FEEDING HENS 295 



Mineral Matter Necessary. — Laying hens should have 

 more mineral matter than is furnished in ordinary foods. 

 For this reason it is important that crushed oyster shells 

 be supphed in abundant quantities. The desire for mineral 

 matter in some form frequently causes the hen to eat her 

 own eggs. A flock of hens may be broken from this habit 

 by scattering a few china eggs on the floor. 



Grit Essential. — Although on most farms there is an 

 abundance of small bits of limestone or gravel about the 

 yards, still grit should be supplied artificially in the form 

 of crushed quartz, or " chit." It must not be forgotten 

 that the only teeth the hen has are those given to her in 

 the form of grit. 



Inducing Hens to Eat. — The poultryman's problem is 

 to induce the hen to eat an abundance of raw material so 

 that she can turn out a larger quantity of manufactured 

 product, rather than to see how small an amount of food 

 he can keep her on. 



Hens will eat when the attendant is around and makes 

 pretense of scattering grain in the litter. They have a 

 curiosity which causes them to peck at everything brought 

 into the room, and the more things that are brought in, 

 the better the chances are that they will eat. A good 

 maiiy times the quantity of grain scattered at the noon 

 feeding is neghgible, but the mere pretense of scattering 

 grain starts the hens to scratching and singing, a condition 

 most conducive to egg production. It has been said, and 

 truthfully, that the " singing hen is the laying hen." 



Variety Desirable. — Although standard mixtures should 

 be used, feeding should not be confined to any particular 

 mixture nor to any special ingredients. An effort should 

 be made always to have the food palatable and the 



