355 



FEEDING OF POULTRY. 



There is a widespread belief that poultry keeping can never 

 be made a great industry in the United Kingdom by reason of 

 the large amount of labour entailed and the great cost of up- 

 keep in. the way of food. 



No idea can be more incorrect, though there is at present an 

 unfortunate tendency in many quarters to look upon poultry 

 keeping as a sort of hobby, and, moreover, there is a serious 

 wastage in the matter of food and labour. 



So far as cost of keep is concerned co-operation in buying 

 will work wonders, while as to the saving of labour experience 

 is all that is necessary. 



It is much more important to determine what is the proper 

 kind of food to give, and it should be remembered that in order 

 to make the largest possible profit one must feed for a specific 

 purpose, viz., either for eggs or for flesh ; not, as many do, 

 merely with a view to keeping one's birds alive at the smallest 

 cost and with the least possible expenditure of trouble. 



In fact, if good laying hens are desired, they must be selected 

 and fed with great care, and as in every dozen marketable eggs 

 there is about one pint of water, it must be remembered that 

 each hundred laying hens will require not less than 16 quarts of 

 water every day. 



In this connection it should be noted that impure water is 

 liable to make the eggs taste strong, and, especially on farms 

 where there are often dead birds lying about, dirty water may 

 contain the germs of disease. It is therefore absolutely neces- 

 sary that only fresh, pure water be given to poultry. 



E E 2 



