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Poultry Feeding. 



For laying hens during the winter a very good morning food 

 mixture can bz made as follows : — 



10. — Scalded bran , 4 parts 



Well-cooked maize meal ... ... ... 2 



Pea meal ... ... 2 „ 



Sharps I part 



Cooked lean meat ... ... ... ... 1 



Chopped and scalded clover hay... ... 2 parts 



with a light mid-day feed of oats or barley, and an evening 

 feed of either wheat or buckwheat or, if the weather be very cold, 

 of broken maize. 



The mid-day grain, given at about half-past eleven, should be 

 scattered among litter so that the birds may be forced to take 

 a fair amount of exercise. Quite a small space, comparatively 

 speaking, will do for this purpose, but it must be light and, as 

 far as possible, sheltered from cold winds and driving rain. 

 Boards should be placed on edge round the shelter to prevent 

 the birds from scratching out their litter. This litter should be 

 made of hay, straw, long shavings, or dried fern, with some 

 " cavins " (rough chaff from threshing) and dry road scrapings 

 added to allow of the birds taking a dust bath occasionally. 

 The evening feed should be given in a trough about an hour 

 before roosting time. 



As a rule those hens which are allowed a grass run can, 

 during the summer, obtain as much green food as they require, 

 but during the late autumn, winter, and early spring greenstu 

 of some kind must be given them, because there is not very 

 much nourishment in grass during these seasons. The best 

 substitute for summer grass is hay chaff, containing as much 

 clover as possible, for this is " harvested " when in its prime, an 

 it has a large proportion of lime in its composition. Failing 

 clover chaff, cabbage is excellent, as is also spinach. Boiled 

 potatoes are of great use in fattening, but should only be given 

 to grown fowls in very small quantities, and even so only once 

 or twice a week. 



The cost of feeding grown fowls, provided there be no waste 

 of food, should rarely exceed id. per bird per week, or about 

 4s. 6d. a year. 



