1528 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
THE HENYARD 
Shrink in Laying ; Connecticut Ration 
1. White Leghorn pullets, April hatch, 
have been laying 100 eggs per day (400 
pullets), and they have taken a drop 
to 60 eggs per day. I had been feeding 
the Jersey Experiment Station ration and 
the past week I substituted dried beet 
pulp (steamed over night) for Alfalfa, 
as a poultry raiser out here advised me 
to do. Do you think beet pulp is a 
good substitute for Alfalfa? 2. Would 
you give me the mash and grain ration 
the Storrs College, Conn., feeds during 
the egg-laying contest, that is the kind 
of mash and grain and the amount fed to 
each pen or 100 birds by weight or 
measure? h. w. 
Spotswood, N. J. 
1. Dried pulp is not a substitute for 
Alfalfa, though it is a desirable substi¬ 
tute for fresh beets, cabbage, etc., when 
the latter cannot be had. Alfalfa is rich 
in protein, which beet pulp lacks. Clo¬ 
ver will replace Alfalfa. 
2. The dry mash used at the Storrs 
contest was composed of wheat bran, 200 
pounds, cornmeal 100 pounds, gluten feed 
100 pounds, ground oats 100 pounds, 
standard middlings 75 pounds, fish scrap 
45 pounds, beef scrap 45 pounds, and low 
grade flour 25 pounds. The scratch grain 
consisted of cracked corn 60 pounds, 
wheat 60 pounds, oats 40 pounds, barley 
20 pounds, Kafir corn 10 pounds, and 
buckwheat 10 pounds. The dry mash was 
kept before the fowls in open hoppers 
and the grain was fed by hand, varying 
the amount from time to time as the 
appetites and condition of the pullets de¬ 
manded. There was no fixed rule for 
quantity. m. b. d. 
perience with green cut bone is that it 
can be profitably fed to poultry of all 
kinds from the time they are a week old, 
if it is ground fresh daily, and balanced 
by a dry mash that contains not over 5 
per cent, meat scraps. 
For hens intended to be put in breeding 
pens I would not feed bone till eggs for 
hatching are desired. It is a strong food 
and pound for pound has not its equal as 
an egg producer. e. g. carr. 
New York. _ 
Dry Mash Hopper 
Can you give a plan for a dry mash 
hopper, one that I can make myself? 
I wish to use it between two pens, each 
pen holding 25 chickens. I have made 
several but none o'f them is just right. 
Seymour, Conn. d. h. 
The chief difficulty in making a satis¬ 
factory dry mash hopper is to construct 
it so that hens cannot flirt the mash out 
and waste it. The accompanying sketch 
shows one in cross section that may be 
used between two pens and may be made 
in any size desired. The essentials are 
that the throat through which the fowls 
reach the food should be about as narrow 
as the hens can conveniently put their 
heads through and that the apron should 
stand at such an angle as svill cause it 
to catch the mash when it is flirted by 
the hens. A little experimenting will 
determine these things. The throat 
through which the mash feeds down from 
the hopper should not be too narrow, as 
dry ground grain clogs easily. If hens 
December 25, 1915. 
Oat Sprouter 
Would you give directions how to make 
an oat sprouter suitable for from 300 to 
500 hens, operated by a kerosene lamp? 
Gloucester, Mass. E. l. m. 
An oat sprouter is simply a cabinet of 
trays, arranged one above another, and 
artificially heated. A lamp at the bot¬ 
tom, with provision for circulation of air, 
should answer the purpose. I have never 
made one and invite the submission of a 
practical design from some one who has. 
Such “sprouters” are not needed, how¬ 
ever, where a warm room is available. 
The furnace cellar of ordinary dwellings 
is often used. A friend recently de¬ 
scribed to me his method of sprouting 
oats for 700 fowls. Each day he filled 
an ordinary water pail with oats and 
turned enough warm water into them to 
soak them up; the second day they were 
again wet down with warm water, and 
on the third they were turned out onto 
the concrete floor of his furnace cellar 
in a layer about two inches thick. Wood¬ 
en strips separated the batches from each 
other and the oats were kept moistened 
with warm water until, the sprouts had 
grown for about three weeks; then a 
section was rolled up and carried to the 
poultry housej, where strips were cut 
off for the hens. The warmth of an or¬ 
dinary furnace cellar is sufficient for 
sprouting oats, and, where one is avail¬ 
able, a cabinet sprouter is not needed. 
M. B. D. 
Section of Dry Mash Hopper 
persist in flirting their food while in 
search for attractive morsels, the throat 
may be still further protected by upright 
sticks, between which the fowls have to 
stick their heads, or a piece of wide mesh 
poultry netting may be placed over it. 
M. B. D. 
Feeding Green Bone 
On page 1420, I note you ask for in¬ 
formation from those having used green 
bone. I use it as follows: one-half ounce 
per bird a day; which I mix with equal 
parts by weight of bran and damp the 
whole with skim-milk; this makes a well 
balanced damp mash much relished by 
the fowls. I never feed it when spoiled, 
and owing to limited supply, feed it only 
about twice a week, but not to breeders 
in breeding season, or young stock on 
range. H. E. R. 
Virginia. 
In answer to the letter of J. A. S. re¬ 
garding the feeding of green bone, my 
experience with S. C. W. Leghorns is 
that green bone is essential for them, and 
is way ahead of meat scrap, though it 
is more trouble to feed, as no bone grind¬ 
er works easily unless one has other than 
elbow power. It keeps hens from feather 
pulling and egg eating, and they certain¬ 
ly shell out more eggs. Start in with 
one-half ounce per bird three times a 
week, and gradually increase to every 
other day. Then increase the amount to 
one ounce per bird and no more. Feed 
in a slatted trough so that all the birds 
may get their share. Use only fresh 
bone, and do not save either fresh or cut 
bone unless the temperature is around 
zero. The grinder must be kept well 
oiled and cleaned, and rats and mice are 
the best cleaners. F. m. f. 
Having fed green cut bone for several 
years the results may be of value to J. A. 
S., who inquires on page 1420. For daily 
feeding one pound to 20 fowls is sufficient 
to obtain a good egg yield. Fed in mod¬ 
erate quantities it is an ideal food and 
can entirely take the place of meat scrap 
in the di’y mash, although personally I 
prefer a small quantity of scraps in a dry 
mash even though green bone is fed. For 
growing cockerels intended as breeders I 
have fed green bone as mentioned above, 
provided they had good range. Otherwise 
it is apt to fatten rather than give them 
the growth desired for breeders. Mv ex- 
Picking Ducks 
Will you give directions (if there are 
any) for picking white ducks, so as to 
save feathers in good condition? 
Emmitsburg, Md. mrs. k. r. b. 
Feathei's are in the best condition when 
dry-picked. The duck should be killed by 
sticking in the roof of the mouth with a 
sharp knife cutting deeply enough to 
sever all the blood vessels. Then the bird 
should be given a rap on the head to stun 
it, but not to crush the skull. The feath¬ 
ers are then removed as rapidly as possi¬ 
ble. There should be a pail of water con¬ 
veniently near in which to wet the hand 
that is picking. A few feathers at a time 
should be pulled in the opposite direction 
from the way they grow. Sometimes, if 
the skin is very tender, it is necessary to 
hold the skin with the left hand while a 
few feathers at a time are pulled out 
straight. The coarse feathers should not 
be put in with the small ones. Some of 
the down can be rubbed off; the rest 
should be shaved off if the birds are to be 
sent to market. If they are to be used 
at home the down can be singed off. Some 
pickers sit beside the feather box and hold 
the head between the knee and the box. 
Others hang up the bird and pick stand¬ 
ing. The essentials of the operation are 
to bleed and stun, then remove the feath¬ 
ers as quickly as possible. w. h. h. 
Good Laying 
I have a flock of 200 White Leghorn 
pullets hatched May 5 and Mav 28. I 
got the first egg October 21; 'am now 
getting three dozen per dav. Are they 
doing as well as the average' flock of this 
number? I have asked this question of 
poultry men in this section and can get 
no definite answer. I am a greenhorn in 
the poultry business. c. J. F. 
Well-cared-for White Leghorn pullets 
should commence to lay at between five 
and six months of age. At first, laying 
will be irregular and scant. Your pullets 
are doing well—very well. Yes, I think 
that they are beating the average flock by 
considerable, but, when you stop to think 
of it, the average flock are mighty poor 
layers. If hens or pullets cannot be made 
to excel the average, their owner will find 
himself playing a losing game. Three 
dozen eggs per day in October from May- 
hatched pullets needn’t give you* the big 
head, but it indicates that you have given 
these fowls excellent care and will prob¬ 
ably make them a paying proposition. 
M. B. D. 
Rhode Island Agricultural College told 
from experience how to rear and market 
poultry. He sti’ongly advised yearling 
hens for bi’eeders, with the most vigorous 
cockerel obtainable. The cockerel that is 
always scrapping and that drives the 
other males is the one that will sire the 
most vigorous chicks. 
Prof. Itice of Cornell gave two ad¬ 
dresses of more than ordinary helpful¬ 
ness. He explained the new Cornell 
poultry house, told of the experiments at 
Ithaca that have shown that there is a 
best time in Spring for hatching chickens 
that will do their maximum through life, 
and gave rules for selecting the best lay¬ 
ing hens without ti’ap-nesting. The pul¬ 
lets that begin to lay first should be 
banded and recorded. The following Fall 
the yearlings that continue to lay long¬ 
est should be selected. As a rule these 
will be found to be those that began first. 
These are the ones to keep as breeders. 
Tlie hens that are laying can be selected 
without waiting for them to go onto the 
nests. In September the hens that are 
molting have stopped laying and will not 
begin again till late in the Winter. They 
should be discarded. The Fall layers have 
on their old coats and look shabby. If 
they belong to a yellow-legged breed the 
shanks are faded and pale, for the pig¬ 
ment that colors the skin and yolks has 
been used up in the production of eggs. 
With the Leghorns the ear lobes of the 
pullets before laying are usually yellow¬ 
ish because of the surplus pigment se¬ 
creted and stored by the vigorous organs 
of the young birds. By the time they 
have laid half a dozen eggs the yellow 
will have disappeared, and the early lay¬ 
ers can be selected by the white ear lobes 
without touching a bird. The comb is 
to some extent an indication of laying, 
but is not infallible. The texture of the 
comb is a surer sign than the color. A 
hen that is laying has a soft and velvety 
comb compared with that of a hen that is 
not laying. 
<( Prof. Lambert answered the question, 
“What is the best breed of fowls to 
keep?” by the reply, “The one you like 
best.” He said that it was probably due 
to the fact that one would take better 
care of the birds of which he was fond. 
He used to speak disparagingly of some 
breeds until he learned that in 'the hands 
of some they were a success. At one 
time before a class of students he spoke 
of the Iloudans as an ornamental fowl 
but of little utility. At the close of the 
lecture a student came to him and stated 
that he earned the money with which to 
pay his college expenses by means of a 
flock of Iloudans. At another time he 
was invited to visit a large flock of An¬ 
dalusians. It was a handsome flock. He 
remarked to the owner that he surely had 
the national colors in the combs, ear lobes 
and plumage. It was the best he could 
say. When, however, the owner told of 
their egg production he decided no longer 
to condemn the Blue Andalusians as a 
utility fowl. An advantage of standard 
birds over mongrels was noted by Mr. 
Lambert that the writer never before 
heard mentioned. A man with a large 
poultry plant complained that he could 
not keep hired help for any length of 
time. He was asked what breed he kept. 
He replied that he kept a mixture of all 
breeds. He was advised to get and stick 
to one breed. He did so, and found that 
the hired men took more intei-est in the 
birds and remained with him longer. 
__ W. H. H. 
“No,” complained the Scotch professor 
to his students, “ye dinna use your facul¬ 
ties of observation. Ye dinna use them. 
lor instance--” Picking up a jar of 
chemicals of vile odor, he stuck one finger 
into it and then one into his mouth. 
“Taste it, gentlemen !” he commanded, as 
he passed the vessel from student to stu¬ 
dent. After each one had licked his fin¬ 
ger, and had felt rebellion through his 
whole soul, the old professor exclaimed 
triumphantly: “I tol’ ye so. Ye dinna 
use your faculties. For if ye had ob- 
sarved, ye would lia’ seen that the finger 
I stuck into the jar was nae the finger 
I stuck into my mouth.”—Windsor Mag¬ 
azine. 
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as 
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New Flats and Fillers- New Egg Cases 
SEND FOR FREE CATALOGUE DESCRIBING OUR 
Modern Poultry Equipment 
H. K. BRUNNER, 45 Harrison Street, N.Y 
MacKellar’s Charcoal 
For Poultry Is best. Coarse or fine granulated, also 
powdered. Buy direct from largest manufacturers ol 
Charcoal Products Ask for prices and samples. Est. 1814 
R. MacKELLAR’S SONS CO., Peekskill, N.Y. 
oarian and Enolish PARTRIDGES I PHEASANTS 
Capercailzies, Black Game, Wild Turkeys, Qualis, 
Rabbits, Deer, etc., for stocking purposes. Fancy 
Pheasants, Peafowl, Cranes, Storks. Beautiful 
Swans, Ornamental Geese and Ducks, Foxes, 
.Squirrels, Ferrets, and all kinds of birds and 
animals. WM. J. MACKENSEN, Natural, 
ist. Department 10, Yardley, Pa. 
I ntpctRnnk Proflteble Poultry. Flne.t 
LiaiCdl IHfUIV publish.a;114 pages 210 plot arts 
end bseutilui color plates. Tells how to succeed with 
poultry, describes busy Poultry Farm with S3 pure¬ 
bred varieties. Lowest prices on fowls,sees, Incu¬ 
bators, sprouters, etc. This greet book only 5 cents. 
Berry’s Poultry Farm, Box 47. Clarinda, Iowa 
For Sale-Ferrets, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, Toulouse 
GEESE AND PEKIN DUCKS. C. JEWELL, Spencer, O. 
M.B _ 
Bred from prize-winning stock, purebred and 
healthy. M. N. ADAMS, Livonia, New York 
TURK EYS-J?. 0 Bronze. B. Red. Narragansett Black, 
White and Slate. Muscovy Ducks and 
Chickens. Circular. Write CLARK BROS , Free port, 0. 
POUR YOUNG BRONZE TURKEY TOMS, 
1 $4.50 each. B. T. Walker, Unionville,Virginia 
Gianf BpOUTA TdUK R c> Re(J Cockerels, 
Uldni DiUniB loms $2 . Shropshire Sheep! 
Gettysburg, Pa. 
H. J. VAN DYKE, 
Non-Roving Bourbon-Red Turkeys 
Adirondack strain. Farm raised. Absolutely hardy 
»hd healthy. Toms, $5: Hens, $4. 
JOHN Q, ADAMS, - Stony Creek, N. Y. 
Brnrt7A To m C— c O c k e r s I S. *4 wild. 
.TT'tI 1 / . ■ um& Best in the country. 
$15 and $25. Also one yearling, kt wild. No black- 
head. Miss A. M. WALKER, Windsor, Conn. 
Bronte Turkeys-^fJL^S'.'aa*,-; 
Bourbon Red Turkey s I“ T S11F «»•"{• 
CASSIE D. TAYLOR, West Alexandlr, Pa! 
Ducks 1 INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS, Pekin and Buff Orping, 
“ ton drakes at special prices for December- 
Write me your wants. Geo. F. Williamson, Flanders, N J. 
GOBestBrepda -C ! 1,ekel1 ?. ducks, geese, turkeys, 
, guineas, dogs and hares. Stock for 
wale. \ aluable catalogue free. H. a. Somlcr, Bo« 29, Sellerwiile.Pa. 
RED SUSSEX EGGS 
Twenty birds en route from England. These and 
former importations in my coming pens. The util¬ 
ity breed of the near future Mating list on request 
alter January 1st. W. W. GRAVES, Jefferson City, Mo. 
Special Sale Breeders and Egg Producers 
Mammoth Emden Geese, Pekin Ducks, White 
At £ lc A n 6 n j, ,lei »s. A few choice lots Barred Rock 
and R. I. Red Pullets, ready to lay. Campines, 
Minorcas, Leghorns, Wvandottes. 
Maple Cove Poultry Yards, It. 2, Athens, Pa. 
Make Your Hens Lay 
Send for and read our book on feeding raw bone. Rich In protein and all other 
egg elements. Get twice the eggs, more fertile eggs, vigorous chicks, earlier 
broilers, heavier fowls, bigger profits. ’ 
MANN’S “"Khicutter 1° HIS' FBEETBIIL »<-»£& 
Makes bone-cutting simple, easy, rapid. Try It and see. Open hopper auto- 
matlcfeed. Outsail bone with adhering meat and gristle. Never clogs Don’t 
buy until you try. Book free. F. W, MANN CO., Box 15, Mlllord, Mass. 
New Hampshire Poultry 
At the recent poultry day gathering at 
New Hampshire College at Durham the 
best program ever presented was enjoyed 
by a large audience. Miss Mahanev of 
Concord, Mass., was there to tell how 
she makes a success of turkey rearing iu 
New England. Prof. Lambert of the 
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To The Rural New-Yorker— 
Gentlemen: - I have received my reward of six tablespoons and I am 
delighted with them, and thank you very, very much for your generous premium. 
I surely will work for your paper, which is the best farm paper 1 know—as I have 
the opportunity. Thanking you again, I am, yours truly, 
Laura A. Marston, Raymond, N. H., Route 1 
W E are sending out hundreds of Rewards daily, 
every one of them giving good satisfaction, or 
the privilege of returning. Write for our new 
12 Page Reward List—Postal will do—Department 
“M,” The Rural New-Yorker, 333 West 30th 
Street, New York City. 
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