1904.] Winter Egg Production. 



533 



making unless they are used in combination with foods such as 

 milk, ground bone, clover, and other vegetables. It is believed 

 that the reason why hens lay so well in spring and summer is not 

 because the weather is mild, but because they generally have a 

 free run and access to such foods as grass, clover, weeds, worms, 

 and insects. 



For many years past I have been engaged in making experi- 

 ments with various combinations of food stuffs calculated to 

 promote winter laying, and the method of feeding which has 

 given the best results is as follows : In the morning about nine 

 o'clock, when the fowls have come from the roosting house to 

 the adjoining scratching shed, they are fed with a few handfuls 

 of cracked Indian corn scattered in the litter, and they busy 

 themselves seeking for this until about eleven o'clock, when 

 they are fed a full feed of mash — as much as they will eat 

 up from troughs in half an hour. The mash is made in this 

 way : 30 lb. of finely cut clover hay is steamed and mixed 

 with 20 lb. of barley-meal, 20 lb. of Indian meal, 20 lb. of 

 bran, 10 lb. of cut green bone, and enough skim milk to 

 form the whole into a stiff mash. This is mixed a few hours 

 before it is required for use and is fed warm at the time 

 mentioned. At mid-day a small quantity of wheat is fed in 

 the litter of^the scratching shed- — not enough to make a meal, 

 but sufficient to keep the birds busily employed until evening, 

 when they are fed with whole grain about an hour before 

 roosting time. It is advisable to feed a variety of grains, not 

 mixed together but one on each evening ; wheat, Indian corn, 

 oats, barley, and sunflower seeds have been found to be good 

 foods for promoting winter laying. 



It is not necessary that the manner of feeding described should 

 be accurately followed or that all the foods named should be 

 used, but poultry-keepers should endeavour as far as possible to 

 feed a well-balanced ration consisting of those foods which are 

 necessary for keeping the body in health and in good condition 

 and for the formation of the eggs which the hens are expected 

 to produce. 



H. DE COURCY. 



