PRACTICAL FEEDING OF POULTRY 



make a material growth during these periods as well as 

 put on flesh. The greatest percentage and the cheapest 

 gains are made on the small chickens. It takes about 4 

 pounds of dry feed to produce a pound of gain on chickens 

 weighing 1^/2 pounds to 2 pounds while 5 to 6 pounds of 

 feed is required to produce a pound of gain on chickens 

 weighing 3 pounds or more. 



Slightly higher prices are paid for broilers than for 

 larger chickens but when the former are fattened and 

 dressed for market they bring a very much higher price 

 than the larger chickens. The greatest gains are made 

 in the early stages of fattening, the gains usually de- 

 creasing toward the end of the fattening period, depend- 

 ing on the size of the bird and on the weather. In experi- 

 ments conducted in some of these fattening stations, 

 broilers cost 17.6 cents per pound in July, 191 1, while 

 the gains, including labor, cost 7 cents per pound. In 

 November of that year in the same stations the larger- 

 sized chickens cost 9 cents per pound into the fattening 

 station while the gains including labor cost 10.5 cents per 

 pound. In other words, a pound of gain was put on the 

 broilers at less than half the original purchase price while 

 in the larger-sized chickens, the purchase price was about 

 the same and in many cases less than the cost of gain in 

 fattening. The dressed broilers also bring a much higher 

 price per pound. 



The common practice is to feed all the broilers and the 

 small chickens secured early in the season for about 14 

 days. Around the latter part of August the period is 



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