C H APTE R III 



Principles, Methods and Systems of Feeding 



Adapting Rations to Conditions Development of Feeding Formulas Energy Value the Best Measure of Feeding 

 Value Importance of Variety in Grain Diet Moist and Dry Mash Systems Compared Com- 

 bination of the Good Features of Both the Best Practice Relation of Range 

 and Exercise to Feeding Methods. 



IN the preceding chapters the nutritive requirements 

 of poultry and the sources of supply to meet these 

 requirements were discussed. In this chapter we 

 have to consider the details of making these supplies 

 available, and of getting both efficiency and economy in 

 feeding. As has been stated, feeding the common grains 

 and their straight products to poultry is a simple mat- 

 ter. So in a study of the principles of feeding, in fact, 

 in an initial determination of the principles of poultry 

 feeding, we begin with observation of the results of 

 feeding a simple ration of common grains and their well- 

 known by-products. 



How Rations Are Adapted to Conditions 



In comparing results of feeding common grains, no 

 such differences in their feeding values can be found, as 

 many claiming to write with authority on this subject 



BROODER CHICKS AT BREAKFAST 



Note these brooders placed at the side of a berry patch, which afford shade 

 and some feed. Observe, too, that the grass while worn close near the brooders, 

 is fairly long- at a little distance. A range in good condition for chickens 

 should be growing something else at the same time. 



assert exists. It is not true that hens or other poultry fed 

 exclusively on corn -would starve to death because of a 

 lack of protein for, as the reader may see by referring to 

 the table on page 23, corn contains a large amount of 

 protein, and as a matter of fact some corn contains 

 much more protein than some wheat and other grains 

 which commonly average higher in this nutrient. As far 

 as is known, corn contains ample supplies of protein for 

 the ordinary growth and maintenance of poultry, and the 

 objection to using good corn or corn products exclusively 

 or too freely (for the purpose in feeding) is not a lack of 

 protein but an excess of fat. If the accumulation of fat is 



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not objectionable or detrimental, or if the fat in the corn 

 is all used to provide heat and energy, the amount 

 supplied is not only an advantage, but if the fat 

 were not obtained from corn it would have to be pro- 

 vided from some other source, possibly at much higher 

 cost and by special effort. 



Further, as the first requirement of the body is to 

 maintain itself at a normal temperature, and the processes 

 of growth and production can go on only at such tem- 

 peratuie, in cold weather poultry may not be able to 

 get all the heat they need from the carbohydrates and the 

 fat in corn. What happens then is that the protein in the 

 feed is used for heat production, and while protein has 

 peculiar value as a flesh former, as fuel it has only as 

 much value as the carbohydrates, and less than half the 

 value of fat. 



By comparing the analyses of the different common 

 grains as given in the table the 

 reader will see that they are quite 

 similar in their protein and carbo- 

 hydrate contents, and that in gen- 

 eral they contain about six or seven 

 times as much carbohydrates as pro- 

 tein. The variation in fats is greater, 

 but with respect to this they fall 

 into two groups: wheat, barley, and 

 rye approximate 2% of fat, which is 

 about one-sixth to one-fifth of the 

 protein, and about one-thirtieth of 

 their carbohydrates; corn and oats 

 have 5% of fat, which in corn is 

 one-half and in oats about two- 

 fifths of the protein; and in corn 

 one-fourteenth, and in oats one- 

 twelfth of the carbohydrates. 



The comparison of results of 

 feeding corn and wheat is the best 

 to make in getting at the principles 

 of feeding because, while the birds 

 have some preference for corn, they 

 eat wheat just as freely when fed on 

 it alone, while with all the other 

 grains the tendency is to eat light. 

 In feeding corn and wheat separate- 

 ly, each being the principal part of 

 the diet, it is found that sometimes 



one is the better feed, sometimes the other, and by taking 

 into consideration the conditions affecting bodily require- 

 ments, and the effects of feeding, it becomes easy to de- 

 termine how far either grain will meet requirements or 

 serve the purposes of production under any given con- 

 ditions in practice. 



Where fowls are confined and fed on grain, with only 

 enough green feed to keep them in condition not enough 

 to make any substantial part of the ration wheat will be 

 found to answer all the requirements of maintenance and 

 of heavy egg production when temperatures are moder- 

 ate as in spring, fall, and cool summer weather. Under 



