The Florida agriculturist., 1907-12-18
The Feeding of Dry Mash.


as it is called. A correspondent Of
Poultry Lie in America recommends
it very highly and gives his plan as
follows:
1t is quite interesting to note the
gradual evolution taking place, or that
has already taken place, with the most
progressive poultrymen in the feeding
Of mash, which is mixture of grOunu
grain, to growing fowls and laying
hens.
1t was formerly the custom to feed
both old and young, growing chickens
a wet mash once Or twice daily, con-
tanning cornmeal mainly. Such is not
now the case, the mash being rarely
ever fed wet; but our best-lnformed
poultrymen, and especially poultry
tanclers, feed dry mash once dairy,
or preferably in BINS which are kept
always bfOre the fowls. The dry mash
is composed Of several ground grams
and by-prOduCts, SO as to get we'll
balanced ration. The method OF the
Maine Experiment Station, which L
have somewhat modified to suit our
different conditions, is to mix twenty
pounds OF wheat bran, ten pounds OF
cornmeaI ten pounds Of the l1nseed
meal, ten pounds Of brewers grams,
and ten pounds of beef scraps, which
is thoroughly mixed and placed in
bins and ks&t accessible to the fowls
at all times; and in order to induce
them to take exercise they are teq
early in the morning tour quarts OF
corn chops, with the meal s1tted out,
to 100 hens, scattered IN the litter,
and again about ten o'clock teed a
mixture consisting Of equal parts OF
wheat and oats mixed, and nothing
else during the day. With us, how
ever, in the South, where it is difficult
to get the linseed meal and brewers
grains, | use cOttOnseed meal instead,
as it has about the same chemical
analysis, both containing a large per
centage of protein, that most expen-
sive of all ingredients for fowls, as
we'll as the most important. [ have
found no substitute for the brewers
grains. | mix thoroughly twenty
pounds pure wheat bran, ten. pounds
of m1ddI1ngs Or shorts, twelve pounds
Of cornmeal, and pounds Of cotton
seed meal, leaving out the beef scraps,
which | believe can be fed to better
advantage in bins by itself; because
the fowls become satiated with it
when fed in the dry mash, but when
the beef scrap is fed by itself in bins,
l find that the fowls help themselves
whenever they want it, and do not
eat too much of it. Into the mixture
| add about as much salt as would
make it palatable to a person, and
also ground or granulated charcoal.
Charcoal is great for fowls, as it aids
digestion and prevents the food sour
ing in the craw and the glzzard.
The dry mash put in bins and let
the fowls have free access to it at
all times, and once or twice daily they
can be fed whole grain or corn chops
thrown into the litter or grass to
induce exercise.
A feed Of oats and wheat mixed in
equal parts, fed about four quarts in
the morning, and corn chops from
which the smaller particles have been
sifted (and the meal sifted out can
be used as the meal to put in the
maSh), in the afternoon late. This
has been proven to be an excellent
method Of feeding, and those follow
ing it have raised fine birds, full Of
vigor and health and have had their
hens laying right along in the winter
Cottonseed meal and beef scrap both
contain large percentage Of that best
and usually most expensive Of all feed
ingredients for fOWIS-prOte1n, which
= fowls On free RANGE secure in the