Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 53, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1920 — FEED FOR THE HEN [ARTICLE]

FEED FOR THE HEN

Many poultry feeders have a very meager idea of the feed required for one hen a day. This Information would enable them to feed more intelligently and more economically. The question before all poultry growers is how to feed their chickens more economically and yet get satisfactory results. In making changes in rations one must remember that any quick or marked change will have a bad effect on the hen. Changes should be made gradually, "it takes a month for a hen to respond-to a new method of feeding and if this new method can be adopted generally no ill effects are likely to follow. Frequently a new fation is criticized, when the fault is not with the ration but with the feeder in making the sudden change. The University of Missouri college of agriculture recommends corn, two parts, and wheat, one part, for scratch food. This constitutes two-thirds of the ration. A mash consisting of equal parts by weight of bran, shorts, cornmeal anti beef scrap is recommended for the rest of the ration. At present prices for com and wheat the scratch food mentioned will cost about $4 a hundred. At present prices for mash constituents — bran about $l6O, shorts $2.60, cornmeal $4 and beef scrap s4' ■ -the mash would cost $3 a hundred. If a hen requires 70 pounds of feed per year, 50 pounds scratch food and 20 pounds mash, the cost for grain and mash would be $2 and 00 cents respectively. Thus the total food cost per hen per year would be $2.60.