Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1906-11-03
Some Facts About Eggs.

prised to see the way the hens de-
voured them in cold weather. The
v gstables were boiled, and the wa
ter aickened with bran and fed to
them warm. They did better than
when kept exclusively on grain, and
after that the surplus from the gar
den found home consumption" on
that farm. After the potatoes are
dug you can see chickens industri-
ously scratching out the ones left in
the ground, and that should furnish
a hint to all people with spare
ground, while the way they fly over
( fences to ruin cabbage heads shows
the necessity and craving for green
food.
They love carrots in the winter,
and will neatly dig them out of the
ground as soon as the weather thaws
if the crop is not dug. A mixture
different of vegetables boiled with
little corn meal to thicken is as good
as dessert to the inhabitants of the
hen house, and a welcome change
from whole grain diet. Sweet corn,
popcorn and vegetables caught by
the frost will be eaten with relish in
the chicken yard, and all that is
necessary is to chop them in bits.
If you are called to town frequent
ly try to make friends with restau-
rant keeper or two, and buy the
scraps from their tables. 1t is not |
worth while to make an extra trip
for the stuff, but one wise farmer
paid for the scraps of good vegeta-
bles and fruit and made money by (
the transaction. He was obliged to
be in town several times a week de-
livering supplies, and it was a very
small job to call for the bits of bread,
meat and table scraps. A tightly
covered lard can was used to carry
them, and the chickens did very well
on the mixed diet. sThe farmer
would have had no use for the veg
etables he gave in exchange for the
scraps, as they were merely the
surplus from his garden. and he
was not in the vegetable business,
but they purchased enough food for
his chickens the year round with the
addition or very little grain.
Quite often grocers have spoiled
goods like oatmeal or old crackers,
to dispose of for a song, and it pays
{, invest. Of course it is unwise to
purchase moldy food, no matter how
cheap, but sometimes food products
become unstable by being infested
with insects, and these are all right
for fowls. By being on the lookout
it is possible to pick up many cheap
foods from dealers in addition to the
vegetable diet.
Butchers scraps are ideal if fresh |
and good. but sometimes the demand |
is so great they cost too much. 1t !
pays to use bone and meat occasional
ly from some source, and the hens |
are grateful for the rags and tags of
m at from any source. Milk, sweet |
and sour, is relished, and when
thickened with meal makes ideal
food for young chicks. Don't save
al the spare milk for the pigs.
Give part of it to the chickens, in
stead of feeding them one thing all
the time.
A lady who had great success with
1er chickens always bought stale
bread from a town baker at one and
cents loaf. At first sight
his seemed expensive, but the bread
vas carefully mixed with boiled po-
-atoes, corn meal. green scraps, and
sweet milk, but never
made sloppy. and it was wonderful
the way the young chicks put on
aesh for market with this diet. She
also bought refuse rice, cracked and
dirty. to boil for the chicks, and it
paid. Fowls like variety as we'll as
human beings. and are grateful for
! change from corn or wheat. how
ever expensive the latter may be.