BILL OF FARE FOR EGG-PRO DUCING.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1051, 6 January 1883, Page 3

BILL OF FARE FOR EGG-PRO DUCING.

‘ Fanny Field’ reports to the .Prairie Fanner her methods of feeding hens for egg-production. Hens must be supplied with egg-making material, and this must not be consumed as fuel to keep them warm. Success presupposes comfortable and clean quarters, Corn is fattening, but on this ration alone, even in abundance. ‘ there will not bo enough to pay for the shelling of the corn.' ‘My way of feeding fowls iu winter—and it works wonderfully well -is to give them a warm breakfast just ns soon as they can see to eat, a few handfuls of grain at noon ami a fud feed of grain at night. The warm breakfast is made of vegetables—turnips, beets, carrots or potatoes, boiled and mashed up with the wheat bran ; or oatmeal scalded with skim milk ;or refuse from the kitchen boiled up, and the soup thickened with bran ; and when sweet apples are plentiful, we boil them and mix them with corn meal—sometimes one thing and sometimes another. We don’t believe in feeding one thing all the time, and the hens don’t believe iu it cither 1 don’t think that my biddies need the noon feed because they are hungry, but I give it to them to make them scratch for exercise, and to keep them out ot mischief. I scatter it around among the litter under the shed, and let them dig it out, This ‘ lunch’ is generally oats or buck wheat, and- once in a while sunflower seed. At night I generally feed corn ; but if I. could get wheat cheap enough, I should feed that at least half of the time. My fowls have water or milk by them all the time, and green food is supplied by fastening cabbage heads up where the fowls can help themselves, Sometimes when somebody has time to attend to it, we give them a change in green food in the shape of raw turnips or sweet apples chopped fine. Two winters ago 1 took a new departure on the meat question, and now instead of fussing to cook it and deal out a little at a time, I just hang up a piece and let the fowls eat all they want. When they have meat within reach all the time there is not the slightest danger of their eating too much.