PRACTICAL FEEDING OF POULTRY 



product only 3 or 4 parts are added in many instances 

 which gives a much richer and thicker milk than ordinary 

 buttermilk. 



A good fattening ration may be made of 60 per cent 

 white com meal, 37 per cent low grade flour and 3 per 

 cent bran. Another very good ration is made of 50 per 

 cent rolled oats or oat groats, 42 per cent white com 

 meal, 5 per cent low grade flour and 3 per cent bran. 



From 5 per cent to 6 per cent of beef tallow may be 

 used in fattening and was used a number of years ago in 

 many of the fattening stations, but the present opinion is 

 that the addition of tallow is inadvisable as it is likely to 

 produce a softer flesh which is not of the highest quality. 

 Where beef tallow is fed it is only used in any considerable 

 amount during the last few days of the fattening period 

 as its use at that time does make the fat become more 

 noticeable on the chicken. The buttermilk used in fat- 

 tening hens which are held for only a few days results in 

 a marked growth in their pin feathers and those which 

 have short stubby pin feathers change so that the pin 

 feathers may be readily pulled out when the fowl is 

 dressed, giving it a much better market appearance. 



FEATHER PICKING 



One of the vices which is quite troublesome in fatten- 

 ing stations is feather picking. It is especially noticeable 

 where the chickens are making big gains and are in par- 

 ticularly good flesh. It seems to be influenced by the 

 heating effect of the forcing ration, by the confinement, 



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