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Show "EXPERT COMMENTS ON POULTRY CARE Overcrowding is a contributing cause to cannibalism in poultry flocks, warns Dr. Lawrence Morris, Mor-ris, Utah State Extension poultry-man. poultry-man. Chicks should be allowed one-half to one square foot of floor space per bird, he advised. Improper feeding rations are another cause of feather picking. The ration should be balanced with proper amounts of proteins, vitamins, vita-mins, and minerals. A good mash should be fed at all times and supplemented with grains, which should either be kept before the pullets at all times or fed twice daily. When cannibalism, or feather picking, develops, the following remedies may be tried: 1. Give the birds more room, either by turning 'them outdoors ful of salt on the mash once each week 5. As a last resort clip the tep beak of each bird. Use a pair of scissors and clip about inch off the end, or back to the quick. If it- bleeds a little, it will do no harm. The beak will grow out again in about 10 days but in the meantime the habit will probably be forgotten. v6. Don't keep the brooder room too warm; open the windows and permit plenty of fresh air and reduce the brooder temperature. or by additional house space. 2. Place some good quality alfalfa al-falfa hay where the pullets may pick the leaves and fine stems. 3. If good quality whole dry oats are available, put before them in separate feeders at all times. 4. Add ordinary table salt to the drinking water, one table-spoonful table-spoonful per gallon. Give this water two days per week until the trouble stops. If salt cannot be added to the drinking water, sprinkle about three tablespoons- |