' FEEDING POULTRY. •

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8248, 22 February 1905, Page 4

' FEEDING POULTRY. •

I *• ■ ■ An important detail in connection ' with the rearing of table poultry is a [ system of fattening the birds just prior to the time of killing. This requires 1 some little care and attention if the ! best results are desired. England is noted for the quality of her poultry; and certainly when one looks round some of the markets in the Old Country there are many proiitable lessons to be I learnt by Australians which would enable them to purchase better quality birds than they now do. The English , "Journal of Agriculture" last year , gave some good hints upon the fattening process, which will be useful to poultry raisers. The publication states : " When chicks reach the age of fourteen weeks they are, or should be strong enough to put .up for fattening; but backward ones should be 1 allowed another week or two. Prepare fattening pens, which can be made up out of ordinary packing cases. Take off the top, and knock out one side. This will represent the bottom of the 1 coop. On this nail $-in slats, such as laths, or narrow timber cut expressly for the purpose. Nail these across ; so a? to leave between each lath. The. front of the pen can be used as an ordinary pen with laths nailed up and down, with a hinged door or a slide, so that the bird can be put in and out at will. Nail four legs, not less than 2ft high, to this coop, and it will be ready. Not more than six birds should be put in one coop, and there should be just room enough for them to feed comfortably. y " The birds should be put in the coops at night, being first given a good meal and some drinking water. They should not be fed again for thirty-six hours, as it is well to allow their crops to become quite empty before they are fed in their new quarters; Unless so starved, the birds, especially if taken from a large flock, are apt to pine and seriously lose condition. For the first day or two they may be given just . a little green food, but this must be soon discontinued. Unless the coop can be placed in a warm shed, a sack should be hung in front of it at night to^prevent the birds being cold. The sack should also be covered down between

meals, as exclusion of light induces sleep, and the birds consequently lay on flesh more quickly. The spaco beneath the coop should be thickly covered with ashes, and all droppings, etc., raked out and taken away twice a day, as the utmost cleanliness must be observed, or birds will lose rather than gain in condition and weight. Two pieces of wood should be nailed at the bottom of the coop, projecting out in front, and on -those the feeding trough can be rested at meal times; but <the trough should be removed always directly the birds have finished eating. Any food left should be taken out, and the trough washed out with cold water. Twice a week they should be scoured out with hot water and a stiff brush. The foods given while the birds are undergoing this process of fattening should be in a liquid state, like thick soup, and some sharp grit should be added. Should the birds appear to dislike their food, give them a change, for on no account must they be allowed to go off their feed. As a rule, however, anyone of the several good mixtures recommended may be fed every day throughout the period. No hard grain should be given, and no drinking water is thought necessary. "The following ingredients are recommended for fattening poultry, and they are required to be boiled in skim milk, like porridge, and while ,the broth is hot mix in a little fresh, rough ■ fat, that has been previously dried down;"No. I—Three1 — Three parts of oatmeal or Sussex ground oats, one part maize meal, and one part fine wheat meal (not flour). " No. 2 — Two parts ground oats, two parts barley meal, and one part mashed potatoes. ; "No. 3 — Two- parts buckwheat meal, two parts maize meal, and one part barley meal. '.' No 4.— Two parts oatmeal, one part maize meal, one part buckwheat meal, and one part mashed potatoes. "No, s.— One part sifted *. barley meal, three parts oatmeal, two parts maize meal. . " The quantity required will be from

4oz to s£oz of food per bird each day, and must be divided into three equal portions, morning, noon and night. Birds should not be penned longer than three weeks, but the exact number of , days varies a great deal, as no two j birds put on weight »t the same rate, j Usually from fourteen to seventeen | days will be found sufficient. Some ex- | perience is necessary to determine the ( proper time to kill a bird, and this can only be learned by practice. No birds should be penned up for fattening unless they are in good condition."