37 



making up the ration the ingredients are weighed, not measured, 

 and the fat is multiplied by 2.25 (or 2^) to reduce it to carbo- 

 hydrates. 



A wide ration is one in which the protein is largely exceeded 

 by the carbohydrates ; a narrow ration is one in which the protein 

 and carbohydrates are more nearly equal. As a matter of fact, 

 anything exceeding 1 : 6 would be called a wide ration, and any- 

 thing under it a narrow one. 



SOME THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND. 



The reader who has followed me carefully will see how abso- 

 lutely impossible it is to feed a flock of hens by rule. Common 

 sense must come in. A ration that would be correctly balanced 

 for one day would not be balanced for the next. For instance, 

 on a very cold day in winter we burn twice as much coal to keep 

 warm as on a mild day; and on the same day the flock would 

 require a much wider ration (more carbohydrates or warming up 

 food) than on a mild day or in midsummer. 



Fortunately the hen has considerable power of adjustment, 

 and so survives our well-meaning but bungling and imperfect 

 efforts to feed her scientifically. If we do not feed enough, she 

 draws upon her reserve; and if we feed too much she has the 

 power of passing the excess through the body unassimilated. It is 

 for this reason that I advocate feeding generously. Nature can 

 take care of a surplus if it is not too great, but the only way in 

 which she can meet a deficit is by drawing on her reserve. 



The reader, too, will now see why it is that one poultryman 

 feeds one way, and another another, and both have good results. 

 The principal thing is to get your ratios with succulent, nutritious 

 food; and if you do this your hens are sure to respond with a 

 goodly output of eggs. 



GREEN FOOD. 



What is the value of green food in the daily ration? Its great 

 value is that it makes it more digestible ; it lightens up the ration 

 and makes it possible for the gastric juices to permeate every 

 particle. Then, too, green food often contains certain mineral 

 salts that the birds need, in a soluble and digestible form. Green 

 food should form a portion of the daily bill of fare, either in the 

 mash or separately. "In the winter and early spring months, 

 mangel-wurzels, if properly kept, may be fed to good advantage. 



