American Agriculturist, March 31,1923 
293 
Use and Misuse of Lights 
Separation a Factor in Illumination for Poultry 
A RECENT article By CRAIG 
by 0. W. Mapes in 
these columns brought up some inter¬ 
esting questions which, however, when 
you consider the fundamental princi¬ 
ples upon which illumination is based, 
are quite easy to answer. It must be 
remembered that the domestic fowl 
originated in the tropics, where the 
length of the days and nights were 
essentially equal. As a result of this, 
the reproductive and cfigestive systems 
were developed to fit this type of en¬ 
vironment. 
Bringing the fowl from the tropics 
to the north temperate zone resulted in 
the hen taking a vacation in the winter 
time, when she had least to eat and to 
do. By overcoming the long nights by 
the right kind and amount of artificial 
light, feed, water and exercise, the egg 
machinery is started, and as long as 
these factors are kept in the right ad¬ 
justment the machine runs as long as 
the fuel holds out. Some hens by in¬ 
heritance have a better type of frame 
and a larger fuel tank, so these birds 
lay more eggs per month and keep at it 
a longer period of time. 
In the case of the flock mentioned in 
the previous article, the production 
started to drop off heavily in August, 
and lights were applied in an effort to 
keep the birds from moulting. At this 
point the primary object upon which 
lighting is based was violated. The 
birds, without lights, were getting 13 
hours of daylight. To add to this was 
not giving the birds natural conditions. 
It was very much along the lines that if 
a teaspoon of medicine is good for the 
patient, it would be even better to take 
an entire bottle at one time—and it had 
just about the same results. 
SANFORD 
Overlighting a Dangerous Practice 
Overlighting hens at the end of a 
long season of production, which has 
lowered their vitality, always results 
disastrously. I remember being ques¬ 
tioned at a lecture that I was giving 
one evening as to what would happen 
if such a thing were done. I answered 
that if the feeding remained the same 
that these birds would come back into 
production way after birds thdt had 
moulted in October had gone out of 
production, and then back in ^ again. 
Since we have 12 hours of daylight up 
to September 19, there is no advantage 
in using lights before that time. 
I know of one successful breeder up¬ 
state who gives his hens a little light 
in October, and a little more in Novem¬ 
ber to the hens, that were still laying 
up to that time. He continued this until 
the producion of the hens drops to a 
point where lights are unwarranted. 
At the same time he keeps in mind 
these two essential points in connection 
with illumination: 
First —The problems that arise from 
lights are not in reality lighting prob¬ 
lems, but merely questions of feeding. 
Birds under lights should be fed more 
heavily of grain than birds that are not 
under lights. When birds become light 
in weight, the breaking point in pro¬ 
duction is near at hand, and if they are 
not fed correctly at this time the birds 
will go into a partial moult for repairs. 
Secondly —In order to get the best 
results from illumination, birds should 
be segregated into groups, according to 
their age and condition. However, this 
is not so as to give more or less lights, 
but rather so that they can_ be fed 
scientifically in order that their wants 
may be fulfilled. For example, in De¬ 
cember it is impossible to feed birds 
that moulted in August the same ration 
as the birds that just moulted in No¬ 
vember and do jusice to both. 
August Moulter Ready for Forcing 
! k 
strong, vigorous chicks. 
This can be done by 
feeding heavily of grain and by re¬ 
moving some of the high-protein feeds 
from the mash. 
The College of Agriculture is now 
recommending some illumination for the 
breeders. If we are introducing normal 
conditions in regard to lighting pullets, 
then why not give the hen the l^st op¬ 
portunities to recover? Let nature 
cause birds to go out of production, but 
give her more than a nine-hour day to 
regain her flesh, provided, however, 
that she is fed correctly. This same 
problem applies equally as well to pul¬ 
lets in the fall. 
Lights for the Pullets 
Lights should be given to all pullets 
in November regardless of maturity, 
but they should be segregated and fed 
to suit the needs of the group. The im¬ 
mature birds should be fed to produce 
frame, the larger birds to produce 
eggs. Yet in so many cases lights are 
used to push immature pullets into pro¬ 
duction before they are ready, and as a 
result these birds never obtain the right 
size, and their eggs must always be 
classed as pullet eggs. To go even 
farther, these are the birds that, be¬ 
cause they are not carrying a reserve, 
which may be likened to spare parts, 
break down in mid-winter and require 
a partial moult to put them back into 
shape. 
In regard to the results Mr. Mapes 
got from the two pens of breeders and 
the one pen of culls, I can readily ex¬ 
plain why the breeders are not doing 
very much more than the culls since he 
sorted these birds. None of these birds, 
particularly the culls, had done any¬ 
thing since last summer. They had all 
had a rest, and were in excellent flesh, 
just waiting for some stimulation to 
get them started. The addition of ani¬ 
mal protein and lights brought them 
back in short order, since they were 
now a segregated group receiving the 
right treatment. It is a well-known 
fact that even in the poorest of farm 
flocks that they do well for a short time 
in the spring. By the use of lights, 
Mr. Mapes was able to advance his 
spring, so that the entire flock of both 
good and poorer birds were thrown into 
production. However, as the season 
advances, the cull pen will be the first 
to drop. , 
GETTING RID OF RATS IN THE 
HENHOUSE 
The August moulter, if you have 
handled her correctly, has_ completed 
her moult, and is just back into laying. 
She has a surplus of fat and is ready 
to be forced by protein feeds. The bird 
that has just gone into a moult has 
passed through a long period of pro¬ 
duction and is in poor flesh and low 
vitality as the resjult of this strain. 
She needs a ration that will build up 
her body and enable her to store up a 
surplus so that she will be ready to 
meet the strain of another year’s pro¬ 
duction and supply d^’s that will give 
A subscriber of the American Agri¬ 
culturist has inquired how to get rid of 
rats in a henhouse. The only way we 
have been able to get ria of the big rats 
is to shoot them. This is best done in 
summer, when all feeding must be done 
in the yards. Get behind a barricade 
of some kind. The yard wire can be 
covered wi?h grain bags, and the gun 
can rest through the wire. I sat all 
day and shot rats—from sunrise to 
dark. The next day I made a barricade 
in the henhouses and shot rats as they 
stuck their heads through holes in the 
foundations. 
After two days’ shooting, the rats did 
not come into the henhouses or pens, 
and were pretty well cleaned out. We 
caught a few middle-sized ones in some 
wooden-platform breakneck traps in 
the barn after that, baited with grain. 
We never could get any in the barrel, 
or French, trap. It took a year to get 
a rat that lived under the ell of the 
house—one that dodged out boldly and 
caught chickens. One day I placed a 
large rug in the corner of the piazza, 
where it joined the house, making the 
trap as dark as possible and baiting it 
with a piece of raw chicken. I knew 
the rat was too big to be held by the 
trap, so I placed a sharp axe on the 
piazza, near the trap, and waited. 
In a few minutes I heard the trap 
spring. It took Mr. Rat by the nose, 
and I promptly cut off his head. He 
measured 18 inches from his nose to 
the end of his tail. That is the variety 
of rats that infested our place, coming 
from the places of many close neigh¬ 
bors. The rats had got after the grown 
hens, always attacking them around 
the vent. 
POULTRY RATIONS 
/QjOWn Ingredients of I{nou/n Qualify 
in /^noxvn Proportions 
Poultry Feeding 
^ specialists at the colleges 
of agriculture in the 
territory served by the 
Cooperative Grange League 
Federation have approved 
the formulas of G.L.F. Rations. 
Practical Poultrymen 
using the rations the year around 
report excellent results. 
Five Distinctive Features: 
1. G.L.F. Poultry rations contain 
a larger variety of ingi '-dients than 
is usually available in your locality. 
2. The quality of the ingredients 
and the pounds of each are stated. 
Feed G.L.F. Rations and 
you will know just what your 
birds are eating. 
See your G.L.F. Agent or write 
for booklet of formulas. 
The Coop. G.LF. Exchange, Inc. 
SjTKDse, New York 
3. The digestible nutrients in each 
ration are high and the fibre con¬ 
tent is low. 
4. Dried buttermilk and dried 
skimmed milk are used and the 
animal proteins are high. 
Accurately operated mechanical 
mixtures make a thoroughly 
mixed and uniform ration. 
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also 
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lirnillH 
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There Will Be a Shortage In Bahy Chicks 
Order Now—Avoid Disappointment 
Per 25 
Per 50 
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Chicks 
Chicks 
S. C. Leghorns ) 
White and Black j 
$4.75 
$9.00 
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S. C. Leghorns j 
Brown and Buff i 
Barred Rocks ) 
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Rhode Island ) 
Reds, S. C. or R. C. j 
$5.50 
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White Rocks J 
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Anconas ' 
Black Minorcas ) ec en 
Buff Orpingtons C ♦o.ou 
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Light Brahmas 
Famous Marcy's i 
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100 
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16.01) 
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i 
