188 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



for the young stock? My chicks will 

 not eat the baby chick food after a 

 week or ten days. I also give them 

 lawn clippings or lettuce every even- 

 ing. 



Is a handful of scratch feed to the 

 hen once a day enough where they have 

 the dry mash and table scraps? Is 

 cracked corn good food to feed alone to 

 young stock? I have Rhode Island 

 Reds.— R. L. P. 



Answer — -Your questions relate prin- 

 cipally to the feeding of the young 

 stock, and you do not say whether you 

 want to keep them for fattening for the 

 table or for future egg layers. There is 

 of course a difference in the way of 

 feeding, or rather in the quality of the 

 food to be given to them. However, I 

 will tell you the way I feed for egg lay- 

 ing. As soon as I think the little chicks 

 will eat whole wheat, I add it to the 

 baby chick feed, a small quantity. If 

 they pick it up quickly I add more each 

 day, and in a few days I give also some 

 kaffir corn or finely cracked corn. It 

 should be finely cracked, as it is difficult 

 of digestion. When it is too long in 

 digesting, the corn ferments in the giz- 

 zard and that gives the chick diarrhoea, 

 which often proves fatal. We never 

 want to overtax the digestion of a 

 chick, so I give corn carefully. This ap- 

 plies to the last question in your letter 

 — it is not good to feed corn alone. It 

 has been clearly proven that chicks do 

 better, grow more quickly and mature 

 earlier if they can have a great variety 

 of seeds to eat. This is the reason we 

 prefer to buy the chick feed already 

 mixed from the supply houses. They 

 have greater facilities for getting a va- 

 riety of grains than we have. 



When the young stock is old enough 

 to eat the wheat and kaffir corn, they 

 can be fed as you do the old hens, only 

 remember to give them nice, clean lit- 

 ter to scratch in. It will need renewing 

 oftener than that of the old hens, for if 

 it gets foul and they pick up some of 

 their own droppings, you will soon have 

 a set of sick chickens. Feed the grains 

 in the scratching pen to the little chicks, 

 and also give them in a hopper of bran, 

 alfalfa meal, corn meal, ground bone 

 and either granulated milk or dried 

 blood in equal proportions. The little, 

 chicks will prefer the grains in the 

 scratching pen and eat those the first, 

 which is just what they want, but if they 

 are hungry they will go to the hopper. 

 Most of the poultry supply houses now 



make an excellent scratch feed; they 

 realize the need of it and are able to 

 mix it scientifically. I always buy from 

 them, and if I think there is too much 

 corn and that my fowls will become too 

 fat, I say, "Please economize on the 

 corn." You will find most of the poul- 

 try supply houses willing to mix the 

 scratch food just as you want it. You 

 are feeding the mature stock all right. 

 One handful of the scratch feed in the 

 litter is about right for the hens. The 

 green food is quite important, the lawn 

 clippings should be of clover or as 

 much clover as possible, for the blue 

 grass becomes so hard and stiff as the 

 summer continues that there is not 

 much nourishment in it and the hens 

 will not eat it. Lettuce is good, but 

 sometim.es quite expensive and difficult 

 to get, but there is another green food 

 that has been found excellent and is 

 within the reach of any one. This is 

 sprouted oats. Take half a bucket of 

 oats, pour warm water on them and 

 leave them covered all night, then 

 spread them in boxes. Any box will do. 

 Have the oats about two inches deep 

 and keep them damp. In four or five 

 days there will be a mass of tender 

 green sprouts. The hens will eat eager- 

 ly of this. A friend of mine has also 

 done this with barley for many years 

 with great success. This green food is 

 as good for the young stock as for the 

 old. 



In your place I would feed as you do, 

 throwing scratch food (a handful to 

 each fowl) in the litter in the early 

 morning, keeping the dry mash in the 

 hopper, and feed the green food in the 

 evening. Some of it may be left till 

 morning, but will not wilt much, and 

 they will eat it the first thing. Be sure 

 they have plenty of water and have it 

 shaded from the sun, either in a box 

 on its side or in some sort of shelter. 



Mixing Foods — I want to ask you if 

 there is any good reason for not mixing 

 foods at the same meal. Prof. Jaffa 

 of the U. C. said on one occasion that 

 it was best not to mix foods — in feed- 

 ing wheat, to feed that alone; the same 

 of barley or of corn. Make either an 

 entire meal. I have observed in feed- 

 ing my chickens that they seem to enjoy 

 a variety of grains fed together. Which 

 method would you think best ? 



I am feeding rolled barley dry. 

 Would you think it better to soak it? 

 I give the mash at noon, dry, and green 

 feed morning and evening. The fowls 



