POULTRY FOODS 



57 



MINERAL MATTER 



Grit. The food eaten by 

 fowls goes first into the 

 crop, where it is softened 

 by water; it then passes 

 into the gizzard, and by 

 the action of small sharp 

 stones, or grit, is there 

 ground into a pasty mass. 

 The best grit is sharp, ir- 

 regular pieces of hard 

 limestone about the size 

 of corn kernels. 



Mineral matter is neces- 

 sary for the good health 

 of the fowls and for egg- 

 shell-forming material. A 

 deficiency of this in the 

 regular ration may be sup- 

 plied by grit, limestone, 

 plaster, broken oyster 

 shells, or shells of any 

 kind. Granulated bone 

 and bone meal serve the 

 purpose fairly well, but 

 the lime in shells is more 

 quickly dissolved by the 

 action of grit and gizzard, 

 and hence is better than 

 the bone. 



Charcoal. Charcoal is 

 one of the necessities of 

 poultry feeding and should 

 be kept constantly before 

 poultry; it assists diges- 

 tion, sweetens the crop, 

 gizzard, and intestines, and 

 prevents ailments of the 



