THE AlfT OF POULTRY FATTENING 83 



adjunct with poultry raisers, because the one who does 

 use it will produce so much better birds than the one 

 who doesn't use it that the one who does not employ the 

 machine will see that to command the price for the 

 birds of the one who does use it, he must use it himself. 

 The reason for this is the almighty dollar; in other 

 words, "results." 



When chickens, especially cockerels, run at large, 

 while their appetites are good they lead too gay and 

 active a life to lay on much flesh. If they are cooped 

 up and fed from troughs they may eat a little, but they 

 are not active enough to create much of an appetite, 

 and as they have previously led an active life they are 

 not contented at being confined, consequently they eat 

 little comparatively. In other words, they have not 

 appetite enough to eat all the system can assimilate. 

 N"ow when the cramming machine is used it matters 

 not whether the bird has an appetite. That bird is fed 

 all it can possibly assimilate. The food should be so 

 prepared that the fowl can assimilate it with the least 

 f)Ossible exertion on the part of the digestive organs. 

 When this is done the bird has assimilated so much 

 more food than when fed otherwise that it is in much 

 more flesh and commands much better price. It leaves 

 a profit that well repays for the extra work of feeding 

 each bird by machine. 



The birds will stand this high feeding for a certain 

 time, which is between two and four weeks, and take on 

 a surprising amount of flesh. But there comes a time, 

 if kept up, when the reaction seems to set in, and the 

 trick is to get those birds off to market before that time 

 or before the reaction has set in so far as to have done 

 any harm. This is generally known and understood 

 when ducks are fattened in large quantities. By a little 

 experience one can master the process and would not 

 then think of being without a cramming machine. 



