174 MAINE) AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I907. 



they contain no secret properties that make them more desirable 

 than the home mixed broken grains mentioned above. Their use 

 is simply a matter of convenience. When only a few chicks are 

 raised it is generally more convenient and probably not more ex- 

 pensive to buy the prepared food, but when many are raised it is 

 less expensive to use the home mixed foods. Sharp grit, fine 

 charcoal and clean water are always before them. At 9 o'clock 

 the rolled oats and egg mixture is fed in tin plates with low rims. 

 After they have had the food before them 5 minutes the dishes 

 .are removed and they have nothing to lunch on. At 12.30 

 o'clock the hard grain mixture is fed again, as in the morning, 

 and at 4.30 or 5 o'clock, they are fed the rolled oats and egg 

 mixture, all they will eat in half an hour. 



When they are about 3 weeks old, the rolled oats and egg mix- 

 ture is gradually displaced by a mixture made up of 2 parts by 

 weight of good clean bran, 4 parts corn meal, 2 parts middlings 

 or red dog flour, 1 part linseed meal and 2 parts screened beef 

 scrap. This mixture is moistened just enough with water so 

 that it is not sticky, but will crumble, when a handful is squeezed 

 and then released. The birds are developed far enough by this 

 time so that the tin plates are discarded for light troughs with 

 low sides. Young chicks like the moist mash better than though 

 it was not moistened, and will eat more of it in a short time. 

 There is no danger from the free use of the properly made mash, 

 twice a day, and being already ground the young birds can eat 

 and digest more of it, than when the food is all coarse. This is 

 a very important fact and should be taken advantage of, at the 

 time when the young things are most susceptible to rapid growth. 

 But the development must be moderate during the first few 

 weeks. The digestive organs must be kept in normal condition 

 t>y the partial use of hard foods, and the gizzard must not be 

 ■deprived of its legitimate work and allowed to become weak by 

 disuse. 



By the time the chicks are 5 or 6 weeks old, the small broken 

 grains are discontinued and the 2 litter feeds are wholly of 

 screened cracked corn and whole wheat. Only good clean wheat 

 that is not sour or musty should be used. 



When young chicks are fed as described the results have 

 always been satisfactory, if they have not been given too much 

 of the scratch food, and the dishes of ground material have been 



