Show DEVELOP PULLETS BODY FOR LAYING use care in early feeding to bring maturity by rov ROT 8 dearstyne Dearn tyne poultry department north carolina state college Cul leee service the proper feeding of chickens during the period of ea redevelopment Is of vital importance in determining their future laying capacities so 80 tests at branch station elation farms during the past five years have proved one of the most critical periods in a birds life Is that between the time it goes off the starting wash mash and the time it Is ia placed on a laying mash diet the feeding should be suh such as to bring the birds to bodily maturity at approximately the same time they start laying and not before A after after fter the birds start laying most of their food goes into egg production arid and very little if any goes to skeleton growth hence a bird that starts laying before it has reached full growth Is liable to remain undeveloped and will seldom have the stamina needed by heavy pro hens attio too great an amount of protein in the food food before the he laying period Is apt to start the pullets la ing too soon an excess of carbohydrates or a feed of cereal crops alone also tire are conducive to too early laying A good feed should have the proteins and carbohydrates bo well balanced A mash containing per cent protein of which 4 per cent was animal protein fed along with the regular scratch feed was found to give the best results in the experiments conducted with rhode islands keds and white leghorns Leg horns fed on this diet the birds reached sexual and physical maturity at approximately the same ume time |