42 COMMERCIAL EGG FAEMING 



Then she comes back for a little more mast, 

 and then goes for a little more water. Thus, 

 with having to scratch for grain, moisten her 

 own mash, and go out in the yard for green 

 stuff is she kept busy. A busy hen is always 

 healthy, and more likely to be in condition 

 to lay. The wet-mash fed bird will often 

 swallow a lot of mash in a few minutes and 

 then loaf about in a corner. The result is 

 she puts on fat and does not lay. Again, the 

 dry-mash feeding is much the best for any- 

 one starting poultry farming, as the knowl- 

 edge required in properly wetting mashes and 

 feeding them is considerable. The dry 

 mash is left for the birds to help themselves, 

 and the moistening rests with them. 



The composition of dry mash varies with 

 the price of the feeds, and slightly with the 

 season. The proportion of nutrients that I 

 try to obtain for the dry mash is always such 

 that when combined with the grain fed in the 

 morning the nutritive ratio is one part pro- 

 tein to a little over four parts carbohydrates. 



I usually use ground oats and soy bean 

 meal in my mash, but at the present time 

 both these feeds are too dear for my pur- 



