. The chick book. Poultry. THE CHICK BOOK 59 incubators to hatch early chicks, brooders to accommodate them, and experience that enables him to carry them health- ily through the early spring when conditions are unnatural, then indeed he will feed his fall exhibits as he will his later show birds, because there is little or no necessity for forcing them; but if his chicks are late hatched, he must adopt heroic measures to "bring them along" if he would gain a place among the successful exhibitors. These late hatched, forced youngsters seldom attain the size of those which are fed for
. The chick book. Poultry. THE CHICK BOOK 59 incubators to hatch early chicks, brooders to accommodate them, and experience that enables him to carry them health- ily through the early spring when conditions are unnatural, then indeed he will feed his fall exhibits as he will his later show birds, because there is little or no necessity for forcing them; but if his chicks are late hatched, he must adopt heroic measures to "bring them along" if he would gain a place among the successful exhibitors. These late hatched, forced youngsters seldom attain the size of those which are fed for growth and vigor and allowed to develop size before putting on the gloss and finish for the show room. What method of feeding is practiced to hurry these young candidates along? A ration composed of animal matter supplemented by fat forming foods; and during the closing stage the addition of foods known to contain considerable oil. The first is in- tended to hasten maturity; the second to put on weight, and the third to put on the finishing touches—the gloss to the feathers. Bulky vegetable food is added to keep the diges- tive organs in good working order, and frequently condi- ments are given to coax the fowl to eat more and more of the concentrated food. Frequent change of food is neces- sary so that the fowl shall not go "off its ; Few foods are too expensive to be procured at this season, for winning in the fall means sales for the winter shows. In the days when the wrUer was exhibiting—where the winters stole well into the spring and the big fall show seemed to advance to meet the summer—the principal event being held in August—many were the rations tried, and feeding sometimes extended well into the evening hours. "Little and often" was found to be a good motto, and only at the last meal (about 9 p. m) were the fowls coaxed to eat more than they wanted, then they got the tempting tit-bits which had been saved for the last moment—scraps
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Keywords: ., bookauthorre, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectpoultry
