FEEDING FARM POULTRY 267 



daily. Grit and water are both indispensable, and 

 some green food for variety will not be out of place. 



Grain Feed for Fowls. For growing chicks and 

 fattening fowls the grain should be ground. Opin- 

 ions differ as to the necessity of grinding grains for 

 egg production. Corn is the standard grain for 

 chickens. The eggs resulting when it is largely used 

 in the ration are of good quality, and the yolk is 

 rich and of a strong yellow. Corn is also usually 

 the cheapest grain. On account of its carbonaceous 

 nature it is not a good food as an exclusive grain, 

 either in fattening or in egg production. Buckwheat 

 is very highly prized as a food for layers. It may 

 be fed whole or ground. Kafir corn has been most 

 satisfactory when fed whole. It ranks about with 

 corn, which it resembles in composition. 



For young chicks good poultrymen approve of 

 rolled oats, but whole oats are not greatly relished 

 by any class of poultry stock. If ground, they give 

 good results in mashes wet or dry. Barley is liked 

 by hens, and is superior to oats because of the 

 smaller quantity of hull. Whole wheat or wheat 

 screenings make an ideal ration for hens. Wheat is 

 liked next to corn by poultry. It can be fed for 

 indefinite periods without injury to the fowls. This 

 is true also of wheat screenings. 



The oil meals, on account of their concentrated 

 nature, must be fed sparingly. These include the 

 glutens, linseed oil meal and cottonseed meal. Lin- 

 seed meal has been more generally fed than the 

 others. There is not the demand for these meals 

 in poultry feeding that there is for other stock, since 



