Evening star., 1916-01-09
MAKING WINTER FLOCK
PAY BIG DIVIDENDS
Only Special Attention Will Pro-
duce the Eggs That
Are Golden.
Proper Housing, Sanitary Conditions
and Scientific Feeding Are of
Equal Importance.
BY REESE v. HICKS.
iCopyright. 1915.


| Winter eggs are the goal of the poul-
! try raiser no matter whether he is an
! amateur or a professional. for it is the
winter eggs that bring the high prices
| and profit to the man who makes his
| living raising poultry and economy to
the one who raises chickens for eggs
| Tor his own use. ~
| The first step toward procuring them
| IS to consider the history of the hen
| herself She should have been Matched
| in the early spring. so that she has fin-
! ished her growth and is fully matured
| before the cold weather of fall sets in.
| Pullets that were Matched in the sum-
I mer and fall never grow to full size
! and seldom do much. If any. winter
| laying the first year of their lives.
Proper Housing Paying Investment
! Hens that must live in damp sheds or
| to pay for their feed in winter. simply
because their entire energy will be re-
nuired to keep Warm in such quarters.
The ideal henhouse should be well ven-
tiiated and well protected from drafts.
and above all things dry: especially
over the roosting quarters. The best
gay to ventilate a house is to alternate
cloth or Durlap curtains and glass win
dows; the latter will provide light on
stormy days when the cloth ones must
he closed. The cloth windows should
be left open on sunny days. and if the
! house seems stuffy some of them should
also be opened at night. preferably
those in the center of the house. rather
| than at the ends. to avoid drafts.
If the floors are damp and the litter
becomes foul. damp or musty it should
be changed at once. This litter should
be from eight to twelve inches deep
and of some light m aterial such as rye
straw. so the hens will like to dig in it
for grain fed them. If the eggs are to
be used for Matching the hens should
be given all the range possible and
should be allowed out of doors in all
reasonable weather. But if market
eggs are the only object then keep the
hens indoors.
When the hens are confined the floor
area should be not less than four feet
per hen where the house is fifty or
more feet long and twelve or more feet
wide. If the house is not so large as
this the average floor space per hen
must be increased. 1t is sometimes in
advisable to winter hens in houses less
being obtained if the house is fifteen
TO eighteen feet deep: and it is difficult
to get heavy winter egg yield from a
house less than twenty feet in length.
The reason for this is that the hens
will move around and exercise less in a
small house.
If hens are expected to lay winter
eggs they must not be allowed to eat
snow or ice, nor must they be given
freezing water. The water fountains
must be emptied at night and filed
! early in the morning with water that
has been warmed enough to take the
chill off. and if necessary they should
be filled again at noon or early in the
afternoon.
Sickness Fatal to Eggs.
Sickness in the flock is. of course,
| fatal to the winter egg yield. The hen
| must have vigor and vitality and be
kept in perfect health. The two most
! common troubles in the winter are cold
hanging from a slight watering of
| the eyes to the malignant roup-and
| the very contagious chickenpox. Colds
! may be prevented by using enough per-
(. manganate of potash in the drinking
| water to color it rich pink. Any bird
showing swollen head or eyes-indica-
| tions of roup-should be isolated at
once. and it is better to kill them and
burn the carcasses tunless they are
| very valuable and are in considerable
numbers) than to attempt to cure the
| disease. Chickenpox is hard to control
once IT gains headway in flock, but il
| usually causes little loss except to cut
down the egg yield. 1t is small erup-
tion on the comb and face and is very
! conta gious.
Importance of Feeding.
| At no point will the care of fowls pay
better than in the matter of feeding
| The first consideration is regularity.
i They should have one feeding of grain
| as early in the morning as it is light
| enough for them to get off the roosts
and see to dig for it in the litter The
| last feed at night should he fed an late