POULTRY SECTION. 161 



Scatter the wheat and oats in the litter as a scratch food. Mix the bran, beef 

 scrap and Tonic, and feed dry in a hopper. Supply the necessary green food, grit, 

 oyster shells and plenty of pure water. In very cold weather add 20 lbs. of whole 

 cracked corn to the scratching food. The smaller breeds can stand more corn 

 than the larger varieties, because they are more active and use up more energy. 

 Corn tends to fatten the larger fowls unless they are made to e.xercise a great deal. 

 The question of feeding mashes, whether wet or dry, is one on which many 

 poultrymen dififer. Some get better results from the wet mash, others get better 

 results from the dry mash. We prefer using both methods. A variety gives relish 

 to the food. The more the fowls relish their food the more good will they get from 

 it. A hot or warm mash, wet just enough with water or milk to make it crumbly, 

 makes a good morning feed three or four times a week. When milk is fed to the 

 chickens less beef scrap or ground bone will be required. Milk, either sweet or 

 sour, is an excellent food for poultry. When fed in large quantities the flesh of 

 the fowl is much whiter and more tender. For this reason there is a demand for 

 milk-fed poultry, and a better price may be obtained. Dr. David Roberts' Calf 

 Meal is a good substitute for milk, as it contains the same elements. It may be 

 profitably fed to poultry instead of milk and the same results be obtained at less cost. 

 The following makes a good d"y mash mixture for laying hens : 



Wheat middlings 6 parts. 



Wheat Bran 4 parts. 



Corn Meal 4 parts. 



Beef Scrap 4 parts. 



Oil Jileal 1 part. 



Alfalfa Meal 1 part. 



Dr. Roberts' Poultry Tonic 1 part. 



Feed this mixture in a hopper, giving the fowls access to it in the afternoon 

 only. If they have it in the morning they are apt to fill up on the mash and not 

 get the exercise they need and obtain by scratching over the litter in quest of the 

 whole grains. 



GRIT, CHARCOAL, AND OYSTER SHELLS. 



Very often the cause of failure in the poultry business may be traced to an 

 insufficient supply of one or all of the following essentials in the poultry yard. All 

 fowls, large and small, young and old, must have grit of some kind. They cannot 

 grind their food without it, and their food must be ground up or it will not digest. 

 A large percentage of bowel trouble in fowls can be traced to the lack or scarcity 

 of grit. Do not make the common mistake of thinking that the fowls will find a 

 sufficient quantity by themselves. With a flock of hens or ducks ranging constantly 

 over the same ground day after day, every pebble is soon picked up and the supply 

 of grit is exhausted. Even when the fowls have free range, a box or hopper should 

 be kept well supplied with grit of some kind and placed where the fowls can help 

 themselves at will. The importance of this cannot be too strongly impressed on the 

 mind of the poultryman. 



Oyster shells are too soft to serve as grit. While they are a necessary part of 

 the ration, supplying the elements for building bone and shell, they cannot take 

 the place of grit. Cut clover is rich in lime and is a good food for producing egg 

 shells, but granulated bone or oyster shells should be kept in boxes or hoppers so 

 the fowls can supply their needs. 



Charcoal is an excellent aid to digestion and a good blood purifier. It may be 

 fed in a granulated form in hoppers, or it may be powdered and fed in the mash. 

 It will prevent many of the bowel disorders and is a valuable corrective of these 

 troubles. Charcoal will readily absorb gases and impurities. This is one reason 

 why it is such a valuable article of diet for the poultry. If it is the least bit damp 

 it ought to be placed in a hot oven and thoroughly dried out before feeding. 



A plentiful supply of clean, fresh water is important. Laying stock especially 

 needs lots of water. In ordinary -circumstances a laying hen will drink nearly half 

 a pint of water in a day. The drinking utensils must be kept scrupulously clean to 

 prevent diseases and infection. They should be thoroughly scalded out at least 

 once a week or oftener. The drinking water, if neglected, may be a great source of 

 contagion. The watery discharge from a roupy fowl dropping in the drinking 



