Show pon y PLAN FLOCK WORK FOR COMING YEAR cost of feed price of eggs are vital points the rising costs of poultry feed and the rapidly widening spread between the price of eggs and thickens chickens as compared with the price of this feed does not permit of any laxity in management and planning in 1934 in addition to the rising costs of all poultry feed the grower Is confronted with heavy storage boldt holdings in both poultry and eggs there Is no certainty that the prices of poultry products are going t to in increase crease sufficiently to compensate the grower for the full study of all factors entering into his production says roy S dearstyne head of the poultry department at the north carolina state college of agriculture in the first place dearstyne points point out that chickens inherit the capacity to lay eggs therefore the grower wants to select ills his breeding birds from those which lay the greatest number of eggs in a year it if production does riot not exist it cannot bo be put into tile the birds by heavy feeding or excellent rare care as important as these are where a grower does not have birds which produce eggs profitably he should buy some baby chicks this winter from locks flocks which do produce profitably in the second place dole feeding never paid any he says if best results are to be secured the birds must be welt well fed with the proper elements home grown feeds should be used if available provide good home for comfort of housed birds one of the most important considerations erat ions to keep in mind ls Is the comfort of the housed birds says a poultry expert in the indiana farmers guide ono one should try to make the hen house a hen home and make the home comfortable for table cheerful clean and interesting ventilation Is very important each 1000 pounds of chickens require about three times as much fresh air as each 1000 pounds of cow pure air Is absolutely sol essential for profitable egg production moisture Is too often present in tile the coop there are usually two causes one that Is produced by the birds in the droppings and in their breathing and the other capillary moisture that rises through the soil soll upward through the hoor floor making a wet floor wet feet for chickens are as bad as wet feet for us it means colds reduced vigor and activity the capillary moisture may be controlled by paint ing the floor with an asphalt paint or by covering the clean cement floor with roofing paper and then a layer of cement over that tills this breaks the capillary rise in case of the moisture coming from the hens through their breathing one must have plenty of ventilation during the day the coop Is usually warmer than it Is at night and at night as the air cools the moisture condenses on the walls and roofs this shows that at night the house should not be closed but really should have more air to prevent this condensation keep eggs clean eggs will keep better and will be easier to sell if they are kept clean changing the floor litter and nesting material before it Is too badly spoiled helps to keep eggs clean dropping boards or better still wire covered dropping boards also help crowded quarters are a common cause of dirty eggs there should be 3 to 4 square feet of floor space for each hen A shortage of nests also causes broken and dirty eggs and may lead to the habits of egg eating ana of laying eggs on the floor there should be one nest for each five hens As a rule 70 to 75 per cent of the eggs are laid by one in the afternoon on wet days it therefore would be desirable to confine I 1 the hens until noon and gather the eggs before letting the flock out egg buyers insist that eggs should not be washed as they deteriorate faster when this has been done ducks are vegetarians if you are one of those people who think that ducks are fishing when you on see them giving diving or standing on their heads in the water digging away in the mud you are wrong investigations co completed ted by the biological sur vey show that the duck Is a vegetarian and 00 per cent of its diet Is composed of vegetation they do eat about 10 per cent of the total in mollusks insects etc but seldom eat fish they dive for seeds and roots burled in tho the mud turkeys in england turkeys are more in demand in england than ever eer before and the american mammoth bronze breed Is tile the most popular tills this was disclosed disclose d at the annual turkey fair at ough when turkeys changed hands fir in a day this is twice the number sold gold at any previous sale rate they came from a radius of twenty miles the smallest area ever drawn from for an attleborough Attle borough sale buyers find and spectators attended from all parts of tho the country |