Feeding Young Chickens 



1461 



should be sprinkled over the grain, and thoroughly mixed with it. Success 

 will depend largely on the thoroughness of the mixing. The pile of wet 

 grain should then be covered with blankets and allowed to remain for twelve 

 hours. The blankets should be removed and the grain stirred twice a 

 day, until dry, requiring usually about two days. It should then be 

 bagged in sacks which have been sprayed with a formalin mixture of the 

 same strength as used in treating the oats. The grain can then be used 

 as desired for sprouting. The trays should be sprayed thoroughly with 

 the formalin mixture each time they are used. 



" For sprouting, soak in warm water one ten-quart pail full of oats for 

 twenty-four hours. Pour this grain on a tray. It will fill the tray level 

 full. Sprinkle each trayful of grain with warm water each morning. The 

 grain must be kept damp all the way through the mass if it is to sprout 

 unifonnly. The time required for the grain to sprout and grow will 

 depend largely upon the temperature of the room, which, ordinarily, 

 should be kept at sixty to seventy degrees Fahrenheit, or warmer. In a 

 room not artificially heated, during the spring of the year, in this State, 

 about seven to ten days are required to sprout the grain and grow the 

 leaf about three inches high." 



For young chickens it is best to feed the grain when the top has reached 

 a length of two inches; if allowed to 

 grow longer, the sprout is likely to 

 become tough. Chicks will eat both 

 sprouts and roots, and they will eat 

 the grain also as soon as they are large 

 enough to swallow it. For the first 

 week it is better to shred some of the 

 material and scatter it over the food, 

 so that all the chicks will learn to eat 

 the green food. The sprouted grain 

 may be cut in squares from the trays 

 and placed in the pens for the chicks 

 to peck at. Care should be taken to 

 give no more than will be eaten. 



The grain may be sprouted in 

 shallow boxes or in well-drained fiats 

 kept in a living-room, if needed for 

 only a few chickens. In case a larger 

 quantity is desired a rack similar to 

 that shown in Fig. 202 may be used. 

 This was adapted from a device used 

 at the Maine Experiment Station. 



Fig. 202. — A rack for sprouting oats 



