FEEDING OF FOWLS 69 



ucts of their own may modify it to advantage. Soured 

 skim-milk and table scraps will largely replace beef 

 scrap, particularly if chicks are on free range. Bread 

 moistened with milk is a good food for the first day or 

 two. Scalded clover leaves, either alone or mixed with 

 other feeds form a valuable addition to the rations, and 

 chicks a week old will eat wheat screenings. Buck- 

 wheat, barley, or rye should not be fed to young chicks. 



FEEDING OF LAYING HENS 



There has been so much written relative to feeding 

 laying hens that one is at a loss to know just where 

 to begin and what method to adopt. However, it may 

 be said that a ration for laying hens is not suitable 

 unless it contains enough of the food principles to main- 

 tain the bodily growth and to supply sufficient material 

 for the production of eggs; that is, protein, fats, carbo- 

 hydrates, ash, and water must be plentifully supplied 

 and in the proper proportions. 



A few suggestions that might be followed as a guide 

 for selecting a ration to be fed to hens are given here. 

 Never feed a ration containing any considerable amount 

 of fattening feed during the summer months, nor in a 

 climate that is continually warm. An all-corn ration 

 will not produce many eggs in winter, neither will a 

 ration composed entirely of wheat and oats do much 

 better. It is not necessary nor advisable to feed many 

 different kinds of grain, and, above all, a grain mixture 

 should not be fed unless its grain content is such as will 

 produce eggs. 



The most rapid assimilation and transformation of 

 feed into table products is accomplished by the hen and 

 the cow; the former is most active and when in good 

 producing condition transforms the food consumed into 

 eggs even more quickly than the cow transforms her 

 food into milk. Doctor Jordan, of the New York Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, says: "If you will con- 





