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Show POULTRY I I RELATIVE VALUE OF FEED STUFFS. C. S. Gorlinc. II. A glance at the tabic above will show that barley is the best all-around all-around feed of the four, but on account ac-count of the tough fibrous nature of the hull, it should always be cracked or rolled. Experience has shown that it is one of the best, if not the best, one-feed proposition; that is, -it a breeder can afford to feed but one kind of grain, barley cracked or rolled roll-ed should be the feed, for when, combined with meat, cut green bone, bran and alfalfa leaves or meal, we have "balanced rationthat is, one in which the entire necessary fourteen chemical food elements arc combined. combin-ed. This, too, is made all the more desirable on account of the greater cheapness of barley compared with the other three. We believe that for hopper feeding, there in no one grain food that will compare with rolled barley, as the birds will be picking at it all day long and will keep in good condition while so fed. In considering the relative values of feed, from a point of enconomy, it will generally be found dcsirablt and satisfactory, to select some one of the four grains previously named, as a feeding basis; that is, use ibut the one grain as a grain food, and combine this food with what may be tcrnVed accessories, to balance the ration. This is a mash, wet up to a crumbly consistency, or fed dry in hoppers. The simplest mash is composed com-posed of equal parts of bran and meat scraps. If fed wet, it should be boiled boil-ed in a kettle and fed hot. A good way is to boil the scraps, and then mix in the dry bran until the mash is crumbly. A better mash may be compounded by scalding alfalfai leaves or meal, or clover leaves, allow to stand for twenty minutes and tnen mix with the simple mash, adding a little salt and red pepper. A still better mash is compounded as above by adding corn mal in equal parts with the other ingredients and a still better one by adding middlings, all of which will give variety and where one has the time and not too many birds, it will well repay the additional addition-al expenditure. If the mash be fed at noon, it is well to follow it with some form of meat or cut green bone and by way of variety, an occasional feed of iboilcd potatoes, green or cooked cabbage, boiled beans or turnips, tur-nips, or mangles ground up with a food chopper or root cutter. If the cabbage is chopped fine and sprinkled sprink-led with a little salt, it will be greatly great-ly relished, a larger quantity will be consumed and most excellent results will follow in egg production. Where it is possible to obtain the four basic grains at nearly the same price, or any two or three of them, it will be. found advisable to feed as much variety as possible, thus, for the morning feed, we would give wheat, barley, oats or millet in the scratch-ing-shed, thrown into straw or litter, from two or three pints, to each twelve birds. Give the mash at noon, and in the evening iced cracked corn. Then, we would vary this diet by changing the grain each morning or evening, one day feeding say, the wheat in the morning and corn in the evening; next day, barley in the morning and wheat in the evening, and so on, varying each morning and I evening meal in mild weather, but in 1 very cold weather, we would prefer 1 the cracked corn each evening, con- tinning to vary the morning meal as much as possible. It really makes but little difference when the mash is fed, whether in the morinng, at noon or at night, but we prefer the noon mash because when the birds get a crop full of warm mash, they will sit around and allow it to digest; it is better for them to do this in the warmer portion of the day, compelling com-pelling them to actively exert themselves them-selves in the cool of the morning and evening, in scratching for the grain in the litter. Many capable feeders prefer to feed the grain mixed, both morning and evening, for instance, equal parts of wheat and cracked corn in the morning morn-ing and equal parts of cracked oats and millet in the evening, or, millet and wheat in the morning with cracked crack-ed oats and corn in the evening. The objection to this method, however, lies in the fact that often the birds will prefer one kind of grain and eat I that to exclusion of the other, which I will be left untouched in the straw I and in time this will accumulate and I be more or less wasted. By feeding ibut one gain at a time, this difficulty diffi-culty will be obviated, for if the birds refuse to cat some particular grain, it may be omitted from the menu aw soon as this fact is discovered, as it is a waste of time and money to feed that which will not be consumed. consum-ed. For instance, some flocks will absolutely refuse to cat oats; others will lake hardly any notice of millet, but all will cat corn, wheat and barley bar-ley and these three combined with mashes and green stuff will constitute consti-tute a' balanced ration. o |