248 POULTRY BREEDING 
Sprouted oats or even oats soaked a few hours are better 
than the dry grain. 
OATS, SPROUTED.— Oats that have been dampened 
and kept in a.warm place until they have started sprouts 
about an inch long are considered a valuable addition to 
the ration of either laying hens or growing chicks. The 
nutritive elements are changed as in the process of diges- 
tion when the grain begins to grow and the fresh sprouts 
take the place of other green feed. The common method 
of sprouting is to put the oats in a suitable receptacle, 
such as a box, and dampen them with warm water, leav- 
ing them in a warm place for 24+ hours. After this they 
are spread out to a depth of about an inch and kept damp, 
but not wet until the sprouts are the proper length. An- 
other method used in warm weather is to spread the oat 
on a platform laid on the ground in a sunny place and 
cover with about an inch of soil. This is kept damp un- 
til the sprouts appear above the surface, when it is taken 
up and given to the chicks or hens, the roots making it 
easy to cut out blocks with a hoe or spade. 
OVERFAT HENS.—The overfat hen is a myth. A 
hen never gets too fat to lay if she is given an opportunity 
to take plenty of exercise. Hens may be confined and 
fed until they are too fat to be healthy, but it is almost 
impossible to feed a hen too much if she is compelled to 
hunt her feed by scratching for it in litter. The best lay- 
ing hens are fed plenty of grain and beef scrap or green 
cut bone and green stuff or its substitute, clover or al- 
falfameal. 
OYSTER SHELL.—Oyster shells furnish material for 
egg shells. Ordinary feeds do not furnish enough lime 
for this purpose, and hens can not lay eggs without shell 
material. 
