POULTRY FOR PROFIT 93 



in litter: Fifteen parts cracked wheat, ten parts 

 steel cut oats, fifteen parts fine screened cracked 

 corn, three parts fine cracked peas, two parts broken 

 rice, five parts chick grit, two parts fine charcoal. 

 After the chicks are three weeks' old the rolled oats 

 and egg is gradually displaced by the following 

 mash, which is fed moist : Two parts wheat bran, 

 four parts cornmeal, two parts low-grade flour, one 

 part linseed meal, two parts beef scrap. 



There is no question I think that a moist mash is 

 more forcing than a dry one, especially if it is mixed 

 with sour milk, but it is a good deal more trouble, 

 and most poultrymen do not consider it worth while. 



The Missouri Way. — At the Missouri Station a 

 little clover chaff, shredded alfalfa or fine-cut straw 

 is sprinkled over the floor of the brooder before 

 the chicks are placed in it. A fountain of sour milk 

 or buttermilk is provided the first half of the day, 

 and longer if it is available. If not, water is given 

 the chicks in the afternoon. The first feed is a 

 mixture of two-thirds rolled oats and one-third 

 wheat bran, with a small amount of charcoal. This 

 is fed on a clean board or paper four or five times 

 a day. After the fourth day commercial chick feed 

 is added to the mixture, a little at first and the 

 amount gradually increased till the grain is all chick 

 feed. Rolled oats and bran are still fed morning, 

 noon and night, and the chick feed is thrown into 

 the litter between meals. 



When the chicks are five days old a dry mash is 

 kept before them. It consists of two parts wheat 

 bran, one part corn meal, one part shorts, one-half 

 part rolled oats or oatmeal. To every hundred 

 pounds of the above mixture is added a handful of 

 charcoal, a handful of bone meal, and a half pound 

 of fine table salt. 



