64 The Truth About the Poultry Business 



If the reader will follow me carefully, I will take him 

 through fifteen years of experimenting in a few pages. 



The first experiments will be on hens in good condition, 

 and the last experiments will be with hens that are out of 

 condition. This will give him an idea of the difficulties of 

 the poultry business and will be of the greatest value to those 

 who are trying to make a success of it. 



It is not enough that poultry books should say "use lots 

 of common-sense in feeding poultry" or recommend such 

 and such a grain for hens. Writers say that a little of this 

 grain and a little of that is good for a hen, but such advice 

 is worthless, for adding or taking away a half part of meat 

 (in such a ration as No. 9, given below) when you are feed- 

 ing, say, 6Y2 parts of mash to one of meat, or changing to a 

 different brand of beef-scrap or mill-feeds or grains, or chang- 

 ing the ground grains in the mash constitutes the difference 

 between success and failure. You have to be very particular; 

 one part more or less makes a great difference in many 

 rations. 



We shall now start out with directions for experimenting 

 on hens in small numbers — five hens to a pen. As there is 

 no perfect ration in existence for all locations, climates, and 

 conditions of 'hens, we wish to know the faults of each 

 ration, how each acts on hens in poor condition as well as 

 on those in good condition. We shall state these faults after 

 each formula, so that you can take advantage of the knowl- 

 edge thus supplied, and if you go into the business and 

 encounter certain troubles you will know what causes them 

 and how to correct them. 



In starting to experiment we must have a foundation feed 

 to work from. All rations are measured, not weighed. 



