Charlevoix county herald., 1914-09-12

If you like breed of fowls be sure
and get that breed, as you will be
more successful with it, simply be-
cause you will have more of an in
terest in the work and will give 1t
closer attention.
1t is true that the flavor of the
eggs often depends upon the kind of
food the hens are provided with, then
how foolish to feed musty grain,
onions, and such feed as we know
would taint the eggs. How foolish to
let our poultry eat everything even to
disease germs and expect health from
eating the eggs. If / was to buy my
eggs l would be as particular to know
conditions that surround, and feed fed
the hens as | would to know conditions
that of any food prepared or sold me
to eat.
The editor of Poultry Topics writes
a reasonable article in which he says
"Chickens should be hardened off at
the earliest possible moment. As the
birds grow there is a choice of two
things-put them into larger quarters,
or, if this is not possible, thin them
out by reducing their numbers. Close
and stuffy sleeping places are not the
acme of comfort. Chickens naturally
crowd when sleeping on the ground,
hence they should be brought up on
the fresh air system"
The Canadian Poultry News says
According to JOS. Wallace, infiam-
nation of the oviduct will check the
flow of carbonate and phosphate of
lime, which give to the shell its hard
ness; or the system may be deficient
in some of these constituents, conse-
quently, the laying of eggs without
shells, or with sold shells. Egg binding
follow. An egg drops from the cluster
to receive its natural coating or shell;
there being deficiency OF she'll mat
ter, the egg remains longer in the owl
duct, in obedience to nature; another
follows that one and soon another, all
awaiting their turn to be coated. The
presence of so many eggs without
shells crowding one another for sew
eral days, is very apt to cause fever or
inflammation of the oviduct, which, OF
course, obstructs the passage. If the
hen cannot expel those eggs and no
immediate relief is given, the heat of
the oviduct literally bakcs the con-
tents of the eggs and a tumor forms
an encloses the eggs in tough sac,
which shows itself in the bagging
down so common among old hens"
Next in Importance to death or
Captivity to the Rooster" the sum-
mertime slogan of the poultryman
should be to market with the Old
Hens" says Prof. Halpin of the Wis
consin College of Agriculture. For
certainly the non-producers have no
place in the scheme of things in an
up-to-date poultry plant that is run
for profit and not for pleasure alone.
Hens over two years old begin TO
decline in producing power. They
rarely lay as many eggs as in their
pullet and yearling stages. Providing
that they have been marked with a
toe punch in the days of their youth
detection of the aged "matrons" will
be comparatively easy matter. Be
fore the old hens, the surplus young
stock and the male birds are sent
away to market, they should be kept
in a small pen at least two weeks to
increase their weight. A suitable ra-
tion for this period consists of three
parts corn meal, one part middlings or
low-grade -four and one part bran,
with enough skimmilk added to make
a crumbly mash. The owner should
never forget to provide fattening
fowls with plenty Of pure water dur
ing the warm days. Feed all the birds
will eat twice a day and allow access
to a supply of cracked corn.