OBJECTIONABLE HABITS 



EGG AND FEATHER EATING— DE- 

 PRAVED APPETITES— CANNIBALISM 



USUALLY the poultryman can blame his own carelessness when his 

 fowls contract any of the following habits, habits that are not only 

 annoying but productive of real loss. Improper feeding, indif- 

 ferent care, overcrowding are fruitful sources of trouble. Make 

 your fowls scratch for grain, keep the houses and runs clean, provide all 

 needed variety of food, give them regular attention and you will not be con- 

 fronted with these abnormal conditions. 



EGG EATING 



Egg eating is a bad habit, usually caused by over-crowding, lack of 

 exercise and the use of low nests that are open to the light. Where open 

 nests are near the floor the birds get into them, scratch about in the nesting 

 material, and so break the eggs, after which the habit of egg-eating is quickly 

 formed. Frequently the habit is started by the birds finding a broken egg 

 under the roosts. They eat this and acquire the taste.for more. 



Treatment 



The most satisfactory remedy is to place the nests in the dark and have ■ 

 them elevated at least two feet above the floor. It has also been recom- 

 mended to trim the bird's beak until it is tender and then leave a few china 

 eggs lying about on the floor. A few pecks at these eggs with, the tender 

 beak is quite apt to break them of the habit. This treatment is rather cruel 

 and when used the birds should be fed their food in a trough or enough of it 

 so they will not have to pick it up from the hard floor, or feed soft fogd. 



Quite often it is almost impossible to break the bird that is a confirmed 

 egg eater as she will stand on the edge of the nest and wait for the others to lay 

 and at once devour the newly laid egg. We have seen this overcome by cut- 

 ting a hole in the center of the nest bottom and arranging the bottom so that 

 it will slope toward this hole. The egg when laid will roll through the hole 

 and drop onto a piece of cloth placed a few inches below on a slant so that 

 the egg will roll out of the way of those to follow. 



FEATHER EATING 



A very bad habit, usually the result of over-crowding and insuflScient 

 exercise, is feather eating. It is much more prevalent during the moult 

 when the young feathers furnish the animal food and salt the birds crave. 

 It can often be remedied by giving the birds a good feed of bologna sausage 

 which provides the meat and salt needed. Keep the birds busy 



98 



