Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-03-05
Buying Poultry Feed.
HOW JUDICIoUs BUYING MAY REDUCE
COSTS.

The old saying, mo loss without some
gain," applies to the poultry feed situa.
tiop. 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 rule, fed
their poultry the grain that was cheap
est on the farm, many specialists and
most small poultry keepers have been
accustomed to use their favorite poultry
feeds without considering either the
quality of the supply or the possibility
of using cheaper substitutes. This at
titude of the buyers of poultry feeds has
made it easy for feed dealers to sell low
grade and damaged grain at much high
er prices than could have been obtained
IL poultry keepers everywhere were
studying and practising economy in buy
ing 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 present
time oats are nearly every where cheaper
than corn, and in some parts of the
country barley Is cheaper than oats.
When corn goes down to $1.50 q bushel,
oats should be Is cents and barley 81 20
a bushel to give the same value for the
money, when fed to poultry.
The relative commercial feeding
values of the grains are most readily
computed by using the prices per hun
dred pounds, taking corn as the standard
and determining the relative value of
any other grain by a rough, comparison
of its feeding value with that of corn.
1t is not practicable to make accurate
calculations for this purpose, but q cal
culation which assumes that, except for
indigestible matter and deterioration,
the common grains are, pound for pound,
OF the same feeding value, and rates
them accordingly will meet the require
ments of the case.
JUDGING QUALITY OF FEED.
The common characters and condi.
tions of grains which roughly determine
their values as poultry feeds are easily
estimated by the eye or by weight OF
bulk in measures or containers of known
capacity.
Good cracked corn is hard, bright,
clean, and free from soft and chaffy
particles. Corn that is crushed (not
crscked) J, and shows much soft, chaffy,
and scsly matter, should be rated pro-
portionally below good cracked corn in
feeding value. Cracked corn in which
any considerable amount of greenish dis.
coloration appears should be rejected as
unfit for poultry.
Oats and barley with the hulls on are
at once seen to contain more indigestible
matter than corn and wheat. Again,
indigestible hulls covering oats and bar
ley make those grains less palatable to
poultry, and their feeding value must be
discounted for that. An average sample
of oats should be valued about IL to ID
per cent less than q good sample OF
cracked corn; an average sample of bar.
ley from 8 to 8 per cent less than good
cracked corn.
Oats weighing less than the United
States standard of 80 pounds to the
bushel and barley under the United
States standard of 4S pounds to the
bushel should be discounted In price
according to the shortage in weight,
while for weights above the standards
the usual discount in price may be re.
duced. Oats and barley that are much
below standard weight usually contain 9
large proportion of grains that are near
ly all hull. These, poultry will not cal
unless starved into it.
VALUE OF POOR WHEAT.
Wheat of good milling quality Is not
sold for poultry feed except in sections
that grow much wheat and little corn
and occasionally from small local sup
plies. The best wheat usually available
for poultry is not actually worth more
as poultry feed than good cracked
corn, but poultry keeper can afford to
pay q little more for IL because 1t can be
kept longer without deterioration, and
under some conditions 1t Is fed with less
waste.
Wheat that hss been peroeptibly dam
aged by fire, water, or frost has less
value ss poultry feed than good cracked
corn. There Is no advantage or economy
in buying damaged wheat for poultry
except at its actual value in comparison
with the corn, oats and barley available
THE TRUE BASIS OF PRICES.
Low-grads and damaged grains are
suitable for poultry feed II birds In good
condition will eat them readily. They
can be fed profitably if they have beer
bought at prices representing theil
actual values for poultry feeding, al