126 Maine; agricultural explriment station. 1906. 



within reach of all of the birds and they help themselves at 

 will. 



Oyster shell, dry cracked bone, grit and charcoal are kept 

 in slatted troughs and are accessible at all times. A moderate 

 supply of mangolds and plenty of clean water is furnished. 

 About 5 pounds of clover cut into inch lengths is fed dry^ 

 daily to each 100 birds, in winter. When the wheat, oats and 

 cracked corn are given, the birds are always ready and anxious 

 for them and they scratch in the litter for the very last kernel, 

 before going to the trough where an abundance of food is 

 in store. 



It is very evident that they like the broken and whole grains 

 better than the mixture of the fine, dr}- materials ; yet they by no 

 means dislike the latter, for they help themselves to it, a 

 mouthful or two at a time, whenever they seem to need it,, 

 and never go to bed with empty crops, so far as noted. They 

 apparently do not like it well 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 troughs at any convenient time, only- 

 guarding against an exhaustion of the supply, and the entire 

 avoidance of the mobbing, that always occurs at trough feed- 

 ing, when that is made the meal of the day, 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. 



The average amounts of the materials eaten by each hen 

 during the last year are about as follows : 



Grain and the meal mixture 90.0 pounds. 



Oyster shell 4.0 pounds. 



Dry cracked bone 2.4 pounds. 



Grit 2.0 pounds. 



Charcoal 2.4 pounds. 



Clover 10. o pounds. 



These materials cost about $1.45. 



The hens av^eraged laying 144 eggs each. 



