The Hope pioneer., 1922-11-30
PROPER METHODS OF FEEDING
BRING POULTRY men SUCCESS

BY o. A. BARTON and G. w. McILROY |
North Dakota Agricultural College
Feeding for Egg Production.
The farm flock that lays is the farm
flock that pays, but strange as it may
seem, the average farm flock does not
receive all of the different feeds needed
for egg production. A few hundred
pounds of the right kind of feed to
supplement the home grown feeds may
greatly increase the profits from the
flock
A complete ration consists of six
different parts: scratch feed, mash,
animal feed, mineral feed, green feed,
and water.
The scratch feed, which consists of
whole or cracked grain, can usually be
grown at home. The grains recognized
as best by most poultry experts are
corn and wheat. Corn may be fed
whole or may be cracked if convenient
and economical. The hen can digest
the whole kernel equally as we'll as the
cracked one, but when cracked and
fed in a litter Of straw she receives
more exercise in hunting for the grain.
Barley and oats are good poultry feed.
The chief fault with these gains is that
they carry too much hull. composed
largely Of crude fiber of which the hen
utilizes very little. Hulled oats are an
excellent feed, but are usually too ex-
pensive to be fed extensively. Rye is
not considered good poultry feed
because Of it's unpalatability, and par
ticularly because Of it's effect upon the
digestive tract.
Grain and Mash Feed.
During winter the scratch feed
should be fed in litter Of straw 10 or
II inches deep, so that the hens have
to scratch for it. Scratching means
exercise and exercise helps to keep
hens healthy. About one-third of the
days allowance is fed in the morning
and the remaining two-thirds in the
evening" an hour or so before the hens
20 to rOost. If the flock has abundant
range during the summer the amount
of grain given can be reduced consid-
erably. The hens appetite and condi-
ton of flesh should be the feeders
guide as to the amount they should get.
Ordinarily the average hen will need
| about four ounces Of grain day.
Heavy feeding and little exercise will
probably result in the storing up of fat,
and hens that are too fat do not usually
lay we'll.
The hen cannot make eggs economi-
cally from grains alone, and so mash
composed of common by-products such
as bran, shorts and gluten feed is
given her. These feeds are palatable,
and furnish vegetable protein. The
hen should receive some animal pro-
tein, fed in the mash or in addition to
1T. Some of the common sources of
animal protein are skim milk or butter
milk, insects during the summer time,
and some form Of waste meat.
Tests at experiment stations have
shown that hens cannot find enough
animal protein on range in summer to
make egg production profitable. Even
though the hen has all the milk she
wants during the summer it will be
we'll to supply additional animal pro-
tein in the mash. Fresh meat from
various animals, such as rabbits, ami
mails caught for their fur, calves not
good enough to raise, old horses, or an
animal killed accidentally may be fed
during the winter. If the animal is
large, a good practice is to dress 1t
and hang it up so that it will freeze
solid until ready to feed. The best way
to feed such material is to cut off a
piece and run it through bone grin
der. Another way is to hang a piece
of meat from the ceiling of the poultry
hoase high enough so that the hens
have to jump to reach it. This also
gives them exercise. If this practice
is followed one should take special
precautions to see that the meat does
not decompose, for decayed meat will
probably cause serious digestive dis
orders. For this reason fresh meat
should not be fed this way during the
summer.
Provide Mineral Feeds.
Mineral feed serves as a source OF
shell material and aids the grinding
process in the gizzard The more COM
mon materials are oyster shell. clam
Shell, and lime rock grit. 1t is COM
monty thought when Il hen lays soft
shelled eggs that she is not receiving
enough shell material, but the trouble
probably lies with the hen rather than
with her rations. Shell and grit come
in 100 pounds sacks and are crushed
fine enough SO that they are ready for