Experiments in Hopper Feeding Laying Hens 



In the production of eggs the main items of expense are for 

 the food required by the fowls; for labor to care for them; for 

 repairs to the buildings and equipment; and for systematically 

 replacing each year the older individuals with younger and 

 more productive birds. The amount and the cost* of focd re- 

 quired by a fowl in the course of a year has been set forth in 

 former bulletins of this Station. 



The cost of labor to care for a fowl for a year depends upon 

 several factors among which may be mentioned the number of 

 fowls kept, the manner in which they are housed, fed and wat- 

 ered, and the facilities for cleaning and keeping the houses in 

 a sanitary condition, and free from lice and mites. As no two 

 poultry houses are the same in all respects it is quite probable 

 that the labor cost of caring for fowls varies widely in different 

 sections of the country and under different conditions. 



In an address delivered before the American Poultry As- 

 sociation it was stated that on a certain poultry plant in Maine 

 where two thousand hens are kept in a long laying house the 

 labor cost is thirty-six cents per hen per year. This did not 

 cover the cost of removing the soiled litter, and replacing it with 

 straw or other scratching material. 



In this particular instance the cost of labor per fowl, per 

 year, was apparently about one-third as much as the cost of 

 food. On many other egg farms where the arrangements are 

 not so convenient as in the case mentioned it is entirely probable 

 that the labor cost for caring for fowls may amount to one-half 

 as much as the cost for food or perhaps even more. 



In practice it is just as important to economize in respect 

 to the cost of labor as it is to increase the egg yield by skillful 

 feeding or breeding, as in both cases the object is to lower the 

 cost of production. 



