Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-12-21
Conditioning for Eggs.
HANDLING THE FLOCK FOR WINTER PRO.
DUCTIvENEss-PossIB IT SHOULD
BE DIVIDED.

"Conditioning" is favorite word
with fanciers, and to say that bird Ia
sin the pink of condition" is to say the
utmost that is possible as to externals.
And I might really have omitted the
last phrase, because 'the pink of con.
dition" cannot be obtained by attention to
e1ternals alone, for vigor Of body Is one
nf the most important factors in pro-
ducing the beautiful effect described by
the fanciers' favorite phrase.
A bird fully conditioned for the show
room, even II perfectly satisfying the
owner and it's judges, and even though
it has attained this condition largely
through constitutional vigor, 10 not
necessarily in the best condition to pro-
duce eggs, At the last its handling
may have included bedtime meals OF
sugar and the like to get It really over
fat, considering its frame in order to
bring 1t up to the required standard
weight for its breed. am not so afraid
OF fat hen ss some of the earlier p0ul-
try writer's were, and I believe that q
hen that Is constantly losing flesh is on
the way soon to become unproductive,
but there is q point where fat becomes q
burden and hindrance to production.
The cause of bird laying on fat after
reaching maturity is composite; 1t in
cludes, often, rich food, lack of exercise
and lack of productiveness. That is,
the food may be going to fat instead of
to eggs. And 1t is very difficult to keep
such bird in good condition and with
out bad habits of various kinds. Most
Of the egg eating, feather pulling, etc,
concerning which we get inquiries each
spring come from neglect in condition
ing" the birds during the winter.
The very first thing to be done when
planning to handle the birds for winter
productiveness is to find out surely just
what their condition really Is. If the
majority are all right and few are
much too thin, set the few down as sus-
poets, unless you know some good rea-
SON for this variation from the common
condition. II part are in good con-
dition, others rather below, from youth
or other good cause, make two lots, If
possible, and treat each lot according to
condition. You are not likely to get
eggs from birds that are below the nor
NAL condition OF the laying hen, which
Is, at the beginning Of the laying season,
a condition of excellent flesh or else of
positive fatness.
With thin birds, then, the first effort
would need to be to change this con-
dition to one of better flesh. They need
heavy feeding, and If to be heavily fed
they must have exercise. Too much
exercise will work off their flesh; hence,
for birds of this class, only moderate
exercise is demanded. For such birds
moderate litter and a necessity to scratch
for perhaps one-third of their food is the
best handling. But, in addition, there
should always be dry mash provided,
to which they can resort freely at least
half the time, else there may always be
some which do not get enough. 1t is
real problem to deal with individual
birds in flfties and hundreds, being
obliged to handle them in general way,
and still make sure that each one Is
satisfied and we'll handled. II We were
not continually doing 1t all over the
or less we'll, it Is true
we would say it was virtually impossi-
BILE.
The positive assertion is made by
those who have made long time study
of the matter that better results in eggs
may be obtained from confined hens
than from those at liberty. II this is to
be true, however, there must needs be
many times more thought expended on
their handling than would be necessary
with the unconfined flock, and moro
work, also. One breeder, who raises
hundreds of chicks on city lot, pro-
vides sets of ladders, placing them where
the young birds must of necessity use
them. These insure different use of
the muscles from what could be gained
on q level surface. The necessity for
exercise to keep the confined layer In
health not only, but in good laying
vigor, is not less. Scratching exercises
the abdominal muscles in way calcu-
lated to make the process of laying
much more natural and easy process,
since 1t is quite largely muscular act.
Moreover, It adds to the general vigor,
and this counts much in the winters
product.
The question whether pen of birds is
fat or poor will decide whether or not
they can stand lot Of such stuff as
dried, cut clover, bran wholly freed from
middiings, or malt sprouts as they are
thrown out from brewing and dried.
These have much body and not much
tendency to produce fat, and should not
be used freely in making up ration for
thin birds. Get the birds into fair flesh
condition first and then much safer and
more effective use of the special egg
producing feeds can be made.-C. s.
Valentine, Ridgewood, N. j., in Tribune
Farmer.