FEEDING THE LAYING HENS 55 



hire everything else done, the feeding we would feel com- 

 pelled to personally attend to. We formerly fed green 

 cut bone, but had so much difficulty in obtaining it, and in 

 the summer time it was so often spoiled that we have been 

 using meat meal, which is no more expensive and as far 

 as we can see, from about a year's use, accomplishes fully 

 as good results both in health, vigor and egg production. 



Nothing Equal to Oats. 



There are some people foolish enough to believe that 

 oats are liable to injure fowls by swelling and packing in 

 and piercing their crops. We have yet to find the person 

 who iias ever known personally of such a thing happening, 

 and in all the time , we have fed whole, dry oats we have 

 ■never had the slightest reason to believe the oats were 

 any more injurious to their crops than wheat, and we feed 

 nearly all whole oats to our hens. There is no whole grain 

 equal to oats as an egg producer, and when the poultry 

 keepers get to feeding it more generally we shall not hear 

 so many complaints of overfat hens and poor layers. 



One important consideration in the feeding of oats is to 

 feed good, plump, heavy grain. The quality of oats is not 

 so apparent to the inexperienced as would be the quality of 

 other grains. We endeavor to always buy the heaviest 

 oats possible and all grain of first quality we consider the 

 cheapest in the end. 



In the conclusion of these thoughts on feeding for eggs, 

 we desire to say that some of the most common causes of 

 failure in obtaining eggs in the winter is lack of fresh air. 

 The hens should be allowed to run out whenever the weather 

 is warm enough to not freeze their combs and tjie houses- 

 should be aired out thoroughly in the warm part of the day,, 

 every day during the winter except when it is so cold that 

 it is entirely impractical. We keep our house open (have 

 wire netting, one inch mesh,' on windows) the year round 

 jiistas much as the weather will permit. If these directions 

 are followed with a properly constructed house, free from 

 drafts, and the fowls are not allowed to crowd too much 

 on the roosts, colds and roup will be unknown diseases,, 

 except they be introduced through infected birds. 



