Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 253, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1918 — ESSENTIALS FOR EGGS IN WINTER [ARTICLE]

ESSENTIALS FOR EGGS IN WINTER

Stock, Quarters, Treatment, Food and Exericse Must Be Given Consideration. PULLET IS MAIN RELIANCE • ■■■ , Alm of Poultry Keeper Should Be Roomy, Clean, Well-Vent Hated and Lighted House*—Avoid Disturbing or Annoying Hen*. Some poultry keepers, seemingly without much particular effort, get winter eggs while others work hard but more or less in vain. The former knowingly or unknowingly provide essentials necessary for winter egg production while in the case of the latter some important factor is neglected. Eight essentials are necessary, according to poultry specialists of the United States department of agriculture, in securing winter eggs. They are: (1) suitable stock; (2) comfortable quarters; (3) kind treatment; (4) regular attention; (5) abundant water; (6) wholesome food; (7) liberal rations; (8) congenial exercise. Due consideration to each of these essentials will bring success, but if the results in eggs are poor—far below the moderate standard of five dozen eggs per hen in the first six months of laying—that fact is proof that the requirements have not all been fully met. Suitable Stock. Pullets that have been seasonably hatched, well grown, well matured and vigorous are good winter layers. Good laying birds usually molt so late in the fall that the molting shortens production in the .early part of their second winter. Hence pullets are the poultry keepers’ reliance for eggs at the season of high prices; and if the pullets fail in any of the specifications mentioned for good laying stock, the poultry keeper is handicapped at the start Comfortable Quarter*. A roomy, clean, well-ventilated and well-lighted poultry house should be the aim of poultry keepers who are striving for winter eggs. Provision should be made for light and ventilation so that during severe weather the house can be. made snug. Modern practice in the ventilation of poultry houses is to ventilate by means of open windows and doors, in and near the front of the house, giving all the fresh air possible without exposing the birds to temperatures at which they plainly suffer from cold. The common rule for ventilation in extreme cold weather is to give ventilation enough to prevent the deposit of frost or moisture on inside walls. Where so dry a condition of the air In the houses is maintained the birds are not much affected by low temperatures and by changes of temperature; they do not contract colds so easily, and they lay more steadily. •< .. Kind Treatment. The poultry keeper should not only be easy in .all his movements about the care of the poultry, but should take care that no one and nothing else disturbs or annoys the birds. Hens that are nervous and easily frightened should- not be kept where they are regularly or frequently disturbed, for they will not lay well under such conditions. If nervousness and excitability is a breed characteristic, and the annoyances which occur or exist can not be removed, the only remedy is to dispose of the stock and keep a breed of more phlegmatic temperament. Irregularity in attending poultry is the most common cause of unsatisfactory egg yields. Regular attention does not necessarily mean attention at frequent regular Intervals. The times of attendance may apart and infrequent, as daily, or under some circumstances at even longer intervals, between giving supplies of feed and water. The essential thing is that the hens’ wants shall always be properly provided-for tn due season. . * Abundant Water. Keeping the poultry supplied with water in freezing weather is one of

the most troublesome tasks of poultry keeping. Many poultry keepers defer giving water until late in the morning during cold weather. Whether the water is liquid or frozen (ice or snow) is immaterial, provided the chickens can get it Supplying them with dry or slightly moistened grain when they lack water causes indigestion and Is generally injurious to the birds and wasteful of the feed given them. Wholesome Feed. Shortage and high price of good poultry feed has Jed to a tendency to attempt to .economize by using lowpriced by-products and very inferior grades of the common grains. Almost, invariably it is a mistake to use such to the exclusion of better feeds. The safe and sure way is to start the hens laying by feeding good quality feeds, and then partially substitute the cheaper ones, regulating the amounts used by the readiness of the hens to eat the changed mixture and by the continuance of good condition and production. This applies to all classes of feeds —grains, vegetables and animal feeds. Sufficient supplies of the two last named determine, the wholesomeness of the diet as a whole. A formula for combining the three, for ordinary winter weather, is to reduce the meat and Increase the vegetables in warm weather, and reduce the vegetables and increase the meat in extreme cold weather.

Liberal Rations. Only well-fed hens can lay as they should. The best results are obtained when there is not more than three hours between feeds. Such a system demands too much of the poultry keeper. Economy of his time and energy ’ without waste of feeds is secured when the feed Is accessible to hens at all times under conditions that prevent waste. Dry feeding, in hoppers, of at least half of the ground grains given, and the feeding of whole and cracked grains in litter accomplish this. Congenial Exercise. Scratching for feed is the natural and favorite exercise of hens. They are not, however, inclined to scratch much when no feed rewards their efforts. Feeding the whole and cracked grain in litter deep enough to conceal it furnishes just the right condition to stimulate exercise by liberal feeding without waste and for congenial exercise that keeps hens fit without carrying exercise so far that it uses energy from feed that ought to be producing eggs.