FEEDING, HOUSING AND REARING 



A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS BY FOUR WELL-KNOWN 

 EXPERT BREEDERS UPON THE SUBJECTS OF FEEDING, HOUSING AND REARING 

 FROM HATCHING TIME TO MATURITY— COMPRISING VALUABLE INFORMATION. 



S IDENTICAL questions were asked the four 



breeders referred to, we will simply state the 



question once, then follow with the replies of 



each correspondent opposite his respective name. 



This will be advantageous to our readers, as they 



will be able to compare easily the different 



methods employed. These contributions are 



proof that while feeding methods may be similar, 



there is no cut and dried plan that can truly be deemed the best. 



Q. 1. What do you feed your laying and breeding stock? 



C. S. Green — Whole wheat, cracked corn, buckwheat, oats, 



wheat middlings, wheat bran, hoir.iny, linseed oil meal, beef 



scrap, mangle wurzels, cut clover or alfalfa. Grit, oyster shells 



and fresh water are constantly before them. 



G. A. McFetridge — Morning feed consists of cracked corn 

 scattered in straw; night feed one part cut clover, two parts 

 meal, two parts middlings, one part scrap, one-half part flour, 

 some crushed shell. For "greens" cabbage, potatoes, turnips. 



56— A PROFITABLE COMBINATION 



For winter feed plenty of greens; when spring comes feed rye, 

 wheat and corn in the green state; cut it short. 



U. R. Fishel— Wheat, oats, corn, and two or three times a 

 week a mash of one-third corn meal, balance wheat bran. Some- 

 times I add clover meal, and occasionally use as a tonic cayenne 

 pepper in small quantities. I also feed sparingly of green cut 

 bone. 



H. A. Nourse — I feed one feed each day of whole grain — 



wheat, oats and cracked corn fed on alternate days, not mixed, 

 and one feed of mash. In winter the grain is fed before light 

 in the litter — straw — to induce scratching, with a light sprink- 

 ling at noon on cold days, and mash at night. In summer 

 reverse. 



Q. 2. Do you feed mash? 



C. S. Green— Yes. 



Q. 3. What is the composition of your mash? 



C. S. Green — One hundred pounds wheat bran, 100 pounds 

 wheat middlings, 50 pounds linseed oil meal, 50 pounds hominy 

 meal and 75 pounds beef scrap. 



H. A. Nourse — The mash is made of wheat bran, corn meal, 

 middlings, clover meal and beef scrap. The whole grain ration 

 is never varied, but the proportions in the mash are varied 

 according to the needs of the fowls. 



Q. 4. What and how do you feed small chicks the first 

 week? 



C. S. Green — The first two days they are fed wheat bread 

 moistened with milk and fed every two hours. Grit, granulated 

 charcoal and water are kept by them constantly after the first 

 feed. From the third to the eighth days johnnycake is giadu- 

 allyjsubstituted for the wheat bread, but is fed only three 

 times a day, alternating in addition cracked com, cracked wheat 

 and millet seed either mixed or fed separately in very light lit- 

 ter on the floor. The johnnycake is made of five parts com 

 meal, one part wheat middlings and one-half part beef scrap 

 with a little soda mixed stiff with sour milk and steamed until 

 thoroughly cooked. This is fed cool, not hot. During this time 

 they are fed six times a day. 



G. A. McFetridge — I don't remove chicks until the twenty- 

 second day; then I feed only once a day and give free access 

 to water slightly warmed. The mash consists of equal parts of 

 corn meal, middlings, and bran with floin- enough to stick it to- 

 gether. 



U. R. Fishel — I have found the best food for small chicks 

 is cracked wheat for the first week; in fact, I have reared whole 

 broods with wheat alone until nearly feathered out. Millet is 

 good for chicks, but I find it will kill them if fed liberally at 

 early stages. Oats, both rolled and pin-head, are good, but 

 cause bowel trouble if fed to excess. 



H. A. Nourse — Millet is fed in the litter, just enough to make 

 them scratch, but the principal ration is a cake made of two 

 parts bran, one part sifted com meal and a little beef scrap and 

 fine grit sprinkled in, baked hard and dry and fed in crumbs on 

 tin plates, which are frequently scalded. 



Q. 5. What is the ration after the first week and how fed? 



C. S. Green — During the next five weeks the chicks are fed 

 johnnycake (made as described) three times a day, at 7 a. m., 

 11 a. m. and 3 p. m. It is very important that they be fed the 

 same time every day. When the weather will pemiit of free 

 outdoor range whole and cracked grain suitable to the size of 

 the chicks is kept before them in hoppers, but when they are 

 confined the grain is scattered in litter on the floor and practi- 

 cally kept by them all the time; that is, they can find some grain 

 by scratching on the fioor. Wheat, cracked corn, millet seed, 

 or buckwheat can be used, changing frequently. After the 

 chicks are six weeks old they are fed mash twice a day (mixed 

 same as for hens) and cracked or whole com and wheat are kept 

 before them in hoppers. 



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