154 THE CORNING EGG FARM BOOK 



Do Not Overfeed 



The Mash Boxes are most carefully watched, and 

 the moment there is the slightest inclination not to 

 clean the Mash up thoroughly, the quantity is cut 

 down. 



It would be somewhat easier if all the hens would 

 moult simultaneously, but this they do not do, and so 

 the needs of the different individuals during the moult- 

 ing period have to be looked after. 



With the Leghorn, the combs shrink, and almost 

 go down to nothing in many cases. It is quite im- 

 possible, in looking over a large number of yearling 

 hens at this time in their lives, to believe that the 

 great, red comb will ever return, and it is a curious 

 fact that, in the majority of cases, the yearling hen's 

 comb is never as large as it was in her pullet year. 



As the combs begin to redden and their size in- 

 crease, the flock becomes more active, and it is nec- 

 essary to add to the amount of Mash, and, if it had 

 been found expedient to reduce the grain ration, this 

 also must be brought back to the full eight quarts to 

 one hundred hens. 



From day to day the Mash consumption increases 

 rapidly, and the nests begin to receive a good deal of 

 attention, and very shortly the output from the breed- 

 ing pens becomes a very decided item in the gather- 

 ing of eggs. 



By the second week in January, the pen having 



