Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 283, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1915 — FOOD VALUE FOR CHICK. [ARTICLE]

FOOD VALUE FOR CHICK.

What Causes Rapid Growth May Not Cause Development. Chicks grow rapidly when fed on moist mashes, but % the digestive Bittern does not develop proportionately and with too much soft food they often break down. The tendency of poultry keepers generally is to take one or other extreme in cases like thi*, and because of that many who find certain unfavorable results with the use of moist mash do away with it entirely, either substituting dry mash or using no ground grain, says FarmPoultry. When this is done, special attention should be given to providing succulent food. The best feeding practice is to alternate mash and grain, and it is a good pldn even when a moist mash is used to have a little dry mash where chicks can get it when they want it. They will eat more when the food provided them is in a variety of forms and the more you can get them to eat of suitable rations, the better they will grow. 'Up to the limit of its capacity the digestive power Increases with use and suitable food. One of the best ways to feed eggs is to mix up, shell and all, with as much cornmeal, or cornmeal and shorts, as can be mixed with the egg with a stiff spoon. Don’t feed this heavily, but give what they will clean up quick once a day. Stale bread, soaked in warm water, just enough to saturate it, and then stirred thick with cornmeal and a little fine beef scrap is another mash much* relished by chicks. Such things can be prepared in a moment. No one need worry about such irregular dishes disturbing the "balance” of the ration. They give the variety that is acceptable to all creatures. It is a hard matter to seriously “unbalance” a ration by the use of any occasional meal, even of an 'article far from the general ratio, and the articles mention and others that people may prepare from waste foods they happen to have are not very far from the common ratio.