Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1915-10-13
POULTRY
CONSULTING DEPARTMENT.
Rounding Pullets Into Laying Trim

houhuiiB iuuSlS INTO Laying Trim
Have your pullets shown any signs
yet of starting to lay? Or perhaps
| you feel that it is not best for them
to do any work until spring!
The truth is that when they are
from SIX to seven months old, they
should begin paying for their board.
III IS a mistaken notion that pullets
cannot or should not lay eggs in win
ter. With little care they will set
tie down to business in the fall and
stay on the job most of the winter,
and 1t will not hurt them a bit for
breeding purposes. Why not resolve.
therefore, to do the few things that
are necessary to bring about this
pleasing condition?
The first thing on the scedule is to
separate all ROSTERS from the pullets.
The male birds should either be mar
keted or penned by themselves. The
pullets will then have a better chance
to develop and are likely to start lay
ing much sooner.
The next consideration is to see
that the pullets are properly matured.
Winter eggs from pullets are not a
theory but an easiy attained reality
II the birds are matured in proper
time. The fact is that we'll developed
puilets are better winter layers than
Older hens, and for this reason, many
poultrymen refuse to keep hens for
laying purposes after their first year.
Your pullets should sing winter
egg songs and pay you just as good a
profit as those of anyone else. They
will If they are healthy and you give
them plenty of such strengthening
and egg producing food as that de-
scribed in this article.
II the pullets are confined, the first
thing to remember is that least once
a day they should have plenty of
green food, such as cabbage, clover
lettuce, alfalfa or sprouted oats. If
they have free range, at this season
of the year they can, of course get
all the green stuff they require.
Experience has shown that better
development and more eggs are secur-
ed from pullets when their meals are
varied. That is having one meal
day consist of mash and the others
Of mixed grains in the litter.
A good mash that will bring results
can be made as follows: 100 lbs. bran;
100 lbs. ground oats or middlings Cor
30 lbs. each of ground oats and midd-
lings); 100 lbs. cornmeal; 80 lbs. beef
scraps. twenty-five pounds of beef
scraps will be sufficient if plenty of
milk or buttermilk is being fed. To
each 100 pounds of the mixture there
should then be added: 5 lbs. ground
bone; 3 lbs charcoal; one-haf ID. of
salt
A dry mash of this kind should be
kept in hoppers where the birds can |
get it at all hours Of the day as they !
feel the need of it. If the materials !
are made into wet mash, the birds |
should be fed, preferably at night. |
Just little short of what they will |
clean up. A full feed of mash given |
in the morning has a tendency to |
make fowls sluggish and inactive.
A good grain ration can be made of |
equal parts by measure of wheat, oats
and whole or cracked corn. This !
should be scattered through a deep |
litter in the morning, therby keeping |
the birds busy all day.
In addition to the regular foods
given, you should have shell making
such as grit and crushed
oyster shells, before the birds all the
time. If this is not enough to insure
hard shelled eggs, lime water should
be used in making the mash. The lime
water can be secured by placing a
quantity of lump-lime in a barrel or
vessel, filling it with clean water and
using after the lime has slaked and
-he insoluble portion settled.
Just word of warning in conclu-
sion. If you would have winter eggs
rom your pullets, you must examine
he birds from time to time for lice.
However, if at this time, good lice
powder is thoroughly sifted down
among their feathers and a dust bath
S handy, they are not likely to be
roubled much with vermin through
he winter.
If you follow these few rules-keep
he ROSTERS separate from the pull
cts; feed properly for development
md egg yield; and Danish lice--you
ire pretty sure TO get plenty of win
er eggs, and instead of being a dead
Expense, your pullets will pay divid-
nds ,