44 POULTRY FOODS 



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 the 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. Cryptogamic 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 form- 

 ing a part of the 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 





