OCR Text |
Show either sour milk all that the birds will drink or in case sour milk is not available, commercial beef scrap. One-fourth One-fourth of the ground feed should consist con-sist of beef scrap in case this is used. The importance of keeping grit and oyster shell before the birds at all times cannot be overestimated and is especially important during the winter win-ter months. FEED HENS FOR EGGS Problem Requires Good Judgment and Keen Observation . Fowls Should Have Foods High in Food Elements Found in Eggs Whole Grain Ration Is Not to Be Recommended. (By B. L. KEMPSTER, Missouri College of. Agriculture.) A hen laying 200 eggs in a year is not at all unusual. A four-pound hen laying this number will produce six times her weight in eggs. To do this she will require from 70 to 80 pounds of feed. For economical production it is necessary (1) that the food be properly selected, (2) that it be fed In correct proportion and in a judicious manner in order that her digestive organs or-gans may be kept in good condition, (3) that she be fed enough so that she has plenty of surplus for egg production. produc-tion. The problems of poultry feeding require re-quire good judgment and keen observation. observa-tion. Hens fed for egg production should have foods high in the food elements ele-ments which are found in eggs. Those fed in the fattening pens should have the foods which most economically produce pro-duce fat. The best ration, then, is the one which supplies most economically the food requirements of the bird for the purpose for which it is kept. It should be remembered that one of the principles of poultry feeding is that the hen cannot do well if fed on. a whole grain ration. Not only dees a ration of grain fail to furnish the proper food nutrients, but such a ration ra-tion is difficult for the bird to digest properly. The great fault with the farmer in his poultry feeding is that he attempts to feed a whole grain ration, ra-tion, and generally only one grain at that. Such a ration results in poor egg production and also causes digestive diges-tive disorders and liver and kidney troubles. Complaints of this kind frequently fre-quently come to the department of poultry husbandry and a suggested change in the ration has usually resulted re-sulted in the elimination of the trouble; trou-ble; Efficient digestion demands a combination of wtiole and ground grains. A ration should consist of grains and ground feeds. Generally speaking, twice as much grain should be consumed as ground feed. This depends, of course, upon the nature of the foods fed. A good ration for egf; production can be made with a combiaation of grains and ground feeds. For grains, equal parts by weight of wheat, corn, or in the winter time twice as much corn as wheat, may be used. For ground feed, a mixture of equal parts of bran, shorts, and cornmeal may be used. Efficient Ef-ficient egg production requires also that this ration be supplemented with |