FEEDING PRACTICES AND APPLIANCES 



419 



are not so shaped as to withstand freezing, they are not 

 likely to be in use in freezing weather. 



Fattening Crates.^ — The purpose of the fattening crate is 

 to so confine the birds intended for fattening that they will 

 have little opportunity for exercise and will be grouped 

 within a small space so that the labor of feeding is reduced 

 as much as possible. A number of orates built together as 

 is usually done at the feeding stations of the packing-houses 

 is called a battery. 



Fig. 193 



Portable battery of feeding crates. (Courtesy of J. V. Mitchell.) 



The floor of each crate is 1-inch mesh-woven wire, which 

 allows the droppings to work down into the dropping pan 

 below. Each crate is provided with a removable roosting 

 board upon which the fowls may rest between feeds. The 

 dropping pan as shown in Fig. 193 may be taken out and 

 cleaned as frequently as necessary. 



For good results the crates should be located in the coolest 

 spot possible. If this happens to be in a shed, care should 



