CHAPTER XXV 



FEEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 



IN feeding for egg production two definite objects must be 

 kept in view. The first of these is maintenance. By main- 

 tenance is meant the feed necessary to build up the bird's 

 body. The processes of digestion and production constantly 

 wear away the tissues of the body, and a certain amount of 

 feed material is necessary to repair this waste. The bird's 

 body contains over 55 per cent of water, over 20 per cent of 

 protein or nitrogenous mate- 

 rial, nearly 20 per cent of fat, 

 and about 4 per cent of ash. 

 These are the materials which 

 are constantly broken down 

 or consumed by the proc- 

 esses of life, and these ma- 

 terials must be provided in 

 the feed if the bird is to pro- 

 duce many eggs (Fig. 138). 



The second object in feed- 

 ing for egg production is to 

 provide the necessary mate- 

 rial to form the egg. If egg pai 

 production is to be satisfactory, these nutrients must be 

 fed in excess of the amount "needed merely to maintain 

 the body. The bird has great powers of self-preserva- 

 tion, and its feed will first be utilized to maintain its own 

 body before many eggs are produced. The whole egg con- 

 tains about 65 per cent of water, over 13 per cent of protein 

 or nitrogenous material, and about 10 per cent of fat, in 

 addition to the shell, which constitutes about 12 per cent 



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