POULTRY FOR EVERYBODY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10270, 24 June 1911, Page 6

POULTRY FOR EVERYBODY.

(By "Coek-o'-the-North.' ) ■Resuming the subject of feeding fowls for .egg-produotion. Suppose a man to have 100 pullets at the beginning of the laying 'Season.. He should, by some mean.s or other, select them' in grades; the best layers in one (or two) pens, the next in the next, and so on. To his best Layers lie. could feed a mash composed of 200 lbs pollard, lOOlbs of .bran, or 100 lbs finely chaffed lucerne; 501bs ground maize, lOOlbs pollard or oOlbs ground oats; oOlbs ground maize, 501bs. ground barley, 501bs pollard, lOOlbs bran. To each, of these mixtures to every 3001bs ishoxdd be added (in winter) 7-J.lbs linseed meal 2.|lbs salt, 2~phs sulphur (.powdered) or, for ia change, ground sunflower seeds: may be .substituted for the linseed meal. When any of these mixtures are to be fed to the layers, dried blood should be added at the rate of 7tlbs to 8 or 91bs. of the mixture for the test layers, 1 to lllibs for the medium, and 1 to 14lbs for the poorer birds. By doing this, every bird will be fed right, and will lay up to her •capacity, whatever iJiat is, and so will be far more economical than if the more concentrated ration were fed to all of the birds indiscriminately. In the latter Case the poorer birds would assimilate 'more egg-forming material than they were able to make use of in the body as such, thereby lowering even the ability of the poorer birds to lay, instead of, as is often imagined, stimulating them, to lay better, lin a nutshell, it is simply a case of overfeeding in quality instead of quanAgain, it is a. curious fact that if a. person has two strains of birds, ! one of Leghorns and one of, say, Orpingtons', naturally able to lay each 220 eggs in a year, amd they are fed on the same ration, the Legliorns will beat the heavier ibreed, as tilie heavier breed is more inclined to put on fat and 'become broody in an extremely .narrow ration than the Leghorn. This accounts in a, large measure for 'the superiority of the Leghorn at competitions; but if the heavier breeds were fed on a wider ration, especially in .spring and summer, they would run the Leghorns very .closely, if not beat them; at all points. 1 Once a person' has made himself (or herself) acquainted "with the component parts of the various foods they handle, and their probable; effect on the birds, there will not be much danger of feeding protein in excess to the birds, as he will soon recognise that, apart from the harm he would do by retarding instead of increasing egg production, protein ia the most expensive element in any food, and thus he would be. making his ration a very expensive one. Next to the foods fed, comes the question of the best method of feeding these foods. This question, like all others, must be looked at from all points of view. It is of no use isay- j ing, "I believe," or, "In my.opdn-| ion," or "To my way of thinking." I As neMuer of .these affect the question one iota, What my readers, must demand from any one assuming the position of instructor, is proof, clear and convincing. I mean, of course, to anyone with a mind open % to be convinced. I .say this advisedly, ais there are many wiho simply will not .be convinced; this, of course, is their business, and no one has a might <to feel aggrieved as it is tliey -who have to pay the piper, and hence they have the right to please themselves. ' ■. There a«re ma<ny methods of feeding

fowls, .some of them purely fanciful, and in many cases only used by themselves. The /six principal and recognised methods, are as follows: — No. 1: A moist mash in the morning with green food and animal food at midday, aaid grain at night; with this method the animal food is often fed with the mash. No. 2: Grain in tlie morning, green food or animal food at midday, and wet mash at night. No. 3: All mash, wet or dry. No. 4: Dry feeding system.; all grain in deep litter; ■animal food in hoppers before the birds at aill i times; green food at midday.. No. 5 : Hopper system; meals, grains, and animal food before the birds at all times in hoppers. No. 6: Dry mash system; a properly balanced mash, . (perfectly dry)" hefare the birds at all times in suitable hoppers, grain at midday in deep litter, and again at night, also in Utter; ,green feed in hoppers at all times, and plenty of it. Each system has its advocates, and the merits and demerits of each will be iffuily dealt with in succeeding articles. RANDOM POINTS; If you aire going in to make your fowls pay, talk poultry to everybody who knows anything about ' it, as you will very possibly learn something by it. Even if the person you speak to has made a mess of things, you will probably learn where he , made the mistake, and avoid doing so yourself. ****** Watch your nests now, when the breeding season is coming on, and gather your eggs at least twice daily, better three times. They will keep (better and hatch better. ***** Don't adopt anything hecause it is new; but don't reject, it for the same reason. The. first is bad, but the isecond i» worse. This is the age of progress; investigate matters, and if there is anything in it worth while, adopt it; if not, reject it. *.* * * * Don't (neglect little tilings. Poul-try-farming is' a business of little details, and. neglect of any of these is bound to exact payment in some fofnii or other. ******* The more you increase the one man efficiency of your plant the> larger will be your profits., and if well done a plant stocked with ordinary layera will show larger profits than another with ihighnolass layers where the labour bill is heavy.