Show r SPRING HATCHED PULLETS PUL LErS LAY IN WINTER f 4 T A 4 A X AL i A FEEDING CHICKENS ON AVERAGE FARM awra the united stile states department ot of agriculture owners who wish to obtain a satisfactory production of eggs during the fall and early winter should arrange to hatch pullets in march or april birds hatched at this time will be well matured la in the fall furthermore a grenter proportion of them will go to broody early in the je pring thus completing the circle necessary for production in the fall pullet pallets hatched in the spring can he be induced to lay more abundantly in the winter it if they are properly led ed housed and handled on oa the average general farm nery ery few eggs are secured at the ume when eggs bring the highest prices it will pay the poultry owner oner therefore to dote a lit III tie trouble to providing hij birds with lie ilia most favorable surroundings for the winter the house should be thoroughly cleaned cl anel disinfected infected dis and made tight before the cold weather sets in it if the house has a dirt floor it Is well to remove tareo or four inches of dirt from the top and to replace this material with dry gravel or cand ad on cement or wooden floors four or five inches of fresh straw or litter may be thrown dovan ion a after the floor his been cleaned ventilation Is important ventilation Is to another important factor to consider the bouse house should be light on three sides but for the fourth curtains may be used for from one third to one halt half its extent in my any case there should be some ventilation ti in the house even on the coldest nights fowls will stand consider able cold air provided it Is dt dry rind and illation wll will keep the air thorough ly dry lu the house on the other hand band drafts are likely to cause roup find and other tro trouble ible many farmed fan ners in feeding their birds Oer overlook look the fact that beef scrape or some similar feed is very essential during the winter months if a good supply of eggs Is to be obtained A convenient method of feeding beefs scrap ie Is in a mash made wade of bhreel parts farts cornmeal and one part each oil ON wheat bran wheat and beef scrap skim milk or buttermilk may be used in place of the beet beef scrap feeding beef scrap la in experiments conducted by the de pait patt ment it was found that for th first four months pullets fed a ration containing beet beef scrap produced on an average eggs while those fed the came same ration without the scrap pro deuced only the cost of feeding tho the latter birds was 22 1 cents higher for every dozen eggs produced than in the case of the pullets fed beef scrap the birds should have plenty to eat but they also should alfors be eager for each meal it if one third of the scratch grain furnished them Is fed in the morning and two thirds at night the birds will take more exercise than it if they received all the grain th thy 7 desire in the morn morning ng good scratch mixtures may be made of mial canal parts by weight of cracked corn wheat and oats or of two parts 09 0 cracked corn and one part each of wheat and oats other directions for the winter care ears of birds are contained in a new now pub 1 ll li catlon cation of the united states depart ment of agriculture circular 71 office of the secretary winter egg production |