THE MOLTING SEASON 73 



fine health and vigor, have them molt in the shortest 

 time, with the least possible cessation of squab produc- 

 tion. 



Hemp as a feed for molting birds. — We have never 

 had satisfactory production during the molting period 

 until 1905. We made some changes in feeding which 

 we hoped might serve the double purpose of keeping 

 up the uniform good health of the flock, and of getting 

 them through feather shedding and growing in a short 

 time. This change in feed was made at the suggestion 

 of Mr. Cox, whose argument was that farmers gave 

 their horses flax seed with the idea that it facilitated 

 the shedding of their coats. He urged the use of this 

 or some other rich seed to see if molting might not be 

 shortened, the general health of the bird sustained, and 

 the yield of squabs kept up. Instead of using flax 

 seed, we decided to use hemp, an oily, rich grain we 

 thought might safely be fed with good results. 



How to feed hemp. — We gave 6 quarts of hemp in 

 the ration three times a week; that is, 6 quarts in 16 

 quarts of the ration. This we fed during the molting 

 season, with excellent results and no harmful conse- 

 quences. Nor did we stint the quantity of millet, 

 but continued using it in full amount every afternoon. 

 Our birds molted more evenly, worked better, looked 

 better, and we secured more squabs than during any 

 other molting season. In fact, the molting seemed to 

 make no difference to very many of the birds. We 

 had some birds working with their breasts entirely 

 bare. One week we killed 124 squabs and saved 20, 

 making a total of 144. Of these, 35 weighed, when 

 dressed, 14 ounces apiece, while two balanced exactly 

 1 pound each. We never before attempted to save 

 young birds during the molting season. We feel that 



