June 1. 1911 



early in Florida as here in the North. Here 

 is a rei)ort, however, that seems to indicate 

 the contrary: 



A. I. Koot would be interested, to know that we 

 have a four-months pullet laying. 

 Sarasota, Florida. .1. II. Densmore. 



Sarasota is only a few miles fro!ii Braden- 

 town, and the writer of the abo\'e, if I ani 

 correct, has the ^Mlite Leghorn fowls. While 

 I am talking about chickens, let me say I 

 sold to a neighbor six pullets. I think they 

 were nine or ten months old. He was oblig- 

 ed to keej) them shut u]) in close quarters, 

 and I exjjlained to him something in regard 

 to the Philo system. As the i)ullets were 

 moved only a short distance they kept right 

 on laying, three, four, and five eggs a day; 

 and when Sundai/ came he had six eggs 

 from his six pullets. 



HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO FEED CHICK- 

 ENS? HOW CAN WE DO IT 

 MOST CHEAPLY? 



Can you give me some information as to the prop- 

 er kinds of food for chickens? also the cheapest kinds 

 of food to use, considered from the standpoint of 

 giving the best results, and how much will It cost 

 to keep 100 hens on the basis of 40 cts. per bushel for 

 potatoes, 40 cts. per cwt. for cabbage, 65 cts. per 

 bushel for barley, and 50 cts. per l)ushel for corn? 

 What proportions of each should be used? 



(ireen Bay, Wis., April l(i. W.m. Larsen. 



My good friend, I tlo not know whether 

 my answer will be satisfactory or not; but 

 you strike on a problem 1 have stutlied on a 

 great deal. Let me explain that our chick- 

 ens are all fed in galvanized tubs, hung up 

 by wires just high enough so the rats can 

 not get in, but so any chicken can get in 

 readily after it is three or four weeks old. 

 In this tub we keej) corn, wheat, and oats, 

 putting in enough to last several days. If 

 they pick out all the wheat first, then I put 

 in more wheat, and the same way with corn 

 and oats. I^et them balance the ration 

 themsehes. Now, if you buy a good quali- 

 ty of corn, wheat, and oats (of course you 

 can use barley, kafir corn, etc., if you 

 choose), you will find these staple grains are 

 very much cheaper than screenings or ani/ 

 sort of mixed feed. I have trieil again and 

 again dilTerent brands of mixed feed in the 

 tubs, and there is always a lot of stuff left 

 which the chickens will not eat. At the 

 same time, the i)arties that i)repare these 

 mixed foods and do such extensive advertis- 

 ing make a profit over and above the cost of 

 the grain, liuy your grain, if i)ossible, from 

 the farmer direct, and thus cut off the mid- 

 dleman. Besides the grain mentioned, you 

 want green stuff — alfalfa clover, Bermuda 

 grass, or in winter time cabbage and pota- 

 toes, carrots, mangel-wurzels, etc. At the 

 price you mention, it should not cost you 

 very much to keep your chickens. 



In regard to the i)roportion you mention, 

 I would let the chickens have wliat they 

 seem to prefer. Let them do their own bal- 

 ancing. If you skip wheat for a few days 

 you will notice they will all go for the wheat 

 with great avidity, and the same with corn 

 and oats; but I very much prefer to have 



349 



oatii that have been soaked for about 24 

 hours; then if you bury them in the tlirt so 

 they will si)rout, you have, i)erhai)s, the best 

 r/refii food, and, besides, the exercise of 

 scratching it out. 



In regard to the expense of keeping a lay- 

 ing hen for, say, a year, the old figures were 

 $L00 per hen. If on the farm, where they 

 juck up a large part of their feed, perhaps 75 

 cents would be about right. If only a few 

 are kept, however, 50 cents or less might 

 l)ay for the cash out. Down in Florida it 

 will cost from $1.25 to $1.75 — perhaps on an 

 average $1.50 a year. A growing chicken, 

 say after it gets to be tw-o or 1 hree pounds in 

 weight, will take as much food as a laying 

 hen. 



Now, if I am off in the above estimates I 

 hope some of the brethren will straighten 

 me up. By the way, potatoes are an excel- 

 lent food for chickens. In Florida they will 

 eat up every scraj) of potato ])arings or small 

 ])otatoes, or any thing in the potato line. 

 In the North the potatoes may have to be 

 l)oiled antl mixed up with bran mash. I 

 think it will pay every farmer to i)ick up 

 every potato, little and big, and save the 

 culls for our chickens in the winter time. 



.lust one thing more about a balancetl ra- 

 tion. After the chickens have had grain, 

 green food, and ground bones or beef scrap, 

 they will take with avidity a wet mash made 

 of bran and shorts. Do not make it wet -and 

 sloppy. At one time a pailful of bran mash 

 made by my colored man was left where a 

 chicken got into ifand was drowned. While 

 they will eat it in this shape, it is objection- 

 able in many ways. The mash should be 

 so dry that it will be crumbly. In this 

 shape it may be fed on the green grass with- 

 out any waste; and if you choose a fresh 

 place every time, there will be no tlanger of 

 disease from fermentation and souring of the 

 food. 



AN INDIAN RUNNER DUCK THAT PARAL- 

 LELS MY PARTICULAR DUCK; ALSO 

 SOMETHING ABOUT LAYING TWO 

 EGGS A DAY. 



8ee the following, which I clip from the 

 Rural New - Yorker: 



I have an Indian Runner duck which appears to 

 me to be a remarkable bird. I have read a good 

 many chicken stories that taxed my credulity to 

 the limit, and it is quite probable that many who 

 read the following statement will not believe it. 

 The duck referred to has laid i)8 eggs during the 

 past 9(i consecutive days, and the indications are 

 that she will extend thi.s wonderful record still 

 further before taking a rest. I do not ascribe this 

 abundant yield to my method of feeding and care, 

 but rather to the exuberance of her productive na- 

 ture. Eggs are large and white. I have been able 

 to catch her on the nest but twice. 1 attach affida- 

 vit. 



Maryland. K. S. Kino. 



Mr. King sends a signed affidavit in support of 

 his statement.— Ed. 



In the above case the duck laid, apparent- 

 ly, a little more than an egg a day. The 

 above report strikes also on a point recently 

 brought out by a writer in the Jacksonville 

 (Florida) Times- Union. This writer says 

 that no hen lays an egg e.c(ieily every 24 



