344 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



down for the amounts of feed to be given fowls, except to feed all 

 they will eat up clean. The quantity of feed eaten depends upon 

 age, breed, housing, range and many other factors which the feeder 

 does not always consider as seriously as he should. The heavier 

 breeds will eat more than the lighter breeds. Three-quarter-grown 

 birds may eat more than fully matured ones. Heavy layers will eat 

 more than poor layers. 



Perhaps one of the most common troubles to be found among 

 poultry raisers is overfeeding, and such feeding is undoubtedly a 

 major cause for a large number of poultry ills. Feed is allowed to lie 

 on the ground. Fowls do not have to take sufficient exercise for the 

 feed they consume and their crops are continuously crowded to the 

 detriment of their health. The feeder should constantly study his 

 flock. He should occasionally pick up a few and examine them to 

 determine their condition. Under the necessarily intensive condi- 

 tions which must be practised on the commercial poultry farm, the 

 fowls must be forced to take proper exercise by the methods of feed- 

 ing used. The mechanics of feeding are represented by the scratch- 

 ing pen, feeders and exercisers. 



Fowls must be fed at all ages in such a way that there is always 

 a slight edge upon their appetite, except when they go to bed at night. 

 They should be fed lightly during the day and made to work for all 

 of the grain. Grain mixtures should always be fed in a sufficiently 

 deep litter to force the hens to scratch vigorously for all they get. 

 See the floors in Fig. 101. The mash should be fed in such a way 

 that it cannot be eaten too rapidly nor to eagerly. The amount of 

 wet mash eaten can be regulated by not feeding too often and only 

 as much as the fowls will clean up in twenty or thirty minutes at 

 each meal. The dry mash may be regulated by the length of time 

 the hoppers are left open each day. With the lighter breeds the 

 dry-mash hoppers may as a rule be left open all the time (Fig. 101) . 

 The heavier breeds of fowls, however, sometimes overeat of mash 

 and the hoppers must be kept closed during the morning hours. 

 Heavy-laying hens are industrious. The character of industry is 

 so closely related to that of prolificacy that experienced breeders use 

 it as a guide in picking out good layers. 



Wet Versus Dry Mash. Since the introduction of the dry 

 method of mash feeding, there has been much discussion pro and 

 con, and many investigations have been carried on to determine the 

 relative values of the two methods for feeding chickens. In feed- 

 ing ducks and other waterfowl, the wet mash is used altogether, 

 owing to the shovel-like construction of their bills. Since ducks 



