Mexico weekly ledger., 1901-03-14
HENS WILL Lay In WINTER
How q Missouri Farmer Encourages
Them-It Is a Question Of Exercis-
ing Fowls and Giving Them
Proper Food.

KANSAS CITY, MARCH 10. - One
small farmer who lives some ten miles
northwest Of Kansas City on the Clay
and Platte county border line declares
he has solved the problem, "How to
make hens lay in midwinter." His
statement is substantiated by his
neighbors. The scientists at the Mis-
souri, State Agricultural College who
made 50 much ado when their plan
for making asparagus grow in frozen
ground was proclaimed cannot hope to
live in the popular urban affection
with the Platt county farmer.
When the snow falls on the ground
and the thermometer seeks to hide
itself all the hens in the in the region
hereabouts have been in the distressing
habit Of going on a strike. AS re-
suit the prices Of eggs have gone sky
wards each winter. During January
prices lowered about 30 cents, and
even at that price 1t was impossible
for the average family to obtain any
product of the hens except such as
had been packed in the fall and laid
away in the ~refrigerators. This ex-
position is made in the fond hope that
the suggestions herein contained may
be seized upon by all the superintend-
ents of hen coops In this vicinage so
that another winter may not find Kan
sas City depending upon refrigerators
for its omelettes.
The particular farmer in question
went from Kansas City to the country
two years ago. MI. Harr had been
raised in the country. For a quarter
of a century he had lived in town and
during the boom he had made money |
at a prodigious rate. When the boom
collapsed he lost it with even greater
rapidity than he had acquired it.
With advancing years came a desire
to return to the farm.
Mr.. Harr bought a farm Of 80 acres,
among the other purchases were some
blooded chickens. He subscribed for
poultry journals and studied the
peculiarities and advantages Of leg
horns, Plymouth ocks,cochins and
what not. Those who had had long
experience declare that the reason
hens didn't lay eggs during cold
weather wal because they didn't take
enough exercise. Everybody in Clay
and Platte counties that raised chick
ems knew that much about 1t. The
value of the informatson contained in
the dissertation Of experts is shown by
a quotation which appeared only last
week in one of the yellow journals.
Mrs. Kate Vandenhoff st. Maur left
the stage two years or more ago to be-
| come a farmer. She made $1,000 in
one year, 1923 Of which came from her
chickens. The papers jumped at the
conclusion that Mrs. st. Maur could
reveal methods which would make
egg famines a thing Of the past.
What she received for writing these
articles the clever woman has prob
ably credited to her chicken coops.
"By this time, too, | had even solved
the difficult problem of how to get
eggs In the cool weather." But how
she got them she didn't tell. That
Mrs. st. Maur is able to get eggs in
cold weather offers very little conso-
lation to the head Of an urban family
forced to worry along without fresh
eggs until the cold weather has been
broken. Before any relief can come
information on the subject must be
general.
Mr.. Harr made no secret Of his
method. ave had all come to under
stand" he said, "that the reason why
hens don't lay eggs during the cold
weather was because they refused to
take exercise, The problem then was
how to make them exercise. With
the snow eight inches deep the hens
| would not move from their houses. l
made paths between the hen houses
and removed all the 10Y from an
arena 200 feet square. | had sawdust
on the place and covered the cleared
arena with it. The hens did much
better, but we're still not performing
their duty as egg producers. During
the coolest days they were formal in
their %promenades between the coops
and not inclined to frivolities of any
kind.
~ was forced to consider another
plan. So l got a long slender limb
and trimmed it. l then supported 1T
about three feet from the ground. /
fastened wire springs to it and to.
these springs the food for the hens
was attached. l stuck a carrot on
one wire, a potato another,a sunflower
on a third and so on running the
whole limit of things fed hens. When
the hens came to their playground
they would jump up to get their food.
This started the limb and the springs
to which the food wa attached in
motion. 1t was rare fun for the hens
and kept them in almost continual
action. The effect was Immediately
noticeable. l had been getting II
eggs a day from 300 hens. The second
day after l had tried this experiment
l got so and after that as many as l
had been in the habit of getting UNI
der good weather conditions. None
Of my neighbors were getting any
eggs, although many of them had
Plymouth Rocks, which l regard as
the most reliable egg producers. There
is one other feature of successful egg
producing that should not be over
looked if you are going to tell why |
get more eggs than my neighbors. /
, have a chicken garden. 1t is separate
/. and apart from the family garden. In
the chicken garden l raise beetS, car.
rots, potatoes, onions and sunlowers.
In the cold weather / feed the hens a
mash of entire garden products.
keep warm water in the troughs all
the time and they drink as much as
!. "