138 PROFITABLE POULTRY PRODUCTION 



■of iji to 2 cents a quart. In these trials 802 quarts 

 of skim milk were fed, resulting in an increase in 

 the egg production of 702 eggs. 



FEEDING CAPONS 



The unusually high prices quoted for capons has 

 led to considerable discussion in the agricultural 

 and poultry press relative to the profit in this branch 

 of poultry raising. The discussion is not free from 

 exaggerated statements of interested individuals, 

 and little satisfactory information is available. To 

 get data concerning the growth and food cost 

 several feeding experiments have been made by the 

 New York experiment station. 



Six lots of capons and one of cockerels were fed 

 for several months and several lots of capons for 

 shorter periods of several weeks. Birds of several 

 breeds and crosses were used, chiefly Asiatics, but 

 none of the smaller breeds. No special comparison 

 of breeds was attempted, although for the most 

 part each lot was of one breed. 



To all of these fowls sweet skim milk was fed 

 nearly all of the time in place of water. Much of 

 the time it constituted about 6o<h) of the total food, 

 supplying generally from 12 to 15% of the total 

 dry matter in the ration. 



For the eight lots for which records were kept 

 the longest time, from hatching to maturitv. the 

 lowest pound cost, live weight, was at the average 

 Vireight of 4 pounds. Largely because the market 

 prices were always lower for the smaller fowls the 

 cost of food to grow the birds 4j^ pounds repre- 

 sented the highest proportion (a little over 50^^) 

 of the market value found at any time from earliest 



