Feeding 87 



but where we feed plenty, we notice that the chicks do not 

 look so well on the following day. Knowing that hens on a 

 well-balanced ration, when fed five quarts of grain a day 

 to 100 hens, will eat four times this amount of mash, we now 

 feed our chicks four times this amount of mash as grain 

 chick-feed. Feed about this amount provided the mash is 

 right and they eat lots of it. As our chicks have bowel- 

 trouble on the food where we are feeding three parts of 

 bran (Bluestem) to one of the other ingredients, we have 

 to change the mash. We have noticed that the chicks seem 

 very fond of bran and eat it out of the mash. Believing that 

 chicks should know what they want, we now double the 

 amount of bran in the mash, using 12 parts of bran (Blue- 

 stem), 1 part of corn-meal, Yz part of middlings, y 2 part of 

 oats. The chicks get no better and in fact the bowel-trouble 

 becomes worse. 



Remembering from past experiences that a ration com- 

 posed of equal parts of bran, corn-meal and middlings some- 

 times stop chicks from dying, we now feed this ration and 

 we lose less chicks, the bowel-trouble, however, continues, 

 though decreased. Seeing this and remembering the prin- 

 ciple of feeding — that bran is a laxative and middlings con- 

 stipating — and desiring to tighten the bowels a little more I 

 feed them the following ration: 



RATION NO. 12 



1 part bran (Bluestem), 



2 parts middlings No. 1 (Bluestem), 



1 part whole yellow corn, ground very fine, 



10% charcoal, 



1% salt. 

 Feed about four times as much mash as chick-feed if 

 chicks eat the mash freely. 



