Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 286, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1911 — The Cost of Producing Eggs [ARTICLE]

The Cost of Producing Eggs

Very few poultry-keepers know how much the eggs produced by their Socks cost them. They accept the common dictum that poultry is profitable but do not know how much it! coots them to produce a doxen eggs. On most farms it is impossible to arrive ata very exaet estimate of the. cost of coring for the fowls kept on it, because this work is a part of the general routine, but when It comes to estimating, the “feed-cost” of eggs we have some very reliable figures on which to base estimates. In (he great Australian Laying Competitions the accounts kept show ex•ctly how many eggs were produced and how much the feed consumed by the hens cost. In the several competitions from SOO to 600 hens were entered -and kept in confinement for a year, strict account being kepi with ■Hmm — *- .. In one there were SOO hens in the annual contest. These were divided into 50 pens of six hens each, no males being kept with them. Theee 300 hens produced during the year 54,070 eggs, equal to almost exactly 180 tafch, Of 15 doxen average to each hen. The cost of keeping them one year was as follows, counting the English pound Sterling at $lB6 American money; Bran and rborts, $104.40; grain-wheat, and corn, mostly, $321.70; meat—largely ox livers, $14.58; green feed—chopped alfalfa, $19.44; shell, >19.44; sundries, $4.86; total feed—cost, $549.18. The average price of eggs in Australia for the year was about 30% centsper doxen, the total receipts being $1,397.70. The feed cost of these eggs was almost exactly 12.6 cents per doxen, the price of feed not being very much different from prices for the same feeds in this country. A series of experiments in Canada. ■■■' where two flocks were used during a period of four mouths showed somewhat different results, in this experiment each flock contained twelve hens and a cock. One flock was purebred by Plymouth Rocks and the other was pure-bred Andalusians. The Plymouth Rocks produced eggs at an average cost of 6 1-3 cents and the Andalusians at an average cost •f 5 4-W rente per doaen. The feed was oats, wheat, meat, bone and a mash made of equal parts of shorts and -ground nata. mixed with skimmed milk. The method was grain In the morning, scattered In deep Utter; meat at noon four times a week. No noon food was given on the days meat was not fed; mash at - four in thy afternoon and an hour before dark) a little whole grain, scattered in th|e Utter. These bens were kept confined and the experiment was conducted during the most favorable time in the year for egg production. Those ; ame hens at liberty on a farm would have produced the same number of eggs at shout half the feed-cost. it is suite probable that the farmer who feeds his hens property and regularly produces eggs at a coot of about t to IS cento a doxen. All he 1 fluOYc Uliß lIP Tl'lflfl.y T*<j4SjK.~ .in vai iliE IVI Hlo ;