Feeding 63 



cease to lay. Her instinct is blunted by the unnatural food. 

 We must balance her ration for her, and do it properly if 

 we ever expect to succeed. The only way we can learn this 

 is by carefully observing the effect different foods have upon 

 hens under different conditions. 



If you wish to learn the business get fifty or one hundred 

 healthy hens and experiment upon groups of five placed in 

 pens. By doing this you will get experience at the lowest 

 possible cost. There is no danger of your losing much money 

 in this way, and you will thus find out whether or not you 

 want to go into the poultry business. Read this book care- 

 fully and do not get on wrong roads and lose time thereby. 

 Keep your ration as simple as possible. 



I have taken charge of many places where the hens were 

 in bad condition. All had bowel trouble and hundreds of 

 them would remain on the roost all day and refuse to eat. 

 Such hens are the kind that I like to work with, although it 

 may be very discouraging, for one can learn from them 

 things that never can be learned from hens in good condition. 

 You think the food has nothing to do with their condition, 

 but turn them out where there is plenty of bugs, grain and 

 green food, and before you know it they are laying and as 

 healthy as any hens you ever saw. 



Learn all you possibly can about feeding a simple ration. 

 You will find enough variations in grains without going after 

 them in the form of different foods. Have several pens on 

 the same food and run your experiments until you are able 

 to see the exact results that each change brings. Notice the 

 condition of each hen in every pen. When you change the 

 food remember her condition if you possibly can, as she may 

 not be in the same condition as the other hens and it may 

 take her longer to come into condition. 



