The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1919-12-19
Chickens Relish Garbage a Egg Producer

Chickens Relish Garbage, Which
prepared by the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
Fresh garbage, fed as soon as pos
sible after it is discarded from the ta-
bles of consumers, provides an eff
cient feed for poultry. Used judi
ciously, it will reduce the cost Of
egg and meat production from Is to
80 per cent.
Cleanliness and sanitation in the
preparation, handling and feeding Of
garbage are essential, as sour or taint-
ed garbage Is particularly obnoxious
to chickens, because any fermentation
induces digestive disorders and pro-
fuse diarrhea. Apparently the intrin-
sic value Of garbage as poultry feed
comes from the fact that it provides
a diversified ration which satisfies all
the needs and requirements Of the
flock. It is big scale replica Of the
small feeding operations Of the back
yard poultry raiser who maintains his
birds chiefly on table scraps and left
overs from the family board. Al
though tho character of garbage varies
during the year, due to the fact that
more succulent vegetables and fruits
are used during the summer, the refuse
IL always a valuable substitute for cost
ly grains and concentrates in the hen
dietary.
Subject Garbage to Careful Selection.
Some poultrymen have experienced
unsatisfactory results in the use Of
garbage because they did not prac-
tice careful selection. 1t cannot be
expected that the hens will thrive on
feed which is contaminated with brok-
en- glass, scraps Of tin, phonograph
needles, and the like, and it is only
the owner who will pick over the garb-
age and eliminate the Objectionable
foreign matter that will realize profit
able and dependable results from its
use. The best plan Is to try to get
the housewife to keep such undesira-
BILE material from going into the garb-
age. Specialists Of the United States
department Of agriculture recommend
running the garbage through a meat
or vegetable chopper and mixing it
with little of the moist mash before
it Is placed before the fowls. The
amount which is fed will entirely de-
pend on the size Of the flock, it being
usually advisable to provide as much
refuse as the birds will clean up with
q relish In the course of an hour Any
feed which the fowls reject should be
removed from the troughs, feeding
pens or yards as soon as possible
thereafter. Otherwise it sours and
contaminates the premises and, subse-
quently. if the fowls peck at it during
a period when they are hungry, it in
variably causes digestive trouble.
Where garbage is fed, it is always
essential to supply a light ration Of
grain twice daily, as we'll as to have
a dry mash available in hoppers before
the flock all the time. Generally, ia
BILE scraps are rich in protein, al
though where the garbage is deficient
in this Ingredient, it is practical to
supplement the mash with about 5 per
cent of meat meal.
Cold Weather Facilitates Garbage
Feeding.
Generally speaking. thereeis less dan
ger from feeding garbage in the win
ter than during the summer, as the
cold weather prevents rapid decom-
position and fermentation of the ref
use. Often the suburban flock owner
may secure the garbage Of neighboring
families who do not keep chickens.
This source of feed may be so plenti-
full that he can expand his poultry op'
erations and afford to pay small
amount for the table refuse. Where
many uncooked potatoes are present
in the garbage, it is usually good
plan to separate them and to cook
them before feeding to the fowls. 9th
erwise these are not we'll utilized and
often induce digestive trouble.
Experiments in feeding garbage at
the government experimental farm at
Beltsville. Nd, indicate that 30 hens
will use about three quarts Of garbage
daily to advantage. In addition, keep
q dry mash consisting Of three parts
by weight of cornmeal, one part Of
bran, one part Of middllngs, s per cent
Of meat scraps before the hens all Of
the time. The experiments proved
conclusively that where fresh garb-
age is properly fed bountiful egg
yield results, while economical and
rapid meat production is also engen-
dered by the judicious use Of garbage
in the ration. Ordinarily it is advis-
able where garbage is plentiful to mix
enough supplementary mash with the
garbage to give the mixture q good
consistency. In case the table scraps