22 BULLETIN 1385, V. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 
The wooden poultry- feeding crates are usually arranged in long 
rows, one crate high, and placed outdoors in a yard during the 
spring, summer, and fall and in sheds during the winter. Some 
fatteners keep them in sheds the year around; others operate only 
in the summer, and the crates are not used during the winter. When 
arranged out of doors the feeding yards are protected from the pre- 
vailing winds by buildings, walls, hedges, fences, and sometimes by 
windbreaks made of woven rushes in the form of matting. Rain is 
kept from the birds by boards, roofing, or other arrangements placed 
on the tops of the crates. 
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EFFECT OF CLIMATE 
The climatic conditions are apparently especially favorable to 
poultry fattening in southern England. The temperature never 
becomes uncomfortably warm or excessively cold. Winds are mod- 
crate, and the sun never shines with a glare. In view of the discus- 
sion now going on in the United States regarding the effect of ultra- 
violet rays on growth, the direct exposure of the birds to the actinic 
lays of the sun may indicate one reason for the success of outdoor 
feeding. Birds with their wings drooping, heads extended, mouths 
open, and panting, such as are often seen in the farm flocks of our 
Middle West during the summer, are a rarity in England or in all 
Europe, except possibly in the far southern sections of the Continent. 
In fact, special emphasis is sometimes laid on the necessity of keep- 
ing the fattening birds warm, whereas in the United States most of 
the larger feeding stations would like to discover some way of keep- 
ing them cool during the summer season. 
The length of time of feeding varies with different feeders and 
with the ability of the birds to stand up under the intensive feeding 
process. On an average the birds are trough fed from 10 to 14 days 
and then crammed, usually by machine, from 10 to 14 days longer. 
In some instances it i^ not uncommon for the entire feeding period 
to occupy five weeks. While the birds are on the cramming ma- 
chine they naturally receive individual attention, and the operators 
of the machines become so expert that they are able to determine 
from the feel and appearance of any bird whether it is fattening 
well or whether a continuance of the process would result in a de- 
crease in flesh. Thus, as soon as the birds have reached their maxi- 
mum growth and fatness, they are removed from the crates and sent 
to the dressing rooms, irrespective of the length of time of feeding. 
RATIONS 
When the birds are first placed in the crates they received nothing 
but water during the first day. The following morning they receive 
a light feed composed of ground meals and soured skim milk, but- 
termilk, or whey. The rations fed vary with each feeder and from 
time to time in the same establishment, depending upon the weather, 
with the cost of feed, and the age of the chickens. The basis of the 
feeding is ground whole oats and sour skim milk, to which other in- 
gredients are added in varying proportions. One feeder may feed 
approximately 70 per cent ground oats and 30 per cent white corn 
meal mixed with sour skim milk to the consistency of a thin paste 
that barely flows. The oats used are specially ground whole oats. 
