298 FARM ANIMALS 



not be fed to chickens with good results, with the 

 possible exception of cotton seed meal, which may 

 be left out of the list of chicken foods for the reason 

 that it appears to exercise a somewhat poisonous 

 effect. Thus, barley, buckwheat, corn, wheat, 

 oats, rye, Kafir corn, millet, sunflower seeds, 

 screenings, rice milling products, all kinds of ground 

 and cracked grains and various weed seeds have 

 been used in feeding chickens and all these materi- 

 als have a place in the chicken ration. Through- 

 out the corn belt corn is, of course, looked upon 

 as the sovereign food for chickens as well as for the 

 large farm animals and many fowls receive no 

 other grain except corn. This furnishes a com- 

 paratively satisfactory ration where the fowls 

 have a run so that they can pick up insects or 

 other animal feed in addition to screenings and 

 cracked grain. The chicken, by reason of its 

 strong muscular gizzard, is capable of digesting 

 minute seeds, cracked grain and other hard grain 

 material much more thoroughly than the domestic 

 mammals. For this reason much material which 

 is unsuited as food for other farm animals may be 

 kept for chickens and fed to them with excellent 

 results. Corn is readily digested by chickens, 

 whether fed whole or cracked or in the form of 

 corn meal and whether fed moist or dry. If finely 

 ground grain is fed, it is usually best to moisten 

 the meal before feeding. 



Buckwheat. Throughout the region where it 

 is produced this is considered a fine food for 

 poultry. Where buckwheat has been compared 

 directly with corn, the results have usually been 

 somewhat in favor of corn. Either whole buck- 

 wheat or buckwheat middlings and bran are well 

 worth feeding to chickens and produce results 

 which are nearly always satisfactory. 



