Answer to Question 1
The addition of Nutrical paste (a high-calorie dietary paste) to the water provides a debilitated chicken with a concentrated source of calories. When added to the water bowl, a slight swirling of the water makes the paste appear to be a wiggling worm that will tempt most chickens to grab and swallow it; another benefit is that it will not dissolve in water. Commercial avian pellets, soaked and turned into a gruel, also provide balanced nutrition for a recovering bird. Hospitalized chickens that are reluctant to eat can be fed using a large avian feeding tube and syringe to place food and medication directly into the crop.
Answer to Question 2
Chickens are omnivores and eat a variety of insects, snails, snakes, mice, and greens, including weeds. Table scraps that include vegetable peelings, salad ingredients, crushed shells of used eggs, fish and meat scraps, and the shells of peeled shrimp.
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Early in the twentieth century, when malnutrition was common, companies such as this one advertised
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Linear programming problems using the simplex method.