Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1919-11-27
MILK FED SAYS
SW|FT'S MANAGER
Feeding of Chickens for Market
at Alma Swift Plant is
a Science.

"Oh, not milk them, you know
feed them milk" said J. c. Collins
managers Of Swift's Alma plant,
calmly dispelling the scribes hunch
of new Burbank" who combined
the lacteal virtues of the bovine with
the egg laying propensities of the
barnyard fowl when he started to in
terview Mr.. Collins relative to the
best ways of feeding chickens. How
ever the shock had been too great
to resume his normal repose and he
followed Mr.. Collins toward the rear
of the plant.
Yes" continued the produce man
as they walked aong," its a trade
sec-but shucks, everyone knows it.
It's this. We feed them buttermilk
on their faces and it bleaches the
skin. 1t makes it whittier. And it also
beaches the skin of chckens-I mean
the feathered cackling kind"
"You see, its this way. Buttermik
contains Tactic acid germs-millions
of them. They are not the vicious,
Hun-rype Of a germ, but a good. bene-
fetal kind"
ALLIES" suggested the reporter.
This Tactic acid. when fed to
Chickens, makes the meat more tend
er produces more even, well distrib-
uted and frmer fat, and at the same
time bleaches the flesh and skin of
the bird. This fact has been the
subject of investigation by the De-
partment of Agriculture, and during
l9O9-l9l2 many experiments were
made that proved that this is true
OF course our own experience. also
tested this out"
Feed them about all the butter
milk they will eat It's this way.
We feed spring chickens nine days,
mostly. We will get lot of spring
ers Indirect from the farms. and
commence feeding on the day follow
ing their arrival"
in summer we feed three times a
day, and in winter, twice day. And
a two-pound springer will put on lots
of growth in that time with such
feeding"
eve don't feed this buttermilk
alone. We mix it with oatmeal and
cornmeal, and some charcoal-then
supper is ready. The bird that such
a banquet doesn't appeal to is ready
for the Bird Doctor"
Sanitation is our slogan Con-
slant disinfection, penty of air, and
sunlight makes chickens That's why
we have all of those skylights."
He pointed to the hinged windows
that fitted into glass walls. This
gave the station" the appearance of
a greenhouse, permitted great lati-
tude in ventilation, and admitted Old
Sol as long as possible
But don't you let the birds out of
their coops while they are eating
Or anytime? queried our represent
ative
mo, they are in cages continuously
Mr.. Collins said, glancing at the long
row Of batteries in which thousands
of birds were pecking at the troughs
|, that were hanging conveniently or
the coops. The quick, ierky move
ment of the chickens heads, darting
! out of the cage-like coops and their
beaks hammering away on the wood
: en- troughs, set up a drone that was
interrupted occasionally by the shril
b squa-a-k of some youngster receiv.
, ing penaly from "A gallant cock foi
being unmannerly to la belle pullet
This reminded the manager, and hC
r explained: "They get along Admirably
. better than most people. You car
( see that those batteries" are not un.
, like city flats. There are four storie,
"a chicken house on wheels. Their,
, are four floors and four apartment,
on each floor. Then there are foui
, chickens in each apartment Sixty
{ four birds to a battery. That make,
quite population for one flat build
, ing. So we can get great numbei
! in small space.
The steel battery" looked not un
like a small apartment house OF
castors. II was six or seven fee
high and about as long, with widtl
Of three feet. Troughs were huns
along the side Of the battery, on,
trough for each side of each floor anC
xuffhs,, r