The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-02-05

| prepared by the United States Depart
ment OF Agriculture)
On the average farm where poultry
are kept as a side line, meat meal and
fish scraps are usually little used in
the ration because, as rule, they are
extremely expensive compared with
the other nutrients commonly fur
nished the fowls. Many farmers
make up for this deficiency of protein
In the ration by the liberal feeding cf
skim milk. Others maintain their hens
on farm-grown grain without the es-
sential supplementary protein, and as
consequence suffer pronounced loss
In the yield of eggs. 1t is economy for
the general farmer to utilize such
high-priced feed as beef scraps and
fish meal, as generally he feeds only
a small amount of this material while
Its Influence on the egg yield is mark
edly perceptible and decidedly profit
able to the producer. Unless the farm
er can supply plenty of protein in the
| form of rabbits, horse meat wild
game, fish or skim milk, 1t Is advisable
that he, by all means, purchase and
feed meat meal or fish meal regularly
/
to his flock.
Beef scraps, fish meal, or other poul-
try nutrients which are rich in protein
are essential to produce a regular and
dependable supply of eggs. However.
In some sections of the country these
materials are rarely available on ac-
count of the high transportation costs
and the distance from production CEN
tiers. Poultry raisers in these locali-
ties have to utilize substitutes. In
many districts of the Southwest jack
rabbits are used as a valuable poultry
feed. Rabbits of this type are not de-
sirable as human food during GER
tain seasons of the year and. to many
persons, they are always objection
able. AS consequence, their use as
q food for hens Is economic and eff
cient, as otherwise the meat Is usually
wasted.
1t is desirable to remove the skin
from the jackrabbit and suspend the
body by means of a cord or wire in the
poultry house. OF course, feeding In
this manner Is advisable only during
the period of cold weather when the
meat will keep well. or during the
summer season when there are enough
fowls In the house to consume the rab-
bit in a short time before the meat be-
gins to decompose.
Good Use for Waste Rabbits.
Jackrabbits are so Objectionable In
some of the Southwestern farming
country that huge drives are organ
lied for the determination of the
pests. Hundreds of ranchers, farmers
and hunters will form compact lipe
and traverse a rabbit-infested terri
tory, killing or driving away all the
rabbits which come in their path. II
the rabbit drive occurs during cold
weather considerable number of the
rabbits may be frozen and kept in this
condition for the use of the flock
throughout the winter season. The car
casses can then be thawed out and sus-
pended in the poultry house us sug-
gested above, without cleaning. or II
desired, the meat can be cooked and
fed In this form TO the hens and pull
let's. This is valuable use of rabbit
meat, as ordinarily the hundreds of
thousands of carcasses are wasted and
allowed to decay on the plains and cul-
tivnted fields where the animals were
killed.
Horse meat also, makes a good
chicken feed. In Some sections where
the sanitary laws do not prohibit the
feeding of horse meat to fowls, exten-
sive poultry ralsers buy old, worn
out dobbins and slaughter them and
feed their meat to the poultry. This
is done on large scale In parts of
California. Operators report increased
egg yields by the hens as conse-
quence of the liberal use of meat In
the ration. Several Arizona poultry
farmers formerly made "A practice OF
feeding wild burro meat to their hens
with as attractive and interesting re-
suits as come from the feeding OF
horse meat. These ranchers used to
pay the Indians bounties for rounding
up the wild burros In the mountainous
country and killing and transporting
the carcasses TO the poultry plants.
Fish Make Good Feed.
Practically any kind Of wild game
or varieties of fish which are not valu-
able, for human food purposes are
highly satisfactory in the poultry diet
airy. Where fish are abundant 1t or
dinarily is the custom for the fisher
men to throw back into the water or
else throw away any fish which are
not highly desirable for eating. The
use of these fish as feed for hens
would be quite Ideal and, apparently,
there is splendid opportunity for some
poultrymen TO locate commercial
plants near popular public fishing