466 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



digestible, while complete mastication and digestion are aided by 

 the presence of a considerable amount of crude fiber in the hull. 



Probably by far the greater portion of the oats produced in the 

 United States is fed to horses. In the opinion of many good horse- 

 men no other feed produces as good results in keeping the animals 

 in good condition and high spirits. Though the stimulating effect 

 of oats on horses is generally recognized by horsemen, the attempts 

 of chemists to find the active principle which produces it have been 

 without results. Recent experiments with other feeds for work 

 horses indicate that equally as good results can be secured where 

 oats are in part replaced by corn, especially if a small amount of oil 

 meal or otner feed rich in protein is also used. 



Oats are usually fed whole to horses. In the feeding of young 

 colts and older animals with poor teeth, grinding or crushing the 

 grain is of benefit. Musty grain should never be fed to stock. New 

 oats should be fed with caution, as they are likely to have a decid- 

 edly loosening effect on the bowels. 



The high protein content and readily digestible nature of oats 

 make them excellent feed for dairy cows. Often, however, they 

 are too high in price to feed with profit. According to a test con- 

 ducted by the Wisconsin station, oats, pound for pound, are some- 

 what more valuable than bran for milk production. On this basis, 

 with bran at $25 a ton, oats are worth 44 cents a bushel for dairy 

 cows. The grain is usually fed whole, though it is sometimes crushed 

 or ground or fed in the form of corn and oat feeds. Some of the 

 prepared feeds bearing this name, however, contain a large per- 

 centage of oat hulls and little of the grain. Oats are excellent for 

 feeding to calves, particularly to those of the dairy breeds. They 

 seldom form an important part of the ration of fattening cattle. 



Oats are valuable for feeding to sheep, particularly to growing 

 lambs and to ewes. While experiments show that this grain is only 

 a little lower in feeding value than corn for fattening sheep, better 

 results will be secured by feeding corn and oats mixed than oats 

 alone. Oats are usually fed unground. Breeding ewes should be 

 fed a half pound of oats, bran, or peas daily, the selection of the 

 grain depending on the availability and the relative prices of the 

 different feeds. Sheaf oats make good feed for sheep as well as for 

 other stock. Ground oats can be fed to young lambs with excellent 

 results. 



On account of the large quantity of crude fiber in oats, this 

 grain is not well adapted for use in feeding hogs. An experiment 

 at the Wisconsin station showed excellent results when a ration of 

 one-third ground oats and two-thirds corn meal was fed to growing 

 pigs. A larger proportion of ground oats or the substitution of 

 whole oats for the ground oats decreased the rate of gain and in- 

 creased the cost. Ground or crushed oats are excellent for brood 

 sows. They can be fed with best results in the form of slop, alone 

 or in combination with bran, shorts, or peas. 



Oats are quite largely used in poultry feeding, forming an im- 

 portant part of the grain ration of breeding stock. They are usually 



