Feeding for Eggs.

Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 752, 3 July 1894, Page 3

Feeding for Eggs.

To keep a hen in good condition for laying, she should never have a full crop during the day. It is not wrong to give a light meal of mixed food warm in the morning in the trough, but such meals should only be onefourth what the hens require. They should go away from the trough unsatisfied, and should then seek their food, deriving it grain by grain, engaging in healthy exercise in order to obtain it. In such circumstances the food will be passed into the gizzard and be better digested. Gradually the hen w’ill accumulate sufficient food to provide for the night, going on the roost with a full crop, where she can leisurely forward it from the crop to the gizzard. Feeding soft food leads to many errors on the part of the beginner, causing him to overfeed and pamper his hens. It is much better to feed from a trough, unless the soft food is carefully measured. A quart of mixed ground grain moistened and in a crumbly condition, should be sufficient for forty bens as a ‘starter’ for the morning; but two quarts of whole grain should then be scattered in litter for them to seek and secure for themselves. Poultrykeeper.