POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19663, 15 June 1927, Page 18

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

LARGE YIELDS OF EGGS. ; FEEDING FOR RECORDS. POINTS REGARDING GOOD FOOD. BY G.H. Getting big egg yields requires some science, and a lot of common sense on the part of tho feeder. Three hundred egg hens do not just happen. They are the combined product of the breeder s skill and tho feeder's art. High egg' rocord hens are scarce. So are good feeders- Xhe former will not multiply out of proportion to the latter for nature must be assisted, and the correct principles of feeding applied, so that the reproduction organs of the hen may be stimulated to their maximum activities. The hen does not do a good job of balancing her own ration when fed on the cafeteria plan. When given a free choice of feed the hen is inclined o indulge her tastes, and like the man "ho eats too much pastry, or the girl who has a weakness for chocolates, the hen mil take an overdose of her favourite delicacy and neglect some of the more substantial fare. Thus most hens if left to themselves will not eat enough protein to oftBet of carbo-hydrates which they get from maize, wheat, oats, or whatever their favourite gain may be. A problem of the feeding, therefore, is to so arrange the menu so that the hen will get the elements, some of which slip may not particularly relish without losing her appetite for the things which she likes best. Thus the feeder needs to understand how to mix a ration that will insure heavy egg yields, and at the same time satisfy the tastes of the hen. Very few poultry-keepers have the opportunity for mixing their own feed, and in that "ease it is advisable to purchase a properly-balanced tood. Layer in Good /lesh. The first consideration in feeding for high egg records is keeping the hens in a healthy, vigorous condition. Just as a football player must have a well regulated diet during the training season if he is to stand the strain of the hard games, so must the hen be properly nourished if she is to have the strength to keep up a high rate of laying over a long period of time. A large part of the hen's feed goes simply to maintain her body, probably four-fifths of all the food she gets is used up in furnishing heat, energy and repair material, and only about one-fifth used in making eggs. Thus the feeder should know what is required to keep a hen in 'ood physical shape, i .e successful feeder must get the old idea out of his head about getting hens too fat to lay, because no hen will or can lay until she has received enough feed to supply her body requirements, store up some reserve for fat, and then enough surplus to manufacture the egg. Only the well-conditioned hen can lay, and one of the secrets of keeping the hen on the job as an egg producer is to keep her gaining weight and strength. She can't withstand the strain of heavy laying, but if she is allowed to lose flesh, the egg yield will quickly decrease, and the bird either goes broody or begins to moult, or simply takes a rest to recuperate her strength. The feeder must concern himself with the question of what feeds will promote good health, and a thrifty condition in hens, and must see that his birds are supplied with sufficient quantity so that their bodily needs will be amply supplied. Such foods as bran, which has laxative and cooling effect on the birds, and green stuff, such as grass, lucerne, sp'outed oats, cabbage, etc., which furniiih vitamines and mineral salts, as well ■as serving to sharpen the appetite, will be added to the ration by the scientific feeder to promote good health in the flock. Palatable Rations. One secret of successful feeding is to find out what the hen likes and to mix the ration so that her wants will be satisfied, and, at the same time, ensure that she will get the food nutrients that she requires to perform her work. The tastes of hens are peculiar in that one will be uncommonly fond of wheat while another will prefer maize, and still another may have a liking for cats One point is that the hen changes her taste. Thus she may cat no grain except maize for a few days, and then change off suddenly and gobble np all the oats she can hold at the next feeding. These idosnycrasies in the flock make advisable as great a variety as possible in the kinds of feed used, and since the search for food is the most common incentive to activity, the poultrykeeper needs to so arrange his feeding methods that the hens will be kept busy. This is usually accomplished by feeding the grain in a deep litter, where the birds are forced to scratch to find the tempting morsels. It has always been a popular maximum among good feeders that a hen ought to be full once a day, and hungry once a day. So they plan their feeding in such a way that the birds go to roost with their crops fairly full of feed, while the morning feed is somewhat limited so that the birds will get plenty of exercise by scratching during the day in search of the extra kernels. A very common practice is to feed grain lightly several times during the day so the hens will keep at work, and then, before roosting time, feed all the grain the fowls will clean up. 4 Advantages of Dry Mash. Practically all successful poultry feeders agree that a dry mash is a very necessary part of the ration. Since the hen has no teeth, but depends upon her gizzard to grind her feed, her capacity is naturally somewhat limited. In fact, a strong, healthy bird appears to be able to digest more feed than her gizzard can grind, so the modern ration contains a liberal allowance of ground feed in the form of dry ration, because the by-pro-ducts of wheat and some of tho other grains can usually be bought cheaper than tho whole grain. The animal protein, which is a vital part of the ration, is usually incorporated in the mash as the most convenient j and satisfactory method of feeding it. Ex- j perience has taught poultrymen that com- I mercial meat meal is not especially pal- I atable to the hen, so it is mixed in with ! such tasty feeds as bran, sharps, and maize meal, etc., in order that the birds jnay be induced to eat the proper amount. Cooked and Soaked Feeds. Cooked feed or excessive amounts of soaked feeds are not favoured by feeders who study the problem, because such feeds are so very different from natural rations, that the vitality of the hens seems to suffer from too much cooked or softened material. Tho grains, such as maize, cats, or wheat, are usually fed whole and dry, and the hen appears to thrive on the work which her gizzard and intestines perform in reducing whole grain to tbe condition in which they can be absorbed by tho blood. On account of the limited digestive capacity of the fowl, the amount of crude libro in the ration must be kept relatively low. For this reason most feeders limit the amount of oats, lucerne, meal, and o her feeds that have a larger fibre content. <, j advisability ot feeding wet mash is still a matter of dispute among feedW 1 h V n nV s t0 Aether or not vet ma.,h should be used probably dopends upon the man. The careful feeder studies his birds, constantly and unquestioning y, secU res increased production by making a mdiciQus use of wet mash. Whenever the birds show a tenJ°n r\ Up ' a few feeds ot wet . '1 often put them on their feet «gam. On the other hand, a careless ec *er will often throw his birds out of tondition by feeding too much wet mash ®r by allowing it to become unpalatable y standing too long before being eaten.