Poultry for profit

by R. A. Power

Now as to the nature of the feed for fattening these birds. We will still need some protein feeds, but not as much as in the case of feeding for eggs. However, we will need feeds which are quite rich in carbohydrates and fat. These are easily obtained and are relatively cheap. Corn is an excellent ration for this purpose.

Since the birds are confined to small pens, and exercise restricted, it becomes evident that digestion becomes an important factor here. Therefore, it is advisable to have plenty of grit before the birds at all times, so that their food will be properly ground.

We must not get the idea, just because we are feeding for flesh, that the birds should be stuffed to their limit with feed. To do so, would be to have a lot of the birds off feed, and consequently we would be worse off than not to feed them enough. It is best to plan to feed them about three times a day, and to feed them all that they will cleanup in a certain length of time, as from twenty minutes to half an hour. Some are successful in feeding only twice a day, instead of three times a day.

Corn is usually the basis of fattening rations and should always have a prominent place in the ration. Here again, milk in some form is excellent to supply some of the protein that is needed. Corn must be supplemented by other grains, such as oats, barley or middlings, provided they are in a finely ground condition. Some feeders follow the plan of feeding part of these grains in the form of a wet mash, using the skim milk to moisten the mash, but when this is done, care must be exercised in seeing that the mash is cleaned up at every feeding, otherwise the trough will become mouldy, with bad results to the birds.

There has come into use within recent years a method of fattening birds by what is known as crate fattening. This is practiced considerably by some of the big packing companies. The birds are bought up from the surrounding territory and brought into the central fattening station. They are then placed in small pens, or batteries, as they are called, and fed a ration composed largely of skim milk and corn meal, with a few other feeds added, such as red dog flour, bran, etc. This is mixed into a thin, pasty feed, and fed the birds from a trough running along in front of the pens. They are fed this way for a period of two weeks or more, and are then taken out, dressed, and sold to the big city markets as milk fed chickens, and always bring several cents a pound more on the market than other poultry, because of the tenderness of the flesh. In this process, even greater care must be exercised in watching the feeding of the birds, and only feed that they will cleanup in about fifteen or twenty minutes.

Crate feeding has appealed to many town lot poultry men, who have bought up culls of the neighboring territory, put them in small crates or pens, and fed them this milk feed for a few weeks and then marketed them, securing the top prices on the market.

We have now discussed the most important items connected with the feeding of the birds for various purposes. Let us now examine the living quarters of the birds, and see if we can improve the housing conditions in which the birds live during the winter months.

CHAPTER IX.
COMMON FAULTS OF POULTRY HOUSES

If you were to take a trip through the surrounding country, with the intention of inspecting the living quarters of farm poultry, in general, you would discover some of the most wretched houses imaginable. All of our intelligent feeding would be of little use if we penned our chickens up in a coop with little sunlight, poor ventilation, cold, damp floors, drafty sides, and foul, damp air. It doesn’t cost any more to build a poultry house with correct principles involved, than it does to build one that lacks these essential features. The birds care very little about the appearance of the house. They want fresh dry air, freedom from drafts, a warm floor, and plenty of sunshine.

One of the most common faults with most poultry houses is the matter of ventilation. When poultry raising was first looked upon as a promising business, many men erected houses containing a large proportion of glass. It was thought that the sunshine was the only necessary feature for the birds under winter conditions, and they made their chicken houses veritable hot houses. But the results were not as had been anticipated. It was found that while the houses were fairly warm in the day time, they cooled off considerable at night, and poor results were obtained from this wide range between the day temperature and the night temperature. Then another step was taken by these pioneers. They decided to heat their houses artificially. But even this system did not bring forth the big yield of eggs that had been hoped for. In all this expensive procedure, a very important element had been overlooked, and that was the matter of fresh air.