The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-06-29
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81 GARDEN
CARE OF THE POULTRY.

one reason, If for no other, all per-
sons keeping poultry are especially
anxious to make their hens lay.
II the hens are not too old and the
pullets are fully matured, it is quite
possible that eggs may be secured II
the fowls are properly housed and
fed. BY properly housing fowl one
does not mean that it must neces-
sarily be kept warm, but the house
must be dry and clean; it must have
plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
Fowls that are allowed the freedom
Of lawns and gardens are generally
heavy layers during the spring
months, when there are plenty OF
tender sprouts and fresh worms. For
winter production, it is advisable to
furnish ration as near that which
the hen finds for herself in April as
possible.
In selecting a feed for the hen,
three points are to be considered:
First, one that will furnish nourish-
ment; second, one that will be econ
cmical; third, one that will be appe-
thing. In securing nourishment, care
must be taken not to overfeed or tat
ten, at least that is the general adj
vice; yet it is seldom that hens will
get fat during January or February
if they are given sufficient exercise
and access to plenty of green or sue
culent food Exercise may be obtain
ed easily by covering the floor with
leaves from six to ten inches deep,
Or, better still, with clover hay. 1t is
impossible to name an exact amount
of grain that will be satisfactory, but
hens should have no more than they
will eat up clean; Of course, If the
feed is unpalatable, they will natural
ly not eat SO much as they would OF
a more palatab!e grain, and the es3
production will not be SO great.
Probably the most satisfactory all
round grain is good, hard red wheat
or macaroni wheat (white wheat is
not so satisfactory. Scorched wheat
is often offered by dealers at very
reasonable prices, bat there is dan
ger, where a scorched or musty feed
is used, of giving the yolk of the egg
a foreign flavor. Another good grain
is cracked corn. Barley is also good,
but hens are not SO fond of it. A food
mixture or scratch feed may be made
by using two parts hard wheat, two
parts cracked corn and one part bar
ley. OF this mixture feed about three
pints to a flock of twenty hens each
morning, scattering it in the litter;
this will give the hens exercise and
help to warm them by getting the
blood in circulation.
Fer an evening meal there probably
is nothing more satisfactory than a
mash. Most families have consider
able table scraps, and if properly fed,
there is nothing better for fowl 1t
will be found most satisfactory to
cook these thoroughly, especially II
they are vegetable Feelings, stale
bread or scraps OF meat. In the lat
ter case, the meat should be cut into
small bits in order that some one
hen may not overeat and care should
be taken that not over rs per cent.
is meat. This cooked mixture should
be thickened with wheat, bran or
midlings, using enough to make a
mash that is moist, but not wet, and
may be fed warm or cold; but it is
the opinion OF many successful poul-
try keepers that hot mash is injur-
ious to the vitality of the hen, and 1t
is advisable, where such a method Is
practiced, that eggs from these hens
should not be used for matches.
Should it not be convenient to pre-
pare a mash in this manner, a very
satisfactory one can be made by u.s.
ing skinned milk to moisten a mix
ture of so per cent. bran and rs per
cent. each corn meal and ground oats;
or, instead of ground oats, ground al
falfa or clover meal may be used. II
skim milk is not plentiful, water may
be used to moisten the feed, but in
this case from 10 to Is per cent. OF
animal meal OF beef scraps should be
added.
During the winter months, when
the days are short,'a noon ma.l is not
necessary, but at all times there
should be grit, oyster shells, char
coal and vegetable food of some kind
before them. A piece Of two-inch
poultry netting may be tackled on tne
side of the wall, forming pocket;
in it put beets or cabbage.
Generally speaking, it is a bad
practice to Use pepper or egg-produc'
ing condiments in mash. These ar
ticles, as rule, act as a stimulant
and may cause an immediate increase
in egg production, but, like all stimu'
lants, will soon lose their power and
leave a hen in a condition where such