The Grit-advocate., 1903-02-20
Winter Eggs.

Winter Eggs.
From Farmers Review: The most
successful winter poultry house ever
saw was big open straw cattle shed.
The shed had been covered from the
stacker Of thrashins machine. Inc
roof, north side and ends were several
feet of straw and chafr. Some 80 head
of cattle were in the shed and yard
nights and running in the corn stalks
daytime; besides there was hog
trough in the yard. where the shoats
got their daily slops of bran, shorts
and waste vegetables. l was boy at
home with Dad and Ma at the time
My father believed in being liberal
with salt, the cattle had their salt
box and all the slop Of the swine
was seasoned with salt. | remember
that an argument was up as to
whether the fowls would get too much
salt at the hog troughs.
Up over head in this shed were a va
riety of poles and brush that served to
hold up the straw. Flock after flock
Of the early matches took up their
roosting place in the cattle SEED and
by cold weather the regular he house
was almost entirely deserted. Some
$50 hens, mostly early pulle, were
roosting in the cattle shed by Decem-
ber LIST. and the daily output eggs
was from five to eight dozen and 1t
continued all winter. When the wealth
er got colder, and stormy day7 came.
the cattle were fed in racks. clover
and timothy and millet hay. corn fod.
der. etc. The cattle were con inually
working down some of the stra sned,
and finally the shoats went t. sleep.
ing in the litter. That old str; W shed
seemed to be home for mos every
thing that could get into it. Even
the tiocks Of quails made daily visits
and worked with the hens IN and
around the yard and shed. dc not re.
member of a single ailing fowl all
winter and when spring can e. they
were bright and ready to hun in the
nearby grove and orchard.
At the time, looked at ! these
things as matter of cours e" but
since have grown older and r lad and
listened to up-to-date methoii, scien.
tific ventilation, Jim crack feds and
sanitary poultry houses, my mild wan.
ders back to the old straw shed. it's
simplicity and its success. have
firmly made up my mind that lots OF
up-to-date poultry theories are more
theoretical than practical and that If 1t
were possible for all poultry raisers
to have an old straw shed, chicken
doctors and remedies would not be
SO popular as they are.
am firm believer in lots of litter
for the fowls to work in. also va
riety of feeds and unlimited pure air.
Still more, l believe fowls should have
plenty of salt and water. Stop and
think of it. An egg is nearly 80 per
cent water; the hens must have water
in abundance and unlimited exercise
in pure air. Yes, salt will kill fowls
and it will kill stock, too, but it will
kill nothing if it has been damaged
carefully. Sunshine and pure air was
made for fowls as well as other life.
and while it is so cheap, why b.. stingy
with it? Straw, chaff, leaves or other
kinds of litter is enjoyed by hens just
as much as pond of wate is by
ducks. The water may not do the
ducks any particular good, but keeps
the hens warm and healthy ant the lit.
ter absorbs moisture and keeps the
ground or floor under 1t warm. In
building poultry houses, we should
study the hens more and ourselves
less.-M. NJ. Johnson.