Evening star., 1917-05-27
HIGH COST Of FEED.
POU[TRYMAN'S Problem

4uIScsOV41dI w U6ht EV1CSS QbG VI
Substitutes in Grain Ration
for Laying Hens.
Wheatless Scratch Ration Found.
Plenty Of Fresh Green STUFF
Lowers Feeding Cost.
Chief OF the problems with which the
is the excessive cost Of practically all
grains entering into the ration OF lay
ing hens. On the big commercial egg
ranches, as well as the smaller plants,
this problem is causing all manner of
worry; indeed. high feed prices have
forced scores Of poultrymen out Of the
business and resulted in the abandon
ment OF plants that few years ago
were doing a fiourishing business.
With wheat lowering around tho So
mark, and other grains soaring in price,
poultrymen have been forced to ind
substitutes for the high-priced grain or
go out Of business. There is limit
to the price consumers will pay for
eggs, even the freshest and finest "yes-
terlaid'' kind. and that limit has been
reached. 1t is true that producers of
fancy table eggs cannot keep on in
business at a loss, as they must do If
egg prices do not keep at least within
hailing distance OF feeding cost, but
people simply will not take into con-
sideration the poultrymans handicap.
the spring and summer, when prices
are at levels that seemed high for win
ter eggs a few years ago.
Find Wheatless Ration.
Wheat has always been the egg pro-
ducer's standby since the production Of
eggs in winter became more or less of
been lowering for months around the So
mark substitute for the costly grain
must be found. Experts of the poultry
husbandry division Of the Department
such a substitute. and that IL produces
emtnently satisfactory results.
According to bulletin just issued by
the department. thirty white Leghorn
pullets at the experiment station near
ration for the last eighteen months.
During their pullet year these fowls
laid an average Of 1873 eggs. This
compares favorably with egg yields Of
ems fsa on =, ratons aeat large
sixteen weeks OF their second year the
pullets in this experimental pen aver
aged 286 eggs each. 17.5 eggs per fowl
being laid in March.
following:
Scratch mixture-Ten pounds of crack
ed corn. i've pounds Of oats. fed in straw
or other litter.
Dry mash-Thirty pounds Of coarse
cornmeal. ten pounds Of beef scraps.
fed in hoppers.
During the entire experiment the
scratch mixture was fed sparingly. so
that the fowls consumed equal parts of
this, this mixture and the dry mash. The
thirty hens was f1fty-two pounds. of
which twenty-six pounds was scratch
mixture. During the year it required
four and six-tenths pounds of feed to
produce one dozen eggs.
With wheat figured at $2.57 a bushel,
cracked corn at $1.35 a bushel and oats
at 10 cents a bushel. the scratch mix
ture used was ~ cents per 100 pounds
equal parts Of wheat. cracked corn and
oats.
A dry mash mixture slightly cheaper
than the one given above, but which
failed to give quite as good results. was
composed of 4 per cent each Of bran
and middlings. 26 per cent beef scrap
and 66 per cent cornmeal.
for Larger Breeds Also.
That the experimental ration. without
wheat. is equally suitable for heavier
breeds than Leghorns, is shown by the
fact that a pen of Buff Orpington pull
let's fed on the wheatless ration since
last November laid an average of fifty
three eggs per hen in twenty weeks,
holding the highest egg record of any Of
the large feding pens at the farm this
year.
wban what To- o,o.xt>a Co.,. -
ton 1t Is necessary. says the bulletin,
to feed considerable proportion Of
beef scrap, but at present prices beef
scrap is one Of the cheapest poultry
feeds, considering its high protein con-
tent. The poultry experts in charge of
the experiments assert that the results
obtained are ample prof Of the fact that
wheat is not essential In an egg-laying
ration and that excellent results can be
obtained by using corn and oats as
scratch mixture. provided this is fed
with dry mash containing 25 per cent
of beef scrap.
Green Feed Big Help.
Feeding cost may be further reduced
without any lowering of egg produc-
tion by feeding as much fresh green
stuff as the fowls will consume. This
green feed may be lawn clippings fresh
cut clover, oats cut when about four or
five inches high. field pea vines, or
millet. cowpeas. ETC., later in the sum
mer. Fowls confined to relatively small
ranges will consume large quantities of
such feed, and. consequently will not
demand or require as much grain feed
or dry mash.
A good way to furnish such green feed
is to spade or plow fair sized plot in
the chicken runs. SOW thickly with oats
or field peas early in the spring and
cover the plot with medium fine mesh
wire netting placed two or three inches
above the ground. AS the green stuff
grows the fowls will pluck Off the tops
that come up through the meshes of
the netting, and the roots will continue
for some time to send up new growths.
The same plots may be utilized two or
three times during the spring and sum-
mer If desired. using millet or cowpeas
during the hot weather.
The green feed adds considerable bulk
to the ration and the fowls will be In
better health by reason of consuming
POULTRY, PETS G. LIVESTOCK
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.