The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1922-10-10
FEEDING POULTRY

The present piactlce OF leeulllS
particularly for production of Win
ter eggs, had come about through
gradual evolution and is largely the
result of scientific investigation. 1t
consists of feeding mixture made
up of hard grains twice daily scat
tered in moderately deep litter OF
some suitable material, preferably
rye straw. Wheat and buckWheat
straw will answer the purpose salts
factorily as will cut fodder, corn
stalks and pine needles. Leaves are
of considerably less value as litter,
though they may be SO used where
other litter material is not readily
available. The mash is fed in self
feeding hoppers or troughs and kept
constantly before the + owls. In
other words the layers should have
easy access to the mash every minute
OF every day.
The secret of successful winter
feeding depends upon the proper
tons in which the two mixtures are
fed or the proportions in which they
are consumed by the fowls. The
scratch feed usually consists of a va
riety of hard grains such as corn,
Katir corn, wheat oats, buckWhedt
and barley. A some and very salts
factory mixture consists of equal
parts by weight of cracked corn or
whole corn wheat and oats or bar
ley. For the mash such food mater
ials as bran, middlings, gluten, al
falfa, ground oats corn meal meat
scrap and fish meal are employed. AS
the proportion Of protein varies in
the different grades OF meat feeds,
the quantities Of meat scrap or other
animal substance used in the mash
must vary i'll proportion to their
protein content. The nutritive ratio
Of the mash should be about l to 2.5
of the scratch feed / to 3, while the
combined ratio of the two is a frac-
ton over l to 5, which when fed in
the right way to well matured fowls
properly housed, will practically
force egg production during the most
rigorous winter months.
Skim milk or buttermilk may be
partly or wholly substituted for beef
scrap provided there is a sufficient
supply. but it should not be given tc
the exclusion of fresh fater. A good
plan is to give the fowls all they will
drink during the morning hours and
then furnish them water in the at
ternoon and use only half the
amount OF beef scrap recommended
for the mash.
Feed during the cold weather some
kind of succulent green food every
day, such as cabbage beets, potato
es, turnips tops, kale etc. These
foods with their natural juices, aid
digestion and furnish small amounts
of food materials. A head of cab
bagG weighing one and one-half
pound, will answer for thirty-five
fowls, as will the same weisnt Of
beets OF turnips.
The practise advocated by the
writer is to feed two ounces of the
scratch feed to each hen laying, one
ounce in the morning, from one half
to one hour after the fowls have left
the roosts and one ounce in the af-
ternoon or better still feed a little
less than an ounce in the morning
and the balance something more than
an ounce in the afternoon. This is
scattered we'll into the litter, in or
der to force the hens to scratch and
work for it. Exercise is neco sSary
to maintain health and vigor. If
the two ounces of grain are proper
ly fed, each fowl will then eat from
one and one-half ounces to one and
three-quarters ounces of mash Now
as hens tat are laying heavily re
quire TO rthe manufacture OF eggs
more food than is required for hens
that are not laying, it is best to feed
to the non layers. 100 we'll grown
(but not laying) pullets will require
10 to 20 pounds of feed daily in the
proportion of II pounds of scratch
feed to or 8 pounds of mash. As
the pullets come into laying they re
quire more food and as the mash
consumption increases it is necessary
to increase the allowance Of hard
grain to II pounds. As a matter of
fact the amount of mash feed 10 be
eaten is regulated by the amounts of
scratch feed fed.
During cold freezing weather hot
drinking water should be SUPPLIED