Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-29
Fowls Know Their Needs.


Fowls Know Their Needs.
There is little il any danger of feed
ing the fowls too much green stuff at
any time of the year. They know their
needs and can be depended upon to sup
ply them II they have the chance
Fowls closely yarded, as is the case
at most of the smaller poultry plants.
seldom or never get all the green stuff
they want and need. Even during the
summer the green feed too often con-
the like. when the fowls relish much
more keenly big feed Of juicy. succu-
lent stun such as cabbage leaves. beet
tops-anything. in short. that comes
fresh and crisp from the garden.
Pea Haulm Is Good.
Pea hau;m. or the vines from which
the garden peas have been gathered, is
relished by the fowls. even though a
great part of the vines appears dry and
Withered This material, removed from
the garden and thrown to the chick ems
will be consumed to the last scrap: and
the same is true of bean and lima bean
vines.
II there are more string beans than
the family needs, the fowls will con-
sumo these ALSO provided they are first
run through an ordinary family size
food chopper. A good ''mess'' of green
stun may be made with little trouble
and labor. by grinding up in this man
ner pea hulls. green beans, cabbage
leaves and trimmings, potato parings.
etc Use the coarse grinder, making
the mass a juicy mixture of bits about
the size of small pea. 1t is pleasing
to watch the hens Ego after" such a
reed: devouring it until their crops are
hlled almost to bursting, apparently.
Radtshes that have grown too old
and strong to be palatabIe are keenly
re!ished by the fowls. These may be
bages that have started to 20 to seed
are useless for the family, but the
chickens like them as we'll that way as
II they were young and tender.
Add Bulk to Ration.
1t must not be taken for granted that
such green stun is an entire ration. as
TINS Is by no means the case. The use
of liberal quantities of green, succulent
stun as a poultry feed is rather as
valuable adjunct to the grain and mash
rattons. The green feed adds bulk. fur
nfshes additional quantities of water
most garden vegetable being composed
mostly OF water, anyhow-and keeps
the digestive apparatus of the fowls
erly.
1t 10 true that fowls that receive all
they will eat of crisp, fresh green feed
VIII not consume quite as much grain
ana mash as they would If the green
stun was not fed SO literally. How
ever. the actual saving Of more exnen-
sive FEEDS is not the principal advan-
tage OF using green STUFF literally: that
is found in the greatly increased vieor.
thriftiness and the better general
health of the fowls fed all they want of
waste
Many poultrynen nowadays make
practice OF growing large quantities of
root crops such as carrots, turnips. ruta
bagas. mange1 wurzels and the like. as
well as pumpkins. etc. to be stored for
winter feed for their fowls Liberal use
OF such feeds during the late fall and
through the winter increases egg pro-
duction to marked degree, and also
aids in keeping the yolks Of the eggs
bright yellow In color. like summer
eggs. and the whites firm. Too often
winter eggs have yolks Of a pale.
whitish yellow color, while the whites
OF the eggs are thin and watery. Such
eggs are not produced by hens that
have plentiful supply of juicy. fresh
green feed in addition to their regular
ration Of mash. hard grains. etc.
Furthermore. eggs produced by hens
that have all the green stuff they want,
summer and winter, have far greater
hatchability than do the eggs pro-
duced by hens given only the mash and
grains. with an occasional feed Of
sprouted oats. Breeding pens mated up
for production of Matching eggs for ex-
ira early chicks should by all means
have all the green stuff they will eat
They will then retain almost unimpaired
the vigor they had on the range during
the summer months. and the eggs they
lay will hatch better and produce live
lier and better chicks than will eggs
laid by breeders that are not fed in
this manner.
Feed the hens. we'll as the grow
ing chicks. all the crisp. juicy vegeta-
bic matter they want during the sum
mer. Do not think that because they
get bushel or So of lawn clippings
every now and then they are properly
supplied with the green feed their sys-
TENS demand. The lawn clippings are
all very well in their way. but sue
culent cabbage head or a lot of waste
vegetables or vegetable tops and trim
mings will be far more keenly relished
than the finest lawn clippings ever fed
The results will show in a consid-
erably auickened moult. in mainte-
nance of health and vigor during the
mounting period and prompt resump-
ton of laying at the end of the moult;
in better eggs and more of them. In
winter well as during the natural
laying months. and in better and more |
livable chicks Matched from such eggs
They will also show in thriftier and |
the added quiet and satisfied condition |
Of the fowls, no matter whether they |
are closely confined in yards or not. |
and in the more complete utilization |
of the entire ration and its assimila- +!
ton by the fowls.
Bowel trouble Is not at all likely |
to follow the most liberal use of the |
succulent green vegetable feed as the |
fowls, even in chickhood. know how |
much they need of such feed, and do |
not gorge on it as they often do on |
mash or on animal feed such as beef |
scrap. when the opportunity is afford
ed them to do
Liberal feeding of such green stuff |
also helps to keep the fowls cool dur
ing hot weather. and thus adds ma
terially to their comfort. The large !
quantities Of water contained in the |
green stuff. added to the water the
fowls will drink, keeps the blood clean
and properly thinned for the summer
season: and fowls that have such |
quantities of juicy vegetable stun are
always quieter on the roosts at night |
than are those that get only the regu-
lation mash and grain, with the occa-
sional feed of lawn clippings that too
often forms the sole green feed of the
yarded flock.