FARM ANIMALS 305 



to laziness on the part of the fowls since it is fed in 

 troughs or basins and the fowls do not have to 

 search for it. By throwing the whole grain in the 

 litter the material becomes somewhat hidden and 

 the fowls are forced to take some exercise in 

 scratching and finding the grain. On this account 

 the use of some whole grain is generally recom- 

 mended and this recommendation is based on 

 better results obtained where the chickens are thus 

 forced to take exercise than where they are allowed 

 to eat large quantities of mash in a lazy manner. 

 Dry Feeding vs. Mash. It is desirable to know 

 the relative value of feeding grain cracked or 

 ground in a dry form and after moistening. Where 

 these two kinds of material have been compared 

 it has been found that chickens are very fond of 

 broken and whole grain moistened and that they 

 will eat such material better than a dry mixture 

 of finely ground grain. They will eat dry meal, 

 however, in small quantities whenever they need it 

 and always fill the crop before going to roost. 

 Dry meal, however, is not eaten in such quantities 

 as to cause the chickens to sit down and waste the 

 day without taking exercise, thus becoming overfat. 

 The latter objection, as already hinted, attaches 

 to the excessive use of wet mash. It should not be 

 understood that a general objection is made to 

 the use of wet mash, since a small quantity in the 

 morning, especially if fed warm, is an excellent 

 stimulant in egg production. One system of 

 feeding consists in the use of a warm morning meal 

 of mash followed later in the day by green feed and 

 whole grain thrown in the litter which will keep 

 chickens busy searching during a large part of the 

 day. Moreover at moulting and after the old 

 feathers have become loose and the new feathers 



