Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1936-10-02
BIG CHANGE IN
POULTRY INDUSTRY
in FOOD Line

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there has been in the poultry industry
and the hen; from the bird that natur-
ally foraged her own feed, provided
her own housing facilities, and laid
about two dozen eggs per year, hatch
ed them, raised the chicks-to the
200 egg per year bird. This is in
deed progress. Many of the better
flock owners are now approximating
this amount.
All this has not come about just
by chance. 1t has taken years of
study and experimenting and the fun
damentals of good poultry manage
ment, of the proper breeding program
of balanced ration feeding schedule
have been materially simplified.
The United States Department of
Agriculture and the Poultry Exten-
sion Departments of our State schools
cooperating, have rendered the pro-
Queer service of untold value. Up to
date! authentic poultry information
can be secured from these sources at
comparatively no cost.
Hens like all other animals and
birds, are intended to reproduce a GER
tain number of times. The Hens ma
tural reproduction capacity is from
two to three weeks (about "a to Sc
eggs) per year, and this during the
warm months. In addition to laying
the number of eggs, she stores up in
her body number of additional yolks
in all probability to help maintain her
body during the winter months when
feeds would be scarce.
Because we wanted more eggs and
fresh eggs the year around, it was
necessary to force production.
We decided to feed the year around
and give her warm quarters; this
added some to production. In addi-
ton, we found by feeding certain ma
terials we could make many more
whites for these stored up yolks, and
this further increased production.
While we say this increased produc-
ton, it may not be true, for if given
time enough it appears that hens will
lay total of almost as many eggs
On one system of feeding and housing
as the other. However, by proper
housing and feeding, the hen lays
these eggs over period of 18 months
to two years as against 5 to z years
under the old or normal way of feed
ing and housing. From this it can
easily be seen that a great deal of
feed and time can be saved in the new
method and incidentally we have
fresh eggs the year around, also when
we decide to kill the hen, she is
edible.
To accomplish this, we find it nee
essary to feed not only SCRATCH
FEEDS, (starch and sugar; whole
grain feeds) but we must feed EGG
MASH (Proteins; ground grains
grain by-products; meat, fish and
milk feeds).
Proper feeding has played quite an
important part in this procession of
progress in the poultry industry. The
reputable commercial feed organiza-
lions have made it possible for more
and more producers to secure scien-
tifically compounded, uniformly mix
ed feeds, producing balanced ration.
1t has long been a question wheth-
er the hen is actually working for
the producer, the question of clay
ers or Loafers." They will work if
given chance feeding-but a def
mite program of feeding the best.
That is, feeds made of grains, meat
fish products and milk in proper bal
ance, with the essentials of sunshine
in the form of tested Cod Liver Oil
and minerals. Nothing is so pro.
ductive as this type of diet for lay
ing hens. Cod Liver Oil is equally
essential in starting and growing
mashes fed to baby chicks. One in
terestlng way to determine feed costs
is by the use of the Quick Method for
Calculating Cost of Eggs as shown
in University of Illinois Circular No
275. Fundamentally, the real test of
any feeding program is it's results
measured in costs per dozen of eggs
and its effect on the birds. 1t is
no secret that birds bred to lay 200
eggs per year will not accomplish this
result unless, among other things, the
feeding program is correct.