PRINCIPLES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS OF FEEDING 



27 



BROODER CHICKS IN GRASSY YARDS A GENER AL VIEW AT GRANDVIEW FARM, AURORA, N. Y. 

 Note the colony houses for older chicks in the distance. 



the same conditions the feeding of corn exclusively may 

 give heavier egg production in hens that do not readily 

 put on fat, but eventually is likely to lead to some ac- 

 cumulation of fat, which is beneficial as long as it does 

 not become excessive, but detrimental as soon as it be- 

 gins to hinder activity and vital functions. 



In colder weather, or even in a colder house, or a 

 more exposed locality, corn may simply meet the main- 

 tenance and production requirements, while wheat being 

 lower in fats is deficient. Taking the percentages in 

 round numbers for convenience of comparison, we can 

 see that if a ration of corn containing 10 per cent of pro- 

 tein, 70 per cent of carbohydrates, and 5 per cent of fat 

 is a suitable ration at a particular time, and under certain 

 conditions, then a ration of wheat containing 12 per cent 

 of protein, 72 per cent of carbohydrates, and 2 per cent of 

 fat will be deficient in carbohydrates and fats, and the 

 deficiency must then be made up by taking a part of the 

 protein to supply heat and energy. What would happen 

 in the supposed case is this: 



Fat has two and one-fourth tirrfts the capacity to pro- 

 duce heat that carbohydrates and protein have. Hence 

 the carbohydrates and fat in corn in this instance are 

 equal to 82 per cent of carbohydrates; and the propor- 

 tion of protein to carbohydrates required is 10 to 82. In 

 wheat the total carbohydrates and fat is equivalent to only 

 77 per cent of carbohydrates. There is a deficiency of 

 five per cent in the feed elements of this class needed. It 

 is made up by taking five per cent out of the protein 

 elements and using it as "fuel." This leaves only 7 per 

 cent of protein available for maintenance, growth, or pro- 

 duction, against 10 per cent in corn. That is, in the case 

 and under the conditions supposed, corn is nearly fifty 

 per cent more efficient than wheat for 

 such service as the feed performs 

 after providing heat and energy. 



This does not mean that if wheat 

 is at any time an insufficient feed 

 , corn should be substituted. The ques- 

 tion of the principal grain to use is 

 a matter of availability and cost. 

 The base of the ration should be the 

 most abundant and cheapest grain. 

 In case that is wheat, and particularly 

 in sections where wheat is extensive- 

 ly grown and corn is not. the defi- 

 ciency of heat-making elements may 

 be made up, and the full value of 

 the flesh makers in the wheat con- 

 served, by the use of any article of 

 feed which will supply what carbo- 

 hydrates and fats are lacking. By giv- 

 ing an amount of meat scrap which 

 would supply fat equivalent to five 



per cent of carbohydrates the deficiency would be met,, 

 and at the same time the protein would be increased 

 something over one percent, or a little over one-twelfth 

 of its actual amount. Whether this addition to the pro- 

 tein was useful and economical would depend entirely 

 upon whether it was needed and could be used for flesh 

 forming or in egg production. In general it is only in 

 periods of growth, molting, and heavy egg production 

 that there is any advantage in supplying more protein 

 than is contained in the ordinary grains. 



In case corn appeared insufficient for a ration, and 

 that would be the case in extreme cold weather, the ad- 

 dition of meat scrap would supply the deficiency, and a 

 very little meat scrap might make the fats and carbo- 

 hydrates sufficient and at the same time add substantially 

 to the protein in the ration and to the results to which 

 protein contributes. So in cold weather poultry that are 

 growing, laying, or molting can be fed rations rich in 

 fats and carbohydrates without becoming overfat, while 

 poultry that require only a maintenance ration will keep 

 in good condition upon corn alone. In this case they no 

 doubt use much of the protein in the corn for heat form- 

 ing, but as the corn is generally the cheapest feed obtain- 

 able, the protein contained in it costs no more than the 

 other elements, while the protein contained in meat scrap 

 is more expensive; that is, where extra protein has to be 

 supplied it usually costs more than what is obtained in 

 the common form in staple feeds. 



In extremely hot weather all grains may be too heat- 

 ing, and corn being the most heating is then of course, 

 the least suitable to feed by itself. But as in cold weather 

 we can supplement the deficiency of heat-forming material 

 in grain by feeding meat scraps which are much richer in 



BARRED AND WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCK CHICKENS ON DOMINION 



EXPERIMENTAL, FARM, OTTAWA, CANADA 

 Thrifty chickens showing good condition and good care and feeding. 



