FEEDING FOR EO-O PRODUCTION 



203 



Of the high vegetable protein feeds cotton-seed meal has 

 given good results, followed by peanut meal, soy-bean meal, 

 and velvet-bean meal, named in the order of their value. 

 Not over one tenth of the mash should consist of cotton- 

 seed meal, as the use of a larger amount than this is likely 

 to affect the egg jdeld considerably and may affect the qual- 

 ity of the eggs. 



Green feeds. Green feeds are a necessary part of the 

 hen's rations and should be supplied to her when confined in 

 small yards and 

 also during the 

 winter, when no 

 green feed is 

 available. Free 

 range or large 

 yards kept in 

 grass will fur- 

 nish ideal green 

 feed. Where 

 smaller yards 

 have to be used, 

 they should be 

 divided, if pos- 

 sible, into two 

 parts, as discus- 

 sed in the chap- 

 ter on poultry houses, and used alternately, planting the 

 vacant yard several times a year with a quick-growing green 

 crop, such as rape, oats, wheat, rye or barley. In this way 

 green feed is supplied and also helps to keep the ground sweet 

 and clean. Other green feeds that can be fed especially in 

 winter are sprouted oats, alfalfa meal, chopped alfalfa, and 

 clover hay, cabbages, and mangel beets. Cabbages are fed 



Figure 201. — Green feed can be grown in yards of 

 small size by sowing wheat, oats, or rye in a 2 x 4 

 frame, covering the frame with small mesh wire, 

 and surrounding it with a portable fence to keep 

 the fowls away until the grain is of sufficient size. 

 The fence can then be removed, allowing the 

 fowls to eat the green feed. The wire over the 

 top of the frame keeps the fowls away from the 

 roots of the plants. 



