Show how to raise poultry by dr L D lege legear i V S st louis mo dr legear Is a graduate of the ontario veterinary college 1892 thirty six ix years year of veterinary practice on diseases of live stock and poultry eminent authority on poultry and stock known poultry breeder noted author and popular lecturer THE NEW ABC A B C OF POULTRY RAISING professor inquired a student la in ore of ct our agricultural colleges colleg tg you say we wont know what vita mines are then how bow do we know there are any do you know what life la is retaliated the instructor when the pupil admitted that he did not the professor crisply retorted still youre reasonably sure that youre living arent you in the reply lies the key to a proper of ilie he subject object of i famines by poultry raisers ral sers true we dont know what they hey t are but we know what they will wil I 1 accomplish and that Is the main thing after all ot of the tour four known vita vitamins mines A B C and D proper understanding of the functions of the first and fourth Is ot of paramount importance to poultry raisers ral sers the other two may be ignored as B Is present in the outer covering of all grains and chickens do not seem to need vita mine C at all it teed feed Is deficient in vitamins tamine vl A a disease called nutritional roup may develop mature birds affected in this way will die in from tour four to twelve months and young chicks in from four to eight weeks since feeding the proper ration of vitamins lne A means a very considerable protection against this disease it may be seen that a proper understanding ot the sources of this important vita mine is something worth considering Vi kitamine tamine lne A Is produced in all plants that grow in sunlight and Is s stored in the part that shows a green or yellow color at maturity thus we find it in corn the outer leaves of cabbage the leaves of alfalfa and similar plants in yellow carrots and in sprouted oats it if they are sprouted in the presence of enough sunlight to insure a good green colora any other kind are valueless these are not the only source of vi tamine lne A but they are the ones principally used in poultry feeding strangely elou enough gh drying does not affect the vi tamine lne content of vegetable products a tact fact which accounts tor for the value of alfalfa hay bay and meal when used tor for winter feeding another valuable source ot of vita mine A Is cod liver oil when a sufficient quantity 0 of the products men tinned above cannat be obtained cod liver oil at the rate of about 2 may be added to the mash to provide the necessary vitamins lne A content and also the equally valuable vl vi tamine D Vi tamine lne D just mentioned la Is important because without it the mineral elements ot of the fowls ration intended to supply bone and egg shell will simply pass through the system unused in young chicks this appears as leg weakness or more properly rickets older fowls show a similar weakness when they are lot getting enough I 1 vitamins D they will also lay eggs with son or extremely thin shells their eggs will also prove deficient in hatching qualities A peculiarity ot of vitamins lne D Is that it can be formed both in the teed feed or in the bodies of the birds themselves when exposed to direct sunlight it must be direct buhlig ii v however as only the ultraviolet ultra violet rays produce vitamins D and they cannot pass through ordinary window glass the part played by ultraviolet rays in developing this necessary vi tamine lne has been definitely established by experiments in the university ot of kansas liens ilene which were kept away from natural sunlight but exposed 20 minutes dally daily to artificially produced ultraviolet ultra violet rays laid a normal number ot of egge with satisfactory hatchability As previously mentioned cod liver oil contains vl vi tamine D and it mixed in the same proportion as recommended for supplying vitamins tamine vl A it will supply the other one also the oil off Is not an altogether dable source of vi tamino tamine D however some grades do not contain enough of 0 it to be ba of any real value so whether you teed feed oil or not see that your fowls get as much sunshine as possible let them out in the open whenever possible shelter them in the open front type of house ancl ana keep heep it open as much as the weather will permit when the house must be closed totally or in part instead of glass use the new glass substitute which allow the ultra violet rays to pass through then your hens heng will be healthy and strong they will lay more plentifully then eggs will hatch better and the chicks will be tree free from many weaknesses thus it appears that the subject of vitamins vita mines is a fairly simple one after all even it if nobody does know anything about their chemical make up it Is easy to see how they work and how to utilize their valuable properties in the proper nourishing ot of the he poultry flock |