PRACTICAL FEEDING OF POULTRY 



temperature is moderate, oats are often sprouted by 

 spreading them in a layer two inches thick directly on the 

 cement floors, where very satisfactory results are secured. 

 Oats so arranged can be watered and stirred very economi- 

 cally. It is very important to select a good grade of heavy 

 oats for sprouting and it may be advisable to get seed 

 oats for this purpose if the ordinary feed oats are of poor 

 quality. The oats sprouter must be well-ventilated or the 

 oats will be inclined to mould. Keep the sprouter clean 

 and spray it occasionally with a disinfectant to prevent 

 the growth of mould spores. 



It is sometimes necessary, especially where one is forced 

 to use a poor quality of oats, to treat the oats with 

 formalin before they are sprouted, using one pint of 

 formalin to 30 gallons of water which is sprinkled over 

 and thoroughly mixed with 30 bushels of oats. The oats 

 are covered with a blanket for 4 hours and then stirred 

 and spread in the open until they are thoroughly dried, 

 when the oats are sacked in a bag which has been 

 previously soaked in formalin and then dried. Oats 

 treated and dried in this way may be kept indefinitely to 

 use for sprouting. While other grains may be used for 

 sprouting, such as barley, rye and wheat, oats is the grain 

 most commonly used and is the one which gives the best 

 results. 



Cabbage and Mangel Beets. Both cabbages and man- 

 gel beets are splendid green feeds for poultry and can be 

 produced economically, as both supply a very large ton- 

 nage per acre in sections where the soil and climatic con- 



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