1909.] 



Milk Chickens. 



287 



fourteen days on a mixture of one part Indian meal and two 

 parts bran, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, made into 

 a wet mash, to which is added about ten per cent, of cotton 

 seed meal and some cheap treacle or syrup. In this way a 

 deep yellow skin is secured, but, as already stated, that is 

 not desirable on our markets. It would appear that milk is 

 not used. 



The system of feeding adopted at Haeltert, described by 

 Madame Van Schelle, was much more complete. In this 

 case the birds were reared from birth as poulets de lait for 

 early, killing. For thirty-six hours after hatching no food 

 was given. Then for a similar period white bread-crumbs 

 were placed before the chicks in boxes, so that they could 

 learn to eat, and at each time of feeding no more was given 

 than would be consumed readily. When three days old a 

 little yolk, not white, of hard-boiled egg was mixed with the 

 bread-crumbs, but this was apparently only given for one day. 

 From the age of four days a paste was given, composed of 

 10 pints of barley meal, 3J pints of buckwheat meal, one-sixth 

 pint of powdered fish, and one-third pint of white cheese, 

 with one or two yolks of hard-boiled eggs if available. This 

 paste was prepared with boiling water and served lukewarm, 

 and given six or seven times per diem, commencing at 

 5 o'clock and ending with a last feed at 7 p.m., even if lamp- 

 light had to be used. The powdered fish was made of perfectly 

 fresh heads and livers of skate and heads of cod, first salted, 

 then baked, and finally powdered. It was claimed that the 

 fish, being rich in phosphates, ga\^e strength to the rapidly 

 growing chicks and prevented leg weakness. Probably 

 meat would have the same effect. Not until the fifth day 

 was any water given. As the birds grew the barley meal 

 was gradually reduced in quantity until at the end of six 

 weeks it was entirely replaced by buckwheat meal for the 

 last fortnight, and in the final week no fish meal was used. 

 During these two weeks the mixture was moistened by a 

 liquid consisting of three parts of milk to two parts of water. 

 Such a system could be adopted by all who feed off these 

 little birds, but for reasons already given it will be evident 

 that the most profitable method would be for farmers and 

 others to rear and feed during the early period in the 



