38 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



composed principally of bran or hay ; too wet or sloppy or sour 

 or mouldy. Experience has shown that feeding wet mashes more 

 than once a day has bad effects, producing indigestion in various 

 forms. \\ 



The advantages of the dry-feed system are : A saving of labor to 

 the feeder, is lighter to handle and much easier to mix. It can be 

 fed in the morning. The fowls are obliged to eat it slowly; they 

 cannot swallow it in a few minutes. It will not freeze in cold 

 weather nor become sour in hot weather, and the fowls will not 

 over-eat with the dry feed. 



AN EXCELLENT FEED HOPPER FOR YOUNG AND OLD. 



These hoppers are made 8 feet long. The trough is 8 inches wide and 4 inches 

 deep with a strip (or lath) half an inch wide nailed along the top of 

 trough inside to keep the chickens from pulling out the feed. The slats 

 are about two to three inches apart. 



The chief consideration in dry-feeding is that fowls require 

 about three times as much water to drink as with the wet mash ; 

 also unless the dry food is placed in hoppers or fed in boxes at least 

 four inches deep, it is apt to be wasted. The two systems supply 

 the requirements of the fowls in slightly different ways and both 

 are used very successfully. 



Sample Rations 



The rations here given have been tested and proved excellent by 

 some of the most successful poultry breeders in this country. 



Ration for Chicks Intended for Breeders 



First meal, when chicks are 36 hours old : Rolled or flake break- 

 fast oats, dry; give scattered on sand every three hours, then feed 

 chick food. This is a number of small or broken dry grains which 

 can be bought at the poultry supply houses. The use of hard grain 

 diet like chick feed, develops the digestive organs and keeps them 

 healthy. The chick feed prepared by reliable firms is excellent. 

 For those who prefer to mix their own chick feed, the following 

 is a good recipe : Cracked wheat, 30 pounds ; steel-cut or rolled 

 breakfast oats, 30 pounds; finely cracked corn, 15 pounds; millet, 

 rice, pearl barley, rape seed, finely ground beef scraps or granulated 

 milk, dried granulated bone, chick grit, 10 pounds; granulated char- 

 coal, 5 pounds. In the* chick feeds wheat, oats and corn are the 

 staples, the most necessary part of the ration. Feed at 6 a.m. 

 chick feed scattered in chaff; 9 a.m. rolled or steel-cut oats; 11 

 a.m. green lettuce; 1 p.m. chick feed; 3 p.m. green feed; lettuce, 



