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Show THE FALL AND WINTER CARE OF THE PULLETS Comfortable Quarters nnd Bnlanced nation Needed to Gel the Esas By James J. Xlnlptn, Michigan. When tho cold nights begin to come It Is time to bring the pullets Into winter quarters. They should then begin to show signs of npproachlng maturity, lleforo bringing them In, clean tho house thoy aro to occupy, whitewash It thoroughly and dlslnfoct the perches, nest boxes, etc. Ho Suro that tho disinfectant enters every crack and crevlco. Then cover tho floor with about four inches of fine gruvel or sand. Cover this with six Inches of dry, clean, long straw, ns tho pullets will break It up quickly enough. Where leaves aro plontlful thoy may bo used nnd mako very satisfactory sat-isfactory litter, although thoy do not last as long ns straw. Whon tho houso Is ready remove tho pullets to It carefully. Do not carry them by ono leg only or other wise mlsuso them. Any rough handling han-dling at this tlmo will mean n subsequent subse-quent loss In tho eggbasket. Of course n chango always produces timidity, but by exercising great caro they will ,soon become accustomed to their now quarters. When about to enter tho houso a slight nolso announcing one's approach beforo opening the doorH will provent fright and Injury from a sudden rush or flight against obstacles In the pen. Chickens soon get to know tho call of a low, soft whlstlo announcing to them tho coming of the focd basket At this stago tho reproductive repro-ductive organs aro developing rapid-ly rapid-ly and any abuse or frightening may causo the loss of some of tho finest in tho flock. Wo have entered poultry houses in tho winter whero tho windows havo been closed for days at a tlmo. Tho heris are found standing around with their feathers ru tiled and looking us If they were nearly frozen to death. In accustoming pullets to their new quarters, seo that they always have plenty of fresh air without a draught, Ono of tho best systems of ventilation Is to havo a window hinged on ono sldo and cloth on tho other so that either ono can be swung In at will, Thoso having sliding windows can ar- Our Illustration represents 25 White Leghorn pullets reared according to methods outlined here. Twelve of these pullets were hatched early In May, -1906, and the remaining 14 during dur-ing the early part of the following month. On November 30, 1906, the range to slldo one In from either side. Doth should usually bo left open a llltla while during tho day except In extremely cold weather. Hens enjoy sunshlno and fresh air but It should come through tho window and not through cracks and crevices. No ono should expect hena to lay well In a house that Is not constructed with tight walls. The sides of many hen houses are made of unmatched lumber, lum-ber, which has shrunk, leaving cracks through which wind, rain and snow blow, perhaps directly on tho fowls. No ono should expect hens to do well In such a place. A few dollars spent on building paper and a few feet of battens will work a great change for the better. 8lmply spread tho build-j Ing paper smoothly over tho sides of tho house and then place battens on overy 18 Inches. A good coat of paint will Improve tho appearance, and mako It more lasting. Next let us consider tho feed that tho pullets should have when thoy come In off tho range. While on tho rango they doubtless found an abundance abun-dance of green food and meat In the form of grass and Insects. Wo must supply these two foods when tho pullets pul-lets are confined to the laying houses. If wo can secure skim milk at a reasonable rea-sonable price, or have It on the farm It will bo found to be an excellent food. Very often one can buy greon bono arid scraps or waste mfat from the markets' at a reasonable price. Any of these may be utilised as well as scraps from the table, si long as they are fresh. No ono should- be guilty of feeding partially decayed meat In anv form. Wo cannot expect people: to pay good proces for eggs if our fowls eat unclean- food. In some Instances In-stances tho hens aro fed the meat from any animal that dies; this practice prac-tice should not be allowed. Numerous complaints are made annually because even fresh eggs are off In flavor-When flavor-When the source of tho trouble Is traced out we Invariably find the hens havo been fed unclean food, juch as hotel swill, horse meat, or other carrion, If milk or meat scraps canflot be secured locally It Is better to buy commercial beef scrap or granulated gran-ulated milk. These will keep Indefinitely Indefi-nitely when properly stored, The green food may be supplied In She form of cut alfalfa or clover hay The bens will eat It either dry or jteamed. Mangolds or beets and cabbage cab-bage also mako excellent food and thould bo fed raw. Rrots should be tllecd )enthw)se until the hens learn to eat them, when they may be thrown tn whole. The mangel-wurtzcl Is tho best variety for chicken feed. The tabbage should be hung uu on a string where -the hens can get excrclso'work. Ing at It. Onions, turnips, potatoes and several other vegetables may bo fed. These, however, should b cooked until soft nnd then mixed -with about an equal bulk of (iron: feed while still, qulto warm. Wo prefer to feed such a feed at noon. He careful care-ful not to feed too much, ns tho hens are very fond of soft, moist mash, nnd will gorge themselves with it If given a chance. Do suro that each lien can get hor Bharo nnd do not feed more than they will eat lip clean In 15 minutes. min-utes. Also bu enreful to havo tho vegetnblcs dry enough so that when tho bran Is added It will mnko a crumbly, crum-bly, moist mixture. Alwoys ho careful to feed clean food of alt kinds, nnd shun all bad smelling disinfectants. Tho egg shell Is porous and will, therefore, allow tho egg to absorb bad odors. Stnro tho eggs In n clean placo nnd mnrkct them at tenst onco n week; by following this method one should soon bo able to get a reputation for furnishing eggs that aro good and genuinely fresh, When the pullets nro brought In from tho range they mny not ho completely com-pletely feathered. If not, on occasional occasion-al feed of sweet corn will ba a great treat for them and will help them produce pro-duce a now coat of feathers, Sunflower Sun-flower seeds contain oil and mnko an excellent addition to the ration, li el lying ly-ing to produce now feathers quickly. Oil meal or oil enko may also bo added to tho mash feed. Wo llko to uso 100 pounds of bran, 75 pounds of middlings, mid-dlings, 25 pounds oil meal, 100 pounds corn meal nnd 100 pounds beet scrap. Canada peas also make an excellent addition to tho ration during tho moulting period. Tho fowls soon learn to cat them and they will help keep tho birds vigorous during tho Btrntn of the moulting porlod. Thcro is as much tn caro and management man-agement cb in tho food. Keep the hens busy nil day and -then gtvo them enough to fill tho crops at night. In this way ono can havo healthy fowls and avoid many bad habits. It a bop average weight of this pen of pullets was 3J2 pounds. The first egg produced pro-duced by this pen was laid October 23, and during the 30 days of November No-vember a total of three hundred and ninety-one eggs were produced by the pen. per is lued to feed mnsh, supply a light feed of, grain In 'tho litter In tho morning; stir It In well so they hnvo to work to find It. At noon open tho hopper nnd let them help themsolve until about four o'clock, when It should bo closed and tho hens fed an abundant feed of grain. If some grain Is loft In tho llttor thoy will search it out the next morning. If moist mash Is fed It should be given at noon and then In moderation as tbo hens uro very fond of warm, crumbly mash In cold weather, and may engorgo their crops If fed 'ton much. Aim Jo havo a constant supply of fresh water. Do not ullow tho fowls to get too hungry but endeavor to keep them comfortable, bUBy and contented. Hy strict adherence to these rules ano should bo ablo to make tho strong vigorous pullets lay well nil the fall and winter. |
