272 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



If the range is good and they find many bugs and insects, 

 10 pounds of beef scrap in 100 pounds of the dry mash 

 will be sufficient, especially as they grow older and range 

 farther. 



If milk is available, that should be substituted for the 

 beef scrap, though the addition of a small quantity of beef 

 scrap to the mash makes it more palatable, otherwise the 

 fowls may refuse to eat as much of the mash as may be 

 desirable. The milk may be either fresh skim milk or sour 

 milk or buttermilk, whichever may be the most economical 

 or convenient to feed ; either sour milk or buttermilk being 

 preferable. 



Moist Mash. A daily feed of moist mash in place of 

 the dry mash will result in more rapid growth. The real 

 values, however, of the two methods have not been very 

 clearly demonstrated. The difference will depend some- 

 what upon the character of the range and the amount and 

 kind of insect food available. Either method, however, 

 will give good results and whether one or the other method 

 is used may safely be left to the convenience of the feeder. 

 It will be better in feeding pullets to follow the method 

 that will be followed in feeding them as layers. Changing 

 from one method to the other at the beginning of the lay- 

 ing season will interfere with the laying for some time and 

 a loss result. If necessary to make a change, it should be 

 made gradually. The moist mash should be fed in the morn- 

 ing, preferably, and enough fed to last them about an 

 hour. It may be made of the same grains as the dry mash, 

 mixed, if possible, with milk or buttermilk. 



Culling. If the pullets have come from good breeding 

 stock and have been properly hatched and brooded little 

 culling will be necessary, but it would hardly be possible 

 to find a flock in which some culling will not be desirable. 

 It has been seen how important a thing is vigor, and though 



