Show winter eggs and how to get them em by lly G E conkey how flow are you and your hena hens going to get along this winter are they going to apty their own way or will you hive have to cai eat ry them along is a expense until warm weather it will pay you to think about this now and to plan iho the handling bandling of jour birds for the coming months when aou a once look into the subject of winter laying aou a will find it extremely interesting and you will got grit a lot of pleasure from carrying out ideas that you feel will make it easier for your flock to sing winter egg longs tongs usually all that is necessary to start such welcome sounds is to house the birds comfortably keep them free from lice and feed enough of iho tho right foods to furnish a surplus of mit motomi erial over what is required by the buds to supply heat and energy and repair their waste tissues the housing can very easily be taken care of by seeing t th list t the w win ter home of i 3 our birds is iad dy d y and f free ree from drafts that it provides each bird with at least four square feet of floor space and that it is kept clean and sanitary hens need lota lots of fresh dry air so it is a good plan to have the south side of their house contain a good sized opening covered with muslin this will admit plenty of air yet protect the birds from cold winds and snow when our birds are on the roosts boosts they will need more warmth than during the day but the roosting quarters should not be oer overheated heated if there is a tight wall back of the roosts on e ich side a piece of burlap hung in front of them will afford the birds ample protection in even very cold weather the lice problem too can be easily disposed of by occasionally dusting your birds with a good lice and keeping them supplied with a dust bath the third and most interesting intes esting phase of winter egg production is the proper method of feeding fee dinic there different opinions on are a number of this subject and it affords every poultry owner an opportunity for some practical experimenting however you will find it hard to improve upon mixed grains for the morning meal you fou can make an excellent grain ration by mixing equal parts of oats wheat and cracked corn in ex cold weather the proportion could bo be changed to two parts of cracked corn to ono one part of each of the other grains all grains should be fed in a deep litter so that your birds will have to hunt out every kernel and thereby be kept busy all day long in that way they will get enough exercise exercise to keep them in laying trim no matter how bow much care you give your hens they will not lay if they are allowed to become lazy or however when grains alono alone are fed it is hard for hens to eat enough to supply the surplus material necessary for egg production for this reason you will do well to also feed a good mash there are a number of was of making such a mash and it might bo be well for you to experiment until you find the one ofie that gives best results with your hock flock under your particular conditions every mash however should contain a fair proportion of beef scraps as the animal protein in them greatly aids digestion and egg production the mash found to be the most productive of winter eggs by tho the cainell 01 nell experiment station is made by thoroughly mixing CO 60 ibs lbs cornmeal GO 60 ibs lbs wheat 30 ibs lbs wheat bran 10 colba lbs alfalfa meal 50 ibs lbs beef scraps I 1 ib salt such a mash should be fed dry and kept before your birds at all times so that they can help themselves whenever they feel hungry for it if a good poultry tonic is mixed with it the egg producing organs of your hens will bo be constantly regulated and tho maximum egg yield made possible another groat great help to egg production is buttermilk or skim milk provided you have or can get got a constant supply of it to feed regularly when either is fed regularly the amount of beef scraps can be cut in half A daily supply of succulent green food too will ill satisfy your birds natural craving for green material and help tc to keep them in lading laing trim you can supply green stuff by giving the birds sprouted oats or sliced vegetables et ables such as cabbage beets mangels or small potatoes of course grit ground oyster shell charcoal and flesh water should be kept before your birds all tho the time in III cold weather the water should be heated enough to take the chill off these little attentions aro are quite a pleasure to the man or woman who is getting winter eggs and therefore you are sure to find the carrying out of the plans and experiments along these lines both pleasant interesting and table |