110 The Business Hen. 



days I let them out, and commenced feeding a heavy ration, all they would 

 eat, in fact giving them a variety, and once a day a mash and also beef scrap 

 or animal meal. They had grass in the runs. Eight of them commenced 

 to moult in a very short time. They laid on their new coat very fast, and 

 were laying again in about six or seven weeks from the time I began. 

 These hens were laying at the time the experiment began. They laid 

 through the Winter and are still laying. One of the 10 it did not seem 

 to affect; she moulted at the usual time, and did not begin laying until 

 towards Spring. The other did not moult at all ; she carried her old coat 

 through the Winter and moulted this Spring. I did not give them anj 

 medicine or tonic." 



Dark spots are often noticed in eggs. They are probably caused by 

 the rupture of small blood vessels in the hen before the egg is shelled. 



Bare backs on hens are caused by feather picking or by the male. 

 When hens eat each other's feathers they usually pull out the soft down at 

 the base of the tail. It is better to kill a confirmed feather puller. This 

 bad habit is usually caused by idleness or lacTc of meat in the ration. 



The egg shells may be crushed fine and fed to the hens. When crushed 

 in this way they are not likely to cause egg eating. 



The best cure for egg eating is to kill the hen that is guilty of it. We 

 would do this except in the case of a valuable bird. By filing off the end 

 of the beak we can prevent most of the trouble. 



Leg weakness may be caused by rheumatism, a heavy male or roosts 

 that are too high. Rheumatism is often caused by low damp quarters or 

 by keeping the bird in a low coop on the ground. 



A good hospital for a sick hen is at the bottom of a flour barrel in 

 a nest of straw. 



Soft-shelled eggs are mostly caused by a lack of lime. Crushed oyster 

 shells or bone should be kept before the hens. Soft shells are also due to 

 troubles in the reproductive organs, fright or shock or to the presence of 

 too many males. 



