Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-01-19
THE POULTRY YARD
Food for Poultry.
BY Ed Weber
BY Ed Weber

BY Ed Weber
Considering the living fowl as ma
chine food may be spoken Of as fuel.
The fowls body is much more than
a machine and food not only serves as
a fuel but 1t also is used as building
or constructive material. The brain
and nerves, bones, tendons, blood,
muscles and other parts of the body
are all living tissues, and all build thru
the aid of the nutritive ingredients Of
food.
With every action Of the body. con-
scious or unconscious exercise Of func-
lions Of any part, latent or potential
energy (the power to do work) Is
transformed into active or kinetic en-
ergy. the actual work power or heat.
This means a constant wearing out and
renewal Of the tissues. Material is
consumed or. destroyed, chemical
changes take place, action, heat. new
built tissues and power are developed.
The food supplies the necessary fuel
or nutriment for the accomplishment
Of all this, and in this sense the living
body Is superior sort Of machine.
endowed with the power Of reproduce
ton. self-building, self-repairing and
self-regulating.
These changes are taking place all
the time in the tissues Of all parts Of
the body. The central regulating and
governing Cor nerve) system controls
the whole and provides for the elimin-
alton of waste and allows for proper
radiation Of the surplus heat produced
by this transformation Of energy, and
so keeps the body at the normal tenn
perature. There are two chief uses Of
food-to form tho material required for
tissue building. to repair waste, and
in hens to produce eggs: to provide to
do work and yield heat for keeping the
body warm. The body IL also able to
store food. not needed at the time 1t is
consumed, for future use. This store
is chiefly in tho form Of fat, which
serves as a reserve supply Of fuel. The
protein Of heterogeneous matter in food
is the principal tissue former. Its
latent energy can also be converted
into heat and power, but 1t is less eco
nomical for such purposes than the
non nitrogenous proteins Of food. Fats
and carbohydrates (starches and sug-
arr are the chief fuel, or heat and mus
Gle producing ingredients Of food. All
three food elements are necessary to
live.
Variety Of Foods Necessary.
It is not necessary for the poultry
man to have a scientific knowledge OF
foods and their chemical composition
In order to feed his fowls successfully
All that IS necessary is for him to sup
ply his fowls with a reasonable variety
Of good, wholesome food, and allow the
birds to balance their own ration &C
cording to their individual appetites.
The average poultryman will only
breed trouble for himself and needless
work and worry by attempting to COM
pound formulas scientifically balanced,
with their nutritive ratio and potential
energy figured out. AS has been stated
the living fowl Is q superior. self regu-
latng, self-building, self-governing
machine, and all attempts to reduce
it to the type Of man-made machine,
into which regularly weighed and
balanced fuel can be shoveled and GER
tain definite results obtained, will be
found to be unavailing. A ration that
may work well in one flock for one
man may prove altogether unsatisfac-
tory with another. tg' 90. +"'.,,''
There Is more than one good method
Of feeding: there are many that will
give equally good results II used with
Judgment. The chief need in every
case is to supply a variety of whole
some grain, animal food, plenty Of
succulent green food, pure water, grit,
and shell. Feeding fowls for good re-
suits is comparatively easy matter,
and is not the difficult, complicated
proceeding some writer's would have
poultrymen believe. The opening par
agraphs Of this article were not written
with the intention OF confusing the
reader, but were given to illustrate
briefly why food is fed. That is all
the science Of feeding that the poul-
tryman really needs.
Feed No MouIdy Grain.
The advice is often given. feed only
the best grain. The adjective best ap-
plies only to such grain stuffs as are
on sale as poultry foods. 1t is not in
tended to convey the impression that
milling grain is meant. The poultry
man needs to exercise good Judgment
in buying foods and should know what
Is best.
The best grain for poultry Is good,
wholesome, hard grain. Damaged
grain IS unfit for poultry food when
ever 1t is mouldy or musty or badly
damaged, for certain fungi or vegeta-
bic germs Turk in mould and must that
may seriously affect the health Of fowls.
Shrivelled or shrunken grain, IL not
diseased, is good feed II clean and
sound. Ground foods and mill waste
products vary more than whole grain.
There is also tendency on the port of
the millers to work of as ground feed,
grain that is too poor to sell readily
when whole. . m .... ..
The poultryman will need to famil-
iarize himself with the food stufrs on
sale in his market and learn which are
the best and most wholesome. He will
need to exercise his judgment in buy.
ing food for his focks, as It Is quite
important to know what AID how to
feed. Wheat, corn. and oats are the
staple grains for feeding poultry. Other
grains can be given occasionally for
the sake of va rfetv