266 FEEDING 



it much more easily digested. Birds confined to a small 

 coop or yard are often deprived of all natural sources of 

 grit, and it must then be provided in the fattening ration. 



Maintenance of a Good Appetite. — If the birds are to be 

 made to grow fast, they must keep up a good appetite. 

 Too much feed will often result in getting them off their 

 feed, and birds once off their feed while in the fattening 

 yard rarely make any satisfactory gain. The best way to 

 insure a good appetite is to allow them to become hungry 

 and anxious for feed for a short time before each feeding. 

 These are the fundamental principles in feeding for increase 

 in weight, and they should be borne in mind and carried 

 out during all fattening processes. 



METHODS OF FATTENINQ 



Three methods are commonly employed in fattening 

 poultry: the flock method, crate fattening, and cramming. 

 They will now be briefly discussed. 



Pen or Flock Fattening. — Flock fattening is a term used 

 to describe the fattening of a large number of birds for fleshy 

 growth, usually in the finishing of broilers and fowls, and 

 with very little labor. The birds are kept in large flocks, 

 in small yards, and exercise restricted (Fig. 148). They are 

 thus easily confined and fed, and they grow and put on flesh 

 rapidly. Fowls are usually fit for market without any fat- 

 tening process. If not, they can be fattened for about two 

 weeks, the whole flock being restricted to a small area. Two 

 rations are generally used in feeding flocks for fleshy growth, 

 one a mash ration, which can be fed either wet or dry. Whole 

 or cracked corn is usually combined with the mash, since 

 corn, either whole or cracked, constitutes the main grain 

 feed. This grain is especially high in carbohydrates, and 

 valuable for that reason. 



Finishing Ration for Broilers. — Often it is desirable to 

 flnish young chicks for two or three weeks before killing and 



