MY METHOD OF FEEDING 63 



In the morning, feed a light feed of barley that has been soaked 

 and dried off, or wheat, say a quart to fifty hens in deep litter. Make 

 them scratch for this early meal, scratching starts the blood to cir- 

 culate and makes the hens warm up to business. If the weather is 

 cold, water them with fresh water either drawn from the well or from 

 the hydrant. Water is always warmer when fresh than if it stands 

 in the drinking vessels all night. 



At about nine A. Mr, give them a feed of sprouted oats, all they 

 will eat, and at one o'clock give a little dry bone in the litter or three 

 times a week a feed of beef scrap or fresh ground bone. 



At three o'clock another feed of sprouted oats or barley, and for 

 the evening meal as much wheat in the litter as they will scratch for, 

 they won't want very much. 



If there are any roots or vegetables give some of them to the hens, 

 only don't feed anything of too watery a nature. To vary things, if 

 you can not get bone feed, a little moist mash at noon made in a 

 crumbly state, not wet, and feed just a little for each hen, not enough 

 to gorge her. 



This is no starve-out system but a natural, healthy system of feed- 

 ing without stimulating any organ in the "hen's body. 



By this method of feeding it is possible to nourish the hen's body 

 so that what eggs are laid will have a positive potential energy, to 

 furnish the chick with a working base for life. 



The egg organs of a hen that has been stimulated for heavy egg 

 production by lots of meat, mash and poultry condiments are under 

 the microscrope seen to be in an inflamed condition. 



Healthy organs are always of a pinkish color; when that changes 

 to red, there is always more or less inflammation present. And when 

 eggs for hatching are produced under such conditions the chicks 

 inherit this tendency to inflammatory diseases. They may break out 

 in various ways, provided they live to maturity; some will have 

 rheumatism, others diarrhoea, and some may be all right apparently, 

 but have very little stamina. 



But a good wholesome method of feeding will bring them back 

 so that the second generation will be strong and healthy fowls. This 

 could not be done if fowls were very long lived because it would 

 take much longer to undo the mischief. 



Government Work For Poultry Industry 



During the past few years the Government has done some very 

 good work for poultrymen. When experiments are made by the 

 individual it always carries a bigger loss than the average man can 

 afford. Then again, the tests fail to satisfy many people who are so 

 built that they can only believe that which is given by authority. 



