St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-01-12
GREEN FEED IN WINTER
Poultryman Should Have Supply to
Last Through the Season, III Birds
Are Kept in Good Condition.

Are Kept In Good Condition.
Green feeds for poultry contain
only small percentage of actual food
nutrients, but are important because
of their succulence and bulk. which
tighten the grain rations and assist in
keeping the birds in good condition.
The poultryman should secure a suf-
hcient supply of such feeds to last
through the winter months in sections
where growing green feeds can not be
obtained. When chickens are fatten-
ed without the use of milk, green feed
helps to keep them in good condition,
says the Weekly News Letter of the
Department of Agriculture.
Cabbages. mangel wurzels, clover,
alfalfa, and sprouted oats are the
green feeds commonly used during the
winter. Cabbages do not keep as well
in ordinary cellars as mangel wurzels,
so where both of these feeds are avail
able the cabbages are fed first They
are often suspended. while the man
gel wurzels are split and stuck on
nail on the wall of the pen. Glover
and alfalfa may be fed as hay, cut in
to one-half to 1 inch lengths, or may
be bought in the form of meal. AL
falfa meal has feeding analysis equal
to bran, but is not as digestible on ac-
count of it's larger percentage of fiber.
Glover and alfalfa should be cut while
slightly immature, if they are to be
cured and fed to poultry. The leaves
and chaff from such hay are especially
adapted for poultry feeding
Sprouted oats make a very good
green feed and are used quite extern
| sively in this country. The oats can
be soaked for IL hours in warm water
4 a nd than INIT IA a In IF fp~nx
one-half to II inches deep on a floor
or in tray or tier of flats, which have
openings or holes or a three-six-
teenths (3-16) inch mesh wire bot
tom, so that the water drains freely.
They may be stirred daily and sprin-
killed. or allowed to sprout without
stirring, until ready for feeding. They
are usually fed when the sprouts are
from to l " inches long, although
some poultrymen prefer to allow the
sprouts to grow to 2 or inches long
Oats need a moist and warm atmos-
phere in which to sprout quickly, so
| that it is necessary to furnish heat or
to keep them in a warm room during
the winter, while they may be sprout-
ed out of doors during the rest of the
year. 1t takes from 6 to 10 days to
sprout oats, depending on the tempera-
ture of the room. Oats frequently be-
come dry. Keep them in cloth that
has been soaked in formalin. Oats
thus treated and dried may be held
for a long time for sprouting.
Where the double-yard system Of
combining poultry is used, one of the
yards is kept in green feed into which
the hens are turned when the crop at
| tains height of 4 or 5 inches This
method of alternately yarding poultry
furnishes green feed for the birds and
at the same time freshens the yard.
Rape, wheat, rye, oats, and barley are
usually sown for this purpose. Rye
| is good for late fall and early spring
feeding, as it will live through the
winter in most sections. Oats, wheat,
and barley are used throughout the
spring, summer, and early fall. Sew
eral of these grains may be sown to-
gether to secure greater variety of
green feed, and any quick-growing
grains may be used for this purpose.