Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-09-02

conditions pullets are fitted for either
egg production or exhibition purposes.
If the latter is the. object of the poul-
try keeper, they need no artihclal
preparation for exhibition by washing
and Touring. But whatever the object,
the rules for the care and manage
ment of pullets here outlined will be
found very. helpful. To give their
feathers a smooth and glossy appear
ance, a little oil meal should be fed
occasionally.
During the fall and winter egg pro-
duction depends largely upon success
full methods of feeding. If pullets are
penned by themselves, where they can
maintain their activity by being fed
plenty of nourishing food, the prob
lem of winter egg production is more
than half solved. An outline CT good
feeding practice is as follows:
AS fall comes on and the pullets are
inclined to stay in their quarters, throw
small quantity of scratch feed in
their pens the first thing in the morn
ing This keeps them active. Such a
pen should be supplied with about
four or six inches of litter. Equal parts
of straw, hay and leaves make a good
scratching material. The pen should
to. give the pullets a chance to act as
nature dictates. 1t is as natural for
them to scratch as it is to eat, and
for successful egg production the poul-
tryman cannot initiate natural con-
ditions too closely.
Every grain the pullets get should
be the result of their activity, which is
possible if the grain is thrown into
deep litter. This keeps them occupied
no matter what the weather may be.
If active pullets are thus made to work
for their grain, there will be little
danger of overfeeding. Moreover, if
such rations are not properly balanced,
the pullets can eat more corn and
other fattening grains without inter-
rupting their normal development.
A good scratching pen thus becomes
a valuable adjunct to successful feed
ing. The energy expended in scratch
ing for the grain helps to keep the pull
lets healthy, and experience has
demonstrated that the active and
healthy pullets make the best layers.
In addition to grain, the pullets should
De supplied with plenty of green feed,
fresh water, charcoal, oyster shell and
grit. These may be supplied in self
feeding hoppers.
Complete Grain Ration
For pullets about to lay. no poultry
man should be without such standard
grains as corn, wheat and oats. Other
necessary feeds are meat scraps or
meat meal prdn, HlluullIlBS, cornIneal
and ground oats. A good commercial
scratch feed is essential because it fur
nishes a variety of grains at a fair
price. The keeper of few fowls or a
small flock will find it as cheap to use
scratch feed as to attempt to mix ones
own rationS.
AS a rule scratch feeds are seien-
tifically prepared. The object is to
supply a balanced grain ration. They
are valuable for meeting the organic
demands of laying fowls. A good
scratch feed usually contains cracked
corn, wheat, oats, kaffir, barley, buck
wheat sunfiower seed and even other
grains. These are all needed by layers.
They form a complete grain ration,
since they contain the proper proper
tions or protein, carbohydrates and
fats; they provide for body wastes
normal growth, complete development
and egg formation.
Recent tests by the United States
Department of Agriculture show that
fowls given certain feeds selected 63
per cent. of cornmeal, 20 per cent of
beef scrap and II per cent. of bran
and niddlings. Such a ration consists
of the essential food elements of pro-
tein, carbohydrates and fats. Pullets
must have all three forms of food sub
stances.
If supplied with the necessary feeds,
fowls will usually balance their own
rations. Besides grain, natural foods
for fowls are grubs, insects, worms and
other things found in the fields Under
domestic conditions these things can
not be supplied. Some form of animal
protein must take the place of natural
insect food. Consequently growing
pulIets need fresh ground bone. meat
scrap, fish scrap or skim milk for egg
If such materials are kept before
pllllets, they will usually eat only suf-
ficient for normal needs. Experiments
by the Indiana Experiment Station
have shown that laying pullets must
have animal protein in some form to
produce eggs profitably. Thus four
pens OF pullets were fed precisely the
same grain ration. but one pen re-
ceived meat scrap in addition. one fish
scrap and one skim milk. The other
pen received the grain ration only. In
one year each pullet of the pen fed
meat scrap laid 135 eggs; the pullets
fed fish scrap laid 1913 eggs each;
those fed skim milk laid 135 eggs each,
while the pullets which were fed only
grain laid an average of 32 eggs.
The profit from the pen fed meat
scrap was $1.55 per pullet; that from