POULTRY FOODS 43 



broken into bits, however, the small pieces could be 

 eaten and digested by young chicks. In some localities 

 where bugs and worms are plentiful, the entire grain 

 ration for the summer months is Kafir corn, a plentiful 

 supply of insect food with this kind of grain making 

 a nearly balanced ration. Kafir corn can be used with 

 safety in the ration for full-grown fowls, and if broken 

 into small pieces, for chicks as well. 



Broom Corn. The seed of broom corn as a food for 

 poultry is about equal in value to sunflower seed. 

 Broom corn is fed sparingly; a ration containing more 

 than 10% of this grain cannot be fed with safety to 

 fowls. In order to avoid fermentation and mildew, the 

 heads of the grain are spread out and kept in a dry 

 place. Ptomaine poisoning is liable to be produced by 

 the eating of moldy grain or seed of any kind. 



Rye. The use of rye as a food for poultry should be 

 avoided; fowls do not relish it and bad results may come 

 from its use. 



Barley. The grains of barley, if plump and of good 

 quality, contain almost as much protein as oats, more 

 than corn, and more of the carbohydrates than oats 

 but not so much as corn. Good barley is about 15% 

 hulls; poor barley may have a much larger percentage 

 of hulls, and the grains themselves may be so shriveled 

 as to be valueless as food. Good barley meal is useful 

 for forming a part of a meal ration for fattening fowls. 

 It is one of the best meals for this purpose; but the 

 ordinary barley meals are likely to be made of a mixture 

 of barley and waste products, which tend to deprive 

 the meal of its feeding value. 



Buckwheat. Fowls have to acquire a liking for buck- 

 wheat; they are not naturally fond of it, and as the 

 hull, which forms a large percentage of this grain, is 

 indigestible, buckwheat is not good as a single-grain 

 ration. Buckwheat whitens the flesh and improves its 

 flavor when fed liberally to fowls. The yolks of eggs 

 from hens fed freely on buckwheat are light in color. 

 Although a small quantity of buckwheat may be used 



