416 THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



A large number of the ordinary grains seem prac- 

 tically interchangeable and many grain by-products can 

 be freely substituted for different whole grains or for 

 each other and all combined as desired. But some foods, 

 such as cottonseed meal, do not seem suited to common 

 fowls, even in very small quantities. Linseed meal can 

 be fed more freely, but the unground flaxseed is less 

 satisfactory. It is probable that oats, whole or ground, 

 which appear so valuable sometimes, should not be freely 

 used at other times. About 30 per cent of the entire 

 grain is hull. To obtain the available material from this 

 requires an expenditure of energy that can be better 

 applied during periods of rapid transformation, espe- 

 cially during the first few weeks of the young bird's growth. 

 The products of the oat kernel, however, from which 

 the hull has been separated are in the unquestioned class 

 of foods. The same observation applies to buckwheat, 

 some kinds of pea meal, and to certain other foods less 

 commonly used, containing a large proportion of crude 

 fiber. Reference to this point has been made before under 

 the topic of coarse and bulky foods. 



Primary consideration has naturally been' given to 

 those domestic fowls upon which we depend for the 

 great bulk of eggs and meat. Other kinds are of consider- 

 able importance in certain localities, or often to the 

 fancier, but concerning them not enough is recorded to 

 establish separate feeding standards. It is probable that 

 their requirements will be found to correspond fairly 

 well with those of either the duck or of the common fowl. 

 The general food of the turkey is similar to that of the 

 common fowl but it should be less artificial, and con- 

 ditions of general feeding, more nearly resembling those 

 which exist in a wild state, are required. 



