Show POULTRY FACTS watch this column each week for approved methods of handling poultry this information comes from the most reliable source and can be depended on grand county poultry association moab utah feeding rations 1 all feed should be free of mould and of the best quality feeding of inferior feeds or refuse may result in losing part of the brood 2 feeding of wet mashes to young chicks Is a bad practice while it is true that many use wet mashes with good results and that when properly used will increase the rate of growth they should be never used by a beginner in the first place a wet mash will cause the chick to overeat also to eat too fast large amounts of wet mash are taken into his craw often fermentation taking place before properly digested and assimilated resulting in diarrhea it wet mashes are fed they should never be sloppy but merely crumbly 3 it will pay you to teed the commercial starter feeds for the first two weeks at least it not longer but if they prove to expensive a good mash may be made as follows pounds bran 50 pounds corn meal 50 pounds high grade meat scraps if buttermilk is fed less hieak scraps should be used for both supply the needed protein 4 provide bone meal in hoppers or mix in the mash this will supply proteins also mineral matter for bones oyster shell is used for layers but bone meal is better tor the young chickens 5 fine sand must be provided from the start as they grow older larger grit must be made available 6 it Is a good plan to supply charcoal this acts as a corrective and can be fed se in the hopper it prevents digestive troubles 7 no better or cheaper scratch teed can be found than cracked corn the fine size should be sifted out for young chicks wheat Is also a good scratch feed tor them after they are larger 8 in feeding buttermilk no metallic fountains should be used inasmuch as the acid of the milk acts on metal resulting in a poison to the chicks 9 it Is also advisable to put potassium permanganate in the water of the chicks most of these preparations so widely advertised for the prevention of white diarrhea contain potassium permanganate A strong solution should be made and each time water Is given the chicks a few drops of the solution used sufficient to give the water a deep wine color 10 it is the mash which causes the chicks to make rapid growth it fed corn alone they will grow very slowly after a week old the mash can be kept before them a large part of the time it on free range it can be kept before them all the time but if confined they are liable to eat too much and become inactive 11 green food of some kind is advisable sprouted oats is good but the roots should not be given as it is liable to strangle them 12 the ration of the chick should not contain too much crude fabre fibre or woody material as chickens cannot digest large amounts of such material too much bran in the mash is not advisable or too much oats on account of their woody hull neither Is alfalfa meal to be recommended for the same reason some recommend against the feeding of mash for the first week the new jersey experiment station for instance being among those advertising only iraln for the first week however it seems advisable to teed mash from the start especially if it contains but little crude fiber the mash hastens growth furthermore it seems that liberal feeding of mash lessons the danger of later on perhaps this may be due to the rapid growth enabling the chick to overcome disease ROLLED OATS is an excellent feed for baby chicks if fed properly however rolled oats improperly fed rave caused the death of many chicks the flakes are so large that the chicks are liable to over eat during the first week unless the flakes are crumbled into a powder furthermore the oats is not a complete feed and should chicks be fed on nothing but rolled oats will not make satisfactory growth eggs by parcel post eggs can be marketed by parcel post within the first and second zones sometimes within the third zone with profit to the producer who usually secures a larger profit and also to the consumer who can obtain fresher eggs and often at lower prices par cel post shipment is useful for the with a flock too small to allow making shipments by the case to market eggs successfully by parcel post select only first class eggs produced under sanitary conditions A strong light container should be used and one that meets the postal requirements each egg should be wrapped separately in soft paper taking care if possible not to send eggs that are thin shelled defective in any way or fertile as fertile eggs spoil more rapidly do not send spoiled eggs by parcel post and also avoid shipping washed eggs it each egg Is candled this of course avoids any possibility of shipping defective ones |