120 INSTRUCTION IN FEEDING POULTRY 



seem then, since such comparisons exist so commonly, that the factors of 

 this personality should be given greater emphasis and the student taught to 

 appreciate the principles of feeding in as important a light as the balancing 

 of the ration. 



The instruction on feeding then, based on these facts, would be divided 

 in the following manner: 



1. Requirements of the fowl. 



2. Balancing the ration. 



(a) To obtain the correct proportion of digestible nutrients. 



(b) To have the necessary physical properties of bulk, succulence, 

 etc. and (c) To be palatable. 



3. Principles of feeding the ration. 



(a) To encourage proper exercise. 



(b) To provide the fowl with sufficient nourishment each day. 

 My plea for greater emphasis on the "way to feed*' is strengthened 



by the bulk of our disease correspondence. A large proportion of this 

 correspondence comes from people who are feeding properly balanced 

 rations, but still find that their fowls lay soft shelled eggs, or become weak 

 legged, or die off gradually with no apparent disease, and furthermore, 

 that the chicks hatched from their eggs do the same. Further inquiry 

 usually brings forth the fact that the fowls are either confined in small pens 

 or over-fed in such a way that they do not get proper exercise, thus mak- 

 ing it difficult for their bodies to work off the surplus food. This 

 possibility of over-feeding is not so often thought of, especially since it is 

 taught that it is necessary to supply more than the body needs before eggs 

 can be obtained. 



The principle of making our fowls exercise for their food does not 

 necessarily interfere with our present methods of feeding. We can use 

 our hoppers for the dry mash provided we keep them closed during the 

 early part of the day or fill them with a bulky mash. 



To make a fowl exercise properly, especially in winter, it is necessary only 

 to keep her appetite whetted and partially hide her food. This is most 

 easily done by feeding whole grains scattered in small quantity in a deep 

 litter. If she is forced to work diligently in the morning her exercise 

 will have been sufficient for the day. She may then be allowed to consume 

 all that she desires in the afternoon, and it should be made possible for her 

 to fill her crop before night fall. The digestion of this food keeps her 

 warm and quiet during the night. 



I believe also that emphasis should be placed on the "principles involved 

 in feeding" rather than on the "study of individual rations/' The prin- 



