Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 213, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1918 — KEEP ALL EARLY HATCHED LAYERS [ARTICLE]

KEEP ALL EARLY HATCHED LAYERS

Well-Developed Pullets Should Be Selected for Producing Eggs During Winter. HANDLE ALL FOWLS GENTLY Much Depends on Method of Changing From Summer Quarters —Special Attention Should Be Given to Making Hens Comfortable. Pullets that were hatched early last spring and developed properly during the, summer should begin laying in October. These are the pullets that should be selected now to make up the flock that is to produce eggs next winter. Whether they continue to lay next season when eggs are high in price depends upon the way they are fed and the method of changing them from summer conditions to their winter quarters. At this season these are the questions that should receive the attention of every poultry It is desirable that pullets be in the houses they are to occupy during the winter three or four weeks before they are expected to begin laying. However, if pullets are on good range they should not be deprived of this, and may be removed to their winter quarters when good range becomes scarce. The change should then be made gently and carefully, and special attention given to making the hens comfortable and contented in their new home. If this is done the transfer will have only a slight effect on their egg production. Give Pullets Good Start. Gentle handling and good treatment will go a long way toward offsetting the unfavorable effects of moving pullets, whether the change to permanent winter quarters is made before or after winter laying begins. Rapid and rough handling should be avoided. A little extra time and care in moving pullets carefully makes a difference of weeks, and sometimes months, In egg production. The new home should be clean, the floor covered with litter, all nests and feeding and water equipment ready for use. A feed of grain should be scattered in the litter and a drinking vessel filled with water before the transfer is made. When hens are to be changed from one house to another It is best to move them after dark. If only a few birds are to be removed and the distance is short, they may be carried two at a time, not by the feet, with their heads hanging down, but resting in a sitting position on the attendant’s hand and wrist. When a large number of birds are to be transferred a convenient box or coop may be used. The birds should not be overcrowded and should be placed in and removed from the box gently. * - - Laying hens should get a great part of their feed by foraging. When housed in winter quarters the best substitute for this is to make them scratch for the grain in clean litter scattered about the floor. The hens will tyus get the necessary exercise which is essential for good egg production. If hens are placed in winter quarters from free range they should be liberally supplied with vegetable feed, which at this time can be easily obtained from the garden. In fact, laying hens should have vegetable or green feeds as much as possible throughout the winter. This makes ft possible to feed grain heavily ( to promote good egg production and yet keep the birds in the Best of physical condition. The problem of feeding la one of

great importance, and should be carefully considered, for on it depends to a large extent not only the general health of the birds, but also the economy which promotes success. It is a subject, however, which should be studied with a large amount of common sense, for there are no hard and fast rules which can be laid down as applying to every case. The price of feeds and the general environment should be considered in determining the right rations. Profit in Winter Eggs. For the largest profit a good tion of the eggs should be secured during the winter. If two extra eggs per week can be obtained from each hen a good profit will be made, while if the product is increased by only one egg per week in winter, this one egg will pay’for all the feed the hen eats. To obtain this greater production not only should the fowls be young and of a good laying breed, but the feeder should have a full knowledge of the proper feed and its preparation. The nutriment in the feed of laying hens serves a twofold purpose—to repair Waste and furnish heat to the body and to supply the egg-making materials. As only the surplus over what is needed for the body is available for egg production, the proper feeds should be fed in sufficient quantities to Induce this production. In supplying feed to fowls there are three kinds of constituents which should be present in certain fairly well fixed proportions if the desired results are to be obtained most economically. These constituents are mineral, nitrogenous and carbonaceous, all of which are contained in corn, wheat, oats and barley, but not in the right proportions to give the greatest egg yield. In addition some animal feed and green feed should be supplied.