The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-02-18
Correspondence Baltimore County linton.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY HEN.

Hen. oh, henl Nov should the winter of your
discomfort be made glorious by the good care
and attention Of your friend, the man with the
pail. A well-balanced feed and thought for the
small things in hen land will 60 far towards
making up the comforts Of home for the faithful
laying hen.
At the present time our birds are compelled
foreman shut within the limits of the hen house,
which is often much too small for the number
of fowls kept. A floor 25x2O feet will accommo-
date fifty birds, giving them plenty of room
wherein they may scratch for their daily grain
and keep the blood in good circulation all the
time. well hen must be busy hen, for when
she SUITS her craw and then sits around all day
on one foot you can just make sure that there is
nothing doing in her line. Exercise is the great
est kind Of an egg stimulant and will do more
towards swelling the egg basket than anything
1 know, and when eggs are selling for IS cts. per
dozen you can fairly the silver dollars multi
plying and 16 to written on every shell.
1t is the attention to the little things that
brings the big returns. Keep nothing but pure
bred birds-any breed that you may fancy, but
the best is always the cheapest in the long run
then you can feel that you have started right
and that each step taken is one in the right di-
rection, with no having to retrace your foot
steps, which always means the loss of time and
money. See that your hens always have plenty
of nice clean hot water to drink, as an egg is
composed of nine-tenths water. People often
wonder why their hens do not lay, after being
shut up for few consecutive days without
water to drink half of the time. Be careful not
to overfeed, as a fat hen will never make good
laying hen. You must make great distinction
between feeding a chicken for the table and TO
make her lay nice rich eggs.
Did you ever notice the different flavor of eggs
Some are perfectly tasteless, while Others have
that delightful rich flavor that we always asso-
ciate with the real fresh country eggs. Well it
is all in the way your hens are fed. Be careful
not to feed too much corn, as it is great fat
producing grain and must be fed with care.
Never give more than one handful at a feeding
to q hen, and throw that into the straw so that
she will have to work to find it.
have very satisfactory results from feeding
hot mash every morning, one large spoonful
to each hen. composed of the following: Meal
made of ground corn, cob and oats mix five
parts meal with one part cut clover hay made
into stiff mash with hot water; add enough
salt to just taste. The hens relish this and will
soon clean up the trough. Save all of the table
scraps they make nice variety. Hens, like
people, relish a change in their food.
Green cut bone is the finest thing known to
make the hens lay in winter. Give one-half
ounce to each bird once day and notice the re-
suit. In few days your egg yield will double
The bone only costs one cent pound. This
amount will be sufficient to feed 81 birds day
See what cheap article it is. To every poultry
man say get bone cutter of some kind if you
want your hens to lay. Nothing will repay you
for your work like the use of the bone cutter.
Do not give your hens egg powders. They
only stimulate the egg organs for the time be-
ing, force the hen to lay and when they are dis
continued she goes through state of total col
lapse and is never again worth her feed. What
you want to arrive at is how to feed good, nutri.
tious food, we'll balanced and in sufficient guam
tity to keep the bird in healthy, busy condi
ton. Then she will lay on an average of every
other day and still retain hervigor for three full
winters.
Fill large box with wood ashes and place II
in the hen house and you will be surprised to see
how quickly the birds will appreciate the ole
saying, "Get up and DUST" This dust bath is the
only means they have in winter of keeping
themselves clean and is real necessity. Give
them plenty of charcoal, shell and good sharI
grit Plenty of good grit is as necessary for the
hen as for man where success is concerned
Most failures in this life are from want of grit
By attending to these small things you will
never be troubled by your hens eating theil
eggs and will escape many of the ills that befal
the hen colony. Never breed from fowls thai
have ever been sick. The best place for sicl
bird is the chopping block, ending up with {
grand conhagration.
Now is the time to start up the incubator so al
to be on time with the early, plump chick tina
brings such nice fancy prices, What is the ust
of raising birds if you are too slow to feather
your own nest. One early bird is worth man,
later ones You remember it was the early birt
that caught the worm. but from my way O.
thinking the worm was fool TO be caught. 81
it remains with each man to decide for himself
whether he will be the bird or the worm.
E. G. P.