646 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



this line at the Central experimental 

 farm in Canada, resulted in showing that 

 stimulating and fattening foods, which 

 tend to produce eggs in Minorcas, Leg- 

 horns and Andalusians, made Brahmas, 

 Cochins and Langshans so fat as to lay 

 soft shelled eggs. Plymouth Kocks and 

 Wyandottes should be fed like the Asiat- 

 ic meat breeds. Foods good for late 

 hatched pullets make older hens too fat 

 for good laying and such hens should, 

 therefore, be kept separate. 



Condition powders for hens — A large 

 number of condition powders or proprie- 

 tary poultry foods are offered on the 

 market as food to make hens lay. An- 

 alysis of these foods at the Connecticut 

 station shows that they are much alike 

 in composition, containing meat, bone, 

 pepper, various seeds, meals, sulphur, 

 iron compounds, salts and other familiar 

 substances and sell for enormous prices, 

 as compared with their nutritive value. 

 Tests at the Massachusetts Hatch station 

 during three years indicate no advan- 

 tage from feeding this material. It is 

 believed that poultry keepers throw away 

 money when they purchase these arti- 

 cles. A little care in compounding 

 suitable rations on the part of the far- 

 mer will make it entirely unnecessary to 

 purchase these feeds. 



Alfalfa and clover meals for hens — 

 Alfalfa hay and clover hay are ground 

 and put on the market in the form of 

 meal and sold as feed for hens and 

 chicks. Both are rich in protein and val- 

 uable foods, but the cost in this form is 

 double or treble what it is in the chaffed 

 form and is practically no better for 

 hens than the cut and moistened ma- 

 terial. 



Green food for laying hens — Some 

 kind of green food is essential for the 

 greatest egg production. Where the 

 hens are kept in pens throughout the 

 year, this should be supplied to them 

 either in the form of cut grass, roots, 

 or cabbage. During the winter and 

 early spring months, mangels are as ef- 

 ficient as anything, and are easily 

 grown. They should be fed cut in half 

 lengthwise rather than in slices, as when 

 cut small the pieces are likely to become 

 soiled before eaten while large pieces 

 keep clean until eaten. 



During the growing season clover or 

 alfalfa either in the form of pasture or 

 cut and given to hens will be found 



exceedingly useful. In experiments at 

 the Massachusetts Hatch station there 

 was not much difference in egg produc- 

 tion when clover or cabbage was fed to 

 hens in winter time, though slightly the 

 more eggs were produced on the cabbage 

 ration. The flavor of the eggs on this 

 ration was slightly inferior. In one ex- 

 periment hens receiving green feed, such 

 as cabbage, rape and apples, averaged 

 115 eggs each a year and without green 

 food, 90 eggs each. Cabbage should be 

 bung up so that the hens can easily get 

 at it. Alfalfa or clover hay should be 

 chaffed into half-inch lengths and soft- 

 ened with boiling water or steam before 

 feeding. It is usually fed mixed with 

 the mash given. Kale and beet leaves 

 are relished by chickens, as well as 

 pumpkins, and in fact any green food. 



Grit and oyster shells — Hens must 

 have a supply of grit. On gravelly 

 farms, if they run at large, they will 

 secure an abundance, but on clayey 

 farms it may be necessary to supply 

 grit the year around, summer and win- 

 ter, whether the hens run out or not. 

 Small pieces of crushed stone, pebbles, 

 crockery ware or pounded glass will 

 prove satisfactory. 



The ordinary grains and green foods 

 do not contain enough lime to produce 

 egg shells. Coarsely ground oyster 

 shells furnish lime in a readily available 

 form for egg production. A pound of 

 oyster shells is sufficient to furnish 

 enough lime for about seven dozen eggs. 

 "Fine gravel containing limestone will 

 probably as well supply the deficiency of 

 lime existing in most foods, but the use 

 of some sharper grit with it may be of 

 advantage. An unlimited supply of 

 pounded glass has been fed without any 

 bad results following but it was found 

 that the hens would eat an abnormal 

 amount unless grit or some other mate- 

 rial containing lime was available." 

 Transparent glass contains about 5 per 

 cent of lime, but is wholly unavailable 

 for egg production, as it is insoluble in 

 any of the ordinary acids. 



Salt for hens — Very small amounts of 

 salt will suffice for hens. At the New 

 York state station it was found that 

 about 1 ounce of salt might be fed 

 daily to each 100 hens. As much as 4 

 to 6.3 ounces a hundred hens was fed 

 without affecting egg production in- 

 juriously, though the latter amount pro- 

 duced diarrhoea in two of the hens. 



