210 Farm Poultry 



oughly moistened. In this condition, if finely 

 crumbled, it makes a most satisfactory food. On 

 the other hand, bread that is fresh and not per- 

 fectly baked will be quite too sloppy, if saturated 

 with milk, to prove satisfactory. Ground grain 

 may be mixed with milk and fed to good advan- 

 tage. If this grain is mixed some time before it 

 is to be given, it will become more thoroughly 

 soaked and will be in a much softer condition 

 than if fed immediately after preparing. This is 

 thought to be of considerable importance by per- 

 sons who have had years of experience in the 

 preparation of food for little chickens. It prob- 

 ably will not matter materially whether the milk 

 is sweet or sour. Sour milk is thought by many 

 of the most successful poultry- raisers to be equally 

 as desirable as sweet milk. Some, however, pre- 

 fer to use chiefly the curd of sour milk in mixing 

 the soft food. 



Corn meal, wheat bran, ground oats (with 

 the hulls removed), coarse middlings and other 

 ground grains may be used to good advantage, 

 if fed judiciously. It is not best to give the 

 little chick all it can possibly eat and then re- 

 quire it to become ravenously hungry before the 

 next feeding. Under natural conditions the young 

 chickens are seeking food during a large portion 

 of the day and at no time are they completely 

 gorged. A little food at frequent intervals un- 



