292 PRACTICAL POULTRY PRODUCTION 



that are fattened by confining them to their pen or house 

 should be fed a mash composed of 3 pounds of corn meal, 

 1 pound of middlings, 1 pound of bran, and 1 pound of ground 

 oats, slightly moistened with skim milk or water, in the 

 morning and at noon. In addition to this, feed a grain mix- 

 ture of equal parts of cracked corn and wheat for the even- 

 ing meal, keeping a pan of skim milk when available or 

 water before the birds constantly to drink. Chickens fat- 

 tened by this method of feeding are called "milk-fed." 



HENS 



As the majority of hens after reaching a certain age do 

 not lay enough eggs to pay for their feed, care, and atten- 

 tion, they should be marketed. As a rule hens of the heav- 

 ier breeds, such as the Plymouth Rocks, cease to produce 

 a profitable number of eggs after they are two years old. 

 Consequently fowls of this class should be marketed as 

 soon after this time as possible, so that the feed may be fed 

 more profitably to the pullets and younger hens. It will be 

 found, when culling, that many fowls of the lighter breeds, as 

 the Leghorns, can be kept profitably for three years or longer. 



Time to market. Usually the best time to market old 

 hens, especially those that molt early, is during July and 

 August. The number of eggs produced by hens while they 

 are molting is very small and in the majority of cases no 

 eggs are produced during this time. Hens culled from the 

 flock as non-producers should be marketed soon after cull- 

 ing, in order to save feed. 



How to market. Ordinarily it is not advisable to 

 attempt to fatten hens for market that are two years old or 

 over, for in the majority of instances they are fat enough. 

 Hens that are not in good flesh, however, such as the smaller 

 breeds, should be placed in a coop, as shown in Figure 284, 

 and fed a fattening ration for a week or ten days before kill- 

 ing. By doing so, such fowls, when placed on the mar- 



