FARM ANIMALS 303 



the addition of sand was found to be of consider- 

 able importance. Finely ground bone supplies 

 both lime and phosphorous, while oyster shells 

 supply little but lime and when fed to chickens 

 in large quantities nearly always produce an 

 injurious effect and sometimes disease and death. 

 The curious fact has been shown by experiments 

 that there is advantage in mixing fine sand in the 

 feed of chickens even when they are running on a 

 floor covered with sand. Obviously the poultry- 

 man should secure their own mineral feeds rather 

 than buy proprietary feeds containing them. 



Narrow vs. Wide Rations. With chickens as 

 with other animals we must meet this question. 

 It is comparatively easy to answer this question, 

 however, since the best results have generally been 

 obtained from the use of narrow rations in feeding 

 for eggs and from slightly wider rations in fattening 

 for market. As is well known an overfat condition 

 in chickens is not conducive to egg production and 

 this can best be avoided by feeding a comparatively 

 narrow ration containing nitrogenous grains, animal 

 feeds, green feeds rather than too much starch or 

 fat. The narrow ration is likewise best for young 

 chickens until they reach considerable size. During 

 the forcing period for market it is not necessary to 

 pay so much attention to the health of the chicken 

 and a wider and cheaper ration may therefore be 

 fed containing for example largely corn or corn 

 meal. There is likewise economy in feeding wide 

 rations since protein is more expensive than starch 

 and sugar in feeding animals. 



Heavy vs. Light Rations. The position which 

 the poultryman should take on this will also depend 

 on the purpose for which he is feeding. During the 

 later stages of feeding for market, fowls may be 



