The Republican journal., 1916-02-03
Feeds. For Poultry.


Grains Conditions Govern Selection OF
Best Ration.
Though the feeding of poultry is a
much debated subject in poultry husban-
dry, there is no one best feed or COM
bination of feeds. Results depend al
most as much upon the ability of the
feeder and the methods of feeding as on
the kinds of grains.
The simplest feed-mixtures and home
grown grains should usually be selected,
the rations varying with changes in the
market price Of thu grains. 1t is advis
able for most poultry raisers to mix their
own feeds, as in this way they can con-
troll the proportion of the various iugre-
dents and obtain the precise mixture
that they desire. If, however, one de-
sires to purchase prepared feeds, infor-
nation concerning the different CONNER
cial articles may usually be secured from
the State experiment station. Most ex-
pertinent stations will analyze poultry
feeds and report on the different COM
mercial preparations sold by dealers in
their States.
Poultry feeds may be divided for con-
venience into five general classes: First,
grains, both whole and cracked; second,
ground grains, fed in the TO m of a
mash; third, meat feeds; fourth, mineral
feeds; and fifth, green feeds. Corn,
cracked corn, wheat and wheat screen
ings, oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat
are the principal grains, while of the
ground feeds we have corn meal and corn
chop, corn and cob meal, wheat bran,
middlings, shorts and low grade flour,
oatmeal, cat flour and ground or crushed
oats, and mixed feeds. In the meat
feeds, or feeds supplying animal protein,
are teef scrap, meat meal, ground green
bone, and various forms of milk; while
bone meal, dry ne, oyster shells, and
grit make up the mineral feeds and,
with charcoal and green feeds, complete
the common feeding materials.
Many ground feeds, which are by-pro-
ducts of the common grains, are used to
good advantage in feeding, in comblna-
ton with grain and beef scrap. Ground
grains and meat feeds are more forcing
than the whole grains commonly used,
while the combination of the whole grains
with the ground feeds makes more
economical feed and better balanced
ration than the whole grains alone. The
feed elements are usually cheaper in the
ground than in the whole grains. as the
former are by-products of many of the
grains used for human consumption
Ground grains and beef scrap, in com
bination, either wet or dry, make what
is called mash" These by-products
are higher in protein than most of the
common grains, so that balanced ration
is secured by combining whole grains
with the mash. Some of the ground
grains, such as bran and middlings, add
large percentage of bulk to the ration,
which is beneficial.
Animal protein is considered essential
! to the best results IN feeding Most
poultrymen feed meat in some form,
while suburban poultry keepers either
feed this product or table scraps but few
. farmers buy any meat feed Some form
of feed containing animal protein must be
supplied if any eggs are TO be obtained in
the fall and winter Skim milk or butter
milk is available on many farms, and
where it is not it would probably pay
most farmers to buy beef scrap or some
other meat feed. Fowls on free range
on the farms pick up bugs and insects
during part of the year, which furnish
this protein feed, so that the use of ad-
ditional meat feeds is regulated by in
dividua conditions. Fowls closely con-
fined need more ANNA. feed than those
on a good range: and in cold climate,
where no bugs or insects are available
, during several winter months, more an
imal feed must be supplied than In sec
tons where the winters are mud.
A well-balanced ration contains the
proper proportion of protein and car
bohydrates for its purpose with the
l. .,y,d r,1la ,IIi +
that are necessary to give good feeding
results There is no best ration, and the
! practical application of sCence in poultry
feeding is to know about what proportion
, of these substances gives good feeding
results and then to use roughly Tn
Iative proportion in making ratlons or in
substituting different feeds, according to
their price and availability.
, In securing fall and winter eggs the
; first essential IS to have pullets well
, matured before cold weather, which
means Matching birds of the general
: purpose breeds in March and April The
! average farmer matches his chickens too
late to secure eggs in the fall. With
well-matured puIlets and improved feed
' ing methods farmers could secure more
4 eggs in winter than they obtain under
5 present conditions.
! A welI-balanced simple ration may be
made of equal parts, by weight. of
: wheat, cracked corn, and oats fed twice
: daily, usually in the morning and at
night. The grain may be either scatter
ed on the range in summer and in the
litter In the poultry house in winter, or
: fed in the house throughout the year. 1t
should be supplemented with wet OF
dry mash of parts of corn meal and
,, part each of wheat bran, middlings, and
beef scrap. One feed of mash may be
fed at any time during the day and the
grain fed for the other two meals. Re,
gulate the proportions of grain and mash
so that the hen will consume about equa
: parts of each. About l quart of grain
? daily should be fed to every 16 Leghorr
! hens, or to 10 general-purpose hens, such
az the Plymouth Rocks, with an equal
weight of mash. This amount, however,
varies, and should be regulated by the
feeder, as the hens should be eager fol-
: each meal. Leghorns will eat about S.
pounds of grain and mash in year, and
Plymouth Rocks, or ihens of the general
purpose class, about Is pounds u.
Dept. of Agriculture.
Aroostook Potatoes.