Show A good type of black minorca by purvis PUn VIS A great many flocks of hens are fed too much when athla Is the case the hens get hot their muscles become flabby and they do not lay well hens which are fed liberally take on tat very quickly unless means to compel them to exercise is furnished this may be accomplished by throwing their feed grain into utter of some kind where they must scratch it out hens that are exercised in this way remain healthy and strong and lay regularly unless too much grain Is thrown into the litter naturally hens that are underfed will not lay so it becomes a matter of importance to know just how much should be fed to a hen to keep her healthy and in laying condition this matter has been tested many times and the conclusions do not seriously differ in my own experience I 1 have found that a leghorn hen will maintain health vigor and capacity to lay regu barly on three ounces of mixed grain a day with halt an ounce of dried and ground beef scraps substituted for the same weight of grain every other day it this be fed regularly some green feed was given at the same time but this was not considered although doubtless of value to the ration on a farm mallte would ba a good substitute for the meat this ration Is tor hens confined in yards where they cannot get any feed except that given to them hens at liberty do not need meat feed during the warm months when insects and worms abound nor do they need any green stuff of any kind A leghorn hen needs more feed in proportion to her weight than does a wyandotte or plymouth rock I 1 would say that a good ration for one of the larger breeds would be four ounces of grain per day with meat every other day as in the case of the leghorns Leg horns hens may be fed a much larger ration than they need tor they will eat as long as they can swallow their craws not seeming to have any feeling of repletion the properly fed hen will lay to the limit of her capacity on considerably less teed than Is generally given A good many hens do not pay because of too liberal feeding |