The feed that is generally used in feeding consists of white bolted corn meal, low grade flour, oat flour or fine ground hulled oats and wheat middlings. Buckwheat middlings are good for fattening, but it is difficult to secure them in some sections of the country. All fatteners do not use the same ration, but in the main there isn't very much difference. A very satisfactory ration is composed of 24 lbs. Bolted Corn Meal. 6 lbs. Low Grade Flour. 1 lb. Buckwheat Middlings. 1 lb. Oat Meal. Some feeders add tallow to their ration. Better flavored poultry can be secured by not feeding tallow. The ground feeds are thoroughly mixed together and then moistened with buttermilk. About two pounds of buttermilk should be added to each pound of dry feed. This will make the feed of such consistency that it will pour out of a bucket. The birds should be starved for twenty-four hours before beginning the feeding process. This is to get the bird well emptied out, before starting on a new feed. The first four or five feeds should not be more than one-half as much as they will eat; at the end of this time they can have all they will clean up in about twenty minutes. The birds are usually fed twice a day. The maximum gains can be secured in about ten days to two weeks as a rule. It is unprofitable to feed for a longer time than two weeks. Water should not be given the birds unless in very hot weather. In feeding for this length of time it is not necessary to supply any grit or green food. Much better results can be secured with buttermilk than with skim milk. The mixing of the feed in these houses is usually done by power mixers, and in this way the labor is made as light as possible. Poultry feeders can secure a gain of 25 per cent. to 35 per cent. on birds in two weeks. From these various methods, every man who feeds poultry can get something which will benefit him. (Fig. 6) shows a fattening crate which can be successfully used by the man who produces poultry on a small scale. This crate is six feet long, twenty inches wide, and twenty inches high. It is divided into three apartments, each two feet long. The front is made of lathe placed about two inches apart. The top, back and ends are made of inch mesh wire neeting. The floor of the coop is made of inch mesh woven wire netting, number nine wire being used. The wire makes a very satisfactory floor, because the droppings pass through to the galvanized iron pans underneath, and the birds are kept in a sanitary condition. The birds are fed from the trough on the front of the coop. This coop is easy to construct and will hold from fifteen to twenty birds at one time. The quality of the poultry fed by this method is much superior to the ordinary run of poultry. The fat is well distributed through the muscle tissue, the meat is juicy and tender, and the birds present a good appearance on the market. After the poultry has been fed for two weeks they are starved for twenty-four to thirty-six hours. This is to get the body rid of all waste products. During this time they are allowed to have water to drink. I will now show you some of the methods used in the dressing |