The Business Hen. 



Fig. 34. SELF-FEEDING GRIT BOX. 



composed of a mixture of grain and meat is very useful for part of the 

 ration. As we might naturally expect, corn is the best single grain for 

 sitting hens where the object is to keep up the high animal heat, and for 

 feeding birds that are intended for fattening. Corn gives a high color 

 to the yolks of the eggs and to the meat. Wheat comes much nearer to 

 being a "balanced ration" than corn, and where it can be bought to advan- 

 tage is very useful. We can use our table of figures to learn whether 

 it will pay best to buy wheat or with the same money buy corn and some 

 form of meat. Wheat alone gives an egg with a pale yellow yolk. We 



find that wheat bran, which is 

 the outer shell of the wheat ker- 

 nel, has much the same effect. 

 Oats are excellent in limited 

 quantities, but are seldom bought 

 to be fed whole, and on most 

 farms are considered better for 

 the horses. We have heard com- 

 plaints when dry oats are fed in 

 large quantities to hens. We 

 would rather crush them to mix 

 in the mash or boil them if fed 

 whole. Some experienced poul- 

 trymen say that oats give "spirit" to a hen as they do to a horse, and 

 for that reason are very useful — better fed whole than crushed. Oatmeal 

 is a favorite food for little chicks, the same as for young colts or calves. 

 Buckwheat is largely fed in some sections where the crop is grown. Hens 

 probably give a better return for whole buckwheat than any other stock. 

 Outside of buckwheat sections it would hardly pay to buy this grain. It 

 is a stimulating food, as many people realize who eat too many buckwheat 

 cakes. On the average farm corn is the chief food for hens, and the 

 usual problem is to find some cheap supply of muscle makers in order 

 to "balance" the corn. The advice to throw the whole or cracked grain 

 into the litter in Winter so that the hens must scratch in order to find 

 it is sound, and is the general practice. If this is done, however, the litter 

 must be clean and dry. If we let the straw, leaves, hulls or whatever is on 

 the floor get damp and filthy we should not throw the grain there. Such 

 filth will give just the conditions needed to spread disease. We should 

 never throw the grain into the mud or into filth. If we feed in the litter 

 we must have clean floors with the litter frequently changed. 



MUSCLE-MAKING FOODS.— Meat in some form may be considered 

 a necessity in the laying hen's ration. Left to herself the hen gets her 

 supply in the form of insects. "Animal Meal" and similar powders are 

 cooked meat and bone thoroughly dried and ground fine. They give a 



