FEEDING IN GENERAL 



171 



of food and exercise. I get so many 

 different opinions I do not know what 

 to do; some say they are too fat, 

 others not fat enough. How can I 

 make them scratch any more? I 

 would like to feed as cheaply as pos- 

 sible. Where could I get the Cali- 

 fornia Experiment Station Bulletin? 

 Mrs. L. S. 



Answer Your fowls, especially the 

 Orpingtons, should be laying well. It 

 is, as you say, a question of fejsd and 

 exercise. I find the best results with 

 Orpingtons is to feed grain in the 

 scratching pen in the morning; one 

 small handful scattered in deep straw 

 for each hen. I keep the following 

 mixture in a hopper, or box, before 

 them all the time; also I give them 

 crushed oyster shell, charcoal and 

 granulated bone in a hopper by itself: 

 Mix two quarts of bran, one of corn 

 meal, one of alfalfa meal, one of beef 

 scrap, or of granulated milk. To this 

 I add, on cold days, a tablespoon of 

 ground red peppers, and when they 

 are moulting, half a cup of linseed 

 meal. 



If you feed in this way you cannot 

 fail to have eggs. Besides this, I give 

 the hens lawn clippings, table scraps 

 and refuse vegetables. Hens do much 

 better in this climate when they can 

 have plenty of green food. All the 

 bulletins of the Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station can be had by writing to 

 the Director of the Station, Univer- 

 sity of California, Berkeley, Cal. 

 They are free to residents in this 

 state. 



like slivers, because they may pierce 

 the crop or gizzard. For several 

 years when I c^uld not get grit I 

 used broken crockery for the chickens 

 and I know it does well. 



Broken Glass for Chickens Have 

 started in poultry in a small way. 

 Have had very good success so far. 

 However, 'tis somewhat of a trial to 

 get enough gravel or grit for a good 

 sized flock on a small lot. Now, 

 what I want to know is, is pounded 

 glass fit to feed hens? Two of my 

 neighbors have advised its use in the 

 poultry yards, but I am afraid it 

 would act on the chickens the same 

 as it did on foxes we used to poison 

 with it up in the wilds of Wisconsin. 

 J. G. F. 



Answer Broken glass or broken 

 crockery make a very fair substitute 

 for grit and gravel. It should be 

 broken not smaller than a grain of 

 wheat and have three sharp edges or 

 corners to each piece. In using glass 

 be sure not to take pointed pieces 



Substitute for Green Food Will 

 you kindly tell me what would be the 

 quickest and best vegetable for green 

 food I could grow for my poultry? I 

 planted a patch of white clover, but it 

 does not seem to grow at all. Is al- 

 falfa meal a good substitute where 

 green food cannot be had? G. K. 



Answer An alfalfa patch is a good 

 thing to have for poultry, but if you 

 cannot have either clover or alfalfa, 

 plant for the little chickens, lettuce, 

 and for the older ones, kale, swiss- 

 chard, cabbage, beets, etc. These in 

 the order in which I have mentioned 

 them are the best foods that I know 

 of. You, of course, must judge what 

 will grow best in your section. Alfal- 

 fa meal is a very fair substitute for 

 green food, but of course does not 

 come up to the crisp succulent fresh 

 growing greens. 



Lack Green Food I have three 

 pens of White Plymouth Rocks and 

 what bothers me is I only get from 

 four to six eggs from them. They all 

 look fine. I think they are rather fat. As 

 to feed, I give them a small handful 

 of grain in the morning in deep straw, 

 either wheat or barley; about eleven a 

 dry mash eight quarts bran, four 

 quarts middlings and nearly a quart of 

 beef scraps; at night I give them the 

 dry grain again. Once in a while a 

 tablespoonful of pepper in their mash. 

 They are not troubled with lice or 

 mites, and have grit, oyster. shell and 

 coal before them all the time; also 

 good clean water. Can you advise 

 me how to feed them so as to get 

 them down to business? J. B. 



Answer What your hens lack is; 

 green food. At least one-third of a 

 hen's food should be green clover, 

 alfalfa or some succulent vegetables. 

 They cannot do well upon the abso- 

 lutely dry food you are giving them. 

 Add the green to your present ration 

 and you should get eggs. 



Millet Seed Can you tell me what 

 makes my chickens that are from ten 

 weeks to three months old, droopy? 

 Is millet seed good for little chicks 



