ried to hoppers by hand. This represents little difference from servicing 

 pens by carrier, or in part by hand, and requires a more elaborate setup 

 than having bulk feed available in the grain room. Bulk feed, however, 

 decreases physical effort, and facilitates the use of certain labor-saving 

 equipment such as elevators and horizontal conveyors on larger farms. It 

 eliminates the necessity for handling 100-pound bags, although filling a given 

 unit by gravity rather than by lifting and dumping bags may save little 

 time. Bulk feed lends itself well to fully-automatic feeding setups. Hence, 

 of more significance to poultrymen than time savings from simpler bulk 

 feed setups are the time savings to be realized by the installation of overhead 

 carriers and automatic feeders. The savings in chore steps made possible 

 by use of a carrier were diagramatically illustrated in Station Circular 73.* 

 In Table 14, there is a savings of 0.5 minutes daily per 100 layers between 

 carrying grain into pens in pails from the grain room and using a carrier 

 in feeding. The data also indicate a possibility of saving an additional 1.7 

 minutes daily by using an automatic feeder. 



Table 14. Man Minutes Required Daily to Feed 100 Layers Under Various Systems 



Multiple Single 



Type of System Story Houses Story Houses 



1. Central grain room for farm, scattered individual 



houses served manually from this point 8.0 



2. One grain room per house; feed carried to other 



floors and into pens in pails 5.6 5.9 



3. Grain room on most floors, but some served by 

 spouts and/or carrying; feed carried into pens 



in pails 3.4 — 



4. Grain room on each floor, systematically located; 



feed carried into pens in pails 2.7 — 



5. Grain room on each floor, systematically located; 

 bulk or bagged feed; feed carried to pens on 



carrier, in bags, and in pails 2.4 



6. Grain room on each floor, systematically located; 



pens serviced entirely by carrier 2.2 2.7 



7. Pens served by carrier, series of storage barrels 



in pens filled; feed carried to hoppers in pails — 2.5 



8. Bulk bins in each large pen; feed carried to 



hoppers in pails 2.1 — 



9. Grain located in center each smaller pen; feed 



carried to hoppers in pails — 1.2 



10. Combinations of bulk and bagged feed, with and 

 without carrier to pens; using automatic feeders 



for part of feeding 1.6 



11. Bulk feed; using automatic feeders, mash and 



scratch 0.5 



12. Bagged feed stored on second floor; downspout to 

 automatic feeder below; all mash system 0.33 



* Piper, E. H. Chore Practices on New Hampshire Commercial Poultry Farms, 

 N. H. Agr. Exp. Sta., Sta. Circ. 73, June 1946, p. 4. 



26 



