404 FATTENING, KILLING, AND DRESSING 



require much finishing, as it is natural for them to take on fat 

 and to be plump and of good weight. With cockerels the custom is 

 to confine them in small yards, usually in large numbers, the 

 total number of cockerels in one pen running from ten up to one 

 hundred. Their exercise is restricted by limiting the range, and 

 they are fed often, corn constituting the bulk of the ration. In 

 some instances wet mashes are given. In the majority of cases, 

 cracked corn and wheat supplement a dry-mash which contains a 

 large amount of corn meal and at least thirty per cent of meat. 

 The rations fed under farm conditions vary greatly in different 

 communities, according to the number of birds to be marketed. 



This method of pen or flock fattening is often applied to the 

 finishing of broilers. As a rule, young broiler chickens are not 

 finished, owing to their rapid growth and, consequently, their 

 fine flesh. It is often profitable to vary the ration during the 

 last week or two before killing, feeding skim milk and corn meal 

 mashes plentifully with a larger allowance of meat; if they have 

 been on range, comparatively close confinement during the last 

 weeks is desirable. Usually, however, broilers grown in season 

 are closely confined during the entire growing period, as out-of- 

 door conditions do not allow them range. 



Crate Fattening. This mode of fattening is used by large 

 plants having a heavy output of poultry for meat, but its develop- 

 ment is greatest in the large and special poultry-fattening and 

 slaughter houses in the central and south-central sections of the 

 country. These firms buy poorly nourished live poultry from the 

 South and West, which is shipped to them by carloads. Then 

 it is sorted and put through a special course of finishing, after 

 which it is sold at a profit. When the improvement and profits 

 resulting from crate fattening are clearly understood, this will 

 doubtless be more generally practised among poultry producers, 

 with the result that a higher quality of dressed poultry will be 

 displayed at our larger markets. The methods here described 

 are the ones in use in extensive fattening establishments. 



These fattening stations consist of buildings used exclusively 

 for the fattening of chickens, and are usually operated in con- 

 nection with large poultry and egg-packing houses. Such stations 

 are generally found in poultry-producing centres, where the farmer 

 sells his poultry in comparatively poor condition, provided there 

 are facilities for shipping and marketing or for holding it in cold 

 storage. These stations are usually located at or near railroad 



