212 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



Limitations of Feeding. Most poultry-keepers do not 

 realize the importance of good feeding; others place the 

 whole responsibility upon the food and feeding. Before 

 telling what food will do, let us first tell what it will not 

 do ; let us understand some of its limitations 



First. Good food and good feeding will not make some 

 hens lay ; they are not bred to lay. At the Oregon Station 

 one hen laid 259 eggs in one year ; another, fed on the same 

 food, laid six eggs. In another case one hen laid 268 and 

 a flock mate on the same ration laid three. Many other 

 similar instances might be given. This is referred to in 

 detail under the chapter on breeding. 



Second. Good feeding will avail little unless the fowls 

 have good housing or care, or, in other words, favorable 

 environment. 



"With good fowls and good housing, what will good feed- 

 ing do in the production or manufacture of eggs? 



Food Affects the Quality of Eggs. The hen is very 

 particular about what she puts into the egg, so particular 

 that probably no food could be fed that would render the 

 eggs totally unfit for consumption. At the same time it 

 has been demonstrated by experiment that food affects the 

 quality of the egg, and that to produce eggs of the highest 

 quality attention must be paid to the quality of the food. 



Flavor of Eggs. Heavy feeding of onions, for example, 

 will give a distinct flavor to the eggs and make them almost 

 unpalatable. Hens eating large quantities of beef scrap 

 will lay eggs of strong flavor. These facts the writer per- 

 sonally demonstrated by experiment. No doubt other foods 

 will also give a flavor to the eggs, desirable or undesirable. 

 It is said that a diet of fish will give a fishy taste to the eggs. 



It is not necessary, however, to discard these foods on this 

 account, for when fed in normal quantities they will not 



