186 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



ANIMAL FOOD FOR FOWLS Kindly in- 

 form me as to the difference, if any, be- 

 tween beef scraps, beef meal, meat meal 

 and blood meal. Which is considered 

 the best to feed laying hens and grow- 

 ing chickens? I have fed beef scraps 

 for nearly a year and had good results 

 from it; at least I think I have. If 

 some of the others are better, I would 

 like to know what one it is. G. K. W. 



Answer Beef scraps, beef meal and 

 meat meal are the same, only the latter 

 is ground finer than the former. Blood 

 meal is made from the blood, cooked, 

 dried and ground. Pure dried blood 

 contains more protein than the others, 

 therefore is considered better in most 

 cases. The beef scraps and beef meal 

 are the refuse of the slaughter houses, 

 heads, lights, etc., boiled down or 

 cooked with steam, pressed, dried and 

 ground, and are frequently called tank- 

 age. 



If you have a good brand, keep to it, 

 because some are no good, and if al- 

 lowed to become damp or heated are in- 

 jurious to the chickens. 



BAD MEAT I had twelve laying hens, 

 they averaged seven eggs a day, were 

 healthy and never were sick until I 

 bought five cents' worth of green ground 

 bone from a wagon that passes my 

 door. It was wet and slimy, ancf 

 smelled, but he said it was all right. I 

 gave it to the chickens at noon ; fed 

 them nothing else then. At four o'clock 

 I went out and found two dying and 

 six more droopy and by eight that night 

 had lost eight. Next day two large 

 Buff Orpington hens died. I looked for 

 some of your remedies giving asafoet- 

 ida pills and the soda you spoke of in 

 the water. I showed the bones to the 

 butcher, and he said he never heard of 

 such a thing as spoiled meat poisoning 

 chickens. He sold it when it smelled 

 like that all the time. Mrs. D. M. 



Answer That meat poisoned your 

 chickens evidently. It is called ptomaine 

 poisoning. Butchers sometimes put 

 formaline or some preservative on the 

 meat, which has a very poisonous effect 

 on chickens, but yours were undoubted- 

 ly poisoned by the putrid meat. You 

 had better not buy any ground bone un- 

 less it is quite fresh. 



BLOOD MEAL Will you please tell me 

 how much blood meal to put into the 

 mash for thirteen hens, or in other 



words, what proportion for each hen ? 

 -L. S. 



Answer Half an ounce per hen every 

 day at this spring season of the year is 

 about what they need of blood meal 

 mixed in the mash. Weigh out enough 

 for the thirteen hens and measure that 

 in a cup or by a spoon, then you wilf 

 know how much by measure. 



BEEF SCRAP Is beef scrap, sold at 

 the poultry supply houses, good for 

 fowls? What is it and how much should 

 be given per hen? J. F. Y. 



Answer Beef scrap is excellent for 

 fowls when it is good. It is made from 

 refuse of the slaughter houses, heads, 

 lungs, liver, etc. It can readily be de- 

 tected if unfit for food by pouring boil- 

 ing water upon some and if the odor 

 smells of decayed meats it is unfit for 

 use. Some put it in dry mashes, oth- 

 ers put it in hoppers and allow the 

 fowls to eat of it as they like, either 

 way is good. 



_ Examine also by placing a small quan- 

 tity upon a piece of white paper and 

 noticing carefully pieces which look 

 more like dark brown glass ; these are 

 hoof and horn, very rich in nitrogen but 

 cannot be digested by fowls. 



Beef scrap, if kept in a warm or damp 

 place, sometim.es become lumpy. If you 

 break open the lumps white threads may 

 be seen in this. This is a very poison- 

 ous fungoid growth and will poison the 

 fowls. If rats or mice are allowed to 

 run over the beef scraps their drop- 

 pings will also moisten the meal ana 

 render it poisonous. Thousands of 

 chickens are lost each year by these 

 poisons. 



Always examine beef scrap before 

 buying any great quantities, and reject 

 any that has fiber or hair, hoof and 

 horn, as it is unfit for food. 



BEET TOPS Will you kindly tell me if 

 beet tops are a good green food for 

 ducks? Also for fowls and turkeys? 

 Are they as nourishing as alfalfa? My 

 hens are not laying well. The eggs 

 have suddenly dropped off, and I did 

 not know but what the cause might be 

 beet tops. J. S .Y. 



Answer In September one is glad 

 to get anything green for the fowls, 

 ducks, geese or turkeys, to eat. Al- 

 most anything green is better than noth- 

 ing, but alfalfa contains more protein 



