POULTRY BREEDING. 
AGE OF BREEDING STOCK.—\WV hile there is much 
to indicate that pullets are as valuable as older hens as 
breeders, it is a general opinion among poultrymen that 
hens more than a year old are better for this purpose than 
yearlings. It is certain that hens past their second sum- 
mer-lay larger eggs than pullets and it would seem that 
the older hens would be more fully matured. 
ANIMAL FEEDS.—The hen is a meat-eater. A bul- 
letin by Prof. James Dryden, of the Oregon Experiment 
Station, gives the following concerning animal feeds for 
fowls: “Animal feed of some kind is necessary to fowls 
to maintain their health and vigor and make them pro- 
ductive of either meat or eggs. A knowledge of this has 
done more to increase the poultryman’s profits than any 
other thing in poultry feeding. The scarcity of eggs in 
winter is largely due to lack of animal feed. The fact 
that when chickens are given the liberty of fields in sum- 
mer they find feed in the form of bugs, angleworms, 
grasshoppers and other insects, escapes the notice of the 
farmer, and in the winter he does not see the necessity 
of feeding it. In most parts of the country in winter 
chickens are unable to obtain animal feed in the fields, 
especially in sections where snow covers the ground. In 
western Oregon, with its mild winters, they find many 
angleworms, especially during the rainy season. But in 
most sections, if not in all, fowls must be liberally fed 
with animal feed for best results. 
“There are a number of ways in which animal feed may 
be fed. Fresh, lean meat is undoubtedly the best kind of 
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