Grand Forks daily herald., 1916-05-06
level. and have good nest for each
1 to 6 hens.
Feeding the Hens.

level. and have a good nest for each
4 to 6 hens.
Feeding the Hens.
The feeding Of the flock is perhaps
the most neglected operation in poul-
try management. Where they are al
| lowed to run at large about the farm.
tney usually secure more feed than Is
necessary. Where they are kept In
pens and fed they are often not given
what Is required for best results.
aowever. there is doubtless more
trouble with over-feeding than un-
der-Ieeding. The ration for the poul-
try flock must be varied according to
their needs. 1t must first contain q
sumcient amount Of the digestible
nutriments for their requirements; it
must be Of such food as is relished by
| the fowl. Fowl have q decided
preference. for certain foods which
cannot be accounted for by their COM
position. The following grains are
preferred by fowl in the order named:
| Wneat. corn. oats, peas, barley.
buckwheat and rye.
| HABIT may play an important part
In determining their preference. for
certain foods: hence it is not advis-
able to make radical changes in the
food given. The ration should pro-
vide good variety. as they become
tired OF eating one kind Of feed con-
tinuously. The feed should have suf-
flcient bulk to enable digestible secre-
tions to act on it. quickly. When a
large amount of SINGLE concentrat-
ed. ground grain is fed. the ration
may be so concentrated that It will
become compact in the crop. Thus a
certain amount of. bulk in the ration
Is necessary. This may be provided
oy feeding wheat bran. chopped alfal-
must not be made too bulky. The kind
and quantity Of the different grains
fed would be perhaps determined
quite largely by. what is grown on the
farm. as 1t should be the practice to
grow what is needed for feeding. It
Is indispensable that good supply Of
grit In the shape Of sand or crushed
bone or shells bs kept on hand The
quality Of the meat, and also Of the
feeding: hence it would not be desir-
able to feed in excess any Of the high
ly favored crops. The ration must be
varied to suit tho requirements Of the
flock being fed. II they are to be fat
tened for market, the foods can con-
tain larger percentage Of the starchy
foods, while II it is desirable to stim-
ulate the egg production the food
must contain more Of the elements
that go to make up the egg.
A well-balanced ration contains the
proper proportion Of protein and car
bohydrates for it, purpose with the
mineral matter, bulk and palatability
that are necessary to give good feed
ing results. There is no best ration,
and the practical application Of sci-.
enes Sst in p9try is Ssts to know
gives good feeding. results, and then to
use roughly this relative proportion in
making rations or in substituting Diff
ferent feeds, according to their price
and availability.
In securing fall and winter eggs the
first essential is to have pullets well
matured before cold weather, which
means Matching birds of the general
purpose breeds In March and April.
The average farmer matches his
chickens too late to secure eggs in the
fall. With wellmatured pullets and
improved. methods Of feeding, farm
ers could secure more eggs in winter
than they obtain under present con-
ditions.
A well-balanced simple ration may
be made Of equal parts. by weight.
twice daily. usually in the morning
and at night. The grain may be
either scattered on the range in sum-
mer and in the litter in the poultry
house in winter, or fed In the house
throughout the year. 1t should be
supplemented with wet or dry mash
Of two parts Of corn meal and ono
part each Of wheat bran. middlinss.
and beef scrap. One feed Of mash
day and tho grain fed, for the other
two meals. Regulate the proportions
Of grain and mash 10 that the hen
win consume about equal parts Of
each. About one quart Of grain daily
should be fed to every 16 Leghorn
such as the Plymouth Rocks. with
an equal weight Of =. mash. This
amount. however, varies, and should
be regulated by the feeder. as the
hens should be eager for each meal.
Legforns viii est about IS pounds
Of grain and mash In year, and
Plymouth Rocks, or hens Of the gen.
eral-purpose class. about rs pounds.
Tho Merry widow Hen.
''It may seem that in passing the
rooster should be mentioned. Why
shouldn't he come in for his fair
need Of praise. or something to that
effect! Socially the rooster is q win
nor; commercially he stands. about
where q good many men do socially.
he IL recognized only because ho Is
his wife's husband; and he 10 q 6ou-
bieDome ono at that
IF he would accommodatingly dis
appear from all farms east and west
about the first Of May each year and
not put In his appearance again until
tho hrst Of February, he would ac-
comptiah q tremendous economic mv-
inE, and make his name less harShly
spoken. -, -ts
..T4se rooster II . non-producer 30
far - direct pronU are CONCERNED.
II sold 1t an eaxH age-he makes q
tender m0fssl and may barely balance
hib food hl A yoaf later, when he
In fuYnNd nYar tn fhA hlItchAr.I With