AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 



plant for several years, but it is not at all practical 

 for adult fowls in confinement or for use during the 

 winter, as it encourages laziness and the fowls are 

 sure to overeat, becoming over-fat, and sooner or 

 later will be falling ill with liver or bowel disorders. 

 In fact, the only condition under which I could 

 recommend the hopper system of feeding for 

 mature fowls is in the summertime when they have 

 ample range to induce lots of natural exercise and 

 activity, and then the fowls will not overeat from 

 the hoppers, because the bits of food they may pick 

 up out on the range are more palatable and attrac- 

 tive than the dry food in the hoppers. 



Ground food is preferable to whole grains for 

 use in hopper. Use little or no food that is ex- 

 tremely fattening for adult fowls. Cracked corn 

 and middlings (shorts) should be used sparingly. 

 Wheat bran, ground oats, buckwheat, etc., may be 

 fed with comparative freedom. While there is no 

 danger of the fowls overeating themselves on the 

 hopper plan, there is a great deal of danger of 

 them becoming over-fat, for though they may eat 

 only a small quantity of food at a time and their 

 crops may never be excessively full, as is sometimes 

 the case after a meal, yet they manage to get away 

 with a great deal of food in this way and it is a 

 well-proven fact that hopper-fed fowls consume 

 more food than those that have food placed before 

 them only at intervals. 



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