A REVOLUTION IN EGG PRODUCTION IS 



the year. In the winter, however, heat must be supplied 

 when the temperature gets too low, as the oats will be spoiled 

 and the sprouts will not grow if the oats get chilled. 



In very warm weather the oats are likely to mold and 

 thus become unfit for feeding, besides stopping the sprouting. 



Chemicals are advocated to stop this molding; but per- 

 sonally the author has not felt like using the chemicals advo- 

 cated to feed to his flock. He has found, however, that a little 

 air slacked lime put in the water, when sprinkling the oats, 

 puts a stop to the mold, and is not a bad thing for the flock. 



The grit used must be sharp and hard, as this material is 

 what furnishes the birds with a substitute for teeth, to grind 

 their food. The food, when it reaches the gizzard, is separated 

 and prevented from getting into a mass, and is ground up 

 between the hard particles of grit. 



It is hard to realize what powerful action the gizzard is 

 capable of. In the year 1899 the writer was talking to a 

 butcher about a lot of fowls which had been confined for some 

 days, and seemed to be off their feed. The butcher was told 

 they needed grit to sharpen their appetites, but there was no 

 grit at hand. The writer suggested that some glass be 

 pounded up for them, to which suggestion the objection was 

 offered that it would certainly kill the fowls. The glass was 

 fed to them, however, and their appetites at once improved. 

 The butcher had expected to surely lose some birds. 



When the hens were dressed, he said, "Now I am going 

 to see what happened to that glass," and when the gizzards 

 were opened he was surprised to find nothing but round and 

 smooth crystals, in place of the sharp pointed particles of 

 glass which had been fed to the hens. 



Under Feeding 



It takes feed and plenty of it to get eggs. The reason 

 most people get poor, and unsatisfactory, egg yields is that 

 they either do not realize how much feed is necessary, or wil- 

 fully try to economize by not giving the fowls more feed. 

 This is false economy, as keeping unproductive fowls is an 

 expensive proposition. 



Of course, the keeping of a few fowls fed on table scraps 

 is not felt as an expense. On the other hand, if they do not 



