The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-09-13
FATTENlNc HENS
BEFORE SELLING
Weight of Fowls and Quality of
Flesh Can Be Greatly lnl-
proved Upon.
give CHICKENS FREE Range
Waste Products and Grain Can Be
Turned Into Valuable Meat-Ssim
or ButtermiIk Are Most Eco
nomicaI Feeds.

More attention should be given to
the fattening of growing chickens, as
most Of them are marketed in thin
and unfinished condition, although
both the weight of the chickens and
the quality of their flesh can be greatly
improved by a short period of fatten
ing, according to poultry specialists of
the United States department of agri-
culture. Hens which have been prop
erly cared for are usually in good mar
ket condition, but if in poor flesh, they
may be confined to pens and fattened
for one or two weeks at profit. The
farmer has very good conditions for
producing well-fleshed poultry, as he
can utilize waste products from his
farm in growing this stock by allow
ing the chickens free range and get
them into the best condition for fat
tening. Both the farmer and back
yard poultry keeper can thus turn
waste products and grain into flesh
While securing large amount of valu-
bble manure from the poultry. Skim
or buttermilk, which are great aids to
the most economical fattening, are
available as by-products ON many
farms.
Pen Fattening.
The farmer or back yard poultry
keeper can fatten his chickens to best
advantage by pen or crate fattening.
In pen fattening 20 to so chickens
are confined in pen with a small
yard and fed fattening mash, such
as one composed of two parts of corn
meal and one part middlings mixed
with skim or buttermilk. If no milk
is available, which would be the case
in most back yard poultry flocks, make
the mash of one part bran, one part
middlings, three parts cornmeal and
one-fourth part meat scrap. Feed
twice daily, morning and afternoon,
and in addition give light feed of
cracked corn late in the afternoon.
Mix this mash to a crumbly consist
ency and keep water and grit before
the chickens all of the time. Supply
these chickens with q good quantity
of green feed, such as Sprouted oats,
lawn clippings, etc, or waste vege-
tables, such as cabbages, beets or
small potatoes. If skim or buttermilll
is fed, it is not necessary to add the
green feed.
Crate Fatten!ng.
Crate fat5ening is the method of
feeding in which from six to ten
chickens are confined together in each
pen, arranged in tiers for convenience
in feeding the chickens and cleaning
the coops. The following ration and
method is particularly adapted for
crate fattening: 80 pounds cornmeal,
20 pounds ground oats and 10 pounds
shorts mixed with skim or buttermiik,
which is available on many farms. The
feed is mixed with milk to the con-
SiStCncy of thick cream, or SO that it
will just drip from the tip of wooden
spoon. About three-fifths of the mix
ture should be milk and it is advisable
to use a larger per cent of milk in hot
than in cold weather to keep the chick
ems from going off their feed. The birds
should be fed lightly for the first few
feeds, when they can be given all the
feed they will eat up in about thirty
minutes, while any feed left at the
end of that time should be taken away.
Crate fattening is only advised where
milk is available for mixing the ra-
ton. The chickens may be fed either
two or three times daily, and can be
fed heavier at night to good advan-
tage than in the morning or noon.
The greatest and cheapest gains are
made on broilers, which are usually
fed about fourteen days, while the
length of the fattening period may be