Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-16
MONEY IN MILK FED POULTRY
FIavors improved in Chickens
Thus Fed-SelI Readily and
Command High Prices.

Upon examining the bill of fare be-
fore ordering his dinner the we'll
posted man will scan the list carefully
IN search of an article of food which
was entirely unheard of compara-
lively short time ago, and that is milk.
fed chicken.
AS the price of this delicacy is al
ways higher than that charged for
other poultry-no matter in what man
ner prepared-poultry people every
where will do well to look into this
matter and study the methods of rais-
ing chickens on a milk diet
During the last few years this in
dustry, which has grown to enormous
proportions, has been controlled by the
large packing interests, where chick (
ems are prepared for market by a
| process that increases the weight from
40 to SO per cent, besides adding to
| the value of the fowl from SO to rs
per cent
/ AS result to-day on all the menu
| cards of our first-class hotels, restau-
rants, passenger boats and dining cars
/ the milk-fed chicken occupies a promi-
nent place.
Upon inquiring into the methods em-
1 PiSSS w Ny tiio iil &c pdChlilS COuC0fUS
Which have derived such great profit
from their system of milk feeding it
was found to be a very simple arrange
ment and entailed very small ex-
pense.
An Illinois man successfully tried the
experiment and gives the following ac-
count of his experience:
First pen was arranged, the bot
tom OF Which was made of rounds an
inch apart the top Of the round being
| oval and not measuring to exceed an
INCH A drop board was then con-
structed eight inches below the bottom
of the coop as before described.
A small trough was then made. the
same as would be used for feeding
pigs. set of hangers was made for
it on the front of the coop just high
enough for the chicks to eat out of it
comfortably.
The feed consists of oatmeal, but
termilk, beef tallow and yellow corn
neal This was fed to the chicks early.
in the morning, giving them just what
| they would eat and no more
| AS soon as they were through the
trough was removed and the same
process followed at noon and again at
| 5 o'clock, or soon enough before dark
so the chickens would eat before going
to roost.
/ No water was given during the time
| they We're on this feed, the period OF
which lasted for fourteen days.
i AT the end of that time the chicks
/ were weighed, killed and dressed, and
this lot was found to have increased
4 70 per cent over what they weighed
when put in the coop fourteen days
| before.
There were nine chickens in this
coop, 81 feet wide and feet long,
with ample head room; in fact, this
particular coop was about four feet
high.
Each morning the drop board which
had been constructed under the bottom
of the coop was taken out and scrubbed,
| with the result that the coop was kept
clean and fresh.
This added weight cost about 10
cents per pound and all of the food
had been purchased in small retail
way so that when experiments are to
be tried by one desiring to fatten a
large number the oatmeal can be Sc
cured in barrels at cents per pound
or less, while in our experiment 1t cost
/ S cents
The buttermilll was purchased from
a store at 21a cents per quart and the
talloW was beef suet rendered, which
cost before rendering cents per pound.
The oatmeal was mixed into slop
quite wet, still thick enough SO the
chickens could eat it easily, more in
the form of a food than drink.
1t was found that when it was too
thin they would not eat as much and
did not seem to relish it, About four
tablespoons of tallow to the gallon of
/ feed was the ratio in which it was
mixed.
This necessitated melting the tallow
in order to have it mixed we'll. Two
ordinary teacupfuls of yellow cornmea
to gallon Of the feed is the right
proportion, so as to keep the flesh
good rich yellow, as otherwise 1t has
a white, milky appearance.
The ideal weight of feeding Is TX te
2h pounds. They take on flesh fasteI
and eat better and are much more
| salable.
However, chickens weighing several
pounds are very desirable when pre-
pared in this way. Hotels find they
are exceptionally fine meat and are
comparatively scarce. AS result they
find ready market.
/ These chickens are nice and juicy
the fat being equally distributed
that often despised piece, is as juic.
as any part of the fowl.
There is as much difference between
the two kinds of chickens, milk-fei
and regular, as between beef and veal