Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1920-12-15

herit the tendency toward high egg
production, the next question of i'm
portance has to do with the proper
care of the breeding birds in order
that their eggs may be suitable for
Matching
The style and type OF the house TO
be used should not differ materially
from the open front laying house
commonly used, but particular care
should be taken to see that there is
an abundance Of fresh air and all OF
the sunshine the weather will permit.
Plenty OF room should be provided,
as breeding birds should never be
crowded. Crowding makes sufficient
exercise impossible and means dam
ger from disease and parasites. II
the birds are to be mated In small
units it may be desirable in some
localities to use small colony houses
but in this climate during the long
rainy season it is generally consider
ed more desirable to use long house,
possibly a little narrower than the
laying house. which may be divided
up into pens as may be necessary,
and in which one can work in comfort
without the necessity of being out
in the rain continuously, as is neces-
sary with the small separate build
ings. It is generally conceded that
It is desirable to. give the breeding
birds as much outside range as Is
possible. This provides natural con-
ditions and the exercise in the open.
air tends to make them rugged and
hardy and to keep them in a healthy
condition. The range is more de-
sirable II there Is some greed food for
them to secure. Absolute cleanliness
and sanitation in the house are, OF
course, absolutely essential
The object in managing breeding
birds should be to keep them healthy
and vigorous-to develop rugged,
sturdy, hardy constitutions. The eff
fort should be to secure quality in
the eggs, even II high egg produc-
tion must be sacrificed to some ex-
tent. Plenty OF exercise should be
the rule at all times. This can best
be secured by feeding all of the
grain fed in deep litter of dry
straw. BY deep litter is meant at
least six inches of straw. More may
be used. It should be changed as
frequently as necessary to keep it
clean and dry. Damn, heavy litter
is worse than one as the birds can
not work in 1t and It tends to spread
or develop disease Lack Of exercise
tends to increase fat formation In
the body, the birds become sluggish,
lose their appetites and digestive dis
turbances follow, all II which is bound
to affect the fertility and hatchability
of the eggs and the INABILITY of the
chicks.
The feed for the breeding stock
should be very much the same as for
the laying flock, but there are some
changes which are advisable. With
the laying flock the object is to get
large numbers of eggs and they
should be forced to eat all they can
hold so that their egg producing ma
chinery can work at its maximum ca
pacity all the time, In other words,
it is question. of feeding them so
much that they must clay or bust"
But with the breeders 1t is quality
and not quantity that Is wanted: /
First, large uniform eggs with good
strong shells; second, fair number
OF eggs; third, strong germs; fourth,
heavy albumen, dense and free
from an excessive amount of water
Such eggs are only secured from
healthy, mature hens fed a properly
balanced ration. The ideal method
is to keep the hens on just a main
tenance ration after the moulting |
season, just keeping them in good |
condition. They should be allowed
to rest and egg production should
not be encouraged until about a
month or so before the Matching sea-
son.
Mash sfeeds, and particularly the
meat feeds included in the mashes
are designed to stimulate egg pro-
duction, therefore the hens should