FOODS AND FEEDING 



food. Poultry have no teeth, but do all the grind- 

 ing of their food in the gizzard. Grit, in the 

 form of pebbles, gravel and sand, may usually be 

 Grits, Shells found in sufficiency by fowls having 

 and Charcoal f re e range, but in confinement it is very 

 essential to provide a supply so that the birds may 

 keep their gizzards constantly supplied with mill- 

 stones. 



Oyster Shells. Laying hens call for extra large 

 amounts of carbonate of lime for making egg 

 shells, which may be supplied in crushed oyster 

 shells. The shells will also furnish grit, but not 

 enough to suffice, as they are soluble. 



Charcoal contains no nourishment, but is one of 

 the best poultry " correctors " known, having a 

 healthy influence, especially in cases of indigestion 

 or improper feeding. It may be fed in granulated 

 form, like grit, or in powdered form and added to 

 the mash. If you want to avoid bowel disorders 

 among your fowls, use plenty of charcoal. We 

 keep it in hoppers before our fowls all the time. 



In order to stimulate young stock to eat large 

 quantities of food, so that they might make more 

 improving rapid growth, or to make oats more 

 Palatability attractive to old fowls, so that we 

 of Grain Feed m j ght fee( j larger quant i t i es o f that 



grain than of any other in order to avoid fattening 

 the birds, I have often resorted to the practice of 

 soaking the grain in water for twenty-four hours 



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