CHAPTER XII 



COMMON POULTRY FOODS 



Among the Grain Foods wheat is more largely used 

 for poultry than any other cereal, taking the country over. 

 It is a safer food than most other grain foods, and there is 

 probably no other cereal that is better relished by the fowls. 

 It has a near competitor in corn, and whether the one or 

 the other should be fed is largely a question of their prices. 

 If fed exclusively on one grain, fowls would probably give 

 better results in egg yield on wheat than on corn. Judging 

 from the composition, wheat has a slight advantage over 

 corn for egg production, while corn is better for fattening. 



It is not a question, however, of one kind of grain ; no one 

 should expect a profit from fowls when fed one kind of 

 food, no matter what kind of food it may be. "When fed 

 in combination with other foods it is an open question 

 whether wheat or corn is the more economical to feed at the 

 same price per pound for each. No serious mistake will be 

 made by the poultryman if he makes the market price the 

 basis for selecting wheat or corn. 



Corn is an excellent poultry food. A few years ago 

 poultry writers generally advised poultrymen not to feed it 

 to laying hens. Chemical analysis had shown it to contain 

 more fat-forming elements than wheat, and on this account 

 it became very unpopular, and higher priced wheat was fed 

 in its place. Later, however, experiment stations, in actual 

 feeding tests, showed it to be the equal of wheat when fed 

 in proper combinations. The Massachusetts Station secured 

 as good, if not better, results in egg yield from corn as from 

 wheat. 



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