308 POULTRY CULTURE 



a floor or bottom that their feet and feathers will be as little 

 soiled as possible by the soft droppings which the use of such 

 food makes, and that the coops may require as little attention 

 as possible. To meet these requirements coops with floors of 

 slats about 2 inches wide and 2 inches apart are used. 



Unlike the ordinary methods of finishing, crate feeding cannot 

 properly be considered a modification of methods used prior to 

 the finishing period. It is quite different, both theoretically and 

 in fact. The practice apparently had its origin not with growers of 

 poultry but with poulterers, middlemen, who saw an oppor- 

 tunity to make a profit by giving to poultry a better finish than 

 the growers did. Thus, as a rule, the crate-fed birds are abruptly 

 changed from one set of conditions to quite different conditions. 

 Some birds are unfavorably affected by such changes, others are 

 not and may even be stimulated by a change. The birds that are 

 not affected by the change and can stand the forced feeding long 

 enough may be doubled in value in a few weeks at a very low cost 

 for food and labor. A bird that cannot stand the feeding may lose 

 value. Success in crate feeding thus depends first on the feeder's 

 accuracy in judging which birds will stand the process. This a 

 skillful feeder can determine within the first two or three days of 

 crate feeding. The birds not desirable for his purpose can then be 

 disposed of with slight loss, if not with some profit, and his profit 

 on the whole transaction be considerable. With poor judgment in 

 selecting birds for feeding, results may be more unsatisfactory than 

 when ordinary methods of fattening are used. On this continent 

 the practice of crate-feeding has thus far been confined to packing 

 establishments buying in sections where poultry is cheap and not 

 well finished, and to a few poultrymen here and there whose 

 opportunities and aptitude for this line of work enable them to 

 take advantage of the failure of others to finish their product, and 

 of proximity to good markets. The grower estimating the value 

 to him of crate feeding must compare results not with prices for 

 such unfinished birds as are the raw material of the crate feeder, 

 but with results obtained by the simpler method of pen fattening. 



Cramming. The process of cramming carries forced feeding 

 to its limit, the birds being closely confined and compelled to 

 swallow food that they do not want. The process is a very ancient 



