970 



Notes on Poultry Keeping. 



[Jan.,, 



middlings should then be well mixed in by hand, until the- 

 whole mash is in a dry crumbly condition; the mash should 

 then be fed to the birds while still warm. 



Wet mash may be given either as a morning or evening 

 feed and should be fed in troughs to avoid dirt and waste. 



Dry Mash. — For birds upon a limited range dry mash 

 feeding has much to recommend it. If the mash is given 

 in properly constructed hoppers or troughs there need be 

 little waste, and, by placing it before the birds almost con- 

 tinuously, the birds can secure sufficient food and are at the 

 same time kept busy. The ingredients should be purchased 

 separately and mixed in bulk. 



Grit. — Grit composed of some hard material, such as flint 

 cracked to the size of peas, is required to assist the fowls t(\ 

 digest their food, and should always be available. 



Shell. — Either oyster or cockle shell is needed by laying 

 hens to provide material for the formation of egg shells. 



Water. — Fresh water should always be provided in unlimited- 

 quantity. 



****** 



National Egg-Laying Test at Dodnash Priory. — The National 

 Utility Poultry Society, in conjunction with the Great Eastern 

 Eailway Company, carried out during 1919-20 an egg-laying test 

 at Dodnash Priory, Bentley, near Ipswich, extending over a period 

 of 48 weeks. In all, 280 pens were entered for the competition, 

 and were divided into six sections : (1) White Leghorns ; (2) White 

 Wyandottes ; (3) Ehode Island Eeds ; (4) any sitting (other than 

 Wyandottes and E.I. Eeds) ; (5) any non-sitting breed (other 

 than White Leghorns) ; (6) a championship section for White 

 Leghorns, White Wyandottes, and Light Sussex, limited to 

 breeders who had won one gold or two silver medals in previous 

 tests. 



The eggs laid were classified by the Society into two grades : 

 Grade 1, eggs weighing 2 oz. and over; and Grade 2, eggs 

 weighing less than 2 oz. but not less than 1§ oz. during the first 

 10 weeks, and for the subsequent period not less than If oz. 

 For the purposes of the competition, however, not more than 

 100 second-grade eggs, or in the case of the championship section 

 not more than 200 second-grade eggs, were allowed to be included 

 in the pen score. 



The following table shows the egg totals for the test for the 

 whole of the period : — 



