12 



HOW TO FEED POULTRY FOR ANY PURPOSE WITH PROFIT 



imately the same chemical composition so far as the prin- 

 cipal nutrients are concerned. To a limited extent such 

 preferences may depend upon those nutrients being some- 

 what different in the form in which they occur; but as far 

 as ordinary observation shows, the birds are governed in 

 their preferences largely by the ease of obtaining feed, 

 and by whether the act of swallowing it is attended by 

 unpleasant sensations. They do not appear to have any 

 nice sense of taste, but do seem to show some judgment 

 as to whether a particular feed before them is worth 

 eating. In general they take the feed that they can get 

 easiest and show aversion to those containing large pro- 

 portions of dry fiber. 



Corn and Corn Products 



Corn is at the same time the most valuable and the 

 most dangerous of the grains fed to poultry. Its value 

 comes from its cheapness (under normal conditions), its 

 general availability, its high digestibility, and the fact 

 that most kinds of poultry prefer it to other grains. Its 

 dangerousness is due to the fact that it is the hardest 



AFTER THE CORN IS CUT ON A NEW YORK FARM 



The chickens have been in it all summer but not visible to the camera. Chickens 

 and corn are an ever-profitable combination. 



grain properly to ripen, cure, and preserve; and that even 

 when the whole corn has been well cured, the products 

 milled from it are apt to heat and mold in warm weather, 

 and when fed in that state may be highly injurious. 

 Avoidance of the dangers of corn is a matter of care and 

 good judgment on the part of the poultry keeper. Any 

 unsoundness or unwholesomeness in corn products is 

 easily detected by inspection, or such simple tests as 

 may be applied by the poultryman. 



The general preference of poultry for corn is by no 

 means an exclusive one. In a mixture containing corn 

 they are apt to eat the corn first, whether it is whole or 

 cracked, but do not invariably do so. If they are fed up 

 on corn and have had little of other grains, they 

 will often lose appetite for corn and eat greedily of a 

 grain like oats or rye, which ordinarily they would leave 

 until all the corn had been consumed. The large size of 

 the grains of whole corn, and its bright color evidently 

 have much to do with its attraction for poultry, for 'it 

 may be observed that they are much more partial to 

 cracked corn that is clean and bright in appearance than 

 to that which is bleached and dull looking. They will show 

 this preference immediately when unattractive corn is 



placed before them. Hence we cannot conclude that it is 

 perception of the inferior ouality of the dull-looking corn 

 that makes them reluctant to eat it. 



Corn may be fed to poultry in any form green or 

 ripe, whole, cracked, coarsely or finely ground, raw, or 

 rooked. It is not economy to feed green corn to poultry, 

 and the only occasion for feeding it is to use green sweet 

 corn from the garden that has become too hard for th^ 

 table. Where the quantity of this is so small that it is 

 not worth while to go to the trouble of thoroughly curing 

 it, it is as well to feed it to poultry at once, for such odds 

 and ends of sweet corn left about are apt to mold before 

 they cure, or to be eaten by mice. Many people are afraid 

 to feed unripe corn to poultry because they have heard 

 much of the dangers of feeding new corn to other stock, 

 especially to horses. As far as feeding to poultry is con- 

 cerned there is no danger, provided the corn is sound and 

 clean. If it has heated or is moldy there may be risk in 

 using it freely, but in all cases of damaged or inferior 

 feeds it is a safe rule to use the damaged article in such 

 amounts as will be readily eaten 

 once a day by poultry that are well 

 fed at other times with sound feeds. 

 This practice enables a poultry 

 keeper to use to advantage feeds 

 that may have become damaged on 

 his hands, or that can be obtained 

 at a price low enough really to jus- 

 tify their use. 



In buying corn and corn products 

 the appearance and texture are gen- 

 erally fair indications of their qual- 

 ity. The protein and the fat in a 

 grain of corn are principally in the 

 germ and near the outer surface, 

 the starch appearing as the soft in- 

 side portion of the kernel. The more 

 protein and fat the corn contains 

 the larger will be the hard, darker- 

 colored portions of the grain. By 

 splitting a whole grain of corn or 

 by noting the relative proportions 

 of hard and highly-colored and soft, 

 lighter-colored parts of the particles 



of cracked corn one can tell whether it is relatively high 

 in feeding value or not. Of course these determinations 

 are not accurate, but with experience the feeder's judg- 

 ment may become good enough for practical purposes. 

 The quality and texture of white corn are not as plain to 

 observation as in yellow corn, but the same difference ex- 

 ists, and the judgment of the eye may be reinforced in 

 the inspection of cracked white corn by testing the par- 

 ticles with the teeth. The color (that is, white or yel- 

 low), does not influence the quality. 



The quality of corn meal may be judged by the ap- 

 pearance, weight, smell, taste, and the effect of scalding 

 with boiling water. Meal from ripe, hard, dry corn is 

 bright and clean looking, and swells immediately when 

 wet with boiling water of which it will take up a con- 

 siderable quantity, making a sticky mush. Meal from 

 poor corn is dull in color, light in weight, often smells 

 stale or moldy, and when tasted lacks the flavor of good 

 meal. Wet with boiling water it does not make an ad- 

 hesive mass, but the particles remain separate and, when 

 the mixture stands, tend to settle to the bottom like sand, 

 leaving the water on top. There are, of course, all grades 

 between good and poor meal, and the feeder learns by 



