The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-02-19
BUYING POULTRY FEED.
How Judicious Buying May Reduce
Costs

The old saying, "No loss without some
gain, applies to the poultry feed situa-
ton High prices of feeds have made
poultry Keepers consider values of feeds
as never before. and they are rapidly
learning how to buy more economically.
While farmers have as a rule, fed their
poultry the grain that was cheapest on
the farm, many poultry specialists and
most small poultry keepers have been
accustomed to use their favoritc poultry
feeds without considering either the quail
ity of the supply or the possibility OF
using cheaper substitutes. This atti-
tude OF the buyers of poultry feeds has
made it easy for feed dealers to sell low
grade aud damaged grain at much higher
prices than could have been obtained if
poultry keepers everywhere were study
ing and practicing economy in buying
feeds. When buyers of poultry feeds
buy with reference to quality and price
as compared with the cheapest grain
on the market, the price of that grain
will control the prices of all other grains
for poultry feed.
Corresponding Prices of Grains.
Under normal conditions, corn is in
nearly all parts of the United States
the cheapest poultry feed. AT the pres
ent time oats are nearly everywhere
than corn, and in some parts of
the country barley is cheaper than oats. !
When corn goes down to 81 so a bushel, ,
oats should be - cents and barley Sl.20
a bushel to give the same value for the |
when fed to poultry.
The relative commercial feeding values |
s. . 10, aH
bv using the prices per hundred pounds,
taking corn as the standard and deter
mining the relative value of any other
grain by rough comparison of its feed
ing value with that of crop. 1t is not
to make accurate calculations
'or this purpose but q calculation which
assumes that. except for indigestible
natter and deterioration. the common
,rains are, pound for pound, of the same
ecding value, aud rates them according
V will meet the requirements of the
asc.
Judging Quality Of Feed.
The common characters and conditions
II grains which roughly determine Nheir
alues as poultry feeds are easily esti
mated by the eve or by weight or bulk
n measures or containers of known ca
acity.
Good cracked corn is hard bright,
lean, and free from soft and chaffy par
icles. Corn that is crushed mot
rackedi, and shows much soft chaify
nd scaly matter. should be rated pro-
ort ionstely below good, cracked corn in
,eding value. Cracked corn in which
ny considerable amount of creenish dis
lloratiun appears should be rejected a
niit for poultry.
Oats ard barley with the hulls on are
once seen to contain more indigesti-
e matter than corn and wheat. Again.
he indigcstihle hulls covering oats and
irley make those grains less palatsble
poultry. and their feeding value must
discounted for that. An average
nipple of oats should be valued about
to H. per cent less than a good sam
e of cracked corn; an average sample
barley from , TO , per cent less than
vol cracked corn. :
Oats weighing less than the United q
.atcs standard OF - pounds TO tho
ishel and barley under the United
ates standard OF IS pounds TO the
lshcl should be discounted in price &c
riding 60 the shortage in weight. while
r weights above The standards the
usl discount in price may be reduced.
rs and barley that arc much below
andsrd weight usually contain large
oporiion Of grains that are nearly all
10. These, poultry viii not cat unless
arvcd into g.
Value OF pooT Wheat iii
Wheat Of good milling quality Is not
n for poultry feed except in sections
~ grow guch wheat and little corn.
J ocCasiofshy from small local sup
-. The best wheat usually available
poultry Is not actually worth more
poultry feed than good cracked corn
{ = poultry keeper can sometimes a.
a 20 pay a little more for il l,ecsuse
can - krrs Irucar ufrhor,r drfrri,.