The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-04-05
FEEDING YOUNG CHICKENS

chickens should be fed from three to
five times daily, depending upon ones
experience in feeding, say the poultry
specialists of the U. S. department Of
agriculture. Undoubtedly chickens
will grow faster when fed five times
than when fed only three times daily,
but is should be borne in mind that
more harm can be done to the young
chickens by overlooking than by un-
derfeeding. Young chickens should
be fed not more than barely enough
to satisfy their appetites and to keep
them exercising, except at the even
ing or last meal, when they should be
given all they will eat. Greater care
must be exercised not to overfeed
young chicks that are confined than
those that have free range, as leg
weakness is apt to result in those con-
fined
The young chicks may be fed any
time after they are Sc to 48 hours old,
whether they are with a hen or in a
brooder. The first feed may contain
either maistened hard-boiled eggs,
johnnycake, stale bread, pinhead oat-
meal, or rolled oats, which feeds or
combinations may be used with good
results. Washes mixed with milk are
of considerable value in giving the
chickens a good start in life. The
mixtures :hould be fed in a crum5!y
mash ard not in a sloppy condition.
Johnnycake composed of the following
ingredients in the proportions named
is very good feed for young chicks:
One dozen infertile eggs or one pound
OF sifted beef scrap to ten pounds of
corn meal; add enough milk to make a
pasty mash, and one tablespoonful Of
baking soda. and bake until done.
Dry bread crumbs may be mixed with
hard boiled eggs, making about one
f.'lrth of tie mixture esq.,, x, role:
bread crumbs. Feed the bread crumbs,
rolled oats, or jOhnnycake mixtures
five times daily for the first week,
then gradually substitute for one or
two feeds of the mixture finely crack
ed grains of equal parts by weight of
cracked wheat; finely cracked corn.
and pinhead oatmeal or hulled oats,
to which about five per cent~of cracked
peas or broken rice and two per cent
of charcoal or millet or rape seed may
be added A commercial chick feed
may be substituted if desired. The
above ration can be fed until the
chicks are two weeks old. when they
should be placed on grain and dry
or wet mash mixture.
After the chicks are ten days old, a
good growing mash, composed of two
parts by weight of bran, two parts mid.
Rings, one part cornmeal, one part
low-grade wheat -four or red-dog mid
diings, and ten per cent sifted beef
scrap, may be placed in hopper and
left before them all the time. The
mash may be fed either wet or dry;
If wet only enough moisture (either
milk or water) should be added to
make the feed crumbly, but in no
sense sloppy. When this growing
mash or mixture IS not used, hopper
containing bran should be accessible
to the chickens at all times.
After the chickens are two months
old they may be fed four times daily
with good results. After they are
three months old, three feelings day
are enough.
When one has only a few chickens
it is less trouble to purchase the pre-
pared chick feed, but where cOnsid
| cradle number are reared it is some
times cheaper to buy the finely crack
ed grains and mix them together
Some chick feeds contain large guam
tity of grit and may contain grains Of
poor quality, so that they should be
carefully examined and guaranty as
to quality secured before purchase.
AS soon ais the chickens will eat the
whole wheat CASUALLY in about eight
weeks) cracked corn, and other grains
the small-sized chick feed can be elm
mated. In addition to the above feeds
| the chickens growth can be FASTENED
if they are given sour milk, skim milk
or buttermilk to drink. Growing
chickens kept on good range may be
given all their feed in a hopper, mix
ing two parts by weight of cracked
corn with one part of wheat, or equal
parts of cracked corn, wheat, and oats
in one hopper and the dry mash for
! chickens in another. The beef scrau
may be left out of the dry mash and
fec in separate hopper, so that the
chickens can eat all of this feed thew
desire. If the beef scrap is to be fed
! separately it is advisable to wait until
tho ohiolyc oro ton Io,,o oJl