THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 



93 



After getting the fowls accustomed to their winter quarters, you 

 can, if you wish, let them out for two hours before sundown to 

 run on the grass or green winter wheat or alfalfa. This will give 

 them a little exercise and change, but it is not absolutely necessary 

 unless quite convenient. Of course, they must be supplied with 

 green food and a balanced egg ration. 



BROILER RANCHES 



Broiler raising is one of the lucrative branches of the poultry in- 

 dustry. It is a business, however, which should not be entered into 

 without study or experience. There are some very large broiler 

 ranches in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. 



The ration for broilers is usually that given for chicks till they 

 are four or five weeks of age, when they are finished off with a 

 fattening ration for from two to three weeks. The average cost 

 of raising a broiler is from fifteen to eighteen cents, while the sell- 

 ing price on contract is from fifty to sixty cents at a pound and a 

 half in weight. 



By using the ration given for broilers after the first two weeks, 

 some breeders have attained the weight of two pounds for their 

 broilers at six weeks of age. This was in small lots of twenty-five 

 to fifty broilers in a brooder.* 



* See page 39. 



