The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-05
Green feed helps hens down to good laying weight
By MRS. JOHN c. MOSES

By MRS. JOHN C. MOSES Hen obesity and hen languor are op-
 posed to profitable poultry production be
 cause excessively fat hens, as well as | languid, lazy hens, lay few eggs and de- l vote their energies to storing up surplus , aN cirdupois instead of of concentrating on ! the manufacture of an egg every other | day. Hustle yourself old lady hen, and do
 not develop ennui to the extent that you
 become portly and ambitonless. Remem- Der that all the consumers love a fat
 hen on the table while all the producers
 deplore too fat a hen in the flock. Hence 1 be forewarned and forearmed-doff your 1 sluggish, phlegmatic tendencies or else
 youll have to execute some clever lodging
 to escape the axe.
 Early molting hens may lay well dur
 ing the spring season. but when the sum
 mer is on in all it's glory they slump
 and decline in production to the extent 1 that it is extravagant to keep them long | CT in the flock. Good spring layers often
 are not good summer layers.
 i No hen should be sold while she con- | tinues to. lay. Occasionally a hen that
 has become broody may again resume 1 laying after brief period and continue
 profitable production throughout the sum
 mer. Generally speaking, all hens that
 begin to mott in June July should be disposed of as soon as they stop laying. KEEP EGG BASKET FULL 1 Where a full egg basket is desired, it l is essential to provide the flock with
 plenty of fresh air and sunshine during | the summer as well as an abundance of shade, as hens cannot withstand excess
 sive heat. It is necessary to provide ! plenty of green feed, such as beet, turnlp, carrot and onion tops, rape. as we'll as waste leaves from cabbage and lettuce. a a s watermelon and cantaloupe rinds and grass clippings. Bread and cake crumbs make desirable filling food for the hens. | The suburban housewife whose neighbors l do not maintain flocks should request | them to save their scraps for her hens. In | the main, the small flock can be main
 tained in this manner at slight expense. vhile the fowl will be provided with plenty of essential food.
 Meat scraps from the table, with such | bugs and worms as the range proXldes, supply plenty of animal food. It IS pref- , erable to run the meat scraps through a meat grinder and then to mix them with three parts of cornmeal and one
 part of wheat bran. This mixture should :, be fed at midday, while the grain sup l ply, consisting of cracked or whole corn | or oats-about one-half a pint to 10 hens-should be fed in the litter during
 the morning so that the birds will scratch ! TOT II. II tdDle dIe ilot dNdiioDio | in plenty, grain should also be fed at night In case the hens show a ten- dency to get too fat it is advisable to | reduce the amount of grain.
 BUY BEEF SCRAPS
 l In case the meat leftovers from the l family table are not sufficient to pro- ! vide scraps for the hens, it is desirable | to purchase and feed beef scraps. Further mere the hens should be given constant access to grit or small stones which the ! fowl can readily swallow, and they should also be supplied with crushed oyster or clam shells. Laying hens, during the pe-
 riod of hot weather, require plenty of fresh clean water which should be kept l in a clean fountain or pan placed in the ] shade
 | Such provisions for the comfort and | convenience of the flock are usually re-