Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1901-11-14
Feeding and Judgment.


Feeding in winter is more puzzling
and perplexing than any other duty.
To feed enough and not too much
requires Judgment, and though the
experienced poultryman may have
but little difficulty, yet the novice
makes a great many mistakes. Any
body car feed chickens, that is,
throw down the food and allow the
fowls to eat as much as they wish,
but such a system is very harmful
and results in the hens ceasing to
lay and the owner becoming dissatis-
fed. He attributes the lack of pro-
fit to the hens, and looks around for
another "best breed" hoping to
secure some strain that will lay
more eggs than others, while the
scarcity of eggs is due to iniudicious
feeding.
One of the reasons why careful
and judicious feeding should be
practiced in winter is that the poul-
tryman .,must produce the proper
conditions for laying. In the sum-
mer hens have plenty of exercise,
green food, animal food and a variety.
1t is the work of securing their food
that makes them contented and
keeps them in health. Their diges-
ton is better, they have keener ap-
petites and can dust themselves
whenever they desire. When the
winter comes and they have no ex-
ercise they become addicted to the
vices that originate from idleness.
Participating, egg-eating and
quarrellng become habits. They will
eat frequently because there is moth
ing else to do. They not only become
fat and clumsly, but also diseased at
the same time because of their mac
ti7ity. The first thing for the poul-
tryman to provide in winter is a
place for exercise, and all the food
allowed should make the hens seek
it in some manner.
The harder they have to work and
scratch for it the better. A mass of
leaves or any kind Of litter will an.
swer. The next point is how much
food to give to a flock, say of a dozen
hens. The old rule is that five
pecks OF grain will support a hen for
8 year, and that one quart a day for
twelve hens is a fair allowance; but
it is well known that one hen may
consue even six pecks and another
only four pecks, hence any attempt
to feed hens by fixing upon a certain
proportion of food will fail to give
the expected results, as individual
hens differ, no two being alike, and
differ also in preferences of food,
quantity consumed, and in their con-
dition, as a laying hen requires diff
ferent food and more of it than a
non-layer. 1t is very difficult to
measure ~ "lAOO O1SG, DuG IuOr0 Is
one safe rule to follow, which is to
give them about one fourth as much
as they will eat in the morning, same
amount for dinner and a full meal at
night. For a dozen hens put three
or four pounds of wheat into a
trough Let them eat until the last
hen walks away, then weigh the
quantity left over, which will show
exactly how much was eaten. The
next morning give them one fourth
a much as they ate before, but scat
ter the food in litter and let them
work for it; at noon give same
amount in the same way. Keep them
rather hungry than otherwise.
At night fill the trough full of al
sorts of food that you wish to give
them and let them eat until they
walk away from it. then remove the
remainder. Never leave any food il
troughs after the hens have eaten
In thus feeding the hens it require,
but two or three days for one to fully
understand the Requirements of tn,
flock.
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