COST OF PRODUCING EGGS, CHICKS, AND FOWLS 231 



As to feeds, most of the growers began with chick feed. 



One grower declared his faith that the free-range chick 

 is both cheaper to grow and better when grown, and said 

 that free range, joined to a provision of beef scrap and 

 cracked corn, was the very best of chick combinations. 

 The grower whose estimate of cost was lowest started 

 his chicks on free range and rolled oats for about a 

 month, then used cracked corn and a mash comprising 

 equal parts of bran and oats with half as much beef 

 scrap and twice as much corn meal. When near matur- 

 ity, whole corn took the place of cracked corn. Dr. N. 

 W. Sanborn, who chanced to be the one whose estimate 

 was the highest, of those that gave exact figures, declared 

 for good commercial chick feed during the first six 

 weeks ; after this, dry hopper-fed mash, corn and oats, 

 middlings and scrap ; mixed grain, corn, oats, wheat, and 

 barley. Apparently, the difference in cost is made 

 chiefly by conditions of handling (and perhaps contin- 

 uance of chick feeds) rather than by variation in actual 

 grains fed. I have given the cheapest and the most ex- 

 pensive in order to show this. There are two or three 

 advantages in a good prepared chick feed : it is fine, it 

 is widely varied in composition, containing many differ- 

 ent kinds of seed ; it has the right proportion of meat. 

 A poor chick feed has too much grit at a high price 

 and too much millet. (Neither is used as much as at 

 one time. The public simply refused to be baited by 

 this class of goods.) One feeder, who stated that he 

 never had sickness or leg weakness among his chicks, 

 used a dry mash consisting of bran, meat scrap, clover, 

 corn meal, and dry bread, " all they can eat," wheat 

 and cracked corn for grain, corn largely predominating. 



