^8 BROILERS AND ROASTERS. 



not seem to eat right, remove it for a few hours and they, 

 will be ready to eat a good ration when it is returned to 

 them, and thus get back into regular habits. 

 How Often and How Much to Feed: 

 The small chick, as has been said, takes its food in 

 almost infinitesimal quantities at first, but it wants its meals 

 often. If only what the chicks clean up within a few 

 minutes is given them at each feeding they will eat about 

 ■once in two hours. As they take food in larger quantities 

 it will be found that two hour intervals between feeds are 

 too short, if the chicks are given all they will eat at each 

 meal. Some keep the chicks in good appetite by continu- 

 ing feeding at two hour intervals, but never feeding the 

 chicks all they want ; others give the chicks what they will 

 eat, and lengthe'n the intervals between feeds as much as 

 necessary to keep the appetite hearty. The latter way I 

 think the better one. It reduces labor, and it is more 

 natural. With broilers one will not get much beyond three 

 hour periods between meals, but with roasters he can soon 

 get on a three-meals-a-day basis. 



For quantity no definite rule can be given. It is desirable 

 to have the chicks eat all they can digest, and that will 

 vary with their digestive capacity as well as with the com- 

 position and quality of the food. The feeder should aim 

 to have a diet that will be eaten freely and digested without 

 inconvenience. With such a ration, with the necessary 

 exercise and other accessories, there is little danger of over- 

 feeding, and he may be liberal to the point where waste of 

 food begins. 



In a mixture of grains the chicks get variety in every 

 meal. When for the sake of economy it is desired to feed 

 as much as is desirable of a cheap grain, it may either be 



