CHAPTER XI 



FEEDING AND FATTENING CHICKENS 



Feeding Baby Chicks. Young chickens should be fed 

 from 3 to 5 times daily depending upon one's experience 

 in feeding. Undoubtedly chickens can be grown faster 

 by feeding five times daily than by feeding three times 

 daily, but it should be borne in mind that more harm can 

 be done to the young chickens by overfeeding than by 

 underfeeding, and at no time should they be fed more 

 than barely to satisfy their appetites and to keep them 

 exercising, except at the evening or last meal, when they 

 should be given all they will eat. Greater care must be 

 taken not to overfeed young chicks that are confined than 

 those that have free range, as leg weakness is likely to 

 -esult in those confined. 



The young chicks should not be fed until they are about 

 48 hours old, whether they are with the hen or in a 

 brooder. If home mixing of feed is to be followed the 

 first feed should consist of baked johnnycake broken up 

 into small pieces, or hard-boiled eggs mixed with stale 

 bread crumbs or rolled oats, using a sufficient quantity of 

 the latter to make a dry crumbly mixture, or a mash of 2 

 parts rolled oats, i part bran and i part middlings by 

 weight, mixed with milk or with boiled eggs. These 

 feeds or combinations of feeds may be used with good 



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