174 Farm Poultry 



those foods that are moldy or have objectionable 

 odors or flavors should be avoided. 



Forced feeding for eggs. It is maintained by 

 some authorities that, when hens are given a course 

 of forced feeding for egg production, their period 

 of usefulness is materially shortened. This, no doubt, 

 may be true in some instances, when the fowls 

 have been injudiciously fed. Experience has shown 

 that it is possible with ordinarily vigorous animals 

 to carry, the forcing process so far that many indi- 

 viduals will be permanently injured. These cases, 

 however, should be considered as extreme and do 

 not come within the province of judicious feeding. 

 The injury done to dairy animals by forced feeding 

 is undoubtedly chiefly due to the injudicious feed- 

 ing of unnatural foods. The injury is associated 

 mostly with the digestive functions. While it may 

 be possible to injure the digestion of laying hens by 

 forced feeding, yet the danger from this practice 

 is very much less with poultry than with other 

 classes of farm stock. Given a suitable ration and 

 an opportunity to take necessary exercise in pure 

 air, the hens' judgment as to quantity will not 

 often lead the poultryman astray. 



Egg production is a reproductive function, and 

 in this respect differs from milk production in 

 the dairy cow. To what extent this reproductive 

 function may be injured by feeding has not been 

 fully determined. It has been observed many times 



