yO MAINE AGRICULTURAL LXPLRIMENT STATION. I9IO. 



Second month in laying house (October) : — 



Bran 200 lbs. 



Corn meal 100 lbs. 



j\Iiddlings 100 lbs. 



;' Gluten meal 100 lbs. 



Meat scrap 100 lbs. 



Third month in the laying house (November) : — 



The mash has the same composition as that of the second 

 month given above unth the addition of ^0 pounds of linseed 

 meal. 



Fourth month in the laying house : — 



The mash has the same composition as that of the second 

 month given abOve. 



Fifth month in the laying house : — 



The mash has the same composition as that of the third month 

 as given above. 



From this time on 50 pounds of linseed meal are put into the 

 mash as given for the second month above every alternate 

 month. That is to say, one month linseed meal is fed and the 

 next month it is not. 



This dry mash made as described above is kept before the 

 birds all the time in open hoppers of the type which has been 

 described in previous publications from this Station.* 



The advantages which it is believed have resulted from this 

 method of feeding the laying pullets are two fold : first, in the 

 good effect on the vitality of the birds, and, second, in its effect 

 on the evenness of egg production during the winter months. 

 It is a fact well known to poultrymen that if pullets are too 

 rapidly forced for tgg production in the early fall there is a 

 marked tendency for them to moult during the winter at just 

 the time when they should be doing their best work in tgg pro- 

 duction. Since adopting the method of feeding the pullets de- 

 scribed above, not only have the birds been much freer of 

 digestive troubles and diseases involving the liver, but also there 

 has been no moulting in the early winter after a short spurt of 

 tgg production in the fall months. On the contrary the Qgg 

 production on this plan begins in September and gradually and 

 steadily increases through the winter months. During the past 



*See Farmers' Bulletin 357 for a description of these hoppers. 



