148 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



It is the practice of a few growers to save their last cutting of alfalfa 

 hay for poultry, although any cutting is good. The hay is generally 

 put through a cutter. Some people cut it in six- or eight-inch lengths, 

 while others cut it as fine as possible. Still others grind it into a meal. 



Alfalfa as a winter feed for poultry is very frequently scalded or 

 soaked. It is often fed in this condition with bran or grain as a warm 

 mash on winter mornings. Still there are many growers who prefer to 

 feed it dry. Few growers mention the amount of alfalfa it is proper to 

 feed. One grower reports that 100 hens will consume three bushels of 

 leaves per week. However, grain should always form a very large part 

 of the poultry ration. 



FlG. 137. Alfalfa pasturage keeps the hens in good condition and makes them lay. 

 [Courtesy National Alfalfa Journal.] 



During the growing season alfalfa is most economically fed by per- 

 mitting the poultry to have free range over the fields. 



The following reports indicate the ideas of growers about alfalfa as 

 a poultry feed: 



Logan county: "It is great for laying hens. Winter morning feed on 

 this farm consists of scalded alfalfa leaves and shorts, all they can eat." 



Wallace county: "Take alfalfa leaves and mix some ground milo 

 shorts, bran or corn meal with them; pour boiling water over the mix- 

 ture at night ; cover the vessel and let it steam. It will be fine feed in 

 the morning, especially in the winter." 



