POULTRY FOODS 41 



chicks. Whole oats have a nutritive ratio of 1 to 6; 

 hulled oats and oatmeal, 1 to 4. Consequently, pre- 

 pared oats are better than whole oats as food for young 

 chicks and laying hens. Either hulled oats or oat- 

 meal is one of the best single-grain rations for fowls. 



Oat Hulls. As a poultry food, oat hulls, apart from 

 their value as manure, which is small, are worth no 

 more than sawdust. Ground oat hulls are liberally 

 used as an adulterant to lessen the cost of other foods 

 in preparing poultry feeds, and the presence of much 

 of this adulterant may so reduce the value of the feed 

 as to make it useless. 



CORN 



Whole Corn. The structure of the corn kernel is 

 similar in a general way to that of the wheat grain. 

 Corn is the grain that is ordinarily the most attractive 

 to poultry. Some corn is almost a necessity for suc- 

 cessful poultry feeding, but an all-corn ration is 

 injurious because it is too fattening. Corn alone, 

 however, will not fatten a fowl in the best way, nor 

 will it produce a good yield of eggs. Corn is rich in 

 carbohydrates and fats; it provides heat for the body, 

 and oil and fat for the feathers, for the yolk of the 

 egg, and for the flesh. Corn contains too little protein 

 and ash for successful egg production, and to produce 

 the best results is combined with other grains. A 

 balanced ration is formed by the use of corn and some 

 other grains and meat. 



Corn Bran. The outside of the grain, or the shell, 

 from which corn bran is made, is removed from corn 

 when it is made into food products for human beings. 

 This shell is hard and dry and has almost no food 

 value, being composed almost entirely of indigestible 

 fiber and a little ash; and is, therefore, of ne use in 

 poultry rations. 



Gluten Meals and Feeds. Gluten, a by-product of 

 corn starch manufacture, is sometimes sold as gluten 

 meal, and is a very important food for dairy cows. 

 Good gluten meal that does not contain corn hulls, 



