280 POULTRY BREEDING 
to the ration. The condition of the fowls is always the 
best guide in making rations. If they are getting too fat 
cut out feed rich in carbohydrates and put in feeds rich 
in protein, in their place, feed less liberally, and induce 
the fowls to take exercise.” 
Here Prof. Rice gives the key to an important fact in 
poultry breeding. It is the fat, lazy hen that does not 
lay. A hen rarely becomes too fat to lay well if she is 
given an opportunity to take abundant exercise. Keep 
the hens fat, but keep them in good hard condition by 
keeping them at work. The good farmer likes to keep 
his horses fat but he knows a stall-fed fat horse is not 
worth nearly so much for work as one that has been 
made fat while at regular work. Continuing Prof. Rice 
says: 
“Some of the essential points of a good ration are: It 
should be composed of feeds every one of which the fowls 
like. It should contain a sufficient quantity of digestible 
nutrients to supply the needs of growth and large pro- 
duction. It should contain enough bulk to enable the 
digestible nutrients to act quickly upon it. It should not 
contain an excess of indigestible fiber, which must be 
thrown off by the system, thus causing waste of energy. 
A certain portion of the ration should be of whole grain 
in order to provide muscular activity for the digestive 
organs. This is made necessary in grinding grain. Under 
certain conditions a quantity of the ration should be of 
ground grain. This is for the purpose of providing 
quickly available nutrients to supply the immediate de- 
mands of rapid growth or heavy, continuous egg yield. 
It must provide a good variety of feeds in which are in- 
cluded grain, green feed, meat and mineral matter in 
proper proportions. The feeds in the ration must not 
