lO METHODS OF POULTRY MANAGEMENT, 



These matters are considered farther on in tliis circular (see 

 pages 34-54). There are, however, certain basic princi- 

 ples of hygienic feeding which must always be looked after if 

 one is to avoid diseases. These are : 



A. Purity. It should be a rule of every poultryman never 

 to feed any material which it not clean and wholesome. Musty 

 and mouldy grain, tainted meat scraps or cut bone, table scraps 

 which have spoiled, and decayed fruits or vegetables should 

 never be fed. If this consideration were always kept in mind 

 many cases of undiagnosed sickness and deaths, and low condi- 

 tion in the stock would be avoided. Keep all utensils in which 

 food is placed clean. 



B. Avoid Overfeeding. Intensive poultry keeping involves 

 of necessity heavy feeding, but one should constantly be on 

 the lookout to guard against overfeeding, which puts the bird 

 into a state of lowered vitality in which its natural powers of 

 resistance to all forms of infectious and other diseases are re- 

 duced. The feeding of high protein concentrates like linseed or 

 cotton seed meal needs to be particularly carefully watched in 

 this respect. 



C. Provide Plenty of Green Food. Under natural condi- 

 tions poultry are free eaters of green grass and other plants. 

 Such green food supplies a definite need in metabolism, the 

 place of which can be taken by no other sort of food material. 

 It is not enough merely to supply succulence in the ration. 

 Fowls need a certain amount of succulent food, but they also 

 need fresh green food. It is desirable to provide for a succes- 

 sion of green food throughout the year. The succession fol- 

 lowed at the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station is as fol- 

 lows : 



Beginning in the early fall when the pullets are put in the 

 laying house the}^ are given green corn fodder cut fine in a 

 fodder cutter. Stalks, leaves and ears are cut together in 

 pieces averaging about t-2 inch in length. The birds eat this 

 chopped corn fodder greedily. It is one of the best green foods 

 for poultry that we have as yet been able to find. Its useful- 

 ness is limited only by the season within which it is possible to 

 get it. The feeding of corn fodder is continued until the frost 

 kills the plants. 



