POULTRY 427 



supposed, and green food should be a part of the ration the 

 year round. During the winter months it may be furnished in 

 the form of sprouted oats, mangel beets, or cabbage. Steamed 

 alfalfa, clover or cowpea leaves, or even the leaves as they 

 shatter from the hay, form a good substitute for fresh vegetation, 

 but are not so good as succulent food. 



564. Typical rations for laying hens. The following grain 

 ration is good for a mixed flock of laying hens : 



3 parts wheat 



2 parts cracked corn or kafir 



i part oats 



This should be fed with a dry mash from the following stock 

 mixture : 



60 pounds corn meal 30 pounds wheat bran 



60 pounds wheat middlings, 10 pounds alfalfa meal 



or shorts i o pounds linseed-oil meal 



50 pounds meat scraps i pound salt 



A good dry-mash ration for laying hens of the Mediterranean 

 or lighter varieties is as follows : 



PARTS BY WEIGHT 



Corn meal 3^ 



Wheat bran 5^ 



Wheat middlings, or shorts 3 



Linseed meal I 



Meat scraps 2.\ 



The scratching part of this ration should be whole corn and 

 wheat in equal parts. During the winter, silage may be used 

 freely in place of green feed. Oyster shell, grit, and charcoal 

 should be constantly before the fowls. 



565. How and when to feed. In the morning a light feed of 

 whole and cracked grain should be scattered over the feeding 

 floor in a deep litter of straw. At noon the mash hoppers should 

 be opened and they should be left open throughout the after- 

 noon. Green feed should also be fed if the birds are confined 

 or if the ground is frozen. The amount given should be about 

 what they will eat in from twenty minutes to half an hour. 



