74 



Poultry Fattening. 



[may, 



on grain will not be nearly as forward as a bird fed on 

 soft food and grain. Experiment has proved that ground 

 grain is not only more freely eaten, but makes birds plumper 

 than whole grain. 



All birds intended to be fattened should from the beginning 

 be separated from the birds intended. for stock, and be fed on a 

 more generous diet, of which soft food forms the greater part, 

 and if to the soft food be added a certain percentage of fat, so 

 much the better, as far less trouble will be experienced in finally 

 preparing the birds for table. 



Best Age for Fattening. — Birds on a free range are usually 

 more forward for their age than birds hatched and reared in 

 confined runs, so that while from three to four months is the 

 usual age at which a bird is ready to be fattened, size is, after 

 all, the best guide. 



An important point to remember is that at a given age a 

 bird is in a condition to return its maximum amount of profit. 

 Miss that time by a day, and that day's food is on the wrong 

 side of the ledger. As the age of the bird increases it consumes 

 more food, and so costs more to keep. On a given day each 

 bird in turn reaches its highest state of perfection, after which 

 not one ounce of food should be given it. It should be fasted 

 for twenty-four hours, and then sold at once. Experience alone 

 can enable anyone to decide when that crucial period arrives. 

 The loss to a big fattener on thousands of birds kept a few daj^s 

 beyond their time would be very large. There is, moreover, a 

 double loss, for after a given time not only is a bird consuming 

 unnecessary food, which costs money, but in addition it actually 

 loses weight. There is also the cost of labour and the space 

 it is occupying. 



Unsuitable Birds. — Certain birds are unsuitable for fattening 

 purposes. All birds intended for the fattening pens must be in 

 a fair state of health, or they will not stand the strain. Very wild 

 birds will not fatten well. Cockerels should not be over five 

 months old. Feather-eaters must on no account be placed in 

 the pens with other birds, as they will worry them by continually 

 picking at their feathers, and so the whole pen of four or five 

 birds will be retarded and food wasted owing to the birds not 

 fully benefiting by it. Fighters must also be excluded. 



