Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-01-02
How to Feed Poultry.


Bulletin No. 1872, just issued from
me California experiment station, of
Iers some very practical suggestions
on poultry feeding as follows:
Inc proper feeding of laying hens
and other poultry should be conducted
on Inc same lines as that of other
farm animals. There are similar losses
ana wastes as are found in mammals,
ana there is the same necessity for
replacing and replenishing the tissues,
hulds. etc, of the body. We must of
necessity know the composition of
the body of the fowl, and of the egg,
out after that We do not have to make
new laws nor found new principles,
out have merely to adapt the knowl-
edge we have gained from the invest
lgations made for other animals to the
men, modifying rules and rations to
suit the case in question. The scien-
uhc research called for, and urgently,
TOO, is that of ascertaining the digesti-
0llity of the different foods fed to
the hen. For the COW, sheep, horse
and swine we have the digestive CO.
efficient for almost every food con-
sumed, while for the hen we have very
few reliable data with which to work:
and in view of the great value of the
poultry industry it should receive
more scientific attention than is at
present allotted to it.
When feeding growing chickens
the main object is to supply sufficient
nourlshment to insure hardy growth.
In the case of the nature hen it is
some what more complicated PROPOSE
ton. The feeder must bear in mind
the fact that eggs are also the product
of the Transformation or assimilation
of food eaten. The yolk and white
contain water proteine, fat and a
small percentage of mineral matter,
while the shell consists almost entire
ly Of mineral matter of which carbon
ate of lime constitutes "a per cent, or
over 10 per cent. of the entire weight
of the egg. That is. in one dozen
good sized eggs there are fully 2.5
ounces c. carbonate of lime, familiar
to all under the name of marble. We
thus have proved to us the absolute
necessity of a generous supply of lime
in the diet of the hen. One of the
best materials that a poultryman can
use for supplying the requisite lime is
oyster she'll, or any other variety of
shells. An experiment in this direc-
ton was made at the New York Elk
nj CfaH I.
such that the use of oyster shells
during the laying season, where they
can be cheaply obtained was strongly
recommended. 1t was found there that
one pound of oyster shells contained
sufficient lime for the shells of about
seven dozen eggs.
Shells are not the only source for
the lime necessary for eggshells.
Bones also contain large percentage
OF lime. Fresh green bones also con-
tain, besides the lime compounds.
some proteine or flesh formers. which
add to its value as a poultry food.
The best way to render the bones
available is to have them broken by
means Of the bone cutter. One pound
OF the green bones is generally consid-
cred sufficient for sixteen hens. Be
sides the cut bones or oyster shells.
the hens must have a generous supply
of some kind of grit, very coarse sand
or broken crockery. This grit serves
as teeth for the hens, and when they
are unable to obtain it indigestion and
other ailments are sure to follow.
I'm order to have the proper pro-
portions of the different ingredients.
or to balance the ration, we must have
a variety of foods at our command. It
would be impossible to make a bal
anced ration solely from the grain
feedstuffs. If the necessary amount
of flesh formers is obtained by the use
of grain, then the fat and meat pro-
ducers in the ration will be greatly
in excess; on the other hand, if the
carbohydrates or fattening ingredients
are made the standard. then, when
the proper proportion of this part of
the food is supplied by the grain the
flesh formers will be lacking to con-
siderable extent. We have to depend
on the peas, beans, different oilcake
meals. blood meal or dried blood and
fresh meat or meat meal for supple
menting the deficiency of the flesh
formers. By fresh meat is meant lean
meat with the minimum amount of
fat. BUYERS should be careful in re-
gard to this point, as large per cent.
of fat would be worse tnan useless for
the purpose of the feeder. When the
hens are not laying they only require
a maintenance diet, which is not so
rich a one as that for hens during the
laying period either in flesh formers
or fat formers, and heat producers;
neither is there any necessity for the
oyster shells or substitutes.
The amount OF food required for
growing chicks and pullets is larger