Show fan flo INS IR FIND WEED IS CAUSE OF GRASS EGGS presence of the common weed vreed known as shepherds purse bursa pastors pastor ls in pasture ot 0 laying hens la is responsible for a peculiar condition in the eggs known to tho ho egg buyer as grass egg alfalfa or green rot investigations by prof I 1 L F payne of tile the kansas state agricultural college poultry department indicate professor paynes account of the investigations Is contained in poultry science grass eggs were espella especially I 1 ly prevalent on the market last spring professor payne observed but no explanation could be offered by buyers or flock owners in loss less than a week after the hens hena were given free range in the garden in the spring eggs from the flock kept by professor payne tit at his home hoine developed lark dark yolks so strong in flavor that they could not he relished professor ailyne discovered alic that the birds were eating freely of shepherds purse which grew in profusion in the garden several flocks of chickens from which a large percentage of eggs offered for sale bale hall had dark or olive colored yolks were located through a manhattan shipper these flocks were examined and it was found that they were eating the same weed experiments then were instituted Institute ci at the college poultry farm one pen of hens that lind bad not received green feed in any form the previous live five months was placed on wheat pasture and another pen on pasture containing shepherds purse the eggs from the liens hens that had bad had shepherds pur ad began to show shiow dark yolks in four days while yolks from the wheat pasture hens developed a dark color but did not within two weeks develop tile the olive color professor Pro feor payne wrote subsequent experiments were conducted in which three pens of hens that had not received green feed in any form for live five months previous to the test were used pons one two and three were given a liberal supply dally daily of fresh alfalfa penny cress nr vense find and shepherds purse respectively other hens on the poultry farm were nvere fed green sprouted oats dally daily the alie yolks from the alfalfa and sprouted oats pens continued normal but olive colored yolks were found in both tile the penny cress and shepherds purse pens professor payne suggests two preventive methods elther either keep the hens confined until there Is a variety of green feed available or supply them with wheat or rye pasture or sprouted oats throughout the winter so they will have no desire to fill up on these particular weeds |