1921.] 



Notes on Poultry Keeping. 



1159 



to a point this is a sound principle, but it frequently results in 

 indifferent egg production. Laying poultry require some form 

 of animal food, especially during the winter months, and happily 

 the use of fish meal for pig feeding and calf rearing is in some 

 cases now extended to farm poultry. Fish meal is one of the 

 most valuable foods for egg production, and should be regularly 

 used in the proportion of 10 to 15 per cent, by weight of the 

 total food given to the birds. 



Maize is an excellent grain for poultry and might well be 

 even more widely used than it is at present. It appears, how- 

 ever, to suit poultry better when cracked than when given whole. 



Chicken Rearing. — The cost of rearing is usually a heavy item 

 for poultry keepers who are unable to provide their chickens 

 with ample fresh ground. During the rearing season there is 

 an abundance of natural food on suitable land provided it is not 

 too heavily stocked. The poultry keeper would frequently find 

 it cheaper to increase the area of land for rearing than to over- 

 stock the land available. The extra rent paid would be counter- 

 balanced by the saving in food, and at the same time the 

 chickens would thrive better. There is a heavy annual depre- 

 ciation in the value of a laying bird as the cost of rearing is 

 in any case high, and this depreciation should be reduced as 

 far as possible in view of a further possible fall in egg prices. 



There is a considerable tendency to use unsuitable and 

 unnecessarily expensive ingredients in the feeding of chickens, 

 and this is particularly noticeable in the case of certain 

 dry chick foods. Variety in feeding is a distinct advantage, 

 but this may be secured at the expense of economy. Three of 

 the most valuable ingredients for dry chick food are probably 

 - cracked wheat, cracked maize and groats or coarse oatmeal. 

 Animal food such as meat meal or fish meal is not really 

 essential for chickens for "the first fortnight of their lives. 

 Millet is frequently used to a large extent in proprietary mix- 

 tures, but is not usually eaten readily by the chickens. Rice, 

 if used at all, is better given in a cooked form, especially when 

 the chicks suffer from diarrhoea. The following simple mix- 

 ture is an example of a dry chick food which is comparatively 

 inexpensive and easy to make up, and which w 7 ill be found 

 quite satisfactory in practice: — 



3 parts by weight Cracked Wheat. 



1 „ „ Cracked Maize. 



1 ,, Groats or Coarse Oatmeal. 



4 or 5 per cent, of linseed, which will assist the chicks in 



feathering, or a similar quantity of hempseed may be included 



