296 THE RURAL EFFICIENCY GUIDE STOCK 



Supply a nest for every four or five hens. Keep the nests clean and free 

 from vermin. 



Gather the eggs regularly at least once each day. 



Give the hens a dust bath. Laying hens must have their morning dust 

 bath if they are to lay the maximum number of eggs through the winter. It 

 is a necessary luxury for them. By its use they are enabled to rid themselves 

 of mites and to remove all scales and dirt from the skin. Lice and mites do 

 their greatest injury to the fowls at night, while on the roost. Instinctively 

 they look for a place to dust in the morning. Do not force the hens to dust 

 in the droppings or feed litter. During the summer they usually find their 

 own dusting place such as the road or in the shade of trees and shrubbery, but 

 in winter it must be provided for them. Nail an old grocery box in one corner 

 of the house. Elevate it above the floor so that it will not become filled with 

 straw or litter and put in six or eight inches of dusting material. A little 

 slaked lime added to it would not hurt anything. 



Give the hens some ground mustard in their feed if they are not laying. 

 It will work like magic. Look up "mustard" for feeding. 



Feed a mash once a day. The afternoon is a good time to feed it 



Provide plenty of grit and ground oyster shells. 



Feed about three pounds of succulent food, such as sprouted oats, daily. 



Do not allow birds out of their house when there is snow on the ground. 



Feed balanced rations, those carrying the proper proportion of protein, 

 carbohydrates and fats. 



Feed evenly and regularly, not a feast today and a famine tomorrow. 



Feed scratch grains morning and evening. Scatter the grain in the litter. 

 Birds need exercise. 



Provide fresh, warm drinking water. Clean the water dishes every day. 



Nests. 



It is believed that there is no other one factor which contributes to the 

 great total of bad eggs so much as poor nests. On most farms there are only 

 about eleven nests for one hundred hens and these nests are improperly 

 located and dirty. Such a situation means that 50% of the fowls must seek 

 nests for themselves. This 50% usually seek places under the corn crib, 

 straw stack, in the horse stable or out in the weeds, and these are the very 

 places where there is an abundance of vigorous bacterial growth flourishing 

 upon the moisture and warmth. As a result, when a nest full of such eggs is 

 found, fifty to eighty per cent of them have already developed into seconds, 

 blood rings and rots. 



Many farmers think that even though good nests are provided the hens 

 will not utilize them, that the hens prefer to choose their own nests. This is 

 true in some instances. However, it has been found that on farms where one 

 nest is provided for every four or five hens, 95% of the eggs are laid in them. 

 Of course, the nests must be clean and free from vermin. It yields no profit 

 to the farmer when the hens lay well but he is not able to find the eggs. 



