FEEDING PRACTICES AND APPLIANCES 3Nl 



to l)e abused or crowded out so that they fail to get their 

 share and frequently go hungry, while the more vigorous 

 fowls gorge themseKcs. Where the mash is hopper fed there 

 is opportunity for all birds to eat all they desire. At the 

 same time there is not the same likelihood of overeating 

 on the part of some individuals, found with wet-mash 

 feeding, because of the fact that the fowls prefer the whole 

 grain of the scratching ration and will eat only as much 

 of the dry mash as they need to satisfy their appetite. 

 This affords a basis of control of the amount of dry mash 

 consumed that is fully as effective as the daily measuring 

 out of the i)ortion of the wet mash to be offered. 



Wei-maalt Feeding. — Many poultrymen prefer moistening 

 the mash with water to feeding it dry. This practice is not 

 to Idc recommended except under circumstances that warrant 

 a considerable increase in labor for small and doubtful 

 increase in production. Apparently the only advantage 

 in wetting mash comes by increasing its palatability. The 

 resulting increase in production is not ordinarily commen- 

 surate with the labor involved in wetting up the feed 

 at each feeding, spreading it upon the feeding trays, and 

 cleaning the trays from time to time in warm weather. 



As pointed out previously (see page ^■!74), wet mash in- 

 creases the number of infected eggs when fed to laying hens, 

 and is generally supposed to predispose the stock to bowel 

 trouble somewhat. 



Mairs' found that chicks under one pound in weight 

 seemed to grow faster on a wet mash, while those weighing 

 a pound and a half or more made faster growth on dry feed. 

 The loss of chicks, however, was much greater among those 

 fed wet mash than among those receiving only dry feed, 

 even when weighing less than one pound. 



Lewis^ found that for little chicks a wet-mash system of 

 feeding produced a greater gain in weight than a ration that 

 was wholly dry. This gain, however, was more than offset 

 by the increased mortality of the chicks fed the wet mash. 



Where wet mash is fed for any purpose except fattening, 



- Pennsylvania Bulletin No. 87. 



2 New Jersey Experiment Statiijn, Thirty-serond Annual Report, 



