10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FEEDING CHICKS 



Recommendation of Ne^v England 

 Colleges 



Chick Mash 

 200 lbs. Coarse yellow corn meal 

 100 lbs. Wheat bran. 

 100 lbs. Middlings, preferably white. 

 100 lbs. Oat products; (see par. 3). 



50 lbs. Meat scraps, 50-55% protein. 



50 lbs. Dried milk. 



25 lbs. Alfalfa leaf meal. 



25 lbs. Steamed bone meal. 

 5 lbs. Common salt. 



Chick Scratch 

 200 lbs. Fine yellow cr. corn. 

 100 lbs. Cracked wheat. 



1. The mash mixture above is the reg- 

 ular laying mash adapted for chicks by 

 the addition of 25 lbs. of dried milk, or in 

 other words, to each 100 lbs. of laying 

 mash add 4 lbs. of dried milk. The ad- 

 dition of extra milk may be omitted when 

 liquid or other milk is fed separately. 



2. The use of cod liver oil is recom- 

 mended. Usually it will be unnecessary 

 after chicks are on good range. It should 

 in general constitute not more than 1 per 

 cent of the total mash and scratch feed, 

 and may be mixed with either. If more 

 convenient, oil may be mixed with fine 

 cracked corn at the rate of 1 quart to 

 each 100 pounds. 



3. The term "oat products" in the 

 mash formula includes oat flour, ground 

 oat meal, or ground 40-42 lb. oats. Either 

 of the first two are recommended, but 

 when they are not available, the latter 

 may be substituted pound for pound. 



4. Some coarser cracked corn can be 

 used when the chicks are from three to 

 four weeks old, and some whole corn 

 should be included in the ration when the 

 chicks are three to four months old. In 

 order that they may be accustomed to it 

 before being installed in winter quarters. 



5. For economical and sanitary rea- 

 sons, both scratch and mash should be 

 hopper or trough fed from the beginning. 

 An abundance of hopper space is impera- 

 tive — meaning by this not less than 1 

 square foot of feeding area for each 50 

 chicks up to four weeks old and double 

 that amount thereafter. 



6. Poultrymen are urged to include in 

 their feeding schedule certain systematic 

 sanitary measures. Clean up and clean 

 out the brooder houses every five days 

 during the brooding period. 



7. Best results are obtained by grow- 

 ing chicks on clean, abundant, alfalfa or 

 clover range at the rate of not more than 

 500 chicks per acre. After the disposal 

 of cockerels, this means not more than 

 250 pullets per acre. 



8. To insure an ample supply of green 

 feed, the growing of rape, kale, swiss 

 chard, or other green crops is commended, 

 especially for fall use when the range is 

 less likely to meet all requirements of de- 

 veloping pullets. 



POULTRY REPORT SUMMARY 



The leading flocks in the county for 

 January were as follows : 



•J. M. Lowe, Amherst 



P. L. Wheelock, Amherst 



.John Bloom, Ware 



H. I. Bean & Sons,Florence 130 



F. D. Steele, Cummington 



S. A. Clark, Williamsburg 



Roup, Pox and Bronchitis 



Doctor F. R. Beaudette of the New Jer- 

 sey Experiment Station, discusses in the 

 July "Hints to Poultrymen," the 

 cause, predisposing factors and control 

 of roup, chicken-pox and bronchitis in 

 poultry. Predisposing factors to these 

 diseases are given as chilling, worm in- 

 fection and improper feeding. Combin- 

 ations of these factors are often found in \ 

 flocks that have these troubles. He sug- 

 gests that many drugs have been recom- 

 mended and are often used, but the re- 

 sults are by no means satisfactory. As ! 

 long as predisposing factors operate, poor 

 results will be had from the use of any 

 treatment. The first thing to determine 

 is the weakening factor, or factors, and 

 after these are corrected or eliminated, 

 the aff'ected flock will usually improve 

 without any medical treatment. The ap- 

 proach of a deficiency disease is often in- 

 dicated by the production of soft shelled 

 eggs. Another nutritional disease . is 

 shown by the formation of a white de- 

 posit in the eye. Nodules form in the 

 esophagus and the kidneys show function- 

 al disturbances. One quart of a tested 

 cod liver oil a week to 100 birds and the 

 feeding of sprouted oats and cabbage will 

 help. Isolate sick birds and clean up the 

 houses. 



SOW ONLY LOCALLY ADAPTED 



CLOVER AND ALFALFA SEED 



Since clover and alfalfa are two leg- 

 ume crops of great value in maintaining 

 soil fertility and in supplying a high-pro- 

 tein I'oughage, every effort should be 

 made to grow these crops successfully, 

 says the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



One of the most important factors in 

 clover growing is the use of locally 

 adapted seed. The clover problem in the 

 northern .section of the country centers 

 around seed that is "winter hardy", 

 whereas in the southern clover region 

 the problem is one of disease. A strain 

 of red clover resitant to the anthracnose 

 disease has been developed by the Ten- 

 nessee Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 The use of such disease-resistant seed in- 

 stead of the imported seed so often sown 

 would go a long way toward insuring a 

 clover crop from the middle of Ohio 

 southward. Similarly, such varieties of 



Merritt Clark & Co. 



Clothiers, Furnishers 



and 



Hatters 



HART SCHAFFNER AND 

 MARX CLOTHES 



! 



144 Main Street 

 NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



"Good Equipment Makes 

 Good Farmers Better" 



( 



EARL M. PARSONS 



15 Sherman Ave. 

 Northampton, Mass. 



Tel. 2059-W 

 New 1926 5-Tube 



Freshman 



Radio Set 



^39.50 



G. P. TROWBRIDGE CO. 



129 King St., Northampton 



Phone 4 BO 



