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HOW TO FEED POULTRY FOR ANY PURPOSE WITH PROFIT 



WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCK CAPONS 

 Photo from S. K. Burdin. 



can be secured which makes them more attractive to the 

 eye and more savory to the taste. This can be done 

 however, only with stock of good vitality and with a nat- 

 uial tendancy to put on fat readily at maturity. Some 

 what undersized and stunted birds are sometimes fed 

 heavy rations for a longer period than indicated, and 

 those that stand it sometimes take on rather more fat 

 than the ordinary broiler, but they do not have the qual- 

 ity of the plump, quickly grown bird. 



The usual method of feeding to finish broilers is 

 simply to add more corn and corn meal to the ration, 

 mixing the meal with milk if it can be obtained, and 

 feeding all the birds will eat. Many make the mash two- 

 thirds corn meal, and give cracked corn only for grain. 

 Some chicks can stand an all-coin ration, and some can 

 not. A most important thing in finishing broilers is to 

 remove at once, and kill as they are, any chicks that the 

 forcing diet evidently does not suit. Poultry keepers 

 often leave these, expecting that they will come along, 

 although a little slower about, it than the others. It is 

 much better to sell them for what -they will bring, with- 

 out further feeding, for the chances are that they will 

 never gain enough to pay the cost of feed and care until 

 prices have fallen. 



Fattening Fryers 



A fryer is a chicken usually weighing about two 

 pounds, but occasionally much heavier. There is practi- 

 cally no d fference between large broilers and small fry- 

 ers except that the fatter chickens are more suitable for 

 frying. In fact a chicken of what is usually frying size, 

 if rather thin and yet quite soft meated, will broil bet- 

 ter than it will fry. Where chickens have been raised to 

 this stage on range, the best plan is to put them in 

 small yards, with good circulation of air, and shade, and 

 to give them from ten days to three weeks of high feed- 

 ing before they are to be killed. The length of time 

 must be determined by the readiness of the chickens to 

 fatten and their ability to stand heavy feeding. If the 

 chickens do not take kindly to strong rations, these mat- 

 ters can be regulated to some extent by making only 

 slight increases in the fattening material in the feed, and 

 by using more wheat than corn in the hard grain fed. 



The safe way to feed chickens to get a reasonable 

 amount of fat as they grow is to keep close to a good 

 growing ration, but yard them quite closely. When this 

 is done especially in warm weather care must be taken 

 to keep everything clean, and if feed is allowed to stand 

 before the chickens, to see that it does not get fouled. 

 In this way chickens can be kept growing and carrying 

 a fair amount of fat for an indefinite period, often until 

 well grown. Such a course is especially advantageous to 

 those who hatch or buy all their chickens at one time 

 in the spring, and who want to have the cockerels ready 

 to kill for their own tables through quite a long season. 



In this way the cockerels may be 

 carried from broiler to small roaster 

 size, the removals week by week 

 making room for the growing birds 

 that are left. If the birds are not as 

 fat as is desired by this method, it 

 is easy to take those that are to be 

 killed at a certain time and put them 

 in a small coop a week in advance, 

 and feed a heavier ration. 



Fattening Small .Roasters 

 Ordinary small and medium-sized 

 roasters are principally cockerels of 



the larger breeds, that are marketed just before they be- 

 gin to become so hard-meated and staggy that they woul 

 class on the market as old cocks. The greater part 

 them come from the general farms, for poultry speci 

 ists usually either market their surplus cockerels 

 bi oilers, or caponize them and keep them to make large 

 roasters. Most of the cockerels from the farms are in 

 just fair flesh when marketed, and from one-half to three- 

 fourths grown. They are at the stage where heavy feed- 

 ing for a short period will generally increase the siz 

 put on a fair amount of fat, and greatly improve the 



1 



A PAIR OF WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCK "SOUTH SHORE" 

 SOFT ROASTERS 



These are capons but are not dressed "capon style" 

 that is, with the feathers left on neck, wings, legs and 

 part of the back. All "South Shore" stock is fully dressed 

 for market capons as well as pullets. 



