El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-10-18
ercise
Weed Out the Culls of the Flock, Confine Them In
Coops and Feed Fattening Ration For a Week or
Two Before Marketing or Cooking Them for Dinner.

iAHORE attention should be given tc
I wi the fattening OF growing chick
! ems. as most Of them are marketed in
thin and unfinished condition, al
though both the weight Of the chick
ems and the quality of their flesh
can be greatly improved BY a short
period OF fattening. according to poul-
try specialists Of the United States
department Of agriculture. Hens
which have been properly cared for
are usually in good market condi-
ton. but if in poor flesh, they may
be confined TO pens and fattened for
one or two weeks at a 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 al
lowing the chickens free range and
get them into the best condition for
fattening. Both the farmer and back
yard poultry keeper can thus turn
waste products and grain into flesh
while securing large amount of
valuable 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 backyard poultry
keeper can fatten his chickens to hest
advantage by pen or crate fattening.
In pen fattening 20 TO 50 chickens
are confined in pen with a small
yard and fed a 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 backyard poultry flocks. make
he ch Of h-rw
middlings. three parts corn meal and
one fourth part meat scrap. Feed
twice daily. morning and afternoon.
and in addition give a light feed of
cracked corn late in the afternoon.
Mix this mash to a crumbly consist
eney 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 II skim or butter
milk is fed. il is not necessary to add
the green feed.
Crate FatteninE.
Crate fattening is the method of
feeding in which from six TO ten
chickens are confined together in
each pen. arranged in tiers for con-
venience in feeding for the chickens
and cleaning the coops. The follow
ing ration and method IS particularly
Tor crate fattening. 30
pounds corn meal % pounds ground
oats and 10 pounds shorts mixed with
skim or buttermilk. which is avail
able on many farms. The feed is
mixed with milk to the consistency
Of thick cream, or so that il will
just drip from the tip of a wooden
spoon About three fifths Of the
mixture should be milk and It is
advisable to use a larger per cent |
Of milk in hot than in cold weather
to keen the chickens 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 ID in about 80 minutes while I
any feed left at the end OF that time /
should be taken away Crate fatten- |
ing is only advised where milk is /
AVAILABLE for mixing the ration. The /
chickens may be fed either two or /
three times daily, and can be fed I
heavier at night to good advantage |
han in the morning or noon.
The greatest and cheapest gains are 1
made on broilers. which are usually /
led about Il days. while the length ]
u the fattening period may be short
sned slightly for flyers and roast
ers. The greatest profit and the
highest prices are secured from early
whether they are broilers /
n roasters- II takes from four to ]