Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 170, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1919 — BALANCED FEED, AIR, SUNSHINE AND SHADE REQUIRED DURING HOT SEASON [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BALANCED FEED, AIR, SUNSHINE AND SHADE REQUIRED DURING HOT SEASON

(Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) Hen obesity and hen languor are opposed to pnffitable poultry production because excessively fat hens, as well as languid, lazy hens, lay few eggs and devote their energies to storing up surplus avoirdupois instead of concentrating on the manufacture of an egg every other day. Hustle yourself, old lady hen, and do not develop ennui to the extent .that you bectnne portly and ambitionless. Remember that all the consumers love a fat hen on the table while all 'the producers deplore too fat a hen in the flock. Hence, he forewarned and forearmed — doff your sluggish, phlegmatic tendencies, or else you'll have to execute some clever dodging to escape the ax. Early molting hens may lay well during the spring season, but when the summer is on Jn all its glory they slump and decline in production to the extent that it is extravagant to keep them longer in the flock. Good spring layers often are not good summer layers. No hen should be sold while she continues to lay. Occasionally a hen that has become broody may again resume laying after a brief period and continue profitable production throughout the summer. Generally speaking, all hens that begin to molt in June or July should be disposed of as soon as they stop laying, advise United States department of agriculture specialists. Keep Egg Basket Full. Where a full egg basket is desired, it is essential to provide the flock with plenty of fresh air and sunshine during the summer as well as an abundance of shade, as hens cannot withstand excessive heat. It is necessary to provide plenty of green feed, such as beet, turnip, carrot and onion tcfcs, as wetl as waste leaves from cabbage and lettuce and also such material as potato peelings, watermelon and canta-

loupe rinds and grass clippings. Bread and cake crumbs make desirable filling food for . the hens. The suburban housewife whose neighbors do not maintain flocks should request them to save their cake and bread crumbs as well as their table scraps for her hens. In the main, the small flock can be maintained in this manner at slight expense while the fowl will be provided with plenty of essential food. Meat scraps from the table, with such bug£ and worms as the range provides, supply plenty of animal food. It is preferable to run the meat scraps through a meat grieder and then to mix them with three narts of cornmeal and one part of wheat bran. This mixture should be fed at midday, while the grain supply, consisting of cracked or whole corn or oats —about one-half a. pint to ten hens —should be fed in the litter during the morning so that the birds will scratch for it. If table scraps are not available in plenty, grain should also be fed at night. In case the hens show a tendency to get too fat it is advisable to reduce the amount of grain. Buy Beef Scraps. In case the meat left-overs from the family table are not sufficient to provide scraps for the hens, it is desirable to purchase and feed beef scraps. Furthermore, the hens should be given constant access to grit or small stones which the fowl can readily swallow’, and they should also be supplied with crushed oyster or clam shells. Laying hens, during the period of hot weather, require plenty of fresh, clean water which should be kept in a clean fountain or pan placed in the shade. Such provisions for the comfort and convenience of the flock are usually responsible for a steady and continuous flow of eggs during the period when eggs can be produced at the minimum expense.

Green Feed Helps Hens to Keep Down to Good Laying Weight.