Semi-weekly herald., 1909-12-02
THE POULTRY YARD.

heap on more wooul the WIND ls chill!
But let II whistle as 1t will.
Well keep our Christmas merry still
Sir Walter Scott.
Blddie's valuable gift on Christmas
morning is fresh eggs.
The lively. busy pulIet is now send.
ing joy to the hen plant.
More quality and less quantity is n
good motto to start out on.
A little heavier feed as the days
grow colder. Corn fills the bill exact.
ly.
Fowls love to thrash out bundle OF
wheat or oats, and II does one good
to step around to the door OF the
poultry house and listen to the merry
chatter while the fowls are digging i'll
the straw.
Some farmers neglect the twenty.
Ave to fifty cents that the battening
OF cracks In the coop would cost. and
each month feed dollars worth Of
extra corn in order to supply the AMI
nal heat needed.
The answer to the question. Does
wlutor poultry pay? depends In large
measure upon where your hens are
roosting. n one the bare branches
of tree. on the northeast corner OF
the barn. there can be no doubt about
It,
There is disposition to sit around
and sleep In winter. Hens Will drop
into that habit II you do not help them
to stir around and work for their liv.
Ing. That Is why scratching shed
is good, and why plenty OF litter keeps
the fowls healthy.
Scatter little grain among litter ut
noon. and give full feed at night What
is meant by a full feed OF grain Ia
about good handful for each fowl
In the pen. A mixture OF corn. whea,
oats and barley. equal parts by meas.
urement, makes an excellent mixture
for winter.
Now when the old year is passing,
our thoughts are apt to wander back
reviewing the poultry work OF the past
season. We can .all see past mistakes
and how we can improve matters next
season. and. seeing. we should resolve
to do our best. and then keep the reso
luton.
You may have some old hens that
look as II they might 90 through the
winter all right. So they may: but
Will they be profitable? That is .he
question, and It Is safe to say. mo
they will not"
So let the old hens CO. They will
bring pretty good price now before
Christmas.
Raise your chickens outdoors at all
seasons Of the year. give them every
opportunity to get fresh air and sun
shine. Keep them In small flocks until
they roost regularly. Keep the roofs
OF all brooders and coops water tight !;
dampness is fatal to chickens. old OF
young II coops leak. cover with tar
roofing or canvas painted with several
coats of white lead.
See to the hens comfort 1t is much
easier to keep her laying by good care
than 1t Is to get her to laying again
after she has quit
II must not be forgotten that with.
out grit even soft foods will be slowly
and poorly digested. Laying hens SUI.
fer more for the want Of grit than
| any other kind OF poultry. The hens
can not produce many eggs unless
they have grit to assimilate their food
Fowls must have green food In some
form or other for egg production dur
ing the winter months. In cooked OF
scalded clover hay or alfalfa we have
good substitutes. and 1t Is wise to mil
one with the morning mash: but. II
at all possible, some real green stuff'
should also be given each day.
sprouted oats are fed by many poul
trymen. and to good effect.
II is a noteworthy fact that fowl
prefer green food In the morning.
II Is a relish to them. It seems Il
brace them up. and they are more
eager for It,
From December Farm Journal.