334 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 15 
Live Stock Matters 
BALANCED RATION FOR BREEDING 
HENS. 
WHAT TO ADD TO CORN MEAL AND RRAN. 
One of our subscribers in Kansas, wishes us to 
give him a ration for a pen of 15 White Wyan¬ 
dotte breeders of standard weight. He wishes 
this feed to consist mainly of bran and corn 
meal, as that, he says, is the cheapest chicken 
feed, but he wants it to include everything else 
necessary for fertile eggs. In other words, he 
wishes to know what to add to bran and corn 
meal, in order to make a balanced ration for 
breeding stock. What would you feed under the 
circumstances ? What would you add to the bran 
and meal, to bring them to your idea of a true 
chicken feed? We are also informed by some 
authority, that it is a mistake to feed breeding 
hens a large amount of soft food. Is it true that 
the birds will lay more really fertile eggs if they 
are fed on solid grain ? 
Whole Grain Is Best. 
My experience clearly proves that, for 
strongly fertilized eggs, whole grain is 
the best, and if fowls have free range, 
corn is the best of the grains, care being 
taken, of course, not to feed too gener¬ 
ously, to make then over-fat. I have no¬ 
ticed, for a long time, that hens fed al¬ 
most exclusively on whole corn lay 
richer eggs, with higher-colored yolks, 
than those fed on a more nitrogenous 
ration for the purpose of getting the 
greatest number of eggs. This led me 
to think that corn and whole grain would 
give better eggs for hatching, and upon 
experimenting, I found it true. While 
soft feed with plenty of meat will bring 
the greatest number of eggs, the whole 
grain will give much more strongly fer¬ 
tilized eggs, which, I think, is accounted 
for by the fact that the fowl is given a 
grinding machine of her own, and she 
will keep in better health if allowed to 
grind her own food with it, as too much 
soft food seems to derange the diges¬ 
tion, which makes her more subject to 
disease. J. k. stkvknson. 
New Jersey. 
‘•Add Meat of Some Kind.” 
I would add to the corn meal and bran, 
a meat food of some kind, either 1-10 
part beef scraps or meat meal, scald 
enough for the morning feed, and feed 
grain at night. This is presuming that 
he has a large run for the fowls with 
grass ; if not, I would add cut clover 
either dry or green. If I had milk, I 
would mix the soft feed with milk, then 
I would do without the meat meal or 
scraps. I prefer to feed my laying hens 
a soft feed once a day, with which I can 
best give a meat ration and whatever 
other ingredient I may wish to add. 
New Jersey. D. A. mount. 
Some Poisonous Dried Blood. 
If he wishes to feed bran and corn 
meal to his hens, let it be in the propor¬ 
tion of seven measures of bran to three 
of corn meal, but to this must be added 
nitrogenous food, which forms the al¬ 
bumen and part of the yolk ; this I 
would supply in the form of ground 
dried blood, not to exceed 10 per cent 
by measure, all to be mixed into a “ dry 
wet” mash—crumbly, not sloppy. This 
will produce eggs at a rate that will sat¬ 
isfy anybody, but as to their hatching 
qualities that is another matter. 1 am 
fully convinced that any forced produc¬ 
tion of eggs impairs the strength and 
vitality of the germ. The germ dies at 
all stages of the hatch. The majority of 
breeders of poultry, however, aim to 
have their hens produce the largest num¬ 
ber of eggs possible in the shortest space 
of time ; they force a hen to lay in two 
years what nature intended her to be 
eight or ten years in producing, and 
then they search in every direction but 
the right one to find the cause of poor 
hatches and weak chicks, of which only 
a small percentage ever arrive at ma¬ 
turity. 
I take it for granted that he will sup¬ 
ply plenty of green food if his birds are 
confined ; this is very necessary, as there 
is no vigor where there is no green food. 
If he wishes fertile eggs during the win¬ 
ter months, he must furnish green food 
in some shape to secure them. Other 
essentials as grit, lime, etc., he will, of 
course, supply. The trouble in feeding 
soft food is due to the manner in which 
it is prepared. It will not do to make it 
too wet. Neither will it do to let any 
stand from one feeding until the next in 
warm weather, as it will sour, and bad 
results follow. Soft feed is all right if 
properly prepared and fed. My prefer¬ 
ence, however, is whole grain for the 
evening feed, and for convenience, would 
be at all times ; but I use the ground 
feed in the morning so as to feed the 
blood which, being a meal, must be fed 
in this way. 
I must add a word of caution as to the 
dried blood. A woman in Connecticut 
sent me a sample two weeks ago of so- 
called dried blood which she had been 
feeding to ducklings, and before she 
located the trouble, had lost 1,000 early- 
hatched ones. I had the sample an¬ 
alyzed. The chemist reports as follows : 
“ Ash, 20 percent; organic volatile mat¬ 
ter, 68 per cent; moisture at 212 degrees, 
12 per cent. Remarks: This article is 
not dried blood. It is an organic com¬ 
pound highly putrid and extremely de¬ 
composed and dangerous to animal life. 
It is not out of place to pronounce it 
poison.” I use but one brand of blood, 
and as it is especially prepared for 
poultry and not for fertilizing purposes, 
I can rely on it. For stimulating egg 
production and feather growth during 
the moulting season, I know of nothing 
to equal it. H. k. moss. 
Missouri. 
Breeding Stock Must Have Exercise. 
One of the essentials to answer this 
query satisfactorily would be the cir¬ 
cumstances under which his fowls are 
kept, whether with ample range, or 
confined to small runs. This range 
question has all to do with the answer. 
If fowls are confined to close quarters, 
some provision must be made for exer¬ 
cise, no matter what is fed. If, as I 
suppose, his birds are confined, I see no 
way to feed bran and meal mainly, and 
get a respectable percentage of fertile 
eggs. I know of no way to give them 
needed exercise in getting this class of 
food. Bran and meal, to save waste, 
must be fed out of boxes, or something 
suitable ; no exertion is required to get 
the food. A hen must be kept in vigor 
by exercise and by proper feed ; without 
sufficient food no eggs can be had at all. 
If the correspondent’s birds are con¬ 
fined, to get fertile eggs he cannot feed 
mainly on ground feed. If he is a soft 
feed man, he should feed it but once a 
day, and then for the evening meal feed 
grain, wheat and oats, and any other 
small grain he can get, except rye, 
sparingly in the morning ; this must be 
buried in straw or in the ground and 
lightly covered so that they will have to 
scratch it out. Repeat this at noon, be¬ 
ing sure none fed before is left over. 
This gives the needed exercise. Then 
at night, they can have his soft feed if 
he must feed it at all, but no more than 
they will clean up in 10 minutes. To 
this, to be sure of fertility, some animal 
food must be added—not too much, for 
too much spoils all; they need a little 
every day. A small handful of cut 
grease, bone and meat scraps, beef pre¬ 
ferred, for eight or nine fowls is ample, 
more is an injury, but they need it 
every day, not twice a week as much as 
they will eat, as many writers will tell 
you. Too much meat and bone produces 
laxity of the bowels, impairs the diges¬ 
tive organs, and soft eggs, thin-shelled 
eggs and infertile eggs result. If to 
these things he adds green food daily in 
some palatable form, and does his part 
with good common sense, he will get 
fertile eggs and plenty of them. 
(Continued on next pane). 
BECAUSE IT PAYS. 
Hundreds of people ask us why they 
should use a Safety 
Hand Separator, 
and the reply we 
make is that it will 
pay them to do so. 
Thousands of peo¬ 
ple use these ma¬ 
chines, and they 
make money by so 
doing. Is not that 
the strongest argu¬ 
ment we can advance ? Is not your 
self-interest paramount ? 
P. M. SHARPLES, 
West Chester, Pa. 
Elgin, Ill. 
Rutland, Vt. 
DE LAVAL “BABY” 
CREAM SEPAR ATORS. 
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Send for brand new “Baby” or Dairy 
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THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
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Secured the only award of Medal and 
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For circulars and Price Lists, send your address 
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THERE ARE NO EXCUSES NOT TO USE 
*» 
:: 
ST. JACOBS 
OIL ,or 
BRUISES 
A PROnPT AND CERTAIN CURE NO ONE REFUSES. 
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The best wny to supply it is by means 
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This cut 
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No. 1 for 
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Mounted 
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POWER SENT FREE. 
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TP SUCCESS ONE HORSE |\ 
Tread powe r 
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PRESS CO.. 
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THE BEST GRINDER. 
Farmers now prefer French Ruhr Mills, which 
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Acre of corn 
and its possibilities under the Silage 
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Salem, Ohio. 
late. 
THROUGH A CRACK 
In the barn, who has not seen a ray of 
sunshine light up myriads of particles 
of dust, each laden with bacteria. They 
must get into the milk, but how shall we so 
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Our free book, “ Milk,” tells how. 
Champion Milk Cooler Co., 
No. 39 Railroad Street, Cortland, N. Y. 
