40 POULTRY FOODS 



as a bulky substance for distending the intestines so 

 that concentrated foods may be digested. 



Middlings and Shorts. The terms middlings and shorts 

 are applied to by-products of the manufacture of flour. 

 Wheat middlings are made from the membrane that lies 

 between the outer shell and the starchy interior of the 

 wheat kernel; they contain some gluten, a substance 

 composed largely of protein. Shorts as usually sold 

 are made up of small, or ground, bran and wheat 

 sweepings. Thirds, or fine shorts, are middlings of 

 good quality. Middlings are worth more than bran and 

 are much used in making dry-mash rations. 



Flour. When it can be cheaply obtained, the lower 

 grade of dark flour is sometimes used for feeding to 

 poultry. This flour is rich in protein and other food 

 principles, and can be mixed with middlings and corn 

 meal. The resulting mixture may then be baked like 

 bread and fed to young or growing chicks. A small 

 quantity of this flour mixed with mash forms a crumbly 

 mass. 



Whole Oats. The determination of the value of whole 

 oats by their appearance is exceedingly difficult. Good 

 oats rank next to wheat as a poultry food, but the one 

 objection to oats is that they vary widely in the 

 proportion of hulls, or husks, which are indigestible. 

 Some oats are two-fifths husks, which are of no value 

 as food. The weight of oats varies from 25 to 50 Ib. 

 per bu. Light oats are unfit food for fowls; heavy oats 

 1 with full, plump kernels are one of the very best. 

 Hulled oats are preferable for feeding to poultry; 

 heavy-weight clipped oats stand next in value; ground 

 oats of the best quality are also an excellent food for 

 poultry. 



Oatmeal and Hulled Oats. In the manufacture of 

 both oatmeal and hulled oats, which have the same 

 nutritive ratio, the hulls are removed; consequently, the 

 food value of both oatmeal and hulled oats is greater 

 than that of whole oats. Oats thus prepared are 

 extensively used in making rations for young or growing 



