The states-graphic. (Brownsville, Tenn.) 1???-1984, 1917-09-07
WARTIME POULTRY

High wheat and the need of farmers
keeping all their pullets and young
hens this fall and winter to supply
eggs needed for our army, our allies,
and people generally should cause
poultry raisers to plan well their feed
ing rations.
In 1915, when prices on feed stuffs
began to soar, the Bureau of Animal
Industry, U. S. Department of Agricul-
ture, began working out comparative
poultry rations, using the cheaper
feeds with the following results:
Thirty Leghorn pullets were fed the
following ration:
Scratch feed-Two pounds cracked
corn, ore pound oats.
Dry Mash-Three pounds corn meal
one pound beef scraps.
They produced in their pullet year
1873 eggs per hen.
The scratch mixture was fed spar
ingly so that the hens ate about equal
parts of this mixture and the dry
mash, whic hwas supplied at all times
in an open hopper. The scratch feed
was fed in a deep litter of straw on the
poultry-house floor.
The total grain consumed per year
for each hen was So pounds, of which
25 pounds was scratch feed and 26 dry
mash. Throughout the year it took
4.6 pounds of grain to produce dozen
eggs. The thirty pullets consumed
during their laying year the following.
Corn--551 pounds at $1.4-- per
bu---- - - - - - --Sl43i
Oats,-275 pounds a $.7918 per
bu--- 6Sl
Corn meal--55l pounds & Sl.2S
Ref soral,--lss pounds 4 sa.5o -
per 100 pounds o.4Ui
The average price paid the farmers
marketing their eggs with Knoxville
wholesale shippers for the year from
June 80, 1916, to July l, 1917, has been
20 Ia cents a dozen.
The feed cost of the thirty hens
based on Knoxville wholesale prices
for the same period was $42.27. Prices
were supplied by the local mills and
feed stores. The yield of marketable
eggs was 1913 eggs for each fowl, or
a total of 4,419 eggs; or 1853 IL dozen
at 20 IA cents a dozen is $107.71 gross
income. Feed cost was $42,27, making
the net incomeS65.44 from thirty hens
during twelve months. Cost of green
feed, water, grit and oyster she'll were
not considered.
The egg yield by months is not given
here, but rather the annual total. In
order to get the estimate, the prices
paid to shippers and producers, and
the prices of feeds for the same time
in hunrded pound lots have been used
The results are highly interesting, as
many farmers have felt that, at pres
ent feed prices, they could not keep
their poultry proftably.
This is evident; One cannot afford
0 keep male birds with layers, know
knowing that twoo ROSTERS consume
the same feed as three laying hens
and three hens on the same feed pro-
duce net profit for the year of $6.74
over the cost of food consumed, using
last years figures.
These results show that 200 hens,
properly housed and fed, can be made
a profitable investment on a Tonnes
see farm.
Only young hens and early, wen ma
lures pulelts should be kept, and if not |
sufficient of them are available, the
flock should be brought up to this num-
Der by purchase and selection. The
winters price will in all probability |
be higher than last seasons by a good
Let us keep more poultry,
Let us house the birds properly.
Farmers Bulletin STA tells how.
Let us feed a balanced ration.
As early as possible, by all means by
early in September, sow an acre of
dwarf Essex rape for winter green
stun. Use the summer garden plot
for this planting.-N. R. Crane, spe-
cialist in Poultry Husbandry.