The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-12-20
Feeding Fowls in Winter.

Writing for the Country Gentleman, q
correspondent says that the health OF
| fowls, especially in cold weather, de-
| ponds greatly on the regularity and fire.
| quency of feeding. As corn is the sta
| pie grain, it should be kept within
| reach of the fowls so that they NAV
| help themselves at pleasure and thus
| they will regulate the quantity taken at
/ one time as suits their convenience and
! comfort. Filling the crop is injurious
| at all times, and particularly so in Sc
| we're weather A large fowl, when stint
| ed, and seeing corn but twice, and often
| but once in day, will fill the crop to
| repletion, taking in half pigt or more
at feed. This chills the fowA. ard if
| inclined to be tender, brings on indiges-
! ton, which is difficult to manage at that
| season. If fed in this manner, where
| there are many fowls and the quantity
| insufficient, the master fowls take the
whole at the expense of the others.
l have found that the better way to
| feed fowls in cold weather, more es-
| pecially laying hens, is to keep corn by
them the whole time. | put it in
trOughs at the side of the building. In
this manner they will have an equal
chance, and will ill up the crops at
night. If it is not all digested by
morning the fowl is not strong or in
perfect health. My rule for feeding
laying hens in cold weather is some
times varied, but l generally endeavOr
to give a soft warm feed in the morn
ing. l sometimes mix chopped onions
with it, but as a rule ] give them sepa-
rately. This vegetable is an excellent
antidote for disease, and the fowls be-
come eXtravagautly fond of it. They
will eat onions at any time of the year
and at large or in confinement. In
making the mush l used unboiIed corn
meal scalded with boiling water, with
sufficient grease or drippings to make
the whole palatable. The greasy mat
ter sOftens the meal and causes it to be-
come digestib!e. The feed should not
be so soft as to be mushy or sloppy,
neither should it be so stiff, as to choke
the fowls when swallowing it, but lust
thick enough to stand up and keep in
81 ape.
am particular as to the manner and
matter of the feed of my fowls at all
times, and especially so in cold weather.
when they yield the larger profit in
eggs. My aim in keeping fowls is eggs
alone, therefore it becomes necessary to
be careful concerning the feeding. The
health depends upon it, also the profit
Regularity is important with fowls as
well as all farm stock. Habits once
formed are permanent, and fowls NAV
be trained to suit the needs and ends of
the keeper, if persevered with. But
the keeper must be always regular, for
the fowls become impatient of DELAY
and know their regular periods. 1t is
as easy to raise eggs in cold weather
as in warm, and far more profitable, if
the keeper is not afraid of trouble and
constant care.
The fowls must be attended to, and it
is no small matter where the flocks are
large to keep a steady supply of water
when the weather is so severe that if |
freezes in a few hours. They must also |
have warm shelter, comfortable roosts, |
and ground floor for scratching Law |
ing hens are active, and their activity |
must be promoted. As soon as the old |
fowls are through the annual moult, |
which should occur before going into |
winter quarters, they should be supplied |
with reproducing food. The vege-
tables should be fed separately.
often give some at the time of giving
other food, and the fowls mix as suits
their appetites. Whole corn is the
main reliance, and is always at hand.
The other feeds are interspersed and
varied from time to time, always OBJ
serving the regular period with some
Kind of food that is Lalatable.