SPECIAL FEATURES 179 



it is desired to get a greater amount of energy from the engine, 

 additional fuel is supplied and its speed is increased. So it is 

 with the bird. When a certain product is desired, feed in addition 

 to that required for maintenance must be supplied in the proper 

 proportion and of the composition which will best attain the 

 desired end. 



Special Features. It has been shown by careful experiments 

 that the observance of certain important factors in poultry feeding 

 leads to better results. 



Need of Meat in the Ration. Under natural conditions, with 

 free range, birds will hunt for worms and insects and thus largely 

 supply the meat requirements of their ration. When fowls are 

 kept in close confinement, it is necessary that this meat require- 

 ment be artificially supplied. The feeding of meat scrap is the 

 best form of meeting this demand. In practice it is found necessary 

 to sterilize the scrap completely in order to destroy toxic properties 

 and increase the keeping qualities. Approved brands are sterilized 

 and thus form excellent feed, but they must be fed with caution. 

 In purchasing meat scrap it is safest to buy only that with guaran- 

 teed analysis and from a known and reliable firm. 



It is safe to feed meat in an egg-producing ration at the rate 

 of 5 to 10 per cent of the total feed. The exact percentage varies 

 with the analysis of the meat and the character of the other com- 

 ponents of the ration. Meat is usually fed to the birds by mixing 

 it with the dry mash, where they can have constant access to it. 

 When it is desirable to force them for a short time for somejpar- 

 ticular purpose, the scrap is often fed in separate hoppers. They 

 must have meat in some form, and in order to do their best the 

 quantity must be ample. 



Natural Feeds for Fowls. If it were necessary to limit birds 

 to only one character or one type of feed, they would subsist 

 longest and would do best on a ration entirely of grain. A large 

 part of their feed, therefore, should be in the form of whole or 

 cracked grains. Many kinds of grain are available, each with its 

 own peculiar composition and value, and the feeder is thus allowed 

 great latitude of choice in compounding rations. 



Corn is probably the grain most widely fed; moreover, it is 

 greatly relished by all classes of poultry. Corn is very fattening 

 and birds eat it greedily. If laying fowls are fed too exclusively 

 on corn, they are likely to take on too much flesh, the excess of 

 which retards egg production. 



