LEGUMES AND GRASSES 197 



Granulated Milk. — A milk product available for poultry feed- 

 ing is known as granulated or powdered milk. It is whole milk 

 evaporated and crystallized. Its cost is very high, and in most 

 cases prohibitive. The only case where it can profitably be 

 used is in the feeding of chicks for the first few weeks of their 

 growth. 



Milk Albumen. — Another milk by-product upon the market in 

 large quantities, and so well distributed that all poultrymen can 

 use it if they desire, is milk albumen. This is formed from skim 

 milk during the manufacture of milk sugar. It comes in various 

 sizes and grades, suitable both for use in dry mashes and in scratch- 

 ing rations. It varies considerably in composition according to 

 method of manufacture. 



Eggs, although a product of the digestion and assimilation of 

 feed material, contain in themselves a high feeding value. Eggs 

 contain a high protein and mineral content, but in general it is 

 obviously too expensive to feed fresh eggs in an effort to produce 

 eggs. On all poultry farms there will be a considerable supply of 

 eggs in the spring of the year which are tested out as infertile on 

 the seventh day of incubation. These should constitute, if prop- 

 erly cared for, a valuable addition to the feed for the young and 

 growing chicks. In some cases it may be possible to dispose of 

 these infertile eggs at bake shops, if they are carefully candled. 



It is best to feed these infertile eggs hard boiled, and to begin 

 giving them to the young chicks after they reach the age of two 

 weeks. In feeding these eggs they can be crushed, shells and all, 

 and scattered about the pen or brooder. They should be fed in 

 small quantities. They should not be fed to old hens, as their 

 use may start the habit of egg eating. 



Legumes and grasses are usually fed to poultry in two different 

 forms: First, in the cured state in the form of hay; and second, 

 in the form of green succulence. In the dry condition they are 

 usually cut fine and mixed in the dry mash to increase bulkiness. 

 Alfalfa, clover, and certain mixed grasses are generally used for 

 this purpose. There are on the market short-cut clover and alfalfa 

 hay and also clover and alfalfa meal. Where alfalfa or clover can- 

 not be raised on the farm, it is profitable to include one of these 

 in the short-cut form in the dry mash for the laying birds during 

 the winter. 



Alfalfa hay, both in the short-cut and meal forms, offers ex- 

 ceedingly good opportunity for the use of adulterants; for this 

 reason the short-cut form is most desired, as the percentage of 



