44 



Avaste, buckwheat and peas have been occasional!}' noted. It is rather 

 impracticable to try and set any definite standard for a feed of this 

 •character, but a mixture formulated somewhat as outlined, carrying 

 15 per cent of protein and 4-5 per cent of fat, with a low percentage 

 ■of ash, should prove satisfactory at $1.50 to $1.75 a hundred. It is 

 ■desirable that a poultry ration should contain a variety of ingredients, 

 but in proprietary mixtures their quality is not always the best. The 

 Maine experiment station recommends 200 lbs. bran, 100 lbs. mid- 

 dlings, 100 lbs. corn meal, 100 lbs. linseed meal, 100 lbs. gluten meal 

 and 100 lbs. beef scraps. Such a mixture will not cost over $1.50 a 

 hundred, and is certainly more economical, feeding value considered, 

 than many of the commercial mixtures. Dry feeding and feeding with 

 whole grains in preference to moist mashes, is now being consider- 

 ably practiced. 



Scratching grains. The various brands for chickens and for 

 ■older fowls show a very similar composition, averaging 1 1 per cent 

 protein and 3.5 per cent fat, but vary somewhat in their ingredients 

 and noticeably in fineness. The chick grains were composed of 

 wheat, corn, oats (often hulled), millet seed, Kafhr corn, grit and 

 ■ charcoal. 



'Y^Q poultry grains, coarsely cracked if at all, contained wheat, corn, 

 Kaffir corn, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, millet seed, lin- 

 seed cake, peas, pop-corn, charcoal, shells and grit. Meat products 

 were seldom present, but there was a tendency to overload with grit 

 in some instances. The retail price was about $2.35 a hundred for 

 the chick grains, and $1.85 for the coarse grains, which was rather 

 ■excessive considering the food value of the ingredients. It is 

 believed that for older fowls poultrymen will do better to buy corn, 

 oats, wheat and barley separately, than to purchase them in commer- 

 cial poultry mixtures. 



Alfalfa, as well as clover meals, are now obtainable for winter feed- 

 ing, 'i'he former should carry 18 per cent protein, and the latter 12 

 per cent. Preference should be given to bright, clean lots, free from 

 excess of coarse woody stalks. The price ($1.80 a hundred) is 

 rather in excess of their value. Poultrymen by raising corn and 

 ■clover can considerably reduce their outlay for food. 



