The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-06-22

The average Montana farmer sells
no milk to the central dairy. His Sur
milk is waste product. Sour milk
makes an excellent food for young
chickens. Either fresh or sour it
contains food values in protein and
carbohy drates on which the young
chicks thrive.
Experiments have demonstrated
beyond a doubt the value of feeding
milk to chickens. The extra gain in
weight of fowls fed milk more than
pays for the trouble and cost of feed
ing it, 1t is advisable to give celan
sour milk to chicks for this reason:
If fresh milk is placed before the
ed with all sorts of filth germs in a
short time. These filth germs i'm
mediately begin to multiply, especial
ly if the weather is warm, and before
long the milk is more harmful than
good. Poisons are produced in the
milk and after drinking it the chicks
will suffer from intestinal disorders.
If sweet milk is to be fed to chicks it
must not be allowed to stand in the
vessels for more than half a day,
especially if the weather is warm.
Must Be Clean.
Clean sour milk contains a small
amount of acid which acts as a pre-
sentative, retarding the action or de-
velopment of filth germs. However,
unless it is clean it is not recommend
ed. If there are filth germs in it,
the clabber, instead of being clean
and solid, free from holes caused by
gas, will be broken into small pieces
and there will be distinctly bad
odor. Such milk is unit for feed for
any animal.
If the chicks are started on sour
milk it is best to feed them sour milk
and not change from sour milk to
sweet from one day to the next. Small
chicks may hesitate to eat the clabber
at first, but once they become initial
ed they more than relish it. In ex-
perimenting with large numbers of
the chicks the writer has had good
success in dipping their beaks into
the vessel containing the sour milk SO
as to give them a good taste of the
milk. This is done when the little
chicks are about 4S hours old. An
other method is to take a small
amount of the clabber and smear it
upon the side wall of the hover and
then allow the chicks to pick at it.
The milk fed in all cases is skim
med milk which is allowed to sour.
1t is not necessary to feed whole
| milk.
A Farmers Pedigreed Flock.
A farmer often decides that he will
| buy setting of select eggs and start
| raising better poultry. He can raise
better poultry and can select the best
of his better birds to breed from if
he marks each pure-bred chick that
comes from the good stock he has Sc
lected, using the simple method of
the Iowa experiment station poultry
farm.
When the new setting of eggs is
Matched the chicks are all marked by
cutting Off the toenail of one of the
hind toes of each bird. This does not
hurt the chicks if done soon after
Matching and if cut close enough the
nails will not grow out again. Then
each chick can be given an individu-
al mark-for example, hole punch
ed in the outer web of the right foot,
using d Sllldll lOe punch. 1HeSe uOleS,
if punched clean, do not grow shut
and if they tear out they are easily
recognized. Any number of different
combinations of punchings can be
made. No record need be kept the
first year.
In the fall the farmer rounds up
the flock of chickens and picks out
any culls and ships them to market.
When he wishes to pick out a breed
ing pen these pure-bred birds are
easily selected and the best of them
mated together. A simple record is
kept of their toe marks. The birds
in the new hatch are marked individ-
ually as before.
Thus from year to year the farmer
can keep track of his pure-bred stock
and of the best stock to breed from
He can breed one strain of select in
dividuals and breed for results, with
out any real extra trouble or labor
He knows that his stock is pure-bred
and can prove it when endeavoring to
sell to his neighbors.
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