200 Farm Poultry 



forced through a rubber tube into the crop of the 

 chicken. This tube is forced down the chicken's 

 neck and a light pressure on a lever with the foot 

 forces the food, while the hand on the outside of 

 the crop will detect the proper quantity. Men 

 operating this machine become very skilful. A good 

 operator can feed thirty dozen fowls per hour. 

 This cramming process is continued for about ten 

 days, when the fowls are dressed and sent to mar- 

 ket. During the major part of the fattening season 

 the coops are placed out-of-doors. (See Fig. 63.) 

 When the weather becomes too cool, indoor coops 

 are used. 



Before fowls are placed in fattening-pens they 

 should be given a thorough dressing of sulfur or 

 some other insecticide to kill the vermin. This is 

 particularly essential, as the fowls kept in coops 

 have no opportunity to combat these pests. Lay- 

 ing hens and other fowls should be provided with 

 dust-baths, but when fowls are placed in close 

 confinement for fattening, it is not feasible to 

 provide baths. Cleanliness is of the utmost impor- 

 tance for these confined fowls. The coops or cages 

 of fattening fowls should not be allowed to become 

 filthy, neither should they be too hot in summer 

 or too cool in winter. 



The French and English use oats and buck- 

 wheat largely as fattening foods. They prefer 

 fowls having light-colored flesh with white skin. 



