274 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



sell them, usually. A broiler weighing a pound and a half 

 will often bring as much money in April, May or June as 

 a three or four pound cockerel in the fall. As weight is 

 being put on the cockerel during the summer the price is 

 falling, and the price often falls faster than the weight 

 increases. By keeping the cockerels till the fall, therefore, 

 or until they get their growth, the farmer or poultry man 

 will very often get nothing for the feed he has fed them. 



There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. A farmer 

 may have a bunch of cockerels on free range where the 

 food costs little or nothing. "Where stubble fields are avail- 

 able till late in the fall and in sections where chickens can 

 range out on stubble fields till near Christmas, it may pay 

 to keep the cockerels over or until the time the prices have 

 risen. Again, it may be that a farmer can caponize his 

 cockerels in the summer and by keeping them till January 

 or February, sell them at a good price for roasters. 



Feeding Broilers. If the chickens have been hatched 

 early and it is desired to market the cockerels when the 

 broiler market is good, the cockerels should be separated 

 from the pullets when they weigh about a pound and given 

 special feeding. In place of feeding the ground grain dry, 

 as may be done with the growing stock, it should be mixed 

 with sour milk or buttermilk. When feeding for flesh 

 rather than for growth the proportion of bran should be 

 reduced. For fattening broilers equal parts of bran and 

 ground grain should be used, reducing the proportion of 

 bran during the last week to one-half part. As much of 

 the mixture as they will clean up in an hour should be 

 given early in the morning. In the afternoon or evening 

 whole grain should be fed. In other respects the same 

 feeds should be given as for growing stock if the broilers 

 have free range. If crate-fattened, they should be given 

 soft feed exclusively for eight or ten days before market- 



