Show BAMBOOZLE HENS BY USING LIGHTS lengthening day must bo be done carefully to pay being notoriously dimple minded tha th hen can readily be bamboozled bamboozler by the use of electric lights into working 14 24 hours a day daring during the winter but the trick la Is a good one only when it works and the careless or ignorant user of lights can do his flock more damage than the extra eggs will pay for the theory of the thing Is that having more light the hen will cat eat more food which will enable her to lay a more e begs s A series of cautions for the user of lights in the poultry house Is found on the ohio state poultry calendar they are as follows I 1 grade and pen pullets ace according to age condition and laying qualities BO so chat that each group may be properly handled 2 excessive fall production makes it hard to keep the flock in heavy production duran during the winter 3 don dont t use lights to produce more than a 14 hour day excessive use of lights means overproduction followed by a slump 4 to avoid avold a spring molt discontinue lights slowly in the spring 6 use lights on breeders bleeders bre eders only after andary january I 1 to 15 in order to help them back into production 6 0 don t crowd production ever ver 00 per cent otherwise the flock will become thin and molt 7 be regular in management and the ue ure of lights 8 feed grain liberally when using lights 0 9 always have feed and water available when lights are on 10 do not turn lights off too early in the spring 11 do not stop feeding early and late in the day when lights are finally eliminated early hatched pullets best for winter eggs where eggs in winter are wanted the early hatched pullet Is without doubt the one to depend upon yearling bens hens and those older ones are ar very rarely good producers during november and december they are uncertain even in january jannary and february and really do not begin to lay well ell until march where the egg production falls below 15 pet pez cent during the winter months one Is not making much profit the age at which most pullets begin laying Is from six to seven months some lay at four and one halt half to fira months and others not until eight or nine months of age this means that it if A 50 per cent egg yield Is wanted in november vember Io the pullets should be hatched during march or april may hatched pullets will lay a little but as a rule not 40 or more per cent diely vigor and vitality of parent stock weg weighty kyll t y successful hatching of eggs in cincu banors depends fully as much on iha the vigor igor and vitality of the parent stock and the care of the eggs before being put into the incubator as upon the incubator itself successful hatches can be expected only when the birds in the pena pens from which the eggs come are enjoying an abundant health poor hatches are probably caused more frequently by poor breeding stock than by poor incubators poultry facts as liens hens pay for warming their drink 0 the largest breed of chickens raised in the united states Is said to be th the jersey black giant glant 0 build the me straw loft straight across there should be 12 to 18 inches of straw after it has settled 4 0 0 watch the old hens in your poultry flock they are dangerous spreaders eprea dera of poultry tuberculosis 0 Il the lading houses Is becoming a more frequent practice it if heat beat Is ts properly applied and used with discretion it should prove beneficial 0 0 0 liquid condensed or dried skim milk or buttermilk Is valuable for win ter feeding milk has a tonic effect whets the appetite appetite for other feeds and serves as a it partial substitute tor for green feed 0 0 A straw loft just high enough to keep you from using swear words will make a lot of difference in keeping th tha poultry house warm and dry 0 0 producers have haie had experience in the past where their hens did better when confined to the houses than when they were given range 0 0 over one half of the total egg crop for the year la is produced during tha the four months of march april may and june according to united states state department part ment of agriculture statistics |