COMMON POULTRY FOODS 239 



oats is in furnishing a necessary variety to the ration. This, 

 of course, is true of other foods. Hulled oats, if they could 

 be obtained at a reasonable price would be superior to corn 

 or wheat. 



9 Barley is not extensively fed to poultry. Chickens will 

 not eat it if they can get wheat or corn, or, at any rate, they 

 will eat but little of it. Where the price is not more than 

 that of other grains, a little may be fed to give variety. 

 Many poultry feeders use rolled or chopped barley in the 

 mash. 



Wheat Bran. Bran is the outer covering of wheat and 

 other grains, separated from the flour in the process of 

 milling. "Wheat bran is richer in protein than whole wheat, 

 and has considerable ash or mineral matter other than lime. 

 Investigations have shown bran to be low in digestibility, 

 but nevertheless it is one of the most popular of poultry 

 foods. There is no cereal by-product more universally used 

 by poultry feeders than bran. Practical experience long 

 ago demonstrated its high value for poultry, especially for 

 egg production. For fattening it has not the same value. 

 Its high feeding value for egg production and for growing 

 chickens is undoubtedly due to its high mineral content, as 

 well as protein content. It contains also more fat than either 

 wheat or barley. These facts, added to its relative cheap- 

 ness, make it an economical feed. 



Middlings and Shorts. These are other by-products of 

 wheat that are extensively used. They have a high protein 

 content compared with the whole wheat, and on this account 

 and their relative cheapness make a liberal use of them in 

 the mash desirable. Middlings and shorts are composed of 

 the finer parts of the bran with some of the coarser parts 

 of the flour separated in bolting. 



Peas. Where peas can be grown successfully they should 

 be used quite extensively as a poultry food. They are 



