POULTRY FOR PROFIT 41 
resting period for a few weeks, to allow the 
* 
organs of the bird to get ready for egg produc¬ 
tion. We will next consider how we shall feed 
these birds, granting that we now have them 
ready to produce the eggs. 
CHAPTER VII. 
FEEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 
As has been said in an earlier chapter, to 
get the maximum egg production, three things 
are essential. They are: good foundation stock, 
proper housing, and proper feeding. We may 
have the best chicken house in the world, and 
the highest priced stock obtainable, but if we 
do not feed our birds the right kind of food, 
all our other efforts are in vain. Let us con¬ 
sider first a few facts concerning the compo¬ 
sition of the egg, and then we will be able to 
understand more intelligently why we should 
feed the laying bird these certain feeds. 
About 14 per cent of the composition of the 
egg is protein, 10 per cent fat, and the re¬ 
mainder, except the shell, is water. Now it 
must be remembered that the ordinary protein 
supply of most food materials is relatively low. 
