Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 May 1918 — BEST FOODS FOR YOUNG CHICKENS [ARTICLE]

BEST FOODS FOR YOUNG CHICKENS

Begin Feeding Any Time After Youngsters Are 36 to 48 Hours Old. BAKED JOHNNYCAKE IS GOOD Put the “Grow” in Young Fowls by Giving Bread Crumbs and Rolled Oats Mixture Five Times Daily—Also Give Milk. Give the young chicks a good start in life by feeding carefully prepared, nourishing food. Feeding should begin any- time after they are thirty-six to forty-eight hours old, whether they are with the hen or in a brooder, and sos the first month or two they may be given food as often as five times a day. Baked johnnycake composed of the following ingredients in the proportions named is a very: good feed for young chicks: One dozen infertile eggs or one pound of sifted beef scrap to ten pounds of corn meals add enough milk to make a pasty mash, and one tablespoonful of baking soda. " Dry” bread crumbs may be mixed with hard-boiled eggs, making about one'fourth of the mixture eggs, or rolled oats may be usSQ in place of the bread crumbs. Feed Five Times Daily. Feed the bread crumbs, rolled oats, or johnnycake mixtures five times daily for the first week, then gradually . substitute for one or two feeds'of the mixture finely cracked grains of one part by weight of cracked wheat, six parts finely cracked corn, two partp pinhead oatmeal or hulled oats, and one part kafir corn, to which abbut 5 per cent of cracked peas or broken rice and 2 per cent of charcoal, millet or rape seed may be added. A commercial chick feed may be substituted if desired. The above ration can be fed until the chicks aj;e two weeks old, whej< they should be placed on grain , and a .dry or 'wet mash mixture. After the chicks are ten days' old a good growing mash, composed of two parts by weight of bran, two parts middlings, two parts cornmeal, one part rolled oats, and 10 per cent sifted beef scrap may be placed in a hopper and left before them at all times. The mash may be fed either wet or dry; If wet, only enough moisture (either milk or water) should be added to make the feed crumbly, but in no sense sloppy. When this growing mash or mixture is not used a hopper containing bran should be accessible to the chickens at all times. When otie has only a few chickens K is less trouble to purchase the prepared chick feeds, but where a considerable number are reared it is sometimes cheaper to buy the finely cracked grains and mix them together. Many chick feeds contain a large quantity of grit and may contain grains of poor quality, so that they should be carefully examined and the quality guaranteed before they are purchased. Eliminate Chick Feed. As soon as the chickens will eat the whole wheat, cracked corn and other grains—usually in about eight weeks —the small-sized chick feed can be eliminated. In addition*to the above feeds the chickens* growth can be .tautened they are given sour milk.

skim milk, or buttermilk to drink. Growing chickens kept on a good range may be given all their feed tn a hopper, mixing six parts by weight of cracked corn with one part of wheat and one part kafir corn in one hopper and the dry mash for chickens in another. In addition feed two parts of the scratch mixture in the form of sprouted oats until the chickens are three or four months old, when dry whole oats can be used. The beef scrap may be left out of the dry mash and fed in a separate hopper, so that the chickens can eat all of this feed they desire. If the beef scrap is to be fed separately it is advisable to wait until the chicks are ten days old, although many poultrymen put the beef scrap before the young chickens at the start without bad results. Chickens confined to small yards should always be supplied with green feed, such as lettuce, sprouted oats, alfalfa, or clover, but the best place to raise chickens successfully is on- a good range where no extra gheen feed is required. Fine charcoal, grit and oyster shell should be kept before the chickens at all times, and cracked or ground bone may be fed where the chickens are kept in small bare yards, but the latter feed is not necessary for chickens that have a good range.