FEEDING POULTRY 357 



on grain and dry mash until it is desired to pen them up to fatten 

 for market. 



Crate-Fattening Ration. — Crate-fattening is used where it is 

 desired to produce choice milk-fed fowls that are as tender, juicy 

 and toothsome as possible. Birds under nine weeks of age should 

 be pen-fattened. Fowls three-fourths grown will crate-fatten best 

 (Fig. 105). The following formula is a good example of a suitable 

 crate-fattening ration : 



2 pounds barley meal or oatmeal, 



1 pound cornmeal, 



1 pound shorts, 



8 pounds buttermilk. 



This ration should be fed two to three times a day, being allowed 

 to sour six to twelve hours before feeding. Charcoal and grit are 

 kept in front of the birds between meals. Birds are fed from ten 

 days to three weeks and starved for twenty-four hours before start- 

 ing the fattening process. 



Crate-fattening should not be carried on longer than from ten 

 to twenty-one days, or the fowls will go off feed and die, since the 

 process is such a forcing one. Large broilers and fryers can be 

 nicely finished off in this way. For roasting carcasses, fowls that 

 are not quite mature make rapid gains when crate-fattened. Cocker- 

 els that have matured and become staggy do not make as profitable 

 gains as those that have not yet fully matured. Crate-fattened, 

 milk-fed fowls are always in demand at fancy prices, because the 

 milk ration and close confinement produce such a choice, juicy meat. 



QUESTIONS 



1. Describe the digestive system of the fowl. 



2. What are the chief functions of protein in the fowl? 



3. What are the uses of the carbohydrates and the fat? 



4. What special uses has the ash in feeds for poultry? 



5. Discuss the advantages of fiber for poultry. 



6. Define a poultry ration. 



7. What are the needs and benefits of a variety? 



8. Discuss the advantages of suitability of the feed to the flock. 



9. Discuss the question of how much to feed. 



10. Enumerate the advantages of the dry-mash. 



11. What animal feeds are available for poultry feeding in your section? 



Which are cheapest? 



12. What green feeds are used by poultry keepers in your section in the 



winter? In summer? 



13. Give the composition of a good dry mash for use of laying hens in your 



section. 



14. Outline a good plan for feeding chicks. 



15. Describe hen-fattening, and give rations. 



16. Give the details of a good plan for crate-fattening. 



