The Ordway new era., 1921-06-17
Milk for Chickens

Poultrymen who have or can OBJ
tain at a reasonable price plenty of
milk are in position to raise their
flocks at less expense and with far
greater amount of success than those
who are unable to include this valu-
able food in the flock's diet Milk is
especially desirable for young chick
ems and for the fattening of poultry,
where it is done on a large scale and
the poultry is closely confined.
Buttermilli and skim milk are the
two forms of milk which are most
commonly used in feeding chicks and
laying hens, and these products are
also used to some extent in commerce
:al fatlening. Semi-solid and con-
densed buttermilk are now being fed
quite extensively in the commercial
fattening of poultry and to some ex
tent to chicks and laying hens.
Keep Chicks in Good Health
Milk products are readily digestible
by chickens and have a. marked bene-
fetal effect in addition to their actual
food value, poultry specialists in
United States Department of agricul
ture say. They especially help keep
Many poultrymen like to dip the new
ly hatched chicks bill into milk for
their first feed as it helps to clean out
the chicks digestive system. Milk
products may be fed to chickens and
to older stock either in a sweet or
sour condition. The more common
practice is to feed these products con-
tinuOusly, either sweet or sour, and
not to alternate the use of sour and
sweet milk.
In feeding milk products to hens,
the milk is usually kept before them
as a drink and is used to some extent
in mixing the mash wherever a moisr
mash is used. Poultry will not get
sufficient animal protein from milk
supplied in this way to take the place
of meat scrap commonly used in the
poultry mash. In order to furnish
sufficient protein in the ration to
take the place of meat scrap, the milk
must be fed in a thickened form such
as clabbered milk or cottage cheese.
When fed in this condition enough
can be readily supplied to give high
egg production. and good results with
out any other animal protein feed.
Where milk is supplied fairly regu-
larry to the laying hens it is not as
Nt'Hlidl W iuihlsiu any Sleell Ittu dS
the milk will take the place of the
green feed to good advantage.
Commercial Fattening Of Poultry
In the commercial faGtening of
poultry where the chickens or hens
are very closely confined and fed
forced ration for limited period us
ually from to II days. milk is con-
sidered essential. Practically no
commercial fattening on large scale
Is conducted in this country except
where milk is used for feeding. A
ration with consistency of porridge
which contains about G5 per cont
milk is commonly fed in this work.
The milk serves not only rs source
Of feed but keeps the digestive organs
of these fattening chickens in good
condition and also gives the chickens
bleach characteristic of well-falten-
ed poultry. From this method of
feeding the name of milk fed" chick
ems is taken and it is applied to near
lv all of the commercial fattened
chickens.
Many of these fattening stations
are located in small country towns
and cities where buttermilk,is avail
able from creameries at very low
price but as the supply of this butter
milk is becoming more limited. espec-
tally in the larger towns and cities,
the various concentrated forms of
buttermilk are being used very extern
sively in fattening poultry.
Semisolids and condensed buttermilk
are the two other forms most COM
monty used. In feeding both Of these
products to chickens for fattening,
milk is usually supplied In more
highly concentrated form than ordin-