The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-05

More attention should be given to the
 ia ttenng of growing chickens, as most
 of them are marketed in a thin and un-
 finished condition, although both the
 weight of the chickens and the quality of their flesh can be greatly improved by short period of fatteninG, accord
 ing to poultry specialist of the United
 States department of agriculture. Hens
 which have been properly cared for are
 usualyy in good market 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 allowing the chickens free range and get them into the best con- dition for fattening. Both the farmer
 and backyard poultry keeper can thus turn waste products and grain into flesh while securing a large amount Of
 valuable manure from the poultry Skim
 or butterinilk, which are gheat aids to
 the most economical fattening, are available as by-products on many
 farms
 PEN HAPPENING
 The farmer or backyard poultry keep
 CT can fatten his chickens to best ad- vantage Dy pen or crate LdlleHliis twenty to fifty chickens are confined in a pen with a smoll yard and fed a fat tening mash, such as one composed of two parts of corn meal and one part Imiddlings mixed with skim or butter milk. If no milk is available, which would be the case in most backyard poultry flocks, make the mash of one part bran, one part middlings, three parts corn meal and one-fourth part lr1l lot txxyia Iat1 ,ir,er and afternoon, and in addition give a light feed of cracked corn late in the afternoon. Mix this mash to crumbly consistency and keep water and grit before the chickens all the time. Supply these chickens with a good quantity of green feed, such as sprouted oats. lawn clippings, etc, or waste vegetab les, such as cabbages, beets or small pota-
 toes. If skim or buttermilk is fed, it is not necessary to add the green feed.
 CRATE HAPPENING
 Crate fattening is the method of feeding in which from six to 10 pen, arranged in tiers for convenience in feeding the chickens and cealing the coops The following ration and method is particularly adapted for crate fattenng: Thirty pounds corn
 meal, 20 pounds ground oats and 10 pounds shorts mixed with SKim or put termiik, which is available on many farms The feed is mixed with milk to the consistency of thick cream, or so that it 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 keep the chickens from going off their feed. The birds should be fed light ly for the first few feeds, when they car be given all the fed they will cat
 up in about 30 minutes. while any feed left at the end ot that time should be taken away. Crate fattening 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 heavier at night to good advantage than in the morn- ing or noon.
 The greatest and cheapest gains are
 made on broilers, which are usually fed about fl days, while the lens tn of the fattenins, period may be short ened slightly for friers and roasters. The greatest profit and the highest prices are secured from early chick ems, whether they are broilers or l roasters. It takes from four to seven