The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-12-15

0aJcneO late Ill april Welt buTouSu
the adult moult that fall. These men
do not carry the same strain though
they DO keep the same variety and in
this instance I believe it to be the
strain that makes the difference.
On the other hand ! heard but a
few days ago from man whose late
Matched pullets molted badly on him
while the breeder from whom he pur-
chased his stock has little or 10
trouble in that respect with bis March
Matched chicks. In this case the
different methods used we're response
BILE for the difference in results. One
man forced his growing chicks too
hard and had some of them laying at
four months of age; the other fed his
growing pullets, (Which had fairly
large range and plenty of green stuff
literally but avoided forcing their
growth, few of his pullets laid under
six months. The variety in question
was the S G. White Leghorn and
their average age when beginning to
did not moult and continued to lay
throughout the period OF highest
prices.
believe that the use of the trap
nest will automatically settle this
moulting question as it has so many
others. Fol pullet to make good
years record must avoid a long moult
in it's pullet year and, by breeding
continuously from the heaviest layers,
this undesirable trait of undue moult-
ing will eventually be bred out of the
flock.
WANTS BROODY HENS.
Mrs. S. c., Chehalis, Wn., asks for
method of making hens broody. l
shall be very glad if some of our read
ers will send in their views on the
subject. The only way [ know is to
feed richly and keep confined in warm
quar- tiers but the average hen is an
aggravating old devil and will take
any amount of pains to ascertain what
you want of her and then do the exact
opposite of that or die in the attempt.
HENS vs.. FIRELESS BROODERS.
Mrs. M. S., Spokane Wn.. writes
to say that her cold brooded chicks
hen mothered chicks from the same
stock and asks my opinion. L think
it was to be expected. My own eX-
perience with the fireless brooder has
been most satisfactory. In one in
stance out of 30 surplus chicks that
had on my hands after filling a day
old chick order [ put 80 in a home
made fireless brooder and give a hen
20 to rear Three weeks later [ divid-
ed the br ooder chicks (there was then
80 of them between two brooders.
At the age of six weeks when | gathered
all the chicks of this hatch together
to put in one large coop ont on range
[ found that the hen brOoded chicks
we're so far behind the tireless chicks
in growth that [ did not dare risk
placing them IN the same colony
COOP. One must remember however
that there is a great difference in the
individual hens and that uniform
results cannot be expected from them.
Some hens will make job of raising
a family Of chicks equal to that of
any brooder
ON CORN AS FEED AND FUEL.
The same correspondent says that
at six months and half she changed
the feed of her pulletS from wheaC ana
the Maine dry mash to straight corn
for a few days and wants wants to
know if [ think that the cause OF her
egg yield dropping. | certainly do
think so. Corn is not SO good an egg
I food as wheat and oats and in this
climate it is rarely If eyer necessary
to feed it as "fuel" Further than
that. any change in feeding methods
should be gradual. 1t is fact that
sudden change in feed or quarter, or