THE FEEDING PROBLEM 35 



Government Experiment Stations in this and other countries. The 

 two successful systems in use at the present time are the Mash 

 system and the Dry Feed system. 



The mash system is one in which a mash is fed once or twice a 

 day. The foundation of the mash is bran, middlings, and corn meal 

 or chops. It is mixed wet, raw, scalded or cooked. The dry feed 

 system is when a dry mash is fed, consisting of the same ingredients 

 as the wet mash, but dry. Dry feeding is used by many regularly, 

 and is becoming more popular every year. 



The advantages of a mash are that by its means the food ration 

 for the whole day can be properly balanced ; the nutritive ratio 

 varied and controlled and the waste vegetables and table leavings 

 utilized to the best advantage. 



In mash feeding the errors to be avoided are : Too concentrated 

 a mash with too much meat or fat; too light or bulky, that is, 

 composed principally of bran or hay; too wet or sloppy or sour 

 or mouldy. Experience has shown that feeding wet mashes more 

 than once a day has bad effects, producing indigestion in various 

 forms. 



The advantages of the dry-feed system are : A saving of labor to 

 the feeder, is lighter to handle and much easier to mix. It can be 

 fed in the morning. The fowls are obliged to eat it slowly; they 

 cannot swallow it in a few minutes. It will not freeze in cold 

 weather nor become sour in hot weather, and the fowls will not 

 over-eat with the dry feed. 



An Excellent Feed Hopper, Good Both for Young and Old Fowls 



These hoppers are made 8 feet long and the trough is 8 inches wide 



and 4 inches deep, with a projecting strip on top ^ inch to keep the 



chicks from pulling out the feed. The slats are 3 inches apart. 



The chief consideration in dry-feeding is that fowls require about 

 three times as much water to drink as with the wet mash ; also 

 unless the dry food is placed in hoppers or fed in boxes at least 

 four inches deep, it is apt to be wasted. The two systems supply 

 the requirements of the fowls in slightly different ways and both 

 are used very successfully. 



SAMPLE RATIONS 



The rations here given have been tested and proved excellent by 

 some of the most successful poultry breeders in this country. 



