, may also be added. Horsemen have long 

 known that when animals are shedding their 

 coats, a little linseed meal added to their ration 

 hastens the shedding of the old coat and gives 

 more luster to the new, and so poultrymen find 

 that a little of this meal during the moulting 



