92 MAINE) AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, I9OO. 



Financial Results. 



Taking the sixty cooped and uncooped birds together and con- 

 sidering the gains in flesh, and the cost of the food used, enables 

 ns to form opinions as to the advisability of selling chickens 

 from the range when in growing condition, or specially prepar- 

 ing them for higher priced markets. 



If these birds had been dressed without fattening at the com- 

 mencement of the feeding test, and had shrunk the same per cent 

 that they did when slaughtered, they would have yielded 165.5 

 pounds of dressed meat worth at 13 cents per pound, $21.51. 

 At the close of the test thev dressed 272.7 pounds and were sold 

 at 15 cents per pound net, yielding $40.90. This shows that 

 their value was increased by fattening $19.39. The increase 

 was probably more than this amount as we found in other tests 

 that the percentage of shrinkage in dressing lean chickens was 

 greater than in fat ones. Thirteen cents was as much as the 

 unfattened birds would have sold for — slowly — while the fat- 

 tened ones sold quickly in the same market at fifteen cents per 

 pound. They were very much improved in quality by fattening. 

 The flesh was white and soft and when roasted the thighs were 

 soft, juicy and free from strings. 



The amount of the dry food used was 750 pounds and cost 

 $7.91. The skimmed milk was 140 gallons, worth $2.80, making 

 the total food used worth $10.71, which amount taken from the 

 increased value of the chickens leaves a balance of $8.68 gain 

 on the sixty birds ; an average increase of a little more than 14 

 cents on each one above the cost of food used. 



A very large proportion of the chickens raised in this State 

 are sent to market alive, without being fattened, usually bring- 

 ing to the growers from twenty-five to thirty-five cents eac 1 ). 

 These tests indicate that they can be retained and fed a few 

 weeks in inexpensive sheds or large coops with small runs anil 

 sent to the markets as dressed meat and make good returns for 

 the labor and care expended. 



The quality of the well-covered, soft-fleshed chickens, if they 

 are not too fat, is so much superior to the same birds not spec- 

 ially prepared that they will be sought for at the higher price. 

 The dairy farmer is especially well prepared to carry on this 

 work as he has the skimmed milk which is of the greatest 

 importance in securing yield and quality of flesh. 



