Issued September 30, 1911.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. BULLETIN 140.
A. D. MELVIN, CHIEF OF BUREAU.

BATTENING POULTRY

ALFRED R. LEE,

Junior Animal Husbandman, Animal Husbandry Division.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1911.

'/A

Issued September HO, 1911

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. BULLETIN 140.

A. D. MELVIN, CHIEF OP BUEAU.

FATTENING POULTRY

ALFRED R. LEE,

Junior Animal Husbandman, Animal Husbandry Division.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1911.

THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY.

Chief: A. D. MELVIN.
Assistant Chief: A. M. FARRINGTON.
Chief Clerk: CHARLES C. CARROLL.

Animal Husbandry Division: GEORGE M. ROMMEL, chief.
Biochemic Division: M. DORSET, chief.
Dairy Division: B. H. RAWL, chief.

Inspection Division: RICE P. STEDDOM, chief; MORRIS WOODEN, R. A. RAMSAY,
and ALBERT E. BEHNKE, associate chiefs.

Pathological Division: JOHN R. MOHLER, chief..
Quarantine Division: RICHARD W. HICKMAN, chief.
Zoological Division: B. H. RANSOM, chief.
Experiment Station: E. C. SCHROEDER, superintendent.
Editor: JAMES M. PICKENS.
2

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY,

^yashington, D. ('., May 29, 1911.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit the accompanying manuscript
entitled " Fattening Poultry,'' by Alfred It. Lee, of the Animal
Husbandry Division of this bureau, and to recommend its publica-
tion in the bulletin series of the bureau. The work describes methods
of feeding poultry on a large commercial scale, and presents figures
on the cost of such feeding. Mr. Lee devoted the greater part of
the past summer and fall to this work and collected complete data
on the feeding of over 100,000 chickens. lie also secured partial
data on the feeding of upward of 200.000 others. The results ob-
tained in dealing with these large numbers are unusually important
because of the elimination of the errors which are peculiarly liable
to occur in drawing conclusions from the feeding of a small or com-
paratively small number of fowls. The present investigation is, in
fact, believed to be the first attempt to acquire comprehensive and
reliable figures on the cost of producing a pound of gain in poultry.
The author desires to acknowledge the assistance rendered in the
prosecution of the work by Messrs. Harry M. Lamon and C. L.
Opperman, of the Animal Husbandry Division.
Respectfully,

A. D. MELVIN,

Chief of Hunan.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,

Secretary of Agriculture.

CONTENTS.

Page

Introduction 7

Educating the public taste 8

Conditions in France and England 8

Methods of handling live poultry 9

Best breeds for fattening 11

Comparison of breeds 11

Individuality in chickens 12

The feeding season 14

Length of feeding period 14

Methods of fattening 14

Milk fattening 14

Various methods in vogue 15

Crate or trough fattening 16

Rations 17

Grain mixtures 17

Feather picking resulting from excessive grain feeding 18

Milk or buttermilk essential in all rations 19

The use of tallow 20

Mixing the feed 20

Mixing machines 20

Consistency of the feed 21

Number of times to feed daily 22

Color of milk-fed poultry 2:}

The feeding stations and their equipment 23

Details of the feeding experiments 31

Experiment A 32

Experiment B 37

Comparison of experiments A and B 42

Experimen t C 42

Experiment D 44

Comparison of experiments C and I) 46

Average daily consumption of grain per head 46

Daily death records 47

Fattening hens 48

Shrinkage in dressing 50

Cleaning and spraying the batteries 50

Poultry manure 51

Keeping records 52

Conclusions 53

Appendix 55

Table I. Details of feeding experiment A 55

Table II. Details of feeding experiment B 58

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.

Page.

PLATE I. Fig. 1. Shipping crate for live poultry. Fig. 2. Ordinary live-
stock car, often used for shipping poultry. Fig. 3. Live-poultry

cars, generally used for long-distance hauls 8

II. Fig. 1. Portable feeding and mixing tank. 1 Fig. 2. Portable truck

for moving birds. Fig. 3. Manure truck 28

III. Fig. 1. Portable feeding battery side view. Fig. 2. Portable

feeding battery end view. Fig. 3. Turkey-feeding battery.

Fig. 4. Two types of feed pails 28

IV. Fig. 1. Feeding station No. 2. Fig. 2. Feeding station Xo. 3.

Fig. 3. Feeding station Xo. 4. Fig. 4. Combination creamery

and poultry-feeding station (station Xo. 5) 28

TEXT FIGURES.

FIGURE 1. Stationary feeding battery end view 24

2. Stationary feeding battery front view 25

FATTENING POULTRY.

INTRODUCTION.

An opportunity for obtaining extensive and accurate data of the
results secured in fattening poultry under commercial conditions in
poultry-packing houses, which came up during the feeding season of
1010, was gladly made use of by the author, with the hope of throw-
ing some light upon the cost of fattening poultry commercially, and
also to show the relative gains which one can expect to secure with
the different grades of poultry. Through the courtesy of two com-
panies operating large poultry-packing houses in the Middle West
it was possible to compare the results secured at different feeding
stations and to study the efficiency of various methods, as well as
the feeding value of different rations. The author is especially
indebted to these poultry packers, who extended every possible
courtesy to him and gave him free access to all the details of that
part of their business in which he was interested.

The methods described are the result of years of experience and
extensive, practical experimentation by these packers. As most of
the experimental work hitherto published on poultry problems deals
with small numbers, this careful study of a large number of birds
suggested itself as a good opportunity to show what influence differ-
ent factors may have in causing variation in results. The results
of the season's work fulfilled the author's hopes to a considerable
degree. The study of poultry problems under successful commercial
conditions permits an investigation of the vital problems of the work
without encountering the many difficulties which are liable to be met
in starting a poultry plant for experimental purposes. This method
also involves the use of large numbers of birds, thus eliminating many
errors which may occur in drawing conclusions from small numbers.

Whatever value this work may have, aside from the comparative
experimental data, lies in the fact that it describes in detail suc-
cessful methods of fattening chickens for market and shows what
was the cost of producing the gains. This work has been carried out
successfully on a commercial scale in the Middle West, and as there
is a tendency for the extension of poultry-packing houses southward,
100835 Bull. 140 11 7.

8 FATTENING POULTEY.

as well as a decided growth of the industry generally in the South,
material on this subject should be of special value in that section.
The normal growth of poultry interests in the Middle West develops
a corresponding growth in the poultry packing and feeding business.
Numerous experiments have been conducted showing the cost of
producing a pound of gain in fattening steers, hogs, and sheep, but
very little work has been published showing the cost of producing
gain in poultry. The experimental work which has been published
on fattening poultry has been of value rather as showing the com-
parative value of rations than the average cost of producing poultry
flesh, as in many experiments the actual cost of producing the gains
has been so high that it would not be commercially profitable.

In order to produce a superior quality of chicken flesh for high-
class eastern and foreign buyers, managers of the poultry and egg
packing houses of the Middle West for a number of years have fed
" spring " chickens, producing the so-called " milk-fed " chickens.
If these chickens were fed and fattened on the farm, it would not be
necessary for the packer to put them into a feeding station, but the
bulk of the chickens produced on the farm are too thin to make first-
class dressed poultry without special fattening.

If the farmer gave his chickens a daily supply of grain, he could,
in many cases, fatten his chickens at a profit before sending them to
market, even when he sells to the large poultry buyer. He, of course,
could not afford to put in an expensive equipment for fattening, but
he could get his chickens in fair condition by supplying grain daily,
or by confining those to be marketed for two or three weeks, and feed-
ing freely either on corn, or on. corn meal, wheat flour, or oat flour,
mixed with skim mill^ or buttermilk.

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC TASTE.

When a bird has been properly fattened oil replaces much of the
water in the flesh, so that when it is cooked the flesh becomes tender
and juicy. Many consumers of poultry do not know how delicious a
well-fattened spring chicken is, but after once securing a bird thus
fattened they will most likely ask for the same quality in the future.
As the people of this country become acquainted with the ta"ste of
chicken of good quality the demand will grow and they will be only
too willing to pay for the extra cost of well-fattened birds. Most of
the dressed spring* chickens found in the average market to-day have
been insufficiently fed; they can not be classed as fat.

CONDITIONS IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

The people of France and England have arppreciated for some time
the value of properly fattened poultry. Various methods of fatten-
ing are in use in both of these countries. In France most of the

But. 140, BUREAU OF AMVAL INDUSTRY, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE.

PLATE I.

FIG. 1. SHIPPING CRATE FOR LIVE POULTRY.

FIG. 2. ORDINARY LIVE-STOCK CAR, OFTEN USED
FOR SHIPPING POULTRY.

FIG. 3. LIVE-POULTRY CARS, GENERALLY USED FOR LONG-DISTANCE HAULS.

METHODS OF HANDLING LIVE POULTRY. 9

poultry is fattened on the farms where it is raised by the farmer,
who is usually very skillful in this art. Much of this fattening is
lone by hand, involving more labor than the American farmer can
afford to give for this purpose, both on account of the higher cost
of labor and of the lower price paid for the finished product in this
country. Most of the special fattening in England is done at large
establishments where the birds are confined in crates and fed from
troughs for 7 to 10 days and then finished with cramming machines,
making the total fattening period about 3 weeks. The coops or
" batteries " in which the birds are fed are often placed out of doors,
with some protection from the wind and rain. During cold weather
the batteries are put into a building in order to conserve some of the
body heat of the chickens; otherwise much of the value of the feed
would be consumed in keeping the body warm rather than in produc-
ing flesh. Besides the extra care in feeding, special attention is
given to selection and breeding, so as to build up strains which
fatten readily. Much care is also taken in dressing the poultry, so
that it is offered to the public in a very attractive condition. The
farmers and special poultry keepers in this country could with good
advantage adapt some of these methods to their own conditions.

METHODS OF HANDLING LIVE POULTRY.

Poultry buyers located in the towns and villages of the Middle
West receive chickens from the farmers throughout the greater part
of each year, but the stock used in commercial fattening is shipped in
from June until the following December or January, the feeding sea-
son beginning earliest in the southern part of this section. The
chickens are handled in many ways, often coming from the farm
tied in lots of 4 to 6, with a tight cord around their legs or piled in
burlap sacks, so that either their legs are scraped raw or become numb
or they are half suffocated when they reach the local buyer or country
merchant. w r ho sdls to the poultry buyer. It is difficult to understand
the cruel and careless methods of some persons in handling their
poultry, w r hen by using a little care they could send their poultry to
the buyer in good condition and save themselves money. The follow-
ing styles of crates are used extensively by the packer and poultry
buyer and could easily be adapted for use on the farm at a small
cost and result in a great saving in labor as well as improving the
condition of the poultry.

The coop shown in Plate I (fig. 1) is a very good type of wire crate,
simple in construction and cheap. This crate is 2 feet 4 inches wide,
3 feet 10 inches long, and 13 inches deep, inside measurements, and
weighs 28 pounds. The uprights are of furring 1 by 1J inches: the
floor is solid and made of -i-inch boards and the sides and top covered
with strips of 2-inch mesh wire. 1 foot wide, with a partition of

10 FATTENING POULTRY.

similar material dividing the crate into two equal parts to prevent the
birds from all bunching together. Shipping crates of about this size
made entirely of wood weigh from 32 to 36 pounds, depending on the
width of the wooden slats and the size of the corner posts, but they
are no better than the wire crate and materially increase the weight,
and consequently the cost of shipments. Wire crates of the type
illustrated are also used for shipping turkeys, but are made 19 inches
instead of 13 inches deep. Coops are also made of galvanized-iron
strips and wire and of all kinds of modifications between those made
entirely of wire and those made wholly of wood.

Some styles of crates have square w r ire doors on the top, while
others have a thin slat which slides under three narrow strips of tin
or iron and is fastened in the center with one nail. The coop illus-
trated is opened by moving a slat, fastened by a spring, which forces
a small cut in the slat against a wire in the center. A coop thus shut
can be opened easily and quickly, but occasionally gets out of order.
There is a tendency to break the slats of coops which are nailed when
opening them at the packing houses, especially if the work is done
in a hurry.

The styles of coops above described are used in shipping either by
express or by freight. The live poultry is often held for a day by
the local poultry buyer and then shipped, either by express or
freight, to the poultry and egg packer. If shipped by freight, an
open car ordinarily used for shipping live stock locally is devoted en-
tirely to eggs and poultry, which are picked up at each station and
piled into the car, poultry generally at one end and eggs at the other.
(See Plate I, fig. 2.) This car on arrival at the packing house is un-
loaded immediately if it comes in during regular working hours ; if
not, it is left till morning, although the eggs are often unloaded by
the night force.

The birds are fed by the small poultry buj 7 ers if held for any length
of time, and grain is scattered in the coops before they are shipped to
prevent a heavy shrinkage in weight. The chickens are usually hun-
gry by the time they are distributed in the feeding station and are
not held long without feed. Chickens shipped in by express gen-
erally have less feed in their crops than those shipped by freight.

Poultry is also shipped extensively in cars built for live poultry
(Plate I, fig. 3), especially when their destination is far enough away
so that they will be over a day on the road. These cars, which are
used extensively in interstate shipments, are of the following dimen-
sions : 36 feet long, 9 feet 5 inches wide, inside measurements, with a
" stateroom " 8 feet by 9 feet 6 inches in the center of each car and
an aisle 2 feet 3 inches wide extending the entire length of the car.
Each car has 8 tiers, which gives about 1,600 square feet of coop floor
capacity, and each tier accommodates 16 coops. Allowing 36 fowls

BEST BREEDS FOR FATTENING. H

to each coop, cars of these dimensions will accommodate about 4,000
head, or about 18,000 pounds, of poultry, depending on the average
size of the birds. About 2,000 to 2,400 geese or 1,200 to 1,500 turkeys
make a carload. A water tank of 327 gallons capacity and a grain
crib 8 feet square and 20 inches deep are attached to each car. All
compartments have feed and water troughs accessible from the aisle,
in which rations are fed consisting of corn meal, corn chop, and a
small per cent of shorts in different proportions mixed with butter-
milk. Dead birds can be easily seen and readily removed from all
coops. These cars are well ventilated and carry the birds to their des-
tination in good condition, the shrinkage rarely exceeding 5 per cent.

BEST BREEDS FOB, FATTENING.

All varieties and types of chickens are fattened in this country,
no special attention being devoted to developing strains or special
types peculiarly adapted to produce a high quality of flesh or to give
especially good results in fattening. Several breeds give good results
in fattening, and these are preferred by men who make a specialty of
feeding poultry in the following order: Plymouth Rocks, Wyan-
dottes, Rhode Island Reds, or taken as a whole, birds of the general-
purpose breeds. The feeders discourage the use of birds of the
Mediterranean class, such as the Brown and White Leghorns and the
Minorca*, because these birds average poorer results throughout the
season in the feeding tests and they mature light, while the trade
demands a heavy fowl. In order to make the farmer raise chickens
of the first rather than of the second class mentioned, the packer, and
consequently the smaller poultry buyer, often pays from 1 to 3 cents
a pound less for light-weight hens.

More attention should be paid to buying poultry on a quality basis,
thus showing the producer the gain which he may realize by keeping
good poultry of the general-purpose breeds and giving the birds
proper attention and feed before shipping to market. In some sec-
tions the packers have exchanged purebred cockerels of the general-
purpose breeds for the mongrel and light-weight cocks kept by the
farmers, thus rapidly improving the quality of stock in the localities
where the} 7 obtain their supplies. The Orpingtons, various game
crosses, and the Dorking make good poultry for fattening, but are
not found in any appreciable numbers in the Middle West, although
the Orpingtons have increased considerably in the last few years.

COMPARISON OF BREEDS.

Table 1 gives the gains secured in selected " batteries *' in which
the birds were sorted in feeding experiment A (see p. 32). It
may here be stated that the coops in which the birds are kept during

FATTENING POULTRY.

the feeding period are called batteries. There are two styles of bat-
teries stationary and portable most feeding houses containing the
stationary batteries. The per cent of gains shows that in general
Leghorns make much poorer gains than Plymouth Rocks, but the
results are not entirely consistent. The Leghorns make poor gains
in the batteries after they are 2^ or 3 months old, as they are very
restless, but they make good gains up to this age. Leghorns mixed
with other birds in the compartments of the batteries tend to keep
all of the birds excited. The chickens in Table 1 were all fed be-
tween September 22 and Xovember 14.

TABLE 1. Results of fattening various breeds of chickens.

Number

Breeding.

Days

Average

of birds.

Rocks.

Leghorns.

Mixed.

fed.

in.

out.

gain.

Per cent.
100

Per cent.

Pounds.
3.68

Pounds.
4.25

Pounds.
0.57

Per cent.
15 5

192

100

4.03

4.82

.79

19 6

100

2.85

3.70

.85

29 8

100

4.01

4.61

100

2.38

3.00

.62

26 1

100

3.26

3.78

15 9

2.83

3.56

.73

25 8

3 18

3 85

91 1

2.98

3 36

12 8

100

2.88

3.19

.31

10 8

2.29

2.87

.58

">5 3

2 16

2 55

18 1

3.60

3.93

.33

9.2

INDIVIDUALITY IN CHICKENS.

Table 2 gives in detail the gains of the batteries making up two
of the lots in feeding experiment A (p. 32). The first 11 bat-
teries went on feed September 18 and the remaining 8 September
28. Records were kept of the gains of each battery. A lot includes
all batteries put on feed on the same day and fed the same length
of time. The batteries in the table are arranged in the relative order
of the increasing average weights of the birds, but the percentage
of gain does not vary directly with the average weight. The " Rocks "
in this table were birds of the general-purpose classes, Barred Ply-
mouth Rocks predominating. If the batteries were arranged in
order according to the proportion of Leghorns the per cent of gains
would still show no consistent relative order. These gains show a
more consistent ratio between the average weight of the birds and
the per cent of gain, which in general varies inversely. If the
average weight is lowered by having a large proportion of Leghorns
in the battery, this inverse ratio is not so apparent. This table
shows the great variation in lots housed and fed alike, and emphasizes
the great difference in the ability of the individual bird to put on
flesh. This difference is greater because of the mixed stock in each
battery. All the other lots in feeding table experiment A could be

INDIVIDUALITY IN CHICKENS.

subdivided, .and would show a similar variation in gains, but these
two lots were selected as showing about the average variation within
a lot. This emphasizes the error which is likely to occur in ex-
perimental work dealing with small lots, unless the chickens are of
the same strain and have been handled alike from birth.

TABLE 2. Individuality in chickens.

Number
of birds.

Breeding.

Days
fed.

Average
weight
in.

Average
weight
out.

Died.

Average
gain.

Leghorns.

Rocks.

Mixed.

80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80

Per cent.
10
55
21
35
34
16
15
9
12
12
5

Per cent.
90
45

79
65
66
84
85
91
88
88
95
65
75
13
70
58
41
58
25

Per cent.

8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

Pounds.
1.89
1.98
2.10
2.13
2.25
2.31
2.44
2.46
2.53
2.70
2.84
1.60
2.28
2.35
2.49
2.50
2.59
2.59
2.78

Pounds.
2.24
2.41
2.42
2.33
2.69
2.83
2.98
3.05
2.95
3.09
3.03
2.20
2.85
2. 83
2.90
2.81
2.98
3.00
3.32

1
1

Pounds.
0. '
.43
.32
.20
.44
.52
.54
.59
.42
.39
.19
.60
.57
.48
.41
.31
.39
.41
.54

Per cent.
18.5
21.7
15.2
9.4
19.6
22.5
22.1
24.0
16.6
14.4
6.7
37.5
25.0
20.4
16.5
12.4
15.1
15.8
19.4

35
17
58
25
32
43
42
70

8
29
5
10
16

1
1

The "feeder" who has charge of the fattening station often finds
some in each lot of chickens that it would not pay to fatten. In such
cases the Leghorns (.especially the Single Comb Brown). Buff Cochins,
Langshans, and all chickens with black legs are discarded. Varieties
containing much Buff Cochin blood are claimed by some feeders to
be very poor varieties to fatten. In sorting the birds the feeder some-
times throws out many birds in good market condition which it does
not pay to feed under his conditions, as in many instances they would
lose rather than gain in weight during the feeding period. If one can
select the birds still more carefully for fattening he should pick out
birds with short, stout, well-curved beaks, broad heads, bright, clear
eyes, deep, broad breasts, and well-spread legs. Individual birds of
the same breed vary greatly in their ability to put on flesh, but a
strain can be selected and bred for this purpose. The superiority of
certain strains of birds in England and France, in their ability to
fatten readily, is quite marked. Crosses are frequently used in Eng-
land for producing good fattening stock, but the majority of farmers
and poultry-men in this country do not breed carefully and systemat-
ically enough to get good results from crossing, so that the offspring
show lack of uniformity in type and size, which tends to lower the
price paid for the birds. It is probable that feeders could with profit
select birds along some of the lines mentioned in this paragraph, but
this matter depends largely on each man's condition.

14 FATTENING POULTRY.

THE FEEDING SEASON.

The feeding season varies in different sections, depending on the
climatic and seasonal conditions, and on the trade supplied with the
dressed poultry. The season begins earlier in the South, generally in
June, and lasts longer in the North, up to January or February, de-
pending on the supply of live chickens. Many find it quite profitable
to feed chickens as broilers during the early summer months, while
other feeders prefer to feed the larger sizes, called " springs " and
" roasters."

LENGTH OF FEEDING PERIOD.

The common practice in poultry packing houses is to feed each lot
17 days or less. The market or trade supplied and the results secured
by the feeder determine the length of the feeding period. Most milk-
fed chickens are fed for 14 days, but results secured in feeding indi-
cate that a more profitable gain can be secured in a shorter feeding
period, provided the same price per pound can be secured for the
finished product. In England and Canada birds are fattened for at
least 3 weeks, and if one uses a cramming machine it probably pays to
feed for that length of time. If the birds are small or thin, they may
be fed longer than heavier birds or those which are fairly well fleshed
when they reach the feeding station. As the feeding season advances
the tendency among feeders is to shorten the length of the feeding
period, reducing it as low as 7 days in many cases. Many birds are
merely " finished " by feeding for 5 to 6 days, and these are not gen-
erally classed as milk-fed poultry.

METHODS OF FATTENING.
MILK FATTENING.

Practically all of the special feeding in this country involves the
use of milk, thus producing ' ; milk- fed " chickens. These are also
exported to some extent. Milk, while the least expensive, seems to
be the most essential constituent of the ration, and when a feeder
can not get milk in some form he generally does not attempt to fat-
ten poultry commercially. The profit depends on various factors,
many of which are local, and must be worked out by each individual.
Among these factors are the supply and cost of the chickens, which
depends largely on the competition of other buyers; the shipping
facilities; the cost of the essential feeds; the availability and cost
of efficient labor; the market, and the price which the packer can
secure for his finished product. Often the packer has to feed his
poultry to suit the demands of his market, but generally if a man
has a high-class product he can make his own market, catering some-
what to popular fancies.

METHODS OF FATTENING. 15

Besides these local factors there are certain essentials to success in
a feeding station where poultry are fattened. First in importance
is the manager of the station, or feeder, who must thoroughly under-
stand all the details of the work and have a well-trained, observant
eye, quick to note the condition and appetite of the stock. Success
or failure depends primarily on this man, who must have the knack
of caring for birds. The feeding station must be arranged to econo-
mize labor and to provide the best possible ventilation. Conditions
must be of such a nature as to keep the birds quiet and contented,
and at the same time cause them to consume a large amount of feed,
in order to make profitable gains.

VARIOUS METHODS IN VOOfK.

Besides crate fattening from troughs there are several other meth-
ods in vogue, particularly in Europe. Among these are fattening
by funnel, by machine, and by hand. The last is common in France,
but can only be done economically where labor is cheap. The funnel
method is used to some extent in England and France, with the fun-
nel tube running directly to the crop, which is filled by pouring the
mixture into the funnel. The other method, cramming by machine,
is used extensively in England, generally to supplement trough feed-
ing. The English feeder does not consider that the bird has been
properly fattened until it has been finished with a cramming ma-
chine. Most of the large feeders have used cramming machines in
the United States, but have not found them adapted to their condi-
tions. There are two factors which may help to account for this
attitude: First, very few feeders in this country have been able to
use a cramming machine successfully and keep the birds contented;
and, second, the trade has not been educated to the increased value
of a machine-fed bird. However, the method is occasionally found
in use where there is a special market for birds which have been
crammed.

Some feeders in this country have obtained good results with the
machine in one section, and made an absolute failure of the same
method under different conditions. In England the art of fattening
by machine is often handed down from father to son. thus producing
first-class feeders. The cramming machine is used to some extent
in this country for fattening hens which do not give good results on
trough feeding.

In cramming, the birds are fed from 7 to 14 days from the troughs,
and are then crammed twice daily for from 7 to 10 days, until they
begin to go oft' feed, when they are marketed. The operator gauges
the proper amount of feed to force into the birds by holding his hand
on the bird's crop. If the crop is not almost or entirely empty at
the next feeding time the bird is not given any additional feed.

100S35 8 Hull. 14011 3

16 FATTENING POULTRY.

Another method which is used to a considerable extent on a small
scale in this country is pen fattening. This method is adapted for
use on the farm, where the farmer does not care to go to the trouble
of crate fattening, or where the price received for well-fed birds
does not warrant the extra labor and feed cost of the latter method.
Pen fattening has in some cases given very good results, but it is not
as reliable as crate fattening, although the labor cost is less. It is
used generally in fattening ducks. The quality of flesh secured by
crate fattening is better than that obtained by pen fattening.

CRATE OR TROUGH FEEDING.

Crate fattening from troughs is the method of feeding employed
in this country by most of the large fattening establishments. From
6 to 10 chickens are placed in the crate or battery, generally with a
small amount of feed in their crops, and given a light feed at the
next regular feeding period. Two methods are used in transferring
the chickens from the coops to the feeding battery. The coops of
chickens are weighed on scales located at some convenient place on
the dock or in the packing-house building, and then put either into
a portable transfer crate or directly into the portable feeding battery.
If the birds are put directly into the portable battery, it saves the
labor of rehandling and they go on feed in better condition than if
rehandled. Many birds are graded into a lower class on account of
broken wings, sometimes caused by handling after the birds have been
on feed for some time; thus the use of the portable feeding battery
tends to lessen the loss caused by rehandling. To facilitate the
weighing of coops two strips of wood are nailed onto the scale plat-
form, thus elevating the coops so that they do not touch the floor
on any side, and making it easier to handle them. Some people
advise dusting the birds before putting them into the batteries, but
by keeping the batteries and coops clean and whitewashing fre-
quently, the large feeders find that it is not necessary in the case of
short feeding periods to dust the birds with lice powder.

From 6 to 10 birds are placed in each division of the battery,
depending on the size of the birds and the ideas of the feeder. Ten
birds seem rather a large number to place together, but very good
results have been secured with this number in the portable feeding
battery hereinafter described, although it would seem advisable to
reduce the number to 8 when the birds weigh from 3 to 4 pounds.
Two or three chickens do better in a division together than when only
1 bird is placed in each compartment, and the cost of equipment and
labor per bird varies inversely with the number of birds in each
division.

RATIONS FOR FATTENING. 17

RATIONS.

A perusal of the literature on the subject of chicken feeding indi-
cates that there is a large variety of grain feeds, mixed in varying pro-
portions, which are successfully used in fattening. But many of the
large poultry feeders after trying various feeds and rations have
found that a very simple ration, made up of only two or three grains,
is best suited to economical gains under their conditions. Consider-
ing the large number of birds which they feed each year and the
extent of their experimentation in feeding, it would appear that
these simple rations must be of special merit for their conditions.
Most rations are recommended for a feeding period of three weeks,
although the length of the feeding period may influence the selection
of the best ration. Birds fed only for a short time may be forced
on highly concentrated feeds, whereas birds fed longer may need a
ration containing a greater variety and less concentrated. While
this may be true, many of the poultry packers feed the same ration
to their chickens regardless of the length of the feeding period.
The fact that it is easier to feed only one mixture may help to ex-
plain this condition, or it may be possible that the ration is not too
heavy or concentrated even for the longer feeding periods.

GRAIN MIXTURES.

In selecting a ration the feeder must be influenced to some extent
by the market price and supply of grains. Certain grains which
are used for fattening are peculiarly adapted to local sections, and
are not widely distributed at reasonable prices on the general mar-
kets. Among such grains are buckwheat, pea meal, graham flour,
shredded-wheat waste, small potatoes, and in some places barley meal.

In the feeding records given in this bulletin the following rations
were used : No. 1, 60 per cent corn meal and 40 per cent low-grade
wheat flour; No. 2, 58 per cent corn meal, 36 per cent oat flour, and
6 per cent tallow, by weight. Ration No. 2 was varied during the
season to suit the fancy of the feeder or the changes in the weather.
This variation of the ration was not regular, but, generally speaking,
as the season advanced and the weather became cooler a larger pro-
portion of corn meal was fed, although the increase was not large
if figured on the average per cent of corn meal in the ration each
month. These two rations were selected by different individuals
working under slightly different conditions. In general they are
quite similar, except that tallow is present in one ration and not in
the other. Many feeders after experimenting with a large number of
different feeds have returned to these simple rations.

There are many other rations which have been used with good
results, and perhaps are specially suited to certain localities on account

18 FATTENING POULTRY.

of the relative price of grains. The following rations are men-
tioned as belonging to this class: No. 3, 2 parts of oat flour, 1 part
of barley meal, and 1 part of corn meal ; No. 4, 2 parts of oat flour,

1 part of barley meal, and 1 part of boiled potatoes; No. 5, 1 part
of corn meal, 1 part of oat flour, and 1 part of wheat flour; No. G,

2 parts of corn meal, 2 parts of buckwheat flour, and 1 part of ground
oats ; and No. 7, 1 part of oat meal, 1 part of graham flour, and 1 part
of corn meal, by weight.

In France and England buckwheat flour, oat flour, and barley meal
are used extensively in fattening. Shredded wheat waste has been
used to replace oat or wheat flour, with good results, in places where
it could be bought at a low price.

These rations include most, if not all, of the grains which are used
extensively in this country, but there are many other combinations
which have been, and are still, used for fattening.

All feeders are very particular that the grains used are of the
best quality, and they find it especially necessary to watch the oat
flour, often returning a shipment as unfit for their use. The oat
flour, with the hulls removed, must be finely ground and should give
a sweet taste when chewed. In some cases feeders have been forced
to substitute other kinds of flour for the oat flour, as they could not
always secure good quality oat flour, which is apt to contain other
grains.

Grit is generally provided if the birds are kept on feed for two
weeks or longer, giving 4 pounds of grit to 100 birds if fed twice a
week. Where the birds are only fed a short time, 7 to 10 days, they
do not need grit if they were raised in a section sufficiently supplied.

Clover or alfalfa meal, meat meal, blood meal, charcoal, and salt
are often added to the rations, according to the fancy of the feeder.
These constituents do not appear to be absolutely essential, but may
be worth while for special conditions.

FEATHER PICKING RESULTING FROM EXCESSIVE GRAIN FEEDING.

Birds often become very restless on forced feeding of a highly con-
centrated ration, and commence feather eating and picking each
other, often continuing until they have eaten a considerable part of
the flesh of a live chicken. Probably an overheated condition of the
blood, caused by consuming a large proportion of highly heating
feed, such as corn meal, during hot weather will lead to habits of this
kind. In such cases it may be advisable to reduce the proportion of
corn meal and lighten the ration by adding some green feed, such as
clover or alfalfa meal, and possibly a small amount of meat or blood
meal. Salt, sulphur, or powdered borax, lightly sprinkled into the
mash, have been suggested as remedies for this overheated condition

USE OF MILK IN RATIONS. 19

of the blood. Salt is quite frequently used, but sulphur and borax, if
fed in any appreciable quantity, appear to lessen slightly the appe-
tite of the birds, although the difference is not marked. It is rather
difficult to prove what effect these substances have in lessening the
chance of the birds developing these bad habits; in any event these
remedies are probably not used extensively.

MILK OR BUTTERMILK ESSENTIAL IX ALL RATIONS.

Milk is used entirely in mixing the various rations used in fatten-
ing, and is considered an essential ingredient, both in this country
and in Europe. While good results may be secured without it, milk
has such a beneficial effect on the birds that it is hard to get good re-
sults without using it. In some instances poultry shippers stopped
feeding chickens when their supply of milk gave out. Buttermilk and
skim milk are generally used.no particular notice being taken as to
whether the milk is sweet or sour, but in almost all cases it was sour
before it was fed to the birds. One large creamery in Kansas has ex-
perimented in condensing buttermilk, and they now manufacture a
product which is put up in barrels, stored, and sold for feeding
chickens. In one case they shipped carload lots to a feeding station
located several hundred miles away. As many creameries have a
large surplus of buttermilk during the spring months, this appears
to be quite a profitable way of disposing of it, except that it involves
expensive machinery, and that the condensed milk, being bulky, re-
quires a large amount of storage space. This creamery was unable
to satisfy half of the demand for condensed milk during the fall and
early winter months. The milk is reduced to one-fourth of its origi-
nal volume largely by evaporation, but part of the whey is drained
off during this process. When condensed the milk is run into bar-
rels without adding any preservative, and will keep indefinitely.
Sample barrels have been kept for two or throe years, and when
opened the contents have been in good condition. Under ordinary
trade conditions the milk Mould never be kept longer than one year.
Fresh buttermilk, condensed buttermilk, and skim milk :ire pre-
ferred in this relative order. Whey is sometimes fed in addition to
the condensed buttermilk, but it is too bulky and of too small feeding
value to pay to move any considerable distance.

Various feeders have endeavored to find a substitute for milk, with
little apparent success. Milk seems to have a very important in-
fluence on the digestive processes, keeping the bird in good condition
under forced feeding. Beef broth has been used to some extent, with
fair results, but it is not as good as milk. If the feed is mixed with
water, from 5 to 15 per cent of the ration should be meat in some
form, and vegetables or green feed should be added. Green feed is

20 FATTENING POULTRY.

fed to some extent in very hot weather, but most feeders do not think
that the results warrant its use. Finely ground beef scrap and meat
meal are good forms of meat feed.

THE USE OF TALLOW.

Beef tallow is used by many feeders, but has been discarded by
others, who claim that it produces a poorer quality of flesh. When
only a very small amount is fed the difference in the flesh is not
noticeable; but, considering the cost of the tallow and the possible
poorer quality of flesh produced, it hardly seems to be an economical
feed, although this depends largely on individual conditions, espe-
cially on the market to which the packer sells. In part of the feeding
experiments in this bulletin about 6 per cent of the ration, excluding
milk, consisted of tallow, and this had no apparent effect on the
flesh. Tallow is often recommended to be fed during the last few days
of the feeding period, but under ordinary commercial conditions
it is hardly practicable to mix the feed separately and use it according
to the number of days which the birds have been in the feeder. The
tallow may be shaved directly into the feeding trough, but this
method does not seem as practicable as to mix the melted tallow into
the feed.

MIXING THE FEED.

The feed may be mixed with a rake or in a machine ; some feeders
preferring to mix with the rake regardless of the amount which has
to be mixed. The feed can be mixed fairly quickly with a rake by a
skillful feeder, but most feeders prefer to let a machine do the mixing
where a large number of birds are fed. Some kind of power is neces-
sary to run the mixer. When mixed by an iron rake the milk is run
or poured into a large mixing tank and the grain added gradually,
constantly stirring the mixture with the rake to prevent the formation
of lumps, and to mix the different grains thoroughly. The feeder adds
the different grains alternately, generally dumping in 100 pounds
at a time, and mixing is continued until the mixture is of an even
consistency. It is very necessary to have the feed free from lumps.
Tallow may be kept in an open kettle heated by steam pipes, and
gradually added to the feed in a melted state, after the milk and grain
have been mixed. The pail in which the tallow is handled should be
heated before it is used for the melted tallow, to prevent the liquid
from congealing on the sides of the pail. The tallow is stirred
thoroughly into the mixed feed.

MIXING MACHINES.

There are several styles of machines used for mixing the feed, each
manager having his own ideas of the best kind of mixer. A hori-
zontal mixer made of 2 tanks each 6 feet 6 inches long, 2 feet 6 inches

METHODS OF MIXING FEED. 21

wide at the top, and 2 feet 9 inches deep, containing a dasher running
lengthwise of each tank, was used at station No. 4 with good results.
There were 22 paddles on the horizontal shaft or dasher, set at differ-
ent angles, each 13 inches long, 1J inches wide, and three-eighths of
an inch thick. When the machine was going these paddles barely missed
the sides and bottom of the tank, which was concave on the bottom.
The narrow side of the paddles cut the feed when in motion. The feed
was held and mixed on a platform 15 feet by G feet, which was level
with the top of the mixing tanks and was built flush against the tanks.
The machine was made up of two sections, so that either one could be
used separately. A single mixing machine built along similar lines,
but upright instead of horizontal, was used at station No. 2, but this
did not give very satisfactory results as the consistency of the feed
varied when run out at the bottom of the tank. This tank had only
one spout or valve, but later a second valve was inserted, which saved
considerable time in filling the feeding pails. Each tank at station
No. 4 had two valves for letting out the feed. A smaller mixing
machine made in the form of a drum was used at two feeding stations
not described in this bulletin. These drums opened on the side and
could be dumped quickly, but their capacity was small. All of the
tanks and mixing machines are fitted with steam pipes so that in
cold weather the feed can be heated and fed while warm. If the
feed is to be fed warm the milk is heated before adding the meal
and flour.

CONSISTENCY OF THE FEED.

The feed is mixed to the consistency of thick cream, or so that it
will drip from the tip of a wooden spoon. In very hot weather it is
advisable to mix the feed thinner than in cooler weather, and results
appear to indicate that one feed daily of a thin mixture with one or
two thicker feeds makes the best feeding plan, although opinions
differ on this point. The chickens seem to prefer the thicker feed,
but it is apt to satisfy their appetites before they have consumed as
much feed as they would if the mixture was thinner. This matter
has to be left largely to the judgment of the feeder, but it should be
observed carefully. As the birds receive no liquid except what they
get in their feed, it is necessary to use quite a large proportion of
milk in the feed. The percentage of milk used seems to depend on
the kind of grains in the mixture, on the weather, and on the feeder.
It varies from 55 to 70 per cent, and an average of 60 per cent or a
trifle higher seems to give very good results.

The successful feeding of poultry depends largely on the ability of
the feeder to notice the condition of the chickens on feed. Birds
should be fed lightly for the first two or three feeds, gradually increas-

22 FATTENING POULTRY.

ing the amount until they receive all they will eat up clean. The
feed is poured into the troughs by the feeder, who walks rapidly
through the aisles between the batteries, feeding a large number of
birds in a short time. The condition of the birds when they go into
the battery and the length of the feeding period have considerable
influence on how soon to feed the birds the maximum amount. Ordi-
narily the birds are rather hungry when they go into the batteries,
especially if they have been shipped in by express, and they can be
fed quite freely from the first feed. If they have feed in their crops
when put into the batteries, it is usual to feed very lightly for two or
three feeds until they are quite hungry and have become accustomed
to their new surroundings. Observations made on a considerable
number of birds fed within a short time after they were put into the
batteries showed that this practice was a good one under certain con-
ditions, and that in many instances it was not advisable to feed a light
ration as long as is ordinarily advised in fattening chickens. The
main object in feeding should be to keep the birds' appetites keen
and at the same time make them eat as much feed as they can assimi-
late.

NUMBER OF TIMES TO FEED DAILY.

Birds are fed from two to five times a day, but the more common
practice is to feed either two or three times. A skillful feeder can
get good results feeding twice daily and many prefer this method;
but excellent results are secured by feeding three times a day, even by
those who are not experienced feeders. An inexperienced person is
apt to get better results by feeding three times a day rather than
twice. Regular feeding is necessary, and if the birds are fed twice
daily the intervals between the feeding times should be as nearty equal
as possible. In this case it is well to feed at 6.30 a. m. and 3 p. m.
If the birds are fed three times, feed at 6.30 a. m., 12 noon, and 4 p. m.
The feeding hours must be regulated somewhat by the season of the
year, by the appetite of the birds, and by the hours which the men are
employed. By feeding a small amount often, the birds can be made
to eat a larger quantity and their appetites kept keener. Each feeder
must decide for himself whether there is enough to be gained by
feeding oftener to pay for the extra labor involved.

A good many birds die when on feed, especially during certain sea-
sons. The loss is greatest during hot summer weather, when the
birds become prostrated with the heat ; and later during October and
November, when many of the birds develop some form of sickness.
The batteries must be examined closely every day and sometimes
twice daily, and all the dead or sick birds removed. While making
the rounds for dead and sick birds some feeders find that other birds

APPEARANCE OF MILK-FED POULTRY. 23

which are healthy but off feed may be removed and dressed at once,
instead of keeping them on feed and having them lose in weight, or
possibly become weak and sickly.

COLOR OF MILK-FED POULTRY.

A bleached appearance is very characteristic of milk-fed chickens.
Milk is apparently the chief factor in causing this appearance,
although the composition of the ration doubtless affects this point to
some extent. The birds which were fed 14 days showed the effect of
bleaching very plainly and a large proportion were white. Some,
however, did not appear to bleach at all. The color in the lots fed
from to 9 days was more uneven, the birds showing streaks of
yellow and white, although many were fairly white and even in color.
Kecords kept of the comparative number of white and yellow birds at
various intervals during the season in experiments A and B showed
that in the former 73 per cent were white and 27 per cent yellow, while
in the latter only 59 per cent were white and 41 per cent yellow. This
would indicate that the use of low-grade wheat flour produced a
whiter flesh than the oat flour, but there w r as considerably more milk
in the ration of experiment A, and the larger proportion of milk
may have influenced the color of the flesh more than the kind of
grain. Allowing for this difference in milk it appears that the wheat
flour tends to whiten the skin and flesh as much, if not more, than the
oat flour. These records are not strictly comparable, as the dressed
birds in experiment A, while uneven in color, were classed as white if
they showed the effect of bleaching to any considerable extent.
Butter color is sometimes added to the feed to give a rich yellow color
to the flesh, but this was only done at one of the feeding stations in
this bulletin, and only to a very few lots. Molasses was used for
coloring during the season of 1000 at the same station and was said to
have given a deep-yellow product. The packers stated that they did
not care whether the dressed poultry was white or yellow except in
a few lots where the market wanted a certain colored flesh.

THE FEEDING STATIONS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT.

Feeding stations, which are buildings used entirely or principally
for fattening chickens, are operated in connection with most largo
poultry and egg packing houses, and are practicable in all large
poultry producing sections where the fanner sells his poultry in rela-
tively poor condition, provided the facilities for shipping or market-
ing are such that poultry can be held and shipped under cold storage
conditions. These stations are generally located at or near a railroad
junction or center in order that supplies may be drawn from a large
territory. There are many different types of feeding station-, but all
ioox:;r, p, u ii. 140 11 1

FATTENING POULTRY.

should be constructed to economize labor, to provide room for a large
number of birds per square foot of floor space, and to keep the birds
contented and healthy. The weakest point in most feeding stations is

FIG. 1. Stationary feeding battery, end view.

a lack of, or improper, ventilation. The following feeding stations
were used for the experiments described in this bulletin; each one is
designated by a number for convenience in reference :

DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STATIONS.

STATION NO. 1.

This consisted of one section of a packing house known as the
feeding station. The killing room where the poultry is dressed con-
stitutes another section, and is situated on the side opposite the feed-
ing station; the scales are located on the '"dock" halfway between
these two sections. This dock is a covered platform running the
entire length of the packing house, and is devoted to the handling
of the poultry and eggs. A spur track from the railroad runs paral-
lel to the dock, so that the poultry and eggs can be unloaded directly
from the car to the dock. The feeding station is 48 by 130 feet; 12
feet from the floor to the plate and 32 feet from the floor to the
ridge, built on the "monitor" style. The walls are double, brick
outside and plaster inside, and are sheltered by a projecting roof.
The building contains 20 double-sash windows on both sides and 9
in both Cnds, with the sides of the monitor top entirely filled with sash

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and three double sash in both ends. A row of wooden shutters,
2| by 2 feet, are placed on either side of the building just under the
eaves. During hot weather the shutters are kept open and the
windows all taken out and the openings covered with wire. The
windows in the monitor top were originally hung at the top and
opened in, but were changed about November 1 and hinged at the
bottom. This change improved the ventilation in the house, as it
tended to prevent the incoming air from falling directly on the birds
in the batteries. About one half of one sideof the house was built
against another part of the packing hoine. and a dirt bank came up
about r> feet against one end. thus cutting off considerable ventila-
tion during hot weather.

This house was equipped with stationary batteries, four tiers high,
as illustrated in text figures 1 and 2. Eight chicken- or '. hens
were placed in each division, and as each battery contained 50

26 FATTENING POULTRY.

pens, it would hold 448 chickens, but generally 450 birds were put
in each battery. Later in the season, when the chickens brought in
would weigh from 3 to 4 pounds, only 6 birds were placed in each
compartment. The floors of each tier were 1-inch mesh wire, such
as is ordinarily used for confining chickens, with a roosting board
3 inches wide, 2 feet 10 inches long and 1 inch thick, laid across
the center of each division and set in between nails, so that it could
be easily removed. The sides of the battery are wooden slats oc
laths, with a space of If inches between them, with wire rods set in
the center of the furring in the front of the battery. The dropping
pan is made of galvanized iron with the edge turned up in front
and slides under each compartment, 3^ inches below the wire floor.
There is a 4-inch air space which divides the battery into two parts,
as shown in the accompanying cut. Feeding troughs made of cypress,
2f inches on the side and 3^ inches across the top, inside measure-
ments, were hung along the front of each tier of coops, supported
by wooden strips 10 by 3 inches, cut to fit the troughs, fastened with
only one nail so that they can be pushed up into the battery when
the troughs are removed. The center of the cut in this supporting
strip is 2^ inches from the front of the battery, allowing about 1 inch
between the front of the battery and the edge of the trough.

This house was arranged with a broad center aisle 8 feet wide,
running lengthwise of the house, with side aisles between the bat-
teries, which were 34 inches apart, and extended from the center
aisle to the sides of the room. The side windows were at the end of
the narrow aisles. This allowed the feeder to push the feed truck
through the center aisle and one pail of feed would generally feed
two tiers of birds, so that it only took four trips in each side aisle to
feed the part of each battery which faces the aisle. This feeding
station would accommodate 13.500 birds on feed at one time, with
sufficient floor space for storing the grain and milk, mixing the feed,
and storing the working equipment of the feeding station. The house
was lighted by electric lights arranged so that the birds could see their
feed on dark mornings and afternoons, and had four fans placed on
top of the batteries to keep up a circulation of air in hot weather.
These fans had to be cleaned frequently or they would become clogged
with dust.

The feed was mixed in a portable feeding tank (illustrated in
PI. II, fig. 1), which is 2 feet wide, G feet 10 inches long on the
top, 5 feet G inches long on the bottom, and 2 feet 1 inch deep.
This tank is built of wood and contains a spout or valve at one end
from which the feeding pails are filled. The truck ran on four
wheels, a stationary pair at the end and two pivot wheels in front, so
that it could be turned easily. The dropping pans were cleaned by
scraping with a piece of galvanized iron 8 by 6 inches, one edge

DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STATIONS. 27

curved over to make a handle. A hook, made of bent wire, was used
to pull out the droppings tray. The manure was scraped into a
truck 21 inches wide, 4 feet long on the bottom, 4 feet 9 inches on the
top, and 10 inches deep, with a removable slat across the top to rest
the tray on while it was being cleaned. This truck contained one
small pivot wheel on either end, with a pair of larger stationary
wheels in the center. The portable crate or truck used for moving
the birds is shown in figure 2 of Plate II. This is divided into two
parts, with feed troughs in the center, and is covered with 2-inch mesh
poultry wire. The crate is 5 feet 5 inches long, 5 feet 2 inches high,
and 3 feet 2 inches wide, with doors hinged at the top, which swing
in and are held open by a curved hook shaped like a letter U.

STATION NO. -2.

Feeding station Xo. 2, shown in Plate IV, is entirely separate from
the other sections of the packing house. The building is 42 feet wide
by 120 feet long, 14 feet to the eaves and about 15 feet to the top of
the building proper, which has a monitor top 9 feet wide extending
5 feet inches above it. Each side of the monitor top is divided into
two tiers of shutters, 2G in each tier, hinged at the top. which swing
out. Each side has 18 single-sash windows, set about '1 feet below
the eaves, and G sash in either end. There are two tiers of shutters
2 feet 9 inches wide extending around three sides of the house, just
above the floor, which are hung at the top and swing out. The east
side the building running north and south has doors which slide
up toward the eaves in place of the shutters. These shutters when
tilted out shade the building during hot, sunny days. All of the
shutters are made of ^-inch matched lumber, and the sides of the
house are built of ship lap f inch thick and 5-i inches wide.

Many of the birds in this house were sick, owing in some cases to
their condition when they reached the packing house, but in most cases
to drafts in the feeding station. The shutters had warped somewhat
and did not fit tightly, so that the house was very drafty, as it was
customary to keep part of the shutters open in the monitor top. This
is a good house for summer feeding, as it can be thrown almost
entirely open, so as to get all of the fresh air possible, but it is built
too cheaply to make a good house for feeding in cold weather. This
is quite apparent from the record of the deaths and of the gains
obtained. If the shutters in the monitor top were hung at the bottom
and swung in. the air would not fall directly on the birds below.
During November heavy duck cloth was stretched partly across the
building, about 2 feet above the top of the batteries, to cut oil' the
drafts, which improved the house but did not allow .sufficient ventila-
tion. This htvle of house should be built so that the shutters on the

28 FATTENING POULTRY.

side could be closed absolutely tight in cold weather and the draft
cut off from the monitor top. Some ventilation is necessary even in
cold weather to keep the air fresh.

This station was equipped originally with stationary batteries, but
most of these had been replaced with portable feeding batteries, as
shown in Plate III. This battery is divided into 8 coops, 4 tiers of
2 coops each, and holds 80 springers or 64 hens. It is 2 feet 7^ inches
wide and 5 feet 9 inches high. The slats in the front are 1 J inches
apart, and each set of slats, which is 8^ inches wide, is held in by
buttons, so that it can be easily removed and a set of slats which are
closer together or farther apart may be quickly inserted. As the
sizes of the chicken's heads vary considerably during the season this
changeable front is of value. The dropping pans are 1| inches below
the floors, which are made of heavy, square-mesh wire, and have
roost boards 2 inches wide by f inch thick by 2 feet 6 inches long.
The bottom of the first floor is 6 inches from the ground, and it is 15
inches from the wire floor to the top of each coop, making each tier,
including the dropping pans, 16J inches deep. The battery rolls on
four wheels, two double-pivot wheels in front and two wheels con-
nected by a bar in the rear. The sliding doors on the sides are fitted
with hooks which fasten into eyes on the battery. The whole bat-
tery is made of furring, l- by inches, covered with 2-inch mesh
wire and laths. The feeding troughs are 3^ inches across the top,
inside measurement, and 3 inches from the top edge to the bottom,
outside measurement. These troughs are held in place with bent
wires which are flexible so that they give if the troughs hit any
obstacle, thus preventing breakage. A wire partition divides the
battery into two equal parts. A similar battery is used for feeding
turkeys except that it contains three tiers instead of four and the
slats in front are 2 inches apart. This battery is illustrated in
Plate III, figure 3.

These coops were arranged in long rows running lengthwise of the
house, spaced about 4 inches apart in the rows, with the rows 3i
feet wide. This arrangement was changed to suit the varying con-
ditions. The arrangement of the batteries in long rows tended to
waste labor, as the attendant would feed down a row till he emptied
his pail and then return to the end for another pail of feed, thus
making many trips with an empty pail. This could be overcome by
arranging the batteries differently, or by having feed at both ends
of the rows. The batteries of birds to go on feed were pushed in at
one door and rolled out at the other end, which made it necessary to
keep moving the batteries in each line down toward the end of the
house. This frequent moving is detrimental to good results in feed-
ing as it keeps the birds restless.

BUL. 140. BUREAU OF AMMAL INDUSTRY. U S. DEPT. OF AOWCULTURE.

PLATE

FIG. 1. PORTABLE FEEDING AND MIXING
TANK. NOTE FEEDING PAIL.

FIG. 2. - PORTABLE TRUCK FOR MOVING
BIRDS.

FIG. 3. MANURE TRUCK.

But. 140, B'.IRFAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY, U. S. DFPT. OF AGRICULTURE.

PLATE III.

Fio. 1. PORTABLE FEEDING BATTERY;
SIDE VIEW.

FIG. 2. PORTABLE FEEDING BATTERY;
END VIEW.

FIG. 3. TURKEY-FEEDING BATTERY.

FIG. 4. -Two TYPES OF FEED PAILS.

BUL. 140, BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE.

PLATE IV.

FIG. 1. FEEDING STATION No. 2.

FIG. 2. FEEDING STATION No. 3.

FIG. 3. FEEDING STATION No. 4.

FIG. 4. COMBINATION CREAMERY AND
POULTRY-FEEDING STATION STATION
No. 5>.

DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STATIONS. 29

Various styles of pails were used in feeding, two good types of
which are shown in Plate III, figure 4. These pails hold about 14
quarts.

The best style for a feeding pail depends somewhat on the thick-
ness of the feed and the style of the battery in use; the styles in
Plate III, figure 4, were adapted to the portable feeding batteries
and were used at stations 2, 3, and 4. The feeding pail used at sta-
tion 1 had a blunt snout 4 inches wide, which projected out 4 inches
at the top and tapered to nothing at the bottom of the pail. This
held 18 quarts and had to be handled carefully or the feed would
come out too quickly. It would not be adapted to use with portable
batteries, as much feed would be wasted between the troughs. The
spout of the shorter bucket, illustrated in Plate III, figure 4. is too
small for thick fee-d and makes slow feeding, but the other style of
bucket is very satisfactory. This bucket is 12i inches deep and 9
inches in diameter. The small end of the spout is 1 inches in
diameter. Some pails have a handle on the back near the bottom
of the pail.

The manure truck shown in figure .'} of Plate II was used at sta-
tions 2, }, and 4. All of the stations were equipped with some kind
of spraying machine, fitted with small air-pressure tanks, which
were operated by hand power. A small amount of carbolic acid or
some similar disinfectant was generally mixed with the whitewash.

STATION NO. :>..

The best results were secured in feeding station Xo. 3, which is
shown in Plate IV. figure -2. This is a lean-to, built against one
side of the packing house, and is a very inexpensive building. The
floor is a single layer of unmatched boards, and the sides are of
standard duck cloth. 10-ounce weight. The curtains overlapped each
other about a foot and were arranged so that they could be easily
rolled up and down. Three sides of the house could thus lx> entirely
opened to allow perfect ventilation. The floor should either be
double or else made of matched lumber, as the single unmatched
boarding allows too many cracks. This shed was protected on all
sides by other buildings, so that it did not get the full force of the
wind. The birds were very free from colds and disease in this
building, and it appeared to be an ideal place for summer and early
fall feeding.

The curtain idea could be adapted to other feeding stations with
jrood results, if care is taken to see that the house is made free from

drafts. This house did not contain any windows. The floor was
45 by 93 feet, with the roof '.) feet from the floor on the lower side

30 FATTENING POULTRY.

and 13 feet from the floor where it was attached to the packing
house. The house was equipped with portable feeding batteries ar-
ranged in short rows with a center aisle 5 feet wide running the long
way of the building and side aisles 4 feet 6 inches in width. These
batteries were changed to suit conditions. This station was sepa-
rate from the other parts of the packing house, so that the birds
were disturbed only at feeding and cleaning times. The feed was
mixed in a long stationary mixing tank and carried to the feeding
room in pails on trucks.

STATION NO. 4.

The entire second floor of the packing house was built for a feeding
room in station Xo. 4. This is a new station and contains some very
good ideas. It is illustrated in Plate IV, figure 3. This feeding room
is built with a wing; the main part of the house is 48 by 140 feet with
the wing 48 by 48 feet. The house is equipped with portable batteries
similar to those at stations 2 and 3, and arranged as at station 3.
with a center aisle 4 feet wide and side aisles 3 feet 10 inches wide,
but subject to change according to conditions. This station was
equipped with a mixing machine (described on page 20) and had an
elevator large enough to hold two portable feeding batteries, which
connected with the killing and weighing room on the first floor. The
first floor was divided into a killing or picking room, a packing and
small cold-storage room, an office, and general space for weighing,
storing equipment, etc. Both floors of this building were made of
cement.

The feeding room has an almost flat roof about 15 feet from the
floor, and all sides of the room except the west contain two tiers of
shutters each 4 feet 3 inches high and one tier of windows 3 feet high,
so that the room can be thrown almost entirely open. The west side
contains one tier of shutters and one of windows. The shutters are
hung at the top and swing out from the bottom, while the windows,
which are glazed, are hung in the center. The shutters are made
of narrow strips inch thick, laid diagonally, and the whole room is
well built. This station was not occupied until November, but it is
apparently a very good type of feeding station and contains many
excellent features. The ventilation in warm weather ought to be
ideal and yet the building can be shut absolutely tight in cold weather
if desired.

The birds were moved into this station from station Xo. 5, shown
in figure 4 of Plate IV.

STATION NO. 5.

Station Xo. 5 is a combination of feeding station and creamery,
the second floor being the feeding station. This house was equipped

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 31

with long stationary batteries, built somewhat similar to those de-
scribed in station No. 1, except that the batteries were only three
tiers high. The wires in the front of the coops were If inches apart.
The center aisles were 3 feet 9 inches and the side aisles 2 feet
inches wide.

DETAILS OF THE FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.

The records which are shown in detail in Tables I and II of the
Appendix represent results obtained at different feeding stations in
the Middle West during the season of 1910. The tests cover a large
number of birds, and the conclusion derived from the averages should
be of considerable value, and should largely eliminate the error which
is almost certain to be made in drawing conclusions from experiments
dealing with small lots. The variation found to occur within a

lot kept under similar conditions during the feeding test clearly
indicates how great the error may be if conclusions are drawn from
results secured in dealing with small numbers. Undoubtedly, how-
ever, the conditions existing at each feeding station, outside of the
rations used, had considerable influence on the gains secured.

Experiments A and B give the results of each lot in detail, while
experiments C and D only give the number of birds, the length of the
feeding periods, and the gains in terms of percentages. The total
weight of the birds before they were fed in these records is 793.359
pounds, 303,2:22 pounds of which are included in the detailed ex-
periments A and B.

In experiment A the number of dead is the difference between the
" Number in " and the " Number out," but in experiment B a large
number of crippled birds were removed and dressed, as is more
fully explained hereafter, and their weight is credited to the par-
ticular lot in the column headed " Gain " and in " Per cent of gain."
but is not included in the " Weight out " column. The column
headed "Average grain daily per head " represents the average
daily feed (not including milk) of each lot for its feeding period.
This factor is obtained from the daily feeding reports which give
the total daily consumption and the number of all the birds on feed
for each day. and is based on the assumption that all the birds eat
the same amount of feed. The total feed for each lot is derived from
this factor. This method of obtaining the total feed is not absolutely
correct for each lot. but it is the only method which is practicable under
commercial conditions which deal with large numbers, and the possible
error would not affect the averages, but would help to explain the
differences in the gain of certain lots which probably averaged to
eat different amounts of feed per bird.

32 FATTENING POULTEY.

The following prices were used in figuring the feed cost of grain :

Com meal $1.35 per 100 pounds.

Low-grade wheat flour 1.35 per 100 pouuds.

Oat flour 2.20 per 100 pounds.

Tallow .08 per pound.

Buttermilk .015 per gallon.

Condensed buttermilk .75 per 100 pounds.

The average daily labor cost in experiment A was $7.29 per 10.000
birds on feed, which constant was used throughout the feeding sea-
son. The labor cost per 10,000 head varied considerably during the
season in experiment B and the following constants were used : $9.44
per 10,000 head for lots 1 through 19 ; $9.53 for lots 20 through 41 ;
$12.06 for lots 42 through 63, and $15.63 for lots 64 through 83. The
cost of 100 pounds of grain, plus the cost of the milk used in feeding
that amount of grain, varied as follows in experiment A: $1.93 per
100 pounds of grain for lots 1 to 20 ; $2.06 per 100 pounds for lots 21
to 37, and $1.95 per 100 pounds for lots 38 to 63. The cost in experi-
ment B was $2.31 per 100 pounds of grain for lots 1 through 19;
$2.30 for lots 20 through 41 ; $2.43 for lots 42 through 63 ; and $2.44
for lots 64 through 83. The grain in experiment A cost $1.35 per 100
pounds throughout the feeding period, while the cost of the milk
used with 100 pounds of grain varied from $0.585 to $0.709. The cost
of 100 pounds of grain in experiment B varied during the feeding
season from $1.94 to $2.17, and the cost of the milk used with 100
pounds of grain varied from $0.275 to $0.352. Condensed butter-
milk was fed in experiment A in a much thicker state than ordinary
buttermilk, which explains the increased cost of the milk in experi-
ment A over that in experiment B. The average cost of 100 pounds
of grain in experiment A for the entire season was $1.35; and in
experiment B, $2.06; while the average cost of the grain and the
milk per 100 pounds of grain was $1.98 in experiment A and $2.37
in experiment B.

EXPERIMENT A.

The feeding was conducted at station Xo. 3. All of the lots in this
experiment were fed alike except that the length of the period varied
from 6 to 10 days. These birds were only fed for this short period
because the existing conditions were such that it was not convenient
to keep them on feed for a longer time. The gains secured indicate
that under good conditions a large gain can be made in a short time.

/Stock. The lots were composed of stock of mixed origin put into
the feeding batteries just as they came in from the small live-poultry
buyers, without sorting. Each lot contained birds of various weights,
but, as the records show, the average size or weight increased as the

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 33

feeding season advanced, although there were some birds of broiler
size in practically all of the lots. The Barred Rocks were the most
popular breed; records kept at various intervals showed that about
42 per cent were Plymouth Rocks and 17 per cent were Leghorns.
None of the other breeds were represented by large numbers of birds,
but numerically they were present in the following order: Wyan-
dottes, Rhode Island Reds, Orpingtons, Minorcas, and Langshans,
constituting altogether not over 10 per cent of the total number of
birds on feed. Thus 31 per cent of the birds were of mixed breeding.
These figures only represent percentages in the rough, as the birds
were classed as Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, etc., if they had the most
prominent characteristics of these breeds; many of them were prob-
ably grade stock.

These figures, moreover, represent averages of large numbers,
and do not necessarily represent the actual composition of any spe-
cific lot.

The average quality of the stock in experiment A was good, ap-
parently slightly better than in experiment B and considerably above
that in experiments C and D. This means that the majority of the
birds were slightly better fleshed and that there were fewer sick birds
than in the other experiments. The difference in the health of the
stock was hardly apparent when the birds were received at the feed-
ing stations, but showed up noticeably during the feeding period,
although the housing and management undoubtedly affected the
health at the different stations, thus introducing a new factor, which
must be considered in making comparisons.

HdmUinff. Most of the birds in experiment A were shipped by
express to the feeding station, not over one-third arriving by freight.
In general the distance shipped was short. The birds shipped in by
express were weighed and put into the portable feeding batteries,
previously described, shortly after reaching the feeding station.
Those shipped by freight were handled in crates in stock cars, and
generally stood several hours at the packing house before they were
unloaded and put into the feeding batteries. The use of a portable
feeding battery eliminates labor to a considerable extent, and involves
less handling of the birds, both when they go into the feeder and
when they come out. The birds undoubtedly get into the feeder in
better condition, and there is less chance of breaking the wings after
they leave the battery. After fattening, the batteries of birds were
taken directly into the killing room, where they were taken out by the
pickers as killed.

Feed. Ration Xo. 1 was fed to all of these birds, the grain and
buttermilk being mixed with a rake in a large tank. The buttermilk
used was condensed and was diluted with about '2 parts of water to 1

34 FATTENING POULTRY.

of buttermilk. A small amount of whey and considerable skim
milk was fed during the season, replacing some of the water, and.
at times, a part of the buttermilk when the supply ran short, as
happened during parts of October and November. Granulated or
shredded curd was added to the ration several times during Septem-
ber and October, and the birds appeared to relish it very much. No
grit was provided for the birds in this experiment.

The combination of condensed buttermilk and skim milk with the
grain made a very thick feed, which was eaten very eagerly by the
chickens, but it was necessary to give a thinner feed once each day.
which was done by increasing the proportion of water. The chick-
ens were not so eager for the feed when whey was used to replace
much of the buttermilk, which often happened during October and
November.

Method of feeding. The chickens were fed three times daily, gen-
erally receiving the thinner feed at noon. Wheat flour has to be
added very gradually in making the mixture, otherwise it will lump,
and the person who mixed the feed often found it necessary to knead
it as the housewife kneads dough in making bread. The feed was
run into pails, which were carried into and through the feeding room
on trucks. Generally two or three persons handled the feed, one fill-
ing and distributing the pails while the others did the feeding. One
man fed part of the birds regularly three times a day, but he had dif-
ferent assistants at various times during the feeding season, no other
help being kept specially for this work. The results, as shown in the
record, indicate how well this system of feeding is adapted to con-
ditions where the help is not especially experienced in feeding chick-
ens. A moderate amount of feed was poured into each trough, and
by the time the feeders had fed all the birds once those fed first had
eaten up their supply and were looking for more. The feeder then
gave a second feed, which was a light one, only to those birds that had
cleaned up their first feed. Generally 20 to 30 minutes intervened
between the first* and second feed, according to the length of time it
took the feeders to go through all of the aisles.

Sometimes the feeder would go around the third time, but not
generally. This method of feeding appears to stimulate the appetites
of the birds so that they consume a large amount of feed; and it
does not require as skilled a feeder as is necessary when the birds are
fed only once. There is also less chance of feed being left over in the
troughs. The feeder went through the batteries about one hour after
feeding, removing any feed which was not cleaned up by that time.
However, if care is exercised with this method of feeding there should
be no feed left over to be cleaned up. When the birds clean the feed
up quickly the troughs are left in good condition, but if any feed is
left over the feeder is apt to leave a little in the trough when he

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 35

scrapes out the surplus, and this is likely to ferment or become sour.
Therefore, the aim should be to feed only what the chickens will eat
up clean. When the feeding is managed properly the feeding troughs
appear as though they had been washed after the birds are through
eating. The feeding troughs are not washed under ordinary com-
mercial conditions except in special cases. When the batteries are
sprayed the troughs receive more or less whitewash, but no special
care is taken to clean them, as they are not dirty ordinarily.

The batteries were arranged to suit the convenience of the operator
and to conform to the size of the room. The aim was to give the
birds the best possible conditions without making the labor cost exces-
sive. During the first part of the feeding season most of the birds
were fed in a general purpose room, used for weighing all of the live
and dressed poultry, for storing and mixing the feed, for batteries
of hens held only one or two days before killing, and for candling
eggs. In other words, there was something going on in this room
practically all of the time, still the birds made good gains. During
this time a few of the batteries were kept on the open dock where
there happened to be a little available space. A new feeding shed was
built, into which the batteries were moved on October 22, where the
birds were isolated and so were disturbed only at the feeding times.
There was no marked change in the gains due to this change in the
feeding rooms, which appears to indicate that while it may be better
to have the birds in a quiet, secluded room, this point is not as es-
sential as is generally supposed. Most articles on fattening recom-
mend that the feeding station be kept dark except at feeding times,
but many of the large poultry packers pay no attention to this
matter, and results appear to indicate that it has no important bear-
ing on the fattening question. It is impossible to draw definite con-
clusions about such questions from the differences in the gains, as
there are so many other factors subject to constant variation which
affect the results.

The batteries were arranged in lines with an aisle running through
the center of the building from end to end, as described under station
Xo. 3 (p. 30). Batteries put on feed at the same time were kept
together for convenience in handling. The batteries were placed
several inches apart to allow a good circulation of air. the distance
apart depending both on the temperature and on the amount of avail-
able floor space. One great advantage of the portable batteries is
that they may be spread around to suit varying conditions. As birds
often suffer from the heat during excessively hot weather, and many
deaths occur, this point affects gains quite materially. The influence
of the plan of the house on the gains is discussed more in detail
under " Feeding stations." These, birds were housed in station Xo.
3 after October 27. The batteries should also be arranged for con-

FATTENING POULTRY.

venience in feeding, so that a pail will contain feed enough to go up
and down each side aisle and bring the feeder back to his source of
supply, thus avoiding a waste of time in carrying an empty pail.
The method employed in this house was to have a wide center aisle
with branch aisles five or six batteries deep.

Table I of the Appendix shows the results of the feeding in experi-
ment A in detail ; a summary is given in Table 3, below.

TABLE 3. Summary of feeding experiment A, arranged according to length of

feeding period.

Per cent of gain.

Grain per pound of gain.

Num-
ber of
head.

Days
fed.

Average
weight.

High.

Low.

Aver-
age.

High.

Low.

Average.

Pounds.

Per ct.

Pounds.

2,068

2.51

23.5

11.5

18.5

5.32

3.01

4.04

10,360

2.40

26.1

11.2

19.4

5.10

2.55

3.52

11,878

2.55

27.1

10.9

17.2

4.40

2.17

3.37

15,731

2.39

29.6

11.4

19.2

4.55

1.92

2.68

3,907

2.18

18.6

8.2

13.1

5.35"

2.14

3.66

43, 944

2.42

29.6

O O

18.1

5.35

1.92

3.26

Cost of labor per pound
of gain.

Cost of feed per pound
of gain.

Total cost per pound
of gain.

head.

High.

Low.

Aver-
age.

High.

Low.

Aver-
age.

High.

Low.

Aver-
age.

Cents.

Centi.

Cents.

2,068

1.95

1.43

1.67

10. 37

5.81

7.84

12.32

7.24

9.51

10,360

2.09

. .99

1.51

9.95

4.97

6.88

11.77

5.96

8.39

11,878

1.86

.92

1.39

8.58

4.23

6.64

10.12

5.15

8.03

15,731

2.31

.88

1.17

8.78

3.71

5.42

11.09

4.61

6.59

3,907

2.81

.98

1.73

10. 39

4.17

7.28

13.14

5.15

9.01

43,944

2.81

.88

1.40

10.37

3.71

6.45

13.14

4.61

7.85

The average daily amount of grain consumed per head in the above
experiment was as follows: High, 0.2593 pound; low, 0.1132 pound;
average, 0.1766 pound. The total weight of the birds was 130.430
pounds.

SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENT A.

The cheapest gains and the lowest average cost of gain in this
experiment was made by the lots fed 7 and 8 days. The difference
in cost of gain between the 6-day lots and the 7-day lots is
quite marked, while the 10-day lots show a considerably increased
cost over those fed 9 days. As there was a much smaller num-
ber of birds in the G and 10 day lots there is a considerable pos-
sibility of error in drawing conclusions from a comparison between
them and the lots fed 7, 8, and 9 days. Other conditions being equal,
the lighter birds make greater gains than the heavier birds, which

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 37

would partly account for the very slight difference in gain between
the 8 and 9 day lots, as the average weight of the 8-day lots is much
greater than the weight of the 9-day lots. This would also tend to
cause the increase of the cost of gain in the 8-day lots as compared
with the 7-day lots. This table shows a marked advantage in 7-day
feeding over either a shorter or a longer period in producing cheap
gains, but the fact that the quality of the flesh and the appearance
of the bird improves with the length of the feeding period, as
previously shown, should be considered in determining the best
length of time to feed the birds.

EXPERIMENT B.

The lots in experiment B were fed from 6 to 15 days, the exsrct time
depending on the season, the kind of birds, and the methods of the
feeder. The feeding was carried on at station No. 1. The relative
gains secured in the shorter feeding periods show distinctly that
the daily gains secured in the first G or 7 days of the feeding period
are greater than those secured on the succeeding days. The gains
secured on the 7 or 8 day lots, as against the 13 or 14 day lots, show
that from the standpoint of cost of gain alone the profit is much
greater in the lots fed for the shorter periods. The market, however,
affects to a considerable extent the best length for the feeding period,
as the class into which the birds are placed when dressed depends
to some extent on the length of the feeding period. Thus in order
to turn out a lot as broilers it is only necessary to feed for 7 or 8
days, while if kept on feed for 13 or 14 days the same lot would be
put into a different class, for which there might not be as good a
demand. But allowing for all these influencing factors, the results
indicate the advantages of short feeding periods with the method and
under the conditions of this experiment. It is true, however, that the
birds become more uniform and show the effects of milk feeding more
plainly when kept on feed for the longer periods.

Stock. This stock was very similar to that described under ex-
periment A, but not of quite as good quality. The difference is
apparent in the larger percentage of dead birds, but it is still more
marked in the number of so-called '"cripples." The cripples are
birds off feed, which are taken from the lot and dressed during the
feeding period. Their weight is credited to the dressed weight of
each lot in securing both the gain in weight and the per cent gain,
and it represents the difference between the gain as shown by the
''weight-out " column and the number of pounds gain. The number
of dead 'was greater in this experiment than in experiment A. In
experiment A no cripples or sick birds were removed. The dead

38 FATTENING POULTKY.

birds were picked up each day in both cases, but in experiment B
special care was taken to remove all cripples as well as sick and dead
birds. When sick birds occur in feeding lots this part of the work is
very essential, as sickness among birds may spread rapidly where
such ac large number are kept together. As a general rule the amount
of sickness under ordinary feeding-house conditions is small. The
gains secured during the last half of September and all of October
show very markedly the effect of sickness among the birds. Dur-
ing this period and part of November it is hard to secure good
results in fattening under ordinary commercial conditions, as the
chickens are apt to have colds and may develop other troubles. But
the conditions under Avhich the birds have been reared, as well as
those at the feeding station, control this question.

In this experiment the lots were sorted, beginning about the middle
of September, into roasters, broilers, and springs. The roasters rep-
resented the heavier chickens, the broilers the light-weight birds,
with the class between termed springs. Lots which were not
sorted are classed as springs in all of the records, so that this class
includes many different weights of birds. While there is a great
variation in the percentage of gains, the average results show that
light-weight birds gain a much larger per cent than the heavier birds
in the same length of time on feed; and in most cases the broilers
have gained as large a per cent in 7 or 8 days as the roasters gained
in 13 or 14 days. When the birds at this station were sorted, the
roasters were generally fed for the longer period and the broilers
for the shorter period. One reason for feeding the broilers the
shorter period was because the feeder desired to turn out as many
broilers as possible and still have the birds in good condition.

The breeds represented in these lots are the same as those in
experiment A, and the relative proportions are quite similar. The,
records show that 16 per cent were Leghorns or birds belonging to
the Mediterranean class, but no record was kept of the proportion
of the other breeds present.

Handling. Over three-fourths of the birds were shipped to this
station in coops in live-stock cars, only a few coming in by express.
Most of the birds were shipped a longer distance than those in ex-
periment A, and many were shipped by freight although coming only
a short distance. A car used entirely for poultry and eggs was
switched to this station nearly every day, containing most of the
eggs and poultry shipped along a branch railroad line. Xo live-
poultry cars were received at either station No. 1 or No. 2 during
the period covered by these records.

The chickens were weighed on the dock, put into a transfer battery,
and carried into the feeding station, where they were placed in the

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 39

stationary batteries. At the end of the feeding period the chickens
were again put into the transfer batteries, weighed, and rolled into
the killing room. This method of handling involved considerable
labor arid more handling than the method of transferring the birds
described under experiment A. It was, however, preferred by the
feeder of this station, who claimed that it kept the station cleaner
and freer from insect pests than the other method. Xo trouble was
apparent in station No. 3 due to the causes mentioned. The question
seems to be largely one of personal preference, but the writer prefers
the portable feeding battery. Birds in the stationary batteries can
be fed more easily and quickly and with less spilling of feed than
those in the portable batteries, as the trough in the first case is con-
tinuous, while in the latter the line is broken every 2 or 3 feet. It is
also easier to scrape back feed from the longer troughs used in the
stationary batteries. The stationary battery is the older and more
common method of handling birds.

Feed. Ration No. 2 was used in feeding all the lots in this experi-
ment. This is a very good ration, and is quite similar to the one fed
to the lots in experiment A except that oat flour is used in place of
low-grade wheat flour and a small amount of tallow is added. The
grains were mixed with ordinary buttermilk rather than condensed
milk. A comparison of the results secured in these two sets of rec-
ords appears to indicate that while oat flour produced as good cr even
better gains than wheat flour, the wheat flour gave more economical
gains, and therefore was the more practical feed to use, considering
the relative cost of the grains. Tallow appears to be almost too
expensive to feed economically, considering the possible detrimental
effect which it may have on the quality of the dressed poultry. A
comparison of the results with those which follow makes one wonder
how important a part the feed has in effecting the gains, as in
many of those cases the cost of the gain is greater than in the present
experiment, although the ration and general method of feeding were
the same. Still the conditions of the feeding in experiments A and
B were apparently about equal, and the conclusions drawn in a com-
parison of the relative value of grains should not be much out of the
way if allowance is made for some differences noted elsewhere in this
bulletin.

The feed was mixed by hand with a rake in portable feeding trucks
(see PI. II. fig. 1). The proportion of milk in the feed varied con-
siderably from day to day. closely following the changes in the
weather, a larger quantity being fed when the weather was hot or
excessively dry. Ordinarily the amount of milk varied from 00 to
70 per cent, although in a few instances it went either much lower or
much higher than these figures. The average percentages fed during

40 FATTENING POULTRY.

certain periods were as follows : July 28 to September 9, 65.3 per cent ;
September 10 to October 7, 67.5 per cent ; October 8 to November 6,
64 per cent ; November 7 to December 5, 62.3 per cent.

The feed ordinarily appeared considerably thinner at this station
than was the case in experiment A. This was due largely to the fact
that low-grade wheat flour mixed with milk makes a thicker, stickier
mass than an equal weight of oat flour mixed with the same
amount of milk ; there was, moreover, a somewhat larger percentage
of milk in the ration used at this station. The birds seemed to like
the thicker feed, but this principle could easily be carried to an ex-
treme, and, as discussed previously, at least one feed daily should
be relatively thin. Melted tallow was added to the mixture of grain
and milk. Grit was given twice a week between regular feeding
times.

Feeding. These birds were fed twice daily, at 6.30 in the morning
and between 2.30 and 4' or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, depending on
the weather and on the appetite of the birds, which probably was
more or less influenced by the weather. If the birds became active
and restless early in the afternoon, indicating that they were hungry,
the feeding was begun earlier than when they showed no desire for
food until late in the day. The birds were fed only once at each
feeding time, receiving a liberal feed. The feed was taken away if
not cleaned up two hours after feeding in the morning but was left
at night, and this feed was always cleaned up by the chickens before
feeding time the next day. This method requires a more experienced
feeder than the method of feeding three times daily and refeeding
at each feed, as more judgment is required in regulating the amount
to feed, but it gives good results if done carefully. Most beginners
and inexperienced persons would get the best results by using the
method described under experiment A, and on the whole it seems to
be the preferable way. However, where the birds are fed only twice
they are quieter during the day than if fed three times. The condi-
tions in this feeding station tended to keep the birds quiet, as there
was no confusion outside of the regular work of feeding and cleaning.
No special effort was made to keep the birds in the dark. This
station, like all the others, was equipped with electric lights, which
were used whenever the room was dark at feeding time.

It was observed that the birds in the lower tiers invariably ate
better than those in the upper tiers, probably owing to the fact that
it is cooler in the lower tiers, as a large amount of heat rises from
the chickens. The fact that this difference is most marked during
hot weather appears to confirm this theory. The lower tiers are
darker and the birds more secluded, which may also aid somewhat
in fattening.

DETAILS OP FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.

TABLE 4. Summary of experiment B, arranged according to length of feeding

period.

Number
of head.

Days
fed.

Average
weight.

Per cent gain.

Grain per pound of gain.

High.

Low.

Average.

High.

Low.

Average.

892
6,720
8,464
1,657
644
7,836
7,368
12,199
14,841
1,085

15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6

Pounds.
1.90
2.18
2.54
3.22
3.98
3.24
3.18
2.81
2.69
3.08

Per cent.
38.7
57.8
31.0
13.3
10.6
26.7
36.2
31.4
40.5
16.3

Per cent.
38.7
17.8
15.6
11.5
6.7
7.7
4.0
5.2
5.3
6.8

Per cent.
38.7
36.8
23.2
12.4
8.7
13.6
14.7
17.0
16.4
11.6

Pounds.
2.58
4.00
4.20
4.74
6.49
5.84
8.19
8.45
5.05
3.31

Pounds.
2.58
1.86
2.27
3.77
3.65
2.12
1.95
1.82
1.29
3.61

Pounds.
2.58
2.80
3.16
4.2<>
5.07
3.71
3.66
3.16
2.96
2.96

61,706

2.82

57.8

4.0

18.7

8.45

1.29

3.26

17,753
18, 864

2.30
3.61

36.2
29.3

5.4
4.0

17.7
11.3

8.45
8.19

1.61

2.27

3.28
4.18

6-10

14.7

3.49

Number
of head.

Cost of labor per pound of
gain.

Cost of feed per pound of
gam.

Total cost per pound of
gain.

High.

Low.

Average.

High.

Low.

Average.

High.

Low.

Average.

892
6,720
8,464
1,657
644
7,836
7,368
12,199
14,841
1,085

Cents.
1.91
2.57
3.33
3.00
4.60
4.64
7.30
5.73
5.06
3.28

Cents.
1.91
1.38
1.47
2.58
3.13
1.41
1.28
1.32
1.14
1.63

Cents.
1.91
1.96
2.26
2.79
3.87
2.88
3.20
2.60
2.44
2.46

Cents.
5.96
9.20
9.70
10.90
15.77
14.19
19.90
19.44
12.32
8.08

Cents.
5.96
4.30
5.22
8.67
8.87
4.88
4.49
4.20
3.15
6.00

Cents.
5.96
6.47
7.28
9.79
12.32
8.92
8.77
7.54
7.07
7.04

Cents.
7.87
11.77
13.03
13.90
20.37
18.33
27.20
25.17
17.38
11.36

Cents.
7.87
5.68
6.69
11.25
12.00
6.29
5.77
5.52
4.35
7.63

Cents.
7.87
8.43
9.54
12.58
16.19
11.80
11.97
10.14
9.51
9.50

61,706

5.63

1.14

2.59

19.90

3.15

7.74

27.20

4.35

10.33

'7,753

* 18, 8(14

5. 73
7.30

1.47
1.47

J. 47
3.41

19.44
19.90

3.93
5.22

7.68
10.01

25.17
27.20

5. GO
6.69

10.15
13.42

2 72

7.87

10.59

1 Broilers.

1 Roasters.

The average daily amount of grain per head consumed in the
above experiment was as follows: High, 0.2007 pound; low, 0.0758
pound; average, 0.1449 pound. The total weight of the birds was
172,792 pounds.

SUMMABY OF EXPERIMENT B.

The cheapest gain of any individual lot in this experiment was
made by a 7-day lot, but the lowest average cost of gain was made
by the 14 and 15 day lots. The table shows clearly that the cost of
gain is in direct proportion to the average weight of the birds, which
partly accounts for the cheapest gains in lots 14 and 15. The com-
parison of the 15-day lot with the 14-day lot is hardly fair, as only a
small number of birds were fed 15 days, which was also true of the
6 and 11 day lots. The highest gain was made by a 14-day lot,
which shows that very good gains can be made in the longer feeding
periods. A study of the table as a whole would indicate that the

42 FATTENING POULTRY.

results secured in 13 or 14 day feeding periods were as profitable as
those obtained in the 7 and 8 day periods, allowing for the modify-
ing conditions already noted. A comparison of the roasters and
broilers shows that the broilers make the cheaper gains, which em-
phasizes the conclusion already drawn that the best gains are made
by light birds, as all of the broilers were fed for a relatively short
period, while about half of the roasters were fed for 13 or 14 days
and the rest from 7 to 9 days.

COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTS A AND B.

Comparing experiment A and experiment B it is seen that the
variations in the latter are much greater than in experiment A,
which shows that birds vary greatly in their ability to put on flesh,
and that this variation is most marked in the longer feeding
periods. It took the same average amount of grain to produce a
pound of gain in both experiments, but the average total cost of
producing a pound of flesh is 2.48 cents greater in experiment B than
in experiment A, while the average food cost is 1.29 cents greater.
Comparing lots fed from 6 up to 10 days in both experiments it is
found that the average gain was 3.4 per cent greater, the grain per
pound gain 0.23 pound less, the cost of labor 1.32 cents less, the cost
of feed 1.42 cents less, and the total cost 2.74 cents less in experiment
A than in experiment B. Therefore the ration in experiment A was a
cheaper feeding ration than that used in experiment B, or, in other
words, low-grade wheat flour produced cheaper gains in fattening
chickens than oat flour. However, the increased amount of milk and
the different methods of management undoubtedly affected the results
to some extent. The cost of labor is a very important item and mate-
rially affects the cost of gain. The method of feeding in experiment
A appears to be better than in experiment B, showing that feeding
three times daily is better than feeding twice daily. All of these
factors are closely related, which makes it impossible to determine the
relative importance of each.

EXPERIMENT C.

The quality and condition of the stock in this experiment were
fair, although a little lower in quality than the stock in experiments
A and B. The housing and feeding conditions were slightly un-
favorable during most of the period, as the birds were housed in a
rented feeding station, previously described as station No. 5, until
about the middle of November; after that the feeding was carried
on at station No. 4. As the company intended to move their birds
as soon as the new plant could be erected, no special effort was made
to improve conditions in the rented feeding station; consequently
much of the work was done at a disadvantage, which undoubtedly
affected the results to some extent.

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.

The lots in this experiment were fed ration No. 1, except that the
proportion of corn meal and flour was varied throughout the feed-
ing season, and that during the latter part of the period covered by
this record the amount of corn meal was gradually increased about
10 per cent. A small proportion of shorts, varying from to 12 per
cent, with an average of 10 per cent, was added to the ration through-
out the whole period. This ration was mixed with ordinary butter-
milk obtained directly from a creamery, the proportion of milk in
the ration varying from 58 to 65 per cent, with an average of 62
per cent for the period. These changes do not materially affect the
cost of the ration.

The length of the feeding period varied from 5 to 14 days. The
gains show considerable variation in the different lots, but taken as a
whole the conclusions drawn from the previous records apply to the
lots in this experiment. It should be stated, however, that the condi-
tions at this station and at the station where experiment D was
conducted were not studied as closely as those at the two stations
represented by experiments A and B. The method of feeding was
similar to that used in experiment A, except that the birds were
given a very light feed at noon and not fed a second time at that
meal. A tendency to leave fee"d in the troughs before the birds all of
the time was observed. The feed was mixed by hand until the
chickens were moved into the new building, where two feed mixers
were installed. This feeding station (Xo. 4), previously described,
represents the result of study and extensive experience by the man-
ager, and contains many excellent features.

TABLE 5. Sltoicing per cent gains made by chickens in experiment C, l>y months
and bjj It'nytli <>f feeding jterioil in cncli month.

Month.

SSSf !**""

Percent pain.

High.

Low.

Average.

July .

5,622 14
18.209 14
5 730 14

Per cent.
43
44
41

20
22
2H
19
20
22
">5
41
34
39
12
1

25
37
27
10
j -

Per cent.
20
9
12
10
12

22
20
25
31
10

1
11
15
24
13

' Per cent.
27.3
25.9
30.4
15.0
17.7
15.8
19.7
11.9
13.0
36. f.
32.0
30.0
34.0
11.0
9.7
12.5
10.5
17. S

1 2 i' 5

U. 5

12.0

0. ~

August

1 374 13

2,2>4 12
8.477 8

f>, 1.50 7
fi, W9
3, 879 o
7. 995 1 4
1.705 13
2. 7411 12
2,139 11
1 887 8

October

8,854 7
7, 20.8 f,
3. 100 5
1.010 14
5 041 13

November

1.175 12
1.205 8
0. ,V>0 7
3 (JSO f,

Do...

FATTENING POULTKY.

TABLE 6. Summary of experiment C, arranged according to length of feeding

period.

Per cent gain.

Number
of head.

Days fed.

High.

Low.

Average.

Percent.

Per cent.

39, 178

27.6

8,180

24.8

6,205

24.5

2,139

34.0

11,629

13.8

21,570

14.0

17,277

11.4

7,039

11.8

113,217

20.2

The average quantity of grain consumed daily per head in experi-
ment C was as follows: High, 0.2396 pound; low, 0.0816 pound;
average, 0.1480 pound.

EXPERIMENT D.

The stock in experiment D was of poorer quality than that at any
of the other stations, and the loss from sickness and deaths during
the feeding period was so large as to affect the gains adversely in
most of the lots. Feeding station No. 2 was used, the equipment of
which has already been described. The methods of handling and
feeding and the ration used were similar to those described under
experiments A and C, except that 6 per cent of shorts replaced that
much corn meal until about the middle of October, when the shorts
were gradually dropped from the ration. Another difference was
that condensed buttermilk, diluted with water, was used in mixing
the feed. The supply of milk was short during a considerable part
of the feeding season and water was used freely, one feed often being
mixed entirely with water. This probably partially accounts for the
poorer results obtained as compared with experiment A, where, in
general, the feed and methods were similar. Another factor which
helps to account for the difference in results was the condition of the
feeding station where the experiment was conducted. As mentioned
previously in describing the house in detail, this station was very
drafty in cool or cold weather, and the birds were, in consequence,
subject to colds. It is impossible to tell just how much influence the
condition of the house had in producing sickness, but much of it was
undoubtedly caused by drafts on the birds. The station was devoted
entirely to feeding, the birds being disturbed only at feeding times
and when the batteries were cleaned.

A large number of chickens in these lots had their wings broken
before they reached the person who graded the dressed poultry. If

DETAILS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.

the wings were broken before the bird was bled, the blood would clot
at the broken spot and thus injure the quality of the flesh and cause
the bird to be put in a lower grade. A brief survey of the existing
conditions confirmed the statement previously noted that the quality
of the stock when received was poorer than that received at the other
stations. These broken wings were only in rare cases noted at the
other stations. The care used in handling appeared to be as good
as that in either experiment A or experiment C. This condition was
not extensive enough, however, to allow a selection of lots for experi-
mental work on this point. The addition of ground bone or some
kind of meat food might prevent the bones from becoming so brittle,
but the principal remedy seems to lie in a change of management.
The addition of bone to the ration in a few batteries did not appear
to affect the gains either way.

TABLE 7. Per cent gains of chickens in experiment D, by months and ny length
of feeding period in each month.

Month.

Number of
head.

Days fed.

Per cent gain.

Hi K h.

Low.

Average.

August

1,261
3,091
788
314
309
1,642
1,495
7,087
1,952
10,717
3.480
3,860
386
3,170
24,526
2,285
236
22,720

16
15
14

8
7
6
16
15
9
8
7
15
14
9
8
15
14
8

Per cent.
38
39
32
23
22
18
32
39
16
23
18
56
31
18
16
34
.24
35

Per cent.
28
27
32
12
9
6
28
23
13
2
9
22
22
11
4
10
24
5

Per cent.
32. 3
34.7
32.0
17.5
13.3
11.9
29.7
30.4
14.5
12.0
13.3
33.2
2G.5
14.3
10.5
21.7
24.0
10.0

Do....

September

Do . .

Do....

October

Do....

November. . .

TABLE 8. Summary of experiment D, arranged according to length of feeding

period.

Per cent gain.

Number
of head.

Days
fed.

High.

Low.

Average.

Per cent.

Per rent.

Per cent.

2,756

31.0

16.323

30.0

1,410

27.5

5,122

14.4

58,277

12.7

3,789

13.3

1,642

11.9

89,319

20.1

46 FATTENING POULTRY.

The average daily grain consumption per head in this experiment
was as follows: High, 0.2677 pound; low, 0.0966 pound; average.
0.1754 pound.

COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTS C AND D.

The summaries of experiments C and D confirm in general the con-
clusions drawn from experiments A and B in respect to the gains, but
they also tend to show that the 14 and 15 day feeding periods are
profitable. A comparison of the gains made in these experiments
with the gains in experiment A of lots fed the same length of time
shows that the gains secured in experiment A were much better,
although the ration was quite similar, but the relative conditions at
the stations where the experiments were conducted would largely
account for this difference. This would show that the conditions at
the feeding station had as much influence as the feed in producing
economical gains. The records of experiments C and D also show
the wide variation in results secured in feeding. The average daily
grain consumption for the season in experiment D is considerably
greater than in experiment C, while the average gain in these experi-
ments is nearly equal. This difference may be partly explained by
the unfavorable housing conditions and the largec per cent of deaths
in experiment D. As previously stated, the station in which the
birds in experiment D were fed was cold and subject to drafts in the
late fall.

AVEBAGE DAILY CONSUMPTION OF GBAIN PEE, HEAD.

Table 9 shows the average daily consumption of grain (not
including milk) per bird in experiments C and D. The average
grain daily in experiments A and B is found in Tables I and II of
the Appendix, but in these cases the average was for the period
during which the lot was on feed, and therefore does not give the
daily fluctuations shown in Table 9. The milk is added in getting the
cost of feed per pound of gain. This table shows how much varia-
tion there is in the amount of feed which the birds will eat from day
to day. This variation is affected by the weather, by the condition
of the birds, and by the method of management, as well as by the
kind of food. This average daily consumption is reported to head-
quarters each day and serves as a close check on the success which is
being obtained by the feeder, as the average gains obtained at the
station vary in accordance with the amount of feed consumed.

CONSUMPTION OF GRAIN.

TABLE 9. Average daily consumption of grain per head.
EXPERIMENT O.

Amount

Date.

con-

Date.

con-

Date.

con-

Date.

con-

sumed.

Pounds.

August 16

0.1178

September 11 .

0.1108

October 6

0.1418 October 31

0. 1774

August 17

.1130

September 12.

.1102

October 7

. 1439 i November 1 . .

.1836

August 18

.1380

September 13.

.1077

Octobers

.1458 November 2..

.1949

August 19

.1311

September 14.

. 1246

October 9

.1426

November 3. .

.2016

August 20

.1326

September 15.

.1541

October 10

. 1>47 November 4 . . . 1910

August 21

.1122

September 16. .1075

October 11

.1574 Novembers.. .1883

August 22

.0988

September 17. . 1200

October 12....

.1532

November 6.. .1847

August 23

.0886

September 18.' .1080

October 13

.1539

November?.. .2158

August 24

.1138

September 19. .118.8

October 14

.1479 Novembers.. .1898

August 25

.0816

September 20. .1440

October 15

.1475 November 9.. .2120

August 26

.1129

September 21. . 115t'>

October 16

.1612 November 10. .1780

August 27

. 1249

September 22. .1067

October 17....

.1669 November 11. .1898

August 28

.1250

September 23. .0922

October 18

.1650 November 12. .1914

August 29

.1031

September 24. ; .0913 October 19

.1677

November 13. : .1718

August 30

.1131

September 25.

.0841 October 20. ...

.1646

November 14. .2159

August 31

.1102

September 26.

. 1033 October 21 ....

.1801

November 15.

.2082

September 1 . .

.1109

September 27.

. 1266

! October 22....

.1687

November 16. .1734

September 2..

.0890

September 28.

.1381

October 23

.1864

November 17. .1738

September 3 . .

. 1367

September 29.

. 1329

October 24

.1912

November 18.

.23%

September 4 . .

.0878

September 30.

.1255

October 25

.1848

November 19.

.1870

September 5..

.1064

October 1

.1247

October 26

.1912

November 20.

.2142

September 6..

.1025

October 2

.1297

October 27....

.1746

November 21 .

.1689

September 7 . .

. 1326

Octol>er3

. 1597

October 28. ...

.2035

November 22.

.1773

Septembers.. .1074

October 4

. 1576

October 29

.1984

November 23.

.1930

September 9.. .1387

Octobers

' .1409

October 30

.1737

November 24.

.1661

September 10. .1125

EXPERIMENT I).

Pounds.

August 16

0. 1517

September 11.

0.1220 October 6

0.2087

October 31

0. 2287

August 17

.1440

September 12.

.1755 October 7

. 1S39

November 1 . .

.2145

August 18

.1758

September 13.

.1810 Octobers

.1918

November 2 . .

.1921

August 19

.1729

September 14.

.15-13 October 9

.1704

November 3. .

.1906

August 20

.2059

September 15.

.1726 October 10

.2003

November 4. .

.2233

August 21

.1517

September 16.

. 1S22 October 11

. 1561

November 5. .

.1818

August 22

.1249

September 17.

.1804 October 12....

.1703

November 6. .

.1741

August 23

.0982

September 18.

.1424 October 13....

. 1612

November 7. .

.2442

August 24

.0966

September 19.

.1623 October 14....

.1499

November 8. .

.1830

August 25

. 1306

September 20.

.1936 October 15....

. 1674

November 9 . .

.1789

August 26

.1318

September 21 .

. 1328 October 16

.1525

November 10.

.2483

August 27

. 1373

September 22.

.1201) October 17....

.1814

November 11 .

.1930

August 28

.1145

September 23.

. 1624 October 18. ...

.1692

November 12.

.2012

August 29

.1368

September 24.

.1750 October 19....

.1553

November 13.

.2365

August 30

. 1215

September 25.

.1103 ; October 20....

.1919

November 14.

.2677

August 31

.1604

September 26.

.1983 October 21....

.2079

November 15.

.2053

September 1 . .

.1183

September 27.

.1875 i' October 22. ...

.2600 j

November 16.

.2451

September 2. .

.1383

September 28.

.1372 October 23....

.1724

November 17.

.2519

Septembers..

.1207 ,

September 29.

.1913 October 24....

.1587

November 18.

.2270

September 4..

.1185

September 30.

.1791 October 25

.2362 1

November 19.

.1S56

Septembers..

.1862

October 1

.1499 ii October 26

.1768

November 20.

.1962

September 6

. 1523

October 2

. 1243 October '>7

. 1522

November 21 .

.2414

September 7

.1229

October 3

. 1624 October 28

.2021

November 22.

.2288

September 8

. 1577

October 4

. 1699 October 29

. 1608

No vem her 23 .

.2133

September 9. .

. 1532

Octobers

.1893 October 30

.1917

November 24.

.1965

September 10.

.1596

DAILY DEATH RECORDS.

Table 10 gives the highest and average daily death records in per-
centages in each of the four experiments for the periods indicated.
The remarks previously made concerning the stock under each experi-
ment will help to explain the differences in this table. The total
deaths as shown in the averages are small, but on very hot days the
death record was high. Octol>er. as previously noted, is a bad month

FATTENING POULTRY.

to feed on account of sickness and deaths among the birds. In experi-
ment B the cripples were removed after the middle of September,
which accounts for the low rate as compared to the other tables, where
there were no cripples removed. These records confirm the statements
made as to the health of the stock and the effect of the housing condi-
tions at the various stations, allowing for the removal of the cripples
in experiment B. A comparison of the death record with the percent-
age of gains in the respective feeding experiments shows that the death
rate must be very low in order to get economical gains and that the
gains vary inversely with the death rate.

TABLE 10. Daily death records.

Date.

Experiment A.

Experiment B.

Experiment C.

Experiment D.

Highest.

Average.

Highest.

Average.

Highest.

Average.

Highest.

Average.

July 27-Aug. 15 . .
Aug. 16-31 ..

Per cent.
1.667
.161
.177
.149
.463

Per cent.
0.182
.027
.038
.023
.094

Per cent.
0.123
1.031
.120
.163
.207

Per cent.
0.066
.166
.059
.061
.042

Per cent.

0.262
.201
.277
.373

0.108
.039
.087 i
.130 j

0.222
.303
.678
.449

0.132
.125
.210
.194

September

October

Nov. 1-24 . .

FATTENING HENS.

The accompanying table, Xo. 11, gives the results obtained in
fattening a number of hens on trough feeding. Lots 1 to 6 were
fed at station Xo. 3, and lots 7 to 14 at station Xo. 1. The main
object of feeding was to increase the weight so as to get the hens into
a higher grade, as very lightweight hens do not sell at a good price.
In all these lots lightweight hens were selected and put on feed,
while the heavier hens were killed without feeding any length of time.
The hens to be killed without special feeding were given a full feed
of corn chop and water and were held for several hours without
feeding at one station before killing, but were killed with feed in
their crops at another station, the food being removed after they
were killed. If held without feeding and killed within a day after
they reach the packing house, hens generally shrink from 1 to 3 per
cent in weight. This shrinkage should be considered in calculating
the profit or loss in feeding, as the hens which are fed for several
days are weighed just before they are killed, while the hens which
are not fed are credited with their weight as they reach the packing
house.

Lots 1 to 6 were fed in various ways. The lots fed earliest in the
season received cooked corn chop mixed with condensed buttermilk
and water. After three or four days on this feed very bad cases of
diarrhea developed, and the following lots were fed on a ration con-
taining three-fourths corn chop and one-fourth low-grade wheat

FATTENING HENB.

flour mixed with condensed buttermilk and water, which was scalded
before being mixed with the grain. This ration kept the birds in
better condition than the former feed, but did not entirely stop the
diarrhea in the hens. Both the addition of low-grade flour and the
scalding of the milk probably helped to stop the diarrhea. Ground
bone was sprinkled lightly in the feed for a few of the batteries, and
these batteries came through with little or no diarrhea when fed the
ration containing the flour and scalded milk; but, as the table shows,
the gains secured in all the lots were small and very variable, and
the averages do not show any better gains from the second ration.
Feeding the hens was then discontinued, partly because the gains
cost too much and partly because there were not enough real light-
weight hens to pay to feed. In selecting light hens a large number
were apt to be Leghorns, which make poor gains.

Lots 7 to 14 received the same feed as the chickens in experiment B.
The gains are very irregular, but a comparison with experiment B
shows that it does not pay to cook the feed or make a separate mixture
for the hens, as it is much easier to give the hens the same kind of
feed which the chickens receive. The gains are greatly in favor of
the uncooked regular feed, although most of the lots were fed longer
in experiment B. A few hens off feed but not really sick may have
been removed from the lots which were fed during October, so that the
difference between the " Number in" and the "Number out'' in these
lots may not represent the dead in every case. The results at this
station indicate that it pays to feed light hens, considering the
increased value of the heavier birds, but apparently it is not always
possible to get consistent gains. Hens do not eat their feed as
quickly as springers and are harder to get on feed. If kept on feed
for a long feeding period they must be watched carefully to prevent
feather eating and other injurious habits. Better gains in hens are
generally secured by cramming, but the labor is apt to make the
total cost too high, and while some hens make very good gains when
crammed, others fail to do anything.

TABLE 11. Result* nf fattening 7/en.s.
STATION NO. :\.

Lot.

Number
of birds.

Average
weight
in.

Dead.

Average
weight
out.

Dates fed.

Days
fed.

Gain.

Pounds.

Per cent.

1
2
3
4
5
6

256
2.56
256
320
320
256

Pounds.
3.05
2.93
3.01
2.88
2.91
2.98

1
3
3
2
4

Pounds.
3.25
3.13
3.28
3. OS
3.03
3.10

Oct.25-Nov.4...
Oct.30-Nov.8....
Oct. 13-19

11
10

5
5

41
59
58
24
32

6.00
5.50
7.70
6.30
2.60
4 20

Oet.R-14

Nov. 2-6
Oct. 17-21

FATTENING POULTRY.

TABLE 11. Results of fattening hens Continued.
STATION NO. 1.

Lot.

Number
of birds.

Average
weight
in.

Num-
ber
out.i

Average
weight
out.

Dates fed.

Days
fed.

Gain.

Pounds.

Per cent.

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

340

340
340
340
340
340
680
340

Pounds.
3.22
3.46
2.84
3.59
2.72
3.37
3.13
2.94

316
336
309
314
318
309 '
627
301

Pounds.
3.47
4.06
3.48
3.68
3.45
3.74
3.37
3.85

Sept.29-Oct.9...
Aug.30-Sept.9...
Oct. 2-12

11
11
11
10
10
8
7
7

32
190
207
57
241
9
231
288

2.00
16.20
21.00
4.00
26.00
.80
10.00
28.00

Oct.23-Nov.l....
Oct.30-Nov.8....
Aug. 21-28 .

Oct. 13-19 :..

Oct. 17-23

1 Some hens were removed from these lots while on feed, so that the difference between
the number in and the number out docs not always represent dead birds.

SHRINKAGE IN DRESSING.

The birds were dressed and put into cold storage. The loss of
weight or shrinkage in dressing (without drawing) for the different
classes of birds varied as follows : Hens, 13.4 to 14.9 per cent, average
14.4 per cent; roasters, 13.7 to 16 per cent, average 14.7 per cent;
springs, 9 to 14.5 per cent, average 12.1 per cent ; and broilers, 14 to
14.7 per cent, average 14.3 per cent. The chickens at the different
stations were fed a mixture of fine sand and very thin feed, or were
first given a light feed and then sand and water for the last feed
of the day before they were killed. Several of the pickers claimed
that the chickens picked easier if the birds were watered freely before
killing, and this practice was prevalent, although there was some
difference of opinion as to the effect of the water.

CLEANING AND SPRAYING THE BATTERIES.

Where chickens are kept in large numbers cleanliness is a very im-
portant factor. Great care was exercised at all of the feeding sta-
tions to keep the batteries clean. In some stations the batteries were
cleaned every day, in others, every other day, the latter plan pre-
vailing at the majority of the stations. The droppings were scraped
from the trays with a tin scraper. A scraper a trifle over half the
width of the tray savas time in cleaning, if holding it does not tire
the operator too much. Some prefer a narrower scraper. Many
feeders dust air-slaked lime on each tray after cleaning. Another
good method, which takes less time, is to spray the tray lightly with
a hand sprayer after it is put back into the battery, using a coal-tar
disinfectant. The batteries are generally sprayed with whitewash
after each lot has been removed, although sometimes this was neg-
lected and the batteries were only sprayed about once a month.
The frequency of cleaning depends somewhat on the length of the
feeding period, but batteries should be sprayed at least twice a
month. Lime keeps the insect pests away.

PRODUCTION AND DISPOSAL OF MANURE. 51

POULTRY MANURE.

A large amount of poultry manure is produced daily at the feed-
ing stations, and this has considerable fertilizing value, but most of
the managers find it a source of extra expense instead of revenue.
At one station the droppings were washed through a sewer into a
river, which involved considerable labor; at other places the manure
was loaded into an empty wagon kept for that purpose, which was
hauled away each day. In some localities in the Middle West the
packers can get farmers to remove the manure without paying for
the labor of hauling, but as the feeding stations are usually located
in the towns or cities the manure must be removed regularly and
promptly, or it becomes a public nuisance. In such cases the manure
should be taken away daily, and farmers are apt to be irregular about
doing the work. Various methods of drying the droppings and
putting them on the market for fertilizer have been suggested and
tried on a small scale, but apparently without success. The farmers
in this section will learn the value and necessity of using manure on
their land in time, and will then be glad to avail themselves of a
daily supply of poultry droppings for nothing.

Some of the packers hope to operate farms in connection with their
feeding stations, thus utilizing the manure to good advantage.
Rightly handled, a farm should be a profitable undertaking in con-
nection with a feeding station, not only utilizing the various by-
products, but also as a breeding establishment for poultry, where the
packer could raise purebred stock of the best market types to dis-
tribute in the territory from which he draws his products. This
distribution could be done either at a nominal price or in exchange
for the same weight of undesirable types of male birds of mixed
breeding. The packer could also select the best pullets from the
stock shipped in to be marketed and keep them for spring egg pro-
duction, killing these pullets at the end of their laying period, when
they would be worth about as much for dressed poultry as they had
cost in the fall or winter.

Records of the amount of droppings from the fattening stock kept
at various times during the feeding season showed that the number
of pounds produced per 100 birds varied from day to day. One hun-
dred "springs" averaged 11 pounds of manure daily, which would
mean over half a ton of manure a day for each 10.000 chickens on
feed. The consistency of the droppings is a fair indication of the
condition of the bowels of the chickens. The droppings should be
soft but not watery. Confinement and sour milk make softer drop-
pings than are obtained from poultry kept on the range and fed on
whole or ground grains. The feeder should observe the droppings
occasionally and feed accordingly.

FATTENING POULTRY.

In case the birds have excessive diarrhea, it is a good plan to scald
the milk for one or two feedings, which will generally bring the
birds back to normal condition.

KEEPING RECORDS.

Careful records were kept of all the operations in the packing
houses, for which purpose various systems of checking and rechecking
the different lots of chickens were used. The person in charge of each
room or branch of the work made reports to the office covering the
work done in his room for each day. The packers, of course, aim to
systematize labor, save any wastes for by-products, and reduce cost
in every line, at the same time improving the quality of the product.
A good type of feeding-station report is sho\vn below. Careful rec-
ords were kept of the cost of producing gains and of killing and
dressing birds, while some of the packers had elaborate records which
showed all the expenses incurred by a lot of chickens until they went
into storage. By a careful study of these records the manager of the
packing house could tell what his product was costing, and could
figure out how the cost was divided. There are many different ideas
as to the best way to keep such records, but the object should be to
show the cost of each part of the work accurately, yet as simply as
possible.

FEEDING-STATION REPORT.

Date , 191

Total number of chickens on feed to-day_

FEEB.

Fed to-day.

Weight.

Weight
fed per
100 head.

Corn meal

pounds..

Oatmeal

do....

Milk

gallons. .

Tallow

pounds..

Meat

do....

Grit

Total

COST OF FEED PER 100 HEAD.

Cost of feed per 100 head

Cost of labor per 100 head

Total average cost per 100 head.
Total cost labor to-day

CONCLUSIONS.
CIIICKKNS PUT ON FKKD.

Head.

Weight.

A verage
weight.

Put on feed to-day

Number.

I'oundx.

I'ound*.

Put on feed to-day

CIIICKKXS KILLKIX

Days fed.

Head.

Weight.

Per cent
Gam - gain.

Died.

Killed to-day

A'umber.

Pounds.

Pound.*. Per cent.

yumber.

Killed to-day

Sick to-day head.

Dead to-day head.

Weight pounds.

(Signed i

Average weight pounds.

, Munuyer.

CONCLUSIONS.

1. The Plymouth Rock and other varieties of general-purpose
fowls make more economical gains in fattening than the Mediter-
ranean class, such as Leghorns.

2. Chickens of the same breed vary greatly in their ability to put
on flesh. This variation may lead to gross error in drawing con-
clusions from experiments in feeding poultry which deal with only a
small number of birds.

3. Muslin or duck cloth can be used to good advantage to replace
the windows or part of the walls of feeding stations.

4. If a feeding station is properly constructed, good ventilation can
be secured without having a large open space in the top of the build-
ing, such as a monitor top. Such buildings can be constructed more
cheaply than those with a large amount of air space per bird, by
using muslin curtains for the walls.

5. The use of portable feeding batteries is more easily adapted to
varying conditions, involves less labor, and turns the birds out in
better condition than the stationary batteries.

6. Low-grade wheat flour is a more economical feed than oat flour
in fattening rations for chickens at the present prices of grain.

7. The average person will get better results in fattening by feed-
ing three times rather than twice daily.

54 FATTENING POULTRY.

8. The amount of grain required to produce a pound of flesh in fat-
tening chickens varied in experiment A from 1.92 to 5.35 pounds,
with an average of 3.26 pounds; while in experiment B the amount
varied from 1.29 to 8.45 pounds, with an average of 3.26 pounds.

The total cost of feed per pound of gain varied from 3.71 to 10.37
cents, and averaged 6.45 cents in experiment A, while in experiment
B the cost varied from 3.15 to 19.90 cents, and averaged 7.74 cents.

The cost of labor for a pound of gain in flesh varied from 0.88 to
2.81 cents and averaged 1.40 cents in experiment A, while in experi-
ment B the cost varied from 1.14 to 5.63 cents, and averaged 2.59
cents.

The cost of both feed and labor to produce a pound of gain in fat-
tening varied from 4.61 to 13.14 cents, and averaged 7.85 cents in ex-
periment A; and it varied from 4.35 to 27.20 cents, and averaged
10.33 cents in experiment B.

The average total cost of feed and labor per pound of gain for
all the birds in experiments A and B was 9.09 cents ; the average cost
of feed alone, 7.10 cents.

9. The cheaper gains were made in the shorter feeding periods
(7 or 8 days) and by the light chickens.

10. Hens make poorer gains than chickens in crate fattening.
Fattening hens by this method is profitable only under certain
conditions.

APPENDIX.

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