The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-06-11

men. station.
while a chicken, II properly fed and
cared for,iwill double it's original
weight in 6&days or less. This, .ex-
treme. rapldity of growth indicates an
enormous power Tor digesdng and as
Stimulating food. Liberal feeding, then,
% Of prime necessity. Feed literally,
(fbut yet keep the chickens active.
When raised under natural conditions,
a. chick is on the move practically
from morning till night, and in raising
chickens artlficlally. 1t is important to
feed SO that the natural activity 10
maintained. This can be accomplish.
ed by scattering the cracked grain that
they receive in litter, SO that they are
obliged to scratch for 1t. ~ q
Under natural conditions chickens
consume large amount OF animal
food, The mother hen busles herself
in scratching for bugs and worms.
There isaa 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 alehe furnishes neither
enough ash. nor protein for this par-,
pose. Animal food is rich in both
these materials. When chicks I, are
raised in lbrooders or; when their range
Is restricted. feeds Of animal .ioriein
should usuallytbe added 10 their ration
tor best results, Sour skinned milk or
|bnttermilk 5is excelIs For. some TEA!
son sweet milk IS less valuable for
poultry than sour milk. III the ab;
sence OF milk twill usually pay; to
purchase beef scrap. oss, ,fl5
Green food .of. some iortLis essential.
For brooder chicks early In spring
when other green stuff is not await.
able, sprouted oats answer the 'pur.
pose. Prepare them by soaking them
over night4+in tepid water. Il.2the
morning spread them Out in a, warm
place two or,three inches thick. sprin.
kle occasionally with warm water, and
In about weeks time, depending
upon the temperature at which they
are kept, they will be sprouted sum.
GENTLY. They should be thoroughly
moist when fed for II they are allowed
to become dry and Ishriveled there Is
danger that the hulls may accumulate
in the gizzards OF the chicks and
cause serious trouble. Z
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. n
isFor the first feeding, the iinfertile
eggs from the incubators are hard
boiled and run, shell and all, through
a food chopper. The ground egg 10
mixed with bread crumbs or rolled
oats so as to form "a crumbly mixture.
This is fed four or Ave 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 u week old, they are
fed as follows: A dry mash Is pro
yided, Which is fed in shallow trays,
later in hoppers, SO as to be constant.
ly available't to the chicks. This mash
usually has the following composition.
Equal parts Of wheat bran, corn meal,
wheat middlings and beef scrap. 10
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
tropghs. AS the chicks grow older!
the amount Of moistened mash is grad.
ually reduced, so that finally only che
feed per day is fed. After they are
put on the range in colony honses,
they are fed entirely on dry mash, and
mixture Of cracked corn and wheat
Ted in hoppers. More than 1900 chicks
are being fed at the Experiment Sta.
ton on the above rations, and the 'ns4..
taitty has been less than one 'pe. csa.
HORACE ATWOOD.
West Virginia Agricultural EsT
ment station. ii