186 POULTRY FEEDS 



sifted cracked corn the protein content is slightly lower, due to the 

 loss of germ meal. Corn is very easily digested and assimilated. 

 The facts that corn is easily digested and is a rapid fat former 

 make it a very undesirable feed for mature birds in close confine- 

 ment if egg-laying is desired. A great many of the farm flocks 

 throughout the country are maintained almost entirely upon an 

 exclusive corn diet, which results in a very small and usually an 

 unprofitable egg yield. Corn does not contain the nutrients in 

 the proportion in which they are required in the manufacture of 

 eggs, and therefore it should be used in connection with other 

 grains, its particular function being to supply heat and energy. 



Care should be taken in feeding whole or cracked corn to avoid 

 the use of moldy feed. New corn which has not been properly 

 dried may mold and heat; in this condition it is a very unsafe feed. 



Corn meal is used both in dry and in wet mashes. Coarse corn 

 meal is usually preferred as the basis of this feed, as it is more 

 bulky. As much inferior corn is ground up and sold as corn meal, 

 it is safer to have meal prepared from home-grown grain. Care 

 must be exercised for a few days after grinding to avoid heating. 

 This can be done by spreading the sacks out on a dry floor and 

 turning them a few times for the first few days. 



In some instances corn-and-cob meal is profitable, but its use 

 as a poultry feed is of doubtful value, owing to the large amount 

 of fibre in the cob, which contains very little nourishment. It has 

 a low digestibility. It is better practice to omit the cob from the 

 corn meal, and increase its bulk by the addition of wheat bran, 

 short-cut alfalfa, or ground oats. 



Gluten meal is a by-product of corn carrying a high percentage 

 of protein. It is separated from corn by mechanical processes in 

 the manufacture of glucose and starch. Its composition is very 

 uniform, and it furnishes a very good source of vegetable protein 

 in the poultry ration. The one objection to feeding gluten meal 

 is the fact that some mature birds not accustomed to this feed will 

 often refuse to eat it. If it is desired to use gluten meal in the 

 rations, it should be given the birds when they are quite young. 



Gluten feed is a term used for defining prepared rations or feed 

 mixtures containing a certain percentage of gluten meal combined 

 with other less expensive, bulky products. It is generally a poor 

 practice to purchase the so-called gluten feeds without a guaranteed 

 analysis. Even in such cases the true gluten meal is to be preferred, 

 as it has a known digestibility. 



