POULTRY FOODS 41 



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. 



OATS 



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 propor- 

 tion 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 for food for fowls; heavy oats with full, 

 plump kernels are one of the very best. Hulled oats are 

 preferable for feeding 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 chicks. Whole 

 oats have a nutritive ratio of 1 to 6; hulled oats and 

 oatmeal, 1 to 4. (By nutritive ratio is meant the ratio 



