Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-12

time or the year, but 1t requires more
care and system than Just to allow
the hens to attend to it themselves.
They annot be permitted to lay
anywhere they please, nor a the
poultry raiser gather eggs irregularly
or occasionally n then market them
at the weekend, dirty, stale and pos
sibly spelling because of being held
too long in warm weather.
Separate Males and Females
The first important step is to sepa-
rate all males from the hens so the
eggs will be sterile. A warmth of
ninety degrees for a few hours will not
start the sterile eggs i%ncubating. If
the males are of choice enough quail
ity to be held over for breeding an
other year.. they should be confined in
a yard by themselves, even if it is
necessary to pull the main flight
feathers out of one wing on each
male. But unless they have special
value for future breeders, it pays to
send them to market rather than to
feed them a whole yea before they
Will be needed again for breeding
purposes. The average male eats too
much in the eight or ten months he
must be carried as a useless drone.
1t Is better to buy new males under
these circumstances. thus adding new
and improved blood yearly.
The hens lay just as well, if not
better, without the attention Of the
males, and the eggs will keep fresher
and better. The sooner the males are
disposed of, either by selling them or
putting them in the pot, the better for
the laying powers of the hen as we'll
as the keeping qualities of the g
The earlier they are sold the better,
because chickens for market get
cheaper every week in the summer in
a constantly descending scale instead
of increasing in price as choice eggs
usually do.
Another feature too often over
looked is the prompt gathering at
least twice a day, and, If at all pos
sible, marketing the same day as gath
cred. If 1t is not convenient on &C
count of the small number gathered,
the eggs may be taken up once a day
and marketed every other day, but
while they are being held for the mar
ket they must be kept in a cool place
never in the kitchen or a warm
room. A cellar makes the best place,
II not damp or moldy.
AS the warm weather of summer
approaches. some special care must be
given the laying hens if the maximum
egg yield is to be expected during the
extremely hot weather.
Kinds OF Feed Important
The feed should be gradually
tIldIlSeu 81 as 10 nave less JdLIenlIlE
properties, because the hen does not
need the fatty material to keep up
her bodily heat when she Is not re-
sisting cold. This means feeding less
corn and cornmeal in the summer
than in the winter and Spring. Vege-
tables and green feed should be in
creased, as these tend to cool off the
blood and increase the amount of wa
ter in the system of the hens. Since
vegetables such as beets, cabbage. ETC..
abound In the summer, they should
be fed literally. Grasses. such as
clover, alfalfa, and even blue grass
lawn clippings, are a good green feed
for hens, especially in the days in
summer. Green feed is the cheapest
feed the poultry raiser can use, and
should be freely used at this impor-
tant time of the year. If the proper
variety is given, and II it is properly
prepared. a laying hen will eat from
twenty to thirty per cent. of her ra-
lions of succulent green feed.
Again. the methods of feeding
should be different in the summer
from those practiced in the winter.
An abundance of exercise is necessary
in the winter, but it is not so impor-
tant in the summer. There should be
enough to keep the hens from becom-
ing over-fat, but usually with range
and open weather of summer, there
is not much danger of over-fat, espe-
| cially If the corn, cornmeal, and SIM
liar foods are held down to not over
one-third of the entire summer feed.
In the summer 1t is not so necessary
to feed in deep litter to make the
hens dig. unless the yards are very
small.
Shade Should Be Ample
If possible, hens should have more
range in summer and nave plenty
of shade. The shade should not be
over more than one-third of their
runs, or there will be trouble in a
damp, rainy season. There is such
a thing as too much shade even in the
summer time but the fault is more
often the other way. Where no nat
ural shade can be had such as a
grove or orchard. sun shades must
he made by stretching cloth about
four feet off the ground or else by
building low frame sheds with al
four sides open for the air to pass
through, thus enabling hens to pro-
tect themselves and at the same time
have the advantage of any passing
breeze. 1t Is impossible to get a good
yield of summer eggs If the hens
! must stay in the coops during the heat
of the day to protect themselves from