The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-06-03

evil except to the breeder VINO can
secure a special price for the males.
There is not much profit in raising
poultry meat at market prices, and
the wise chicken man gets his cock
erels on the market at the earliest
opportunity. Cockerels make their
quickest and cheapest gains during
the first ten to IA weeks of the grow
ing period, and the price is always
highest early in the season. Last
year the early Matched cockerels
brought from so to so cents per
pound on the May market, while the
fall price ranged from IS to % cents.
The males always outgrow the fe-
males and soon become troublesome
if not removed from the flock.
Some of the most successful COM
mercial poultrymen sell or eat all
cockerels at from one and one-half
to two pounds, and buy their breed
ing males from speciality breeders.
This is a practice to be recommend
ed, because the pullets have a much
better chance to develop when no
cockerels are in the flock.
If the cockerels are to be kept they
should be separated from the pull
lets as soon as the sex is evident, and
should be raised in different quar-
ters.
Feeding for Growth
Growing rations for pullets should
be planned with the idea of furnish
ing the right material to insure pro-
per development at the lowest cost.
Feeds that are rich in bone and mus
Gle building elements are essential
for the growing period. Experiments
show that protein from an animal
source is the material which fur
nishes the growth-producing sub
stances.
Chicks on free range secure some
natural protein in the form of bugs
and worms, but unless the flock is
very small and the range extensive,
this source will not meet the re
quirements of the flock. Hence, ami
NAL protein should form the import
ant part of every growing ration.
Where plenty of milk is available
it should be given the chicks in as
large quantities as they will clean
up. Milk furnishes one of the best
sources of protein for chick feeding.
If the milk supply is limited, then
commercial meat scrap or tankage
should be added to the mash to sup
ply the protein.
The grains fed should be deter
mined largely by the kind available
and the price. Cracked corn, wheat
and kaffir are especially desirable as
grain feeds for growing pullets. Ell
Their of thes grains can be fed separ-
ately or a mixture of them in almost
any proportion can be used. Rye is
not satisfactory as a poultry food and
should not be fed to growing stock.
If oats or barley are fed, they should
be crushed or ground so that the
chicks can get the grain without eat
ing the hull.
Every ration for chicks should con-
tain some ground feed which is fed in
the form Of a dry mash. The dry
mash adds variety and bulk to the ra-
ton, is more easily digested than the
whole grains, and usually cheapens
the feed. Wheat bran, shorts, corn
meal, ground oats and ground barley
are all satisfactory feeds to use in the
mash. If meat scrap or tankage is
available, this should be added to the
dry mash.
Self-Feeders Save Labor
The easiest and most economical
way of feeding the chicks during the
growing season is to put the feed in
.self-feeding hoppers and allow the
free access to it at all times. 1t
actually requires less feed to bring
the pullets to maturity where self
feeders are used than where the ra-
ton is limited. Large outdoor hop
pers can be bought, or may be built