Show IMPROPER FEED IS CAUSE OF BIG LOSS one of the greatest losses in the poultry business Is caused by improper feeding of baby chicks there are re many people who iho still fall to consider that hat a chick when hatched loes does not require food for several lays days and that it will live more than a week without food most poultry balsera who hatch their own chicks have learned this but many who buy chicks are still inclined to overfeed at first great care should be taken to start feeding the chicks gra gradually duall Y this applies regardless of the feed that lint Is used chicks should lie be nt at least 66 hours old when ihen given their first feed before this they be allowed to run on sod or good clean litter of chaff or finely cut hay bay after the chicks fire are CO hours old we give them the first teed feed A clean board with strips projecting about one half inch around the edges should be provided tills board should be large enough to accommodate all the ell chicks acks at one time ime several boards being noc essary in most cases its as a board 1 by 2 feet Is about the right size for 75 chicks A little of the feed should be sprinkled over this board and the chicks al lovied to eat for about ten minutes therl then the board should be cleaned off and a little sand sprinkled on it tills this in turn should be removed in a few minutes as grit should not be used too freely until the chicks tire are ten days old water should be supplied in small fountains at the same time food Is placed before the chicks but not before sour milk or buttermilk may be used in the place of water for the first feed blick Is very beneficial when fed properly tut it should be borne in mind that it Is necessary to keep up the practice once it Is started and that milk must be fed in galvanized vessels it is also important that it have the same acid content at each feeding alternately using sweet clabber ber and buttermilk or very sour milk Is injurious water should be kept before the chicks continuously after the first feed it Is best to supply fresh clean water at least three times dally and to temper or remove the chill with a little hot water some authorities insist that the baby chicks should be fed five times a day but we prefer to feed three times a day in this way we can start by bv leaving the feed before them only te ten minutes and gradually increase the lie time until we have the mash before thern them all the time when they are ten to twelve days old in dilill mixing ones own feed we suggest the following mash for the first feed and until the chicks are ten days old two thirds rolled oats rubbed fine and one third soft wheat bran this Is fed on the boards ns as mentioned before and should be increased gradually as described A little sand and line fine charcoal should be added at each feeding or just after when the ch chicks lc k s are ten days old the sand or fine hick chick c grit can be left before them some form of animal protein should be provided if sour milk Is used this Is supplied otherwise it Is best to io us use e hard boiled eggs that have bave been grated one fine about three eggs per day should be used tor for each chicks so tar far we have considered only the chick starter or mash feed after the chicks are four or five days old we begin to use a little commercial chick grain or finely cracked corn and wheat tills this grain should be u used ed to keep the chicks and should should be fed with that idea alone in mind it should be fed in tile litter just enough being used to keep the chic s busy after the chicks are ten days old a mash composed of the following should be added gradually allowing about a week to change feeds twelve pounds soft wheat bran 12 0 pounds white shorts aborts 15 pounds corn meal 6 5 pounds rolled oats 5 pounds screened meat scraps 2 pounds bone meal 1 pound fine charcoal and aj pound one fine salt tills this mash should be mixed thoroughly noel aall extension specialist missouri state poultry experiment peri ment station mountain grove |