312 



Nature-Study Agriculture 



" Too fat 

 to Lay " 



The 

 amount 

 that a hen 

 will eat 



Proportions 

 to be fed 



N. Y. Zoological Society 



The jungle fowl of southeastern Asia, from which our domestic 

 Notice the resemblance to a gamecock. 



FIG. 252. 



chickens are descended 



that they are too fat to lay. Hens seldom become 

 over-fat because they get too much feed they can 

 hardly get too much of the right kinds of feed but 

 because they get too much starchy feed, generally grain, 

 which makes fat, and too little feed containing protein, 

 such as meat, milk, or oil meal, which makes eggs. 



The amount of feed that a Leghorn hen should have in 

 a year has been found to be about seventy-two pounds, 

 not including green feed. About one half of this amount 

 should be whole grain, the other half ground feed or 

 " mash " (Figs. 254 and 255). The grain ration may be 

 made up of a mixture of any two or three of the ordinary 

 grains, as wheat, corn, oats, barley, or milo. If hens 

 do not have plenty of room in which to range, their graip 



