The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-11-02

condition. This should include throw
ing out all the nesting material and
litter. sweeping the interior of the
walls and floor, and spraying the en-
tire inside of the house with a good
disinfecting spray. II the interior Of
the house can De wmtewashed. 1t Of
fers an added advantage in making the
house lighter. and thus giving the
birds longer time each day in which
to consume feed. After the house is
given a thorough cleaning, the nests.
perches, dropping boards and wall
adjacent to these parts should be
painted with carbolineum. The
painting Of these sections with this
preparation eliminates any danger
from red mites. Two applications
year. one In the spring and one in the
fall. is sufficient to eradicate these
pests completely. After cleaning. the
nests should be provided with clean
shavings and the floor covered with
coarse straw. The windows should be
thoroughly cleaned outside and In,
and torn or badly soiled muslin on the
curtain frames should be replaced.
Housing the Layers.
When the selected yearling hens are
placed in their permanent winter quar-
tiers they should be treated with So
dunn fiuoride in order to eradicate
the body louise. The sodium fluoride
can be applied either dry as a powder,
In which practice six or eight pinches
are worked into the down and feath-
ers in different parts Of the body. or II
the weather is warm the birds may
be dipped In a sodium fiuoride solu-
ton. This operation does not take
very long. but II properly done brings
about a complete ebsence Of body lice,
and does not need to be done oftener
than ance a year, provided no in
fected birds which have not been
treated are introduced into the flock
in the interval.
When the pullets are brought into
the laying houses of the ranges they
should be carefully culled. We know
from experience that the early matur-
ing bullets are the heaviest producers,
as a rule. Hence, when housing future
layers an effort should be made, II
more than one pen is to be used. to
put birds of the same age and of the
same maturity in pens together. Only
healthy, vigorous, we'll grown pullets
should be held over the winter, and a
rigid selection should be made at this
season to see that only the best are
housed and the culls disposed Of.
In general, birds are best housed a
few weeks before they begin laying
heavily. II they are allowed to lay
heavily on the range removing them
to their winter quarters gives them a
check which may force some of the
early producers into a fall moult.
Fall and Winter Feeding.
In the rations fed and the feeding
practice followed lies one of the great
est possibilities for the securing of a
maximum egg production. Not only
must a we'll balanced ration be secured
and proper amounts fed. but the feeder
must constantly observe his birds
note the condition of their appetite
and the egg production secured, and
80 modify the amount of grain fed as
to maintain the flock up to max
imum consumption Of food, which al
ways means a maximum production
The success Of any flock of laying
, hens depends in large part upon the
feeder and how carefully he manipu-
lates his rations. The following ration
has been used successfully at the
State Poultry Farm at New Bruins
wick. n. j., and at the egg laying con-
| test at Vineland for the past three
| years, and 1t is recommended as an es'
pecially efficient ration to feed laying
hens.
| The dry mash is composed of equa
parts of wheat bran, wheat middlings
! ground oats, corn meal and meal
/ scrap. The scratch grain ration /:
composed OF equal parts OF cracked
corn. wheat and oats.
The mash should be kept before tn
birds all the time in self-feeding hop
pers, and the grain fed sparingl!
morning and night. The risk in feed
ing fiocks of pullets in the fall is L
feed them such proportions OF masl
and grain that they will continue +
gain IN weight slightly, and it vii
usually be found that they will reacl
their maximum weight about Januar
/, after which time the rations shout
be modified to meet more intensiv
producing conditions. Then again Il
the early summer when the birds ar
finishing their period OF heavy produc
ton the rations should be modified
not in the proportion of ingredients 4
the mash or grain but in the rela
tive amounts of each which are fec
Careful feeding studies lead US TO be
lieve that for the best results the pull
let f1ocks should receive In the IA
about two parts of grain to each par
of mash consumed. From about Feb
ruary until June they should receiv
approximately equal parts OF graf
and mash. But beginning in June an
throughout the summer the grain ra
ton should be gradually decreased 4
amount, thus compelling the birds I
eat more dry mash. This practice no
only results in a greater egg produc
ton but in slight cheapening of tn
ration The following table gives 4
condensed form the approximat
amount OF grain which should be fed I
100 hens per day in order to insure tn
proper proportion OF mash and graiI
II the amount of grain fed can b
distributed over three feelings II seem
to work out beneficially. giving a yer
small feeding OF grain lmorning an
noon and the-.bulk OF the grain a
night:
AMOUNT OF GRAIN TO FEED LAYER
EACH MONTH IN THE YEAR.
Pounds day Pounds for
for 100 birds. each feedlnI
Months AM P.A
November .......,.."12 and
i ,