The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1914-12-12
Ry KATHARINE ArHERroN

CBy KATHARINE ATHERTON
GRIMESO
The hen has three reasons for eat
ing: to repair the tissues Of her body,
to keep herself warm, and to make
eggs. 1t therefore follows that her
diet must be varied and plentiful
If we open the crop OF a hen that
has been allowed to eat what she
pleased. we shall find that she has
provided herself with three kinds of
food-grain, green stuff and meat
The last named is usually in the form
of bugs and worms.
We must, then, furnish our hens
with food of these three classes
Moreover, the quantity must be about
right of each. If they are not given
enough they will have to use it all
for body building and heat-production,
and will have nothing left over to
make eggs with. If we feed too much
of some kinds the surplus will go to
fat, and the hens will get too lazy to
lay.
1t takes considerable studying and
experimenting to find out just what
the hens need, and how much they
| ought to have, but we must learn as
soon as we can, or we will find our
poultry is not so profitable as it ought
to be. The feeding question is one
of the most important in the whole
| poultry business.
Experts tell US that a hen needs
about six ounces of food per day. A
| flock of ten, then, will need about
three and three-fourths pounds per
day, or a trife over twenty-six pounds
a week
OF this amount, two-thirds by
weight should consist of grains. The
| grain should be a mixture of equal
parts wheat, cracked corn and oats.
few handfuls OF sunhower seed,
cane seed or buckwheat should be
added for variety They are to the
hen what pie is to the boy, and you
know what that is.
The other third should be mash,
which is mixture OF bran and other
finely ground feeds, usually fed dry.
Some poultrymen moisten the mash,
but the majority claim that 1t is bet
ter to feed it dry and let the hen
moisten it in her crop by drinking
what water she wants. If fed dry
there is less danger from certain
kinds of disease.
A good formula for a mash is as
follows: One-haIf bushel of bran, four
quarts Of alfalfa meal, two quarts
each Of ground oats and cornmeal,
one tablespoonful salt and one tea
spoonful Of pepper.
This furnishes both meat and green
I + - -4z
Where these elements are given in
other ways, the alfalfa meal and beef
scraps may be omitted from the mash.
These ingredients should be thor
oughly mixed together and the mash
kept where the hens can get 1t at
any time they may want it. It is a
bulky food, but not fattening one
so there is no danger of their eating
too much. The bran is one of the
best condition powders" poultry can
have. 1t keeps the system vigorous
and healthy, and furnishes q large
part of the egg-making elements.
A good way to give green food for
a change is to hang a head of cab
bage by a string so the fowls can
just reach it. The exercise is good
for them, and they will thoroughly
enjoy the feast. Or large beet, car
rot or turnip may be stuck on a nal
driven about a foot from the ground
for them to pick Such food should
never be thrown down in the dirt
The grain food should always be
thrown into a deep litter Of straw OF
chair, where the birds will have etc
scratch for a living" If you have
ever watched an old hen digging
about the yard, you will know that il
is as natural for her to dig as it Is
to breathe, and that she needs thai
kind of exercise.
You know, OF course, that corn is {
fat-making food. On that account
less should be given In the summer
than In the winter. as then there is