Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-03-03
THE POULTRY YARD
FEATHER AND EGG EATING
BY ED WEBER

The writer is the recipient Of LETT
tiers from readers asking for Q plan to
prevent hens from eating eggs. One
I lady says that she lost several dollars
this winter from egg-eating hens, anu
the trouble is appearing again.
MI This trouble Is without doubt, one of
the most provoking things the poultry
man has to contend with. But very few
poultrymen have ever experienced this
v toruble during the summer months,
n ,Hller, the hens are ON the range ana
can supply themselves with the neces-
sary variety Of food. There are a lot
OF poultrymen who are compelled to
i keep their fowls yarded the year
round, evidently 1t is this class which
ia having trouble with esq eating hens
at this time OF the year.
1t is in winter, when fowls are close
ly housed, depriving them Of room and
proper exercise. rendering them to evu
ddleness and a one-sided system OF
feeding that produces the habit OF egg
eating. These evils must be overcome
Z before one can master the habit OF
y egg eating =.
Oyer-crowding OF fowls will create
\ the habit as quickly as any other one
cause. In every instance 1t Is the most
provoking thing ever experienced IN
poultry keeping. In the first place we
must learn that over-crowding OF fowls
il disastrous in more ways than one.
IL more room is provided for the laying
hens during the winter and only
limited number retained in each build
ing. probably enough extra eggs would
4 be produced to pay for the building the
first season.
There is another way fowls usuapr
get started eating eggs, that Is oy MD
ing q broken egg lying about. They tAste
II. And that It is good, and this lea is to
the breaking and devouring o. more
and more till practically all me eggs
laid are eaten by the fowls betore the
owner can get them. A frozen egg
never ought to be LETT in the nest or
beneath the roost as they often are
They crack, of course, and the fowls
soon fall to picking at them and an
extensive taste is formed. Hens quar-
sreling over nests often manage to
break eggs and thus hens learn to eat
them. 7
AZ to tho euro.
At one Of our recent poultry SHOWS
stood in front of the coop that con-
tanned my first prize pullet. saw tnat
she was about to lay, and waited so
as to remove the egg. She dropped the
egg and before j could open the door
she had turned around and eaten more
than half OF it. / have had egg eaters
before and have made false bottom
nests with a slit in the upper bottom
for the egg to fall thru into the space
below. with me they have never
worked well, as found the hens did
not like that kind Of nest land they
would lay in the litter on the floor In
stead. So experimental to find some
way Of breaking up this pullet.
went to drug store and bought
some bitter aloes. Then saved all the
egg shells from the eggs used for COOK
ing and for the table, broke them as
near the middle as possible SO that
they would be in halves. l mixed up
tick paste Of flour and water, also
stirring in an egg, and stirred IN
good liberal dose OF the drug. lined
the inside OF the egg shells with this
rasts and stuck two Of the halves TO-
gether. making 1t, look like q perfect
egg. prepared a lot OF them anG
then rolled one into the pullet. In about
two minutes 1t was gone. gave her
another one, which disappeared IN ike
manner. I think she took tive or slx
& Of them before she was satisfied. lett
one In her coop, but she had had
enough to last her a lifetime, and did
not want any more. left the egg IN
her coop about week, but she never
went back to the bad habit again.
Feed Affects Taste Of Eggs.
There are number OF people who
claim that the feed q hen eats does
not affect the flavor of her eggs. Let
these same people feed one Of their
hens with these bitter aloes paste eggs |
and then try and eat the eggs she lays
for the next three or tour days. It Will