POULTRY RAISING. 
135 
We must supply these two foods when (lie pullets are confined to the 
laying houses. If we can secure skim milk at a reasonable price, or 
have it on the farm it will be found to be an excellent food. Very often 
one can buy green bone and scraps or waste meat from the markets at 
a reasonable price. Any of these may be utilized as well as scraps from 
the table, as long as they are fresh. No one should be guilty of feed¬ 
ing partially decayed meat in any form. We cannot expect people to 
pay good prices for eggs if our fowls eat unclean food. In some in¬ 
stances the hens are fed the meat from any animal that dies; this practice 
should not be allowed. Numerous complaints are made annually be¬ 
cause even fresh eggs are oil' in flavor. When the source of the trouble 
is traced out we invariably find the hens have been fed unclean food, 
such as hotel swill, horse meat, or other carrion. If milk or meat scraps 
cannot be secured locally it is better to buy commercial beef-scrap or 
granulated milk. These will keep indefinitely when properly stored. 
The green food may be supplied iu the form of cut alfalfa or clover 
hay. The hens will eat it either dry or steamed. Mangolds or beets 
and cabbage also make excellent food and should be fed raw. Beets 
should be sliced lengthways until the hens learn to eat them, when they 
may be thrown in whole. The mangel-wurtzel is the best variety for 
chicken feed. The cabbage should be hung up on a string where the 
hens can get exercise working at it. Onions, turnips, potatoes and 
several other vegetables may be fed. These, however, should be cooked 
until soft and then mixed with about an equal bulk of bran; feed while 
still quite warm. We prefer to feed such a feed at noon. Be careful 
not to feed too much, as the hens are very fond of soft, moist mash, 
and will engorge themselves with it if given a chance. Be sure that 
each hen can get her share and do not feed more than they will eat 
up clean in fifteen minutes. Also be careful to have the vegetables dry 
enough so that when the bran is added it will make a crumbly, moist 
mixture. 
Always be careful to feed clean food of all kinds, and shun all bad 
smelling disinfectants. The egg shell is porous and will, therefore, 
allow the egg to absorb bad odors. Store the eggs in a clean place and 
market them at least once a week; by following this method one should 
soon be able to get a reputation for furnishing eggs that are good and 
genuinely fresh. 
When the pullets are brought in from the range they may not be 
completely feathered. If not, an occasional feed of sweet corn will be 
a great treat for them and will help them produce a new coat of feath¬ 
ers. Sunflower seeds contain oil and make an excellent addition to the 
ration, helping to produce new r feathers quickly. Oil meal or oil cake 
may also be added to the mash feed. We like to use 100 pounds bran, 
75 pounds middlings, 25 pounds oil meal, 100 pounds corn meal and 
100 pounds beef-scrap. Canada peas also make an excellent addition 
to the ration during the moulting period. The fowls soon learn to eat 
them and they will help keep the birds vigorous during the strain of 
the moulting period. 
There is as much in care and management as in the food. Keep the 
hens busy all day and then give them enough to fill the crops at night. 
In this wav one can have healthy fowls and avoid many bad habits. 
If a hopper is used to feed mash, supply a light feed of grain in the 
