39 



aboufmuch ; then either feed them often, or keep food standing 

 before them. 



The farm-grown chick ouglit to make the very best of poultry ; 

 but the ordinarj' farm-raised chick does not. Nearly all of those 

 who grow poultry on farms think their poultry is as fine as fine can 

 be ; but the common farm chicken does not compare in quality 

 with the finest poultry in our markets, because it is not so well 

 fed and quick-grown, and runs about so much that it early becomes 

 quite hard-meated. Rapidity of growth means as much in the 

 quality of a fowl as it does in the quality of a vegetable like the 

 beet ; and to make quick growth there must be food in abundance, 

 and must not be too much exercise. Exercise is a good thingr. 

 Enough of it to keep the system in good condition is uecessarj' ; 

 more is too much of a good thing. 



To attempt to economize on cost of growing chicks by keeping 

 them on just about a maintenance ration is not good policy. The 

 quicker you can get the cockerels ready for market the more you 

 will save in labor, — and in feed too, — and the better will be your 

 returns when you sell them. The earlier you can bring the pullets 

 to a well-developed maturity, the better will be your prospects of 

 eggs when eggs are highest. 



Don't keep either moulting hens or growing chicks on short 

 rations, because they are not adding anything to the current in- 

 come. Feed to bring them into earning condition as soon as pos- 

 sible, and to secure the best possible development of their qualities. 

 If you happen to have more stock on hand than you can feed, 

 while it is not earning, as it should be fed, cut it down to what you 

 can carry, and you will be better oflf in the long run. It is a great 

 deal better to have a small flock earning something, be it ever so 

 little, in the early winter, than to have a large flock that was only 

 half fed through the fall running one behind until it takes the 

 most of the next season to catch up. To feed to satisfy all the 

 requirements of the fowl is in the end the most inexpensive way. 



