44 - The Business Hen. 



one-tenth as much beef scrap is added. The other two feeds are of wheat 

 and cracked corn. One year we fed double the amount of scrap all through 

 the growing season, and had the April and May pullets well developed 

 and laying through September and October. To our sorrow they nearly 

 all moulted in December, so that month and next were nearly bare of eggs." 



Still another simple method of feeding little chicks is thus described 

 by O. W. Mapes: 



"Our hatch of chicks is doing very nicely on nothing but ordinary oat 

 flakes, with water to drink. They are now a week old. and the mash bal- 

 anced ration will be substituted for the oat flakes during the next week. 

 We got 240 chicks from this hatch, with five more that had to be helped 

 out of the shell; 241 of these are still lively and bright at the end of the 

 first week. Not a bad showing for the oat flakes, which are very handy 

 to feed. This hatch was from 360 eggs, nearly 300 of which proved to be 

 fertile. The incubator door was closed when eggs first began to pip, and 

 not opened for 48 hours; 240 lively chickens were then removed and five 

 more were helped from the shells. They were all placed in two brooders, 

 given grit and water at once, and a few oat flakes scattered in the sand on 

 the brooder floor. They ate but little the first day, but on the second day 

 and since they have been ravenously hungry four or five times a day. I 

 have tried to give just what they would clean up in four or five minutes. 

 Some days they have been fed five times and others only four. There is 

 still little left of the 10-pound bag from which the 240 have been fed the 

 first week of their lives. A good rule is to begin at 7 A. M. and feed 

 regularly every two and a half hours until 6 P.;M. for the first two weeks. 

 After that they can soon be reduced to three meals a day." 



