44 MliTIlOnS OF l.'UL'LTRY MANAGEMENT, 



.apparently do not like it \yell enough to gorge themselves with 

 :it, and sit down, loaf, get over fat, and lay soft-shelled eggs, as 

 is so commonly the case with Plymouth Rocks when they are 

 given warm morning mashes in troughs. 



Some of the advantages of this method of feeding are that 

 the mash is put in the hoppers at any convenient time, only 

 guarding against an exhaustion of the supply, and the entire 

 .avoidance of the mobbing that always occurs ai Lrough feeding 

 when that is made a meal of the clay, whether it be at morning 

 •or evening. There are no tailings to be gathered up' or wasted, 

 as is common when a full meal of mash is given at night. The 

 labor is very much less, enabling a person to care for more 

 birds than when the regular evening meal is given. 



Taking first the dry grains, the following may be said in 

 regard to the method in which the}- are fed : Early in the morn- 

 ing for each loo hens 4 quarts of whole or cracked corn is 

 scattered on the litter, which is 6 to 8 inches deep on the floor. 

 This is not mixed into the litter, for the straw is dry and light, 

 and enough of the grain is hidden so the birds commence 

 .■scratching for it almost immediately. At 10 o'clock they are 

 fed in the same way 2 quarts of wheat and 2 quarts of oats. 

 This is all of the regular feeding that is done. 



When corn is used freely and made a prominent factor in the 

 rrtion it has been thought best to have the kernels broken, so 

 tliat in hunting and scratching for the small pieces the birds 

 might get the exercise needed to keep themselves in health and 

 vigor. It was reasoned that even a small quantity of whole 

 ■corn could be readily seen and picked up from the straw litter 

 with little exertion, and that the vices of luxury and iilcness 

 would follow. In order to test this view an experiment was 

 carried out at the Station in the winter of 1906-7 in which 

 whole corn was substituted for cracked corn in the ration of 

 500 laying pullets. A control lot of 500 received cracked corn. 

 All other conditions affecting the two lots were kept as nearly 

 identical as possible. Tlie result of the experiment was that 

 there was no appreciable difference in regard to either egg 

 production, health, or general well-being between the two 

 flocks of birds. 



The litter which the Station now uses for its houses in prefer- 

 'Cnce to ?11 others which haxe been tried, consists of a mixture 



