FARM ANIMALS 297 



ground fresh meat has frequently been shown by 

 comparing this food with meat meal which is an 

 excellent egg producer. As a rule, ground fresh 

 meat or fresh bone gives a larger increase in weight 

 and leads to the production of more eggs than does 

 meat meal. Fresh green bones, in addition to 

 the protein which they contain, and which is a neces- 

 sary element of the ration in egg production, 

 contain also considerable quantities of lime com- 

 pounds in the most available form in which they 

 can be fed to the chickens. Ground fresh bones 

 are far better sources of mineral material than are 

 oyster shells or other cheap forms of calcareous 

 material. It is commonly estimated that one 

 pound of fresh bones is sufficient for sixteen hens. 

 Bones should be run through a cutter before 

 feeding. 



Skim Milk. Skim milk is an excellent and most 

 effective feed for chickens of all ages. It may be 

 given as a drink or may be mixed with ground 

 grain or meal or compounded with beef scraps 

 or animal meal. When added to a meal mixture, 

 two pounds of milk are sufficient for one pound 

 of meal. Skim milk is perhaps the best feed for 

 producing a white skin in chickens, while animal 

 meal, especially if fed in large quantities, gives a 

 yellowish flesh sometimes of a decided color, an 

 undesirable quality. The most economic gains 

 are made in chickens when skim milk is fed both 

 as a drink and added to the grain mixture. In 

 addition to the animal feeds already mentioned, 

 blood meal and tankage, if obtainable at reasonable 

 prices, may be satisfactory and economic foods in 

 fattening chickens and in increasing the egg 

 production. 



Grains. There is scarcely any grain which may 



