The Holly chieftain., 1924-03-13
POULTRY DEMONSTRATION

Club rooms last Fliday Afternoon
under charge of the County Agent
{. A. Peterson. Tho lecturer anC
demonstration was o. G. Krum. 6
poultry specialist of Fort Collins
Using a series of charts he spoke
very Interestingly on the care and
feeding of hens and the Matching
of chicks. He conducted an open
forum at the close of his address
In which many questions were ask.
ed and answered
Mr.. krum said in part: The hens
OF the state average about Is eggs
apiece during the year. The num-
Der ought to be 300, The greatest
need is careful, scientific feeding
An egg consists of ten per cent
mineral (the she'll GG per cent
water, II per cent fat and 13 per
cent protein.
Water is a vital factor. The wat
er for the birds should have the
chill taken Off IN the winter and
be Kept cool in the summer. Tt
should always be clean and there
should be plenty Of it. When the
food is wet an in mash they eat
more OF 1t. but too much wet
mash is not desirable as it fattens
them too much Hens need succu
lent feed as appetizcrs and laxative
ms well as for the yitamines. Such
feed as sDrOuted grain, cabbage.
beets, sugar beets. and such like
green feed are good for them.
Steamed alfalfa leaves are excellent
but the meal is not so good on ac.
count of the fiber in the stems,
which is. of course, ground up in
the meal. Hens cannot digest fiber
and only small amount is needed
for roughage to clean out the in
testines.
There must be mineral fed to
make shell Some people think
that If their hens do not lay soft
Shelled eggs then they have miner
al enough. But not so For little
mineral fed them means fewer eggs
and soft shelled eggs are more Of.
ten due to the over-fat condition
of the hen. Feed the hens oyster
shells in preference to lime rock.
One gets only so per cent of egg
production on lime rock compared |
with oyster shell. Clam shell is too
slow in dissolving to be fed. A lot |
of clam shell is dumped on us every
year because the eastern poultry
raisers will not feed it, 1t is some
times sold here and labeled oyster
shell. 1t is much harder than the
latter and can be broken only with
difficulty. Avoid it as a mineral
food.
Fat needed by the hen comes
from sugars, starchcs, and fat.
Corn. sugar beets and meal are
good fattenlng foods. Fat is need
ed for body warmth and for the
yOlk of the egg TOO much fattcn-
ing food should be avoided as they
make the hen lazy and sluggish.
She exercises too little and digests
her food too slowly and lays fewer
eggs.
Chickens need feed high in pro-
tein like soy beans. peas, lnseed
OIL milk meat and tankage when
it is nearly free from blood. Blood
is not good for hens. skim milk is
excellent. 1t Is worth four cents
a gallon to feed laying hens Sour
milk is best. Any germs in the
milk are then killed by the lactic
acid. But do not keep milk for
hens in metal containers, but in
crooks or wooden vessels A wood
en- trough is most convenient and
safest.
Protein is needed by the mother
hen to build the structure OF the
chick. But too much protein al
fccts the kidneys and pOisons the
blood Yet there is little danger
Of too much protein on account of
the cost. Jack rabbit meat is good
for hens If free from germs. Too
insure this cook the meat Our
soil is full Of germs that cause bot
ulic poisoning. / a pile Of dead rab.
bits are hcapcd on the ground an
airlcss space may be produced
where the rabbits come in contact
with the earth. Here the germs
viii rapidly develop and ii this
meat is eaten by the hens there is
grave danger of botullnus poison
ing. Golden Meat Scraps made in
Denver are excellent. One pound
Of protein Is needed to four and