Fig. 11.—A frame made of 2 by 4 inch lumber and covered with 3⁄4-inch mesh poultry wire used to sprout oats or other grain for the hens. The wire prevents the hens from eating the sprouts down so close as to kill the plants and from scratching out the roots. Sprouting grain unprotected will be quickly killed.
Table scraps and kitchen waste are best prepared for feeding by running them through an ordinary meat grinder. After the material has been put through the grinder it is usually a rather moist mass, and it is well to mix with it some corn meal, bran, or other ground grain until the whole mass assumes a crumbly condition. The usual method is to feed the table scraps at noon or at night, or at both times, as may be desired, in a trough or on a board. All should be fed that the hens will eat up clean, and if any of the material is left after one-half or three-quarters of an hour it should be removed. If allowed to lie it may spoil and would be very bad for the hens.
With the table scraps it is well to feed some grain. Perhaps this may be given best as a light feed in the morning. Four or five handfuls of grain (about 1⁄2 pint) scattered in the litter will be sufficient for a flock of 20 or 25 hens. By handful is meant as much as can be grasped in the hand, not what can be scooped up in the open hand. By scattering it in the litter the hens will be compelled to scratch in order to find the grain and in this way to take exercise, which is decidedly beneficial to them. If the house is too small to feed in, the grain can be scattered on the ground outside. A good grain mixture for this purpose is composed of equal parts by weight of wheat, cracked corn, and oats. Another suitable grain mixture is composed of 2 parts by weight of cracked corn and 1 part oats.
Fig. 12.—An intensive back-yard poultry plant. Practically the entire back-yard is occupied by houses and covered runs, and about 70 hens are carried. Each house is 6 by 14 feet, divided into two pens with a covered yard of the same size. Each pen carries about 15 hens. The houses are raised from the ground so that the hens can run under them. The soil in the runs is renewed four times a year. A flock of 13 hens in one of these pens laid 2,163 eggs in a year. Oats are sprouted in the cellar of the dwelling house for green feed. In addition, chickens are raised here.
In addition to the grain and the table scraps it is well to feed a dry mash. This dry mash is composed of various ground grains and is placed in a mash hopper or box from which the hens can help themselves. The advantage of feeding such a mash is that the hens always have access to feed, and this tends to make up for any fault, inexperienced, or insufficient feeding. The hens do not like the dry mash so well that they are likely to overeat, but it will supply a source of feed in case they are not getting enough. The dry mash also provides a suitable medium for feeding beef scrap, a certain amount of which may or may not be necessary, depending upon the amount of meat scraps available in the table waste. If the hens show a tendency to become overfat it may be desirable to close the mash hopper during a part of the day and allow them access to it only during a certain period, preferably the afternoon. A good dry mash is composed of equal parts by weight of corn meal, wheat bran, wheat middlings, and beef scrap. Another good mash is composed of 3 parts by weight of corn meal and 1 part beef scrap. Still a third mash, which has given excellent results, is composed of 1 pound of wheat bran, 1 pound of wheat middlings, 6.5 pounds of beef scrap, and 16.5 pounds of corn meal. The beef scrap used in the dry mash is usually the most expensive ingredient, but it is a very essential part of the mash and very efficient for egg production. It should not be eliminated or reduced unless the quantity of meat in the table scraps is considerable or unless some other product can be substituted for it. Fish scrap, when available, may replace the beef scrap, or cottonseed meal can be used to replace one-half the beef scrap in the mash. No attempt should be made to replace more than half the beef scrap with cottonseed meal, as the results in egg production and in the quality of the eggs will be unsatisfactory.
Green cut bone can often be purchased from the butcher. This material when procured fresh makes an excellent substitute for beef scrap. It should be purchased in small quantities, as it can not be kept fresh for any length of time and when spoiled may cause severe bowel trouble. It is best fed in a trough not oftener than every other day, allowing about one-half ounce per bird. Should severe or continued looseness of the bowels follow the feeding of green cut bone it should be discontinued or the quantity reduced.
Vegetable tops, parings, and other vegetable refuse supply a valuable and very necessary green feed for the hens. Lawn clippings also are a valuable green feed. They can be fed as soon as cut, or they may be dried or cured, stored in bags, and saved until winter, when they can be soaked in warm water and fed in that condition or be mixed with some of the mash or with the table scraps.
