Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1912-07-04


while a chicken, II properly fed and
cared for, will double its original
weight In days or less. This ex'
treme rapidly Of growth indicates an
enormous power for digesting and a.
similating food. Liberal feeding. then
is Of prime necessity. Feed literally,
but yet keep the chickens active
When raised under natural conditions.
q chick is on the move practically
from morning till night, and In raising
chickens artificially, it is important to
feed so that the natural activity Is
maintained. This can be accomplish
ed by scattering the cracked grain thai
they receive In litter, SO that they are
obliged to scratch for il.
Under natural conditions chickens
consume large amount Of animal
food. The mother hen busies herself
in scratching for bugs and worms.
There is a reason for this eagerness
for animal food. The growing chick
demands large amounts of both pro-
tein and mineral matter to build up It's
system. Grain alone furnishes neither
enough ash nor protein for this pur-
pose. Animal food is rich In both
these materials. When chicks are
raised in breeders or when their range
is restricted, feeds Of animal origin
should usually be added to their ration
for best results. Sour SKINNED milk or
buttermilk is excellent. For some rea-
son sweet milk is less valuable for
poultry than sour milk. In the abb
sence of milk it will usually pay to
purchase beef scrap.
Green food Of some Eort Is essential
For brooder chicks early in spring
when other green stuff Is not avail
able, sprouted oats answer the pur-
pose. Prepare them by soaking them
over night in tepid water. In the
morning spread them out in warm
place two or three inches thick. Sprin-
kle occasionally with warm water, and
in about a weeks time, depending
upon the temperature at which they
are kept, they will be sprouted suffi-
ciently. They should be thoroughly
moist when fed for If they are allowed
to become dry and shriveled there Is
danger that the bulls may accumulate
in the gizzards Of the chicks and
cause serious trouble.
So much for the theory Of feeding
little chicks. The application Of these
principles can be illustrated most
clearly by describing the method Of
feeding little chicks In use at the EX-
pertinent Station where two or three
thousand are raised annually.
For the first feeding, the infertile
eggs from the incubators are hard
boiled and run, shell and all. through
a food chopper. The ground egg Ia
mixed with bread crumbs or rolled
oats so as to form crumbly mixture.
This is fed four or five times per day.
or until the infertile eggs are exhaust
ed. This mixture is fed in such guam
titles that 1t Is cleaned Up quickly by
the chicks. Also a good chick feed,
consisting of cracked grains is scat
tered in the litter, covering the floor
of the brooder, and the chicks soon
learn to scratch for the grain. After
they are about week old. they are
fed as follows: A dry mash is pro-
vided, which is fed in shallow trays,
later In hoppers, so as to be constant
ly available to the chicks. This mash
usually has the following composition.
Equal parts of wheat bran, corn meal,
wheat middlings and beef scrap. To
this is added 10 per cent Of bone meal,
or some similar material rich In phos-
phorus. This mixture is not always
fed dry, but is sometimes moistened
with sour milk and fed twice day in
troughs. AS the chicks grow older
the amount of moisteHed mash is grad
ually reduced, so that finally only one
Iced per day is fed. After they are
put on the range in colony houses.
hey are fed entirely on dry mash, and
mixture of cracked corn and wheat
ed in hoppers. More than 1900 chicks
IRE being fed at the Experiment Sta
ion on the above rations, and the NOR
iality has been less than one per cent.
HORACE ATWOOD,
West Virginia Agricultural Expert
nent Station.