UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 657 



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Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry 

 CARL L. ALSBERG, Chief 



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Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER. 



May 2, 1918 



A WHEATLESS RATION FOR THE RAPID INCREASE 

 OF FLESH ON YOUNG CHICKENS. 



By M. E. Pennington, Chief, H. A. McAleer, Investigator in Poultry and Egg 

 Handling, and A. D. Greenlee, Assistant Chemist, assisted by A. W. Broomell, 

 Assistant Chemist, L. E. Harker, Aid in Poultry and Egg Handling, and H. L. 

 Shrader, Investigator in Poultry and Egg Handling, Food Research Laboratory. 



Composition of rations used 



Character of birds fed 



Total gains in weight 



Quantity of feed required 



Rate of gain 



Loss in weight due to killing and chilling. 



CONTENTS, 



Page. 

 2 



Page. 



Relation of initial weight to final gain 8 



Composition of broiling chickens before and 



after fleshing 9 



Economic advantage of fleshing broilers at the 



packing house 10 



Summary n 



THE WHEATLESS RATION for the commercial or coop flesh- 

 ing of young chickens for market discussed in this bulletin 

 offers to commercial feeders a singularly efficient and economical 

 ration for the rapid increase of chicken flesh. This ration, composed 

 of corn meal, dried distillers' grains (corn), and fresh buttermilk, was 

 fed again and again throughout the whole feeding season, and produced 

 in 14 days' coop feeding an average gain of a pound for 7.91 pounds 

 of wet feed consumed, or 4.63 pounds of solids. The employment of 

 distillers' grains makes this ration of especial importance to feeding 

 plants accessible to distilleries engaged in producing commercial 

 alcohol from corn. 



The tests reported were made under commercial rather than farm 

 methods of feeding poultry. The aim of the commercial feeder is 

 to increase the flesh of young birds rapidly and economically in a 

 brief period after they are received from the farms. This necessitates 

 the use of feeding coops which allow the chickens little exercise and 

 the regular and abundant feeding of the birds under clean conditions. 

 It calls for special equipment and for use of time and employment of 

 labor to a degree not possible on most farms. 



In order that full benefit from the flesh added rapidly by special 

 feeding may be realized, it is necessary to slaughter the chickens 

 immediately and dry pick and chill them without delay. It has been 



39089°— 18— Bull. 657 



