Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-08-20
fattening Chickens for Market.
SPECIAL FEEDING BEFORE SELLING Is
PROFITABLE.

Nineteen years ago the Maine Agri
cultural Experiment Station made trial.
10 fitting chickens for market, the practi
cal conclusions from which are ever
greater today under the marked ,increas
ed cost OF food than when they were
made. These experiments compared "a,
the marketing Of range fed and specially
fsttened birds. (b) Coop versus small
house feeding. (c) Effects Of age. (d)
Effects of green food.
This was before the Introduction OF
large poultry plants into Maine. Al
that time most of the poultry in the
state were carried on dairy farms. Very
little milk was sold and skim milk was a
farm oy-product. Dry mash-feeding
was unknown. In these experiments
the specially fattened birds were fed q
porridge made OF meal and skim milk.
The porridge was thick enough TO drop
but not to run from the end of q spoon.
The meal used was q mixture Of 100
pounds of corn meal, so pounds finely
ground oats, and 40 pounds of finely
ground meat meal. To wet mp this 100
pounds of meal required about IS gallons
Of skim milk.
(s) The specially fattened birds sold
quickly for 80 per cent per pound more
han their mates direct from the range
brought.
(b) The coop fed birds "A in a coop)
made no more rapid or economical
growth in body weight than did their
mates fed in small houses. The houses
were 9 by II feet, with attached yards
20 feet square, with 40 birds to house.
The labor was much less with the small
house than with the coops.
(c) Ii required about pounds of the
grain mixture for each pound increase
in live weight when the chickens were
l30 days old, and about 8 pounds for
each pound increase in live weight when
the chickens were ITO days old. This is
in accord with the we'll known fact that
the younger the animal the less the
quantity of feed required to make a
pound of growth. With only the
moderate difference of 8 weeks in age it
takes a third more food to produce
pound increase in weight of 8 months
old chicken than it does with 8 weeks
younger bird.
(d) Rape as q green food when added
to the ration above outlined was without
effect.
At the time these trials were made the
present ''fst soluble substance"
and "watsr soluble substance" was un-
- And the fact that the addi-
ton of green food which was known to
be of marked advantage in poultry grow
ing had no effect In these trials were dis
and could not be explained
by then known facts. These two sub
stances about which almost nothing is
known other than that they are present
in certain food materials and lacking IN
Others and the "fst soluble substance"
is essential to growth and the "water
soluble substance" is essential 10 bodily
are present In milk. III
milk does not enter into the ration
the addition of green food is es-
sential in q meal mixture similar to that
given above.
These studies make clear: That
special feeding (fattsning) pays in pre-
pairing chickens for market; That con-
finiug birds to close quarters stimulates
growth and makes them better flsshed !;
That young birds are fed much more
profitably than older ones; That skim
milk is q very desirable food material (;
and. that when skim milk Is freely used
green food can be omitted in fattening
ration for the chickeps,-Chss. d. Woods
Director.