Connecticut western news., 1921-11-03
Fresh Garbage

placed before the flock as soon as possible after it has been rejected from the table. Used judiciously the United States Department of Agri- culture says it will reduce the cost of egg and meat production from 25 to 30 per cent. The garbage must be fresh and free from all fermentation and sourness. The intrinsic value of garbage as a poultry feed is due to the fact that it provides varied ra- tion which fits all the needs and re- quirements of the flock.
 One explanation of why the small flock owner, with his backyard bevy of hens, secures heavy production of eggs, hinges around the fact that he emphasizes the use of table scraps in the ration. Similar results obtain where large commercial f1ocks are given access to daily allowances of sanitary, well-selected, and palatable garbage. Although the character of garbage varies throughout the year, due to the fact that more succulent vegetables and fruits are used during the summer, this refuse is also valuable substitute for costly grains and concentrates in the hen menu. SelectGlean Garbage-Feed it Fresh.
 Unfortunate results which in some instanes have followed the use of garbage are due to feeding a mixture of table scraps that was not carefully selected. Hens like fresh garbage, but are not able to digest scraps of tin, photograph needles, and similar foreign material. Unless such sub stances are separated from the gar bage, disastrous results invariably follow and the poultryman soon abandons garbage feeding and con demns it as unsatisfactory. The De- partment of Agriculture recommends that fresh garbage be run through meat or vegetable chopper, and mixed with a little ground feed be- fore it is fed to the fowls.
 As much of the table refuse should be fed as the flock will clean up with a relish in the course of an hour. All feed which the birds reject should be removed from the feeding pens or yards as soon as possible thereafter. Otherwise, it sours and contaminates the premises and, subsequently,, if the fowls eat it it invariably causes digestive troubles.
 Where garbage is fed, it is also prerequisite to provide light ration of grain twice daily, as we'll as to supply dry mash in hopper before the flock. As a rule table scraps are rich in protein and only occasionally is it necessary to supplement the mash with approximately 5 per cent of meat meal. During the summer garbage decomposes and ferments quickly and it must be fed before it reaches this stage. The feeding of garbage is favored during cold wea- ther because in the winter the refuse keeps better. Suburban flock-owners may often secure the garbage from neighboring families who do not keep hens. This source of feed may be so plentiful that the flockowner can expand his hen-keeping operations and even afford to pay small amount for the garbage.
 One Quart Daily Feeds 10 Hens
 Experiments in feeding garbage at the Government experimental farm at Beltsville, Md, indicate that 10 hens will consume about 1 quart of garbage daily. A suitable dry mash as supplement to this garbage con- sists of parts by weigth of corn meal, 1 part of bran, patr of mid dlings, and per cent of meat scraps. This mash is kept before the fowls all the time. The investigations dem onstrated conclusively that where fresh garbage is properly fed a fair egg crop results, while economical and rapid gains in growth are se- cured by the judicious use of table refuse in the ration. Where the garbage is plentiful and rather watery it is advisable to mix in enough supplementary mash to give the mixture a desirable consistency. If the table scraps contain much fruit and vegetable peelings, more mash should be added, while if the garbage consists chiefly of potato peelings, bread, and meat less mash should be used. Care should be exercised to drain off soapy water or excess liquid from the garbage.
 Feeds Garbage Successfully.
 A poultry farm in the District of Columbia which handles about 1000 fowls reports excellent results from the use of well-selected garbage. This material is hauled twice a day and fed to the birds about 10 o'clock in the morning and again during the middle of the afternoon so that the table scraps are fed fresh only two or three hours after they are dis carded from the kitchen. The feed ing method of this poultryman is to scatter the garbage on the grass range in such quantities that the fowls will clean up all the refuse.
 He rotates these feeding spots in such way that no contamination results. The outstanding feature of
 the success of this poultryman is