FEEDING AND FEEDS Ilj 



tein. Eggs are more valuable as a market com- 

 modity than grain. A pound may be worth from 

 lo to 25 cents in the market, whereas a pound of 

 wheat would rarely exceed two cents in market 

 value. The hen may convert this comparatively 

 cheap wheat into a product of much higher value. 

 For this reason she may be looked upon as a manu- 

 factory. Still she can utilize at least a pound of 

 water for every pound of wheat she puts into the 

 eggs, and thus the poultryman can sell water for a 

 good price. 



WHAT HENS PUT IN EGGS 



It must be remembered that the hen puts into 

 the egg what the poultryman gives her. No one 

 can say definitely what kind or combination of feed 

 will give best results in good yield. The chemist 

 does not tell and practical feeders do not. Nothing 

 but experimental work can solve this problem. It 

 is known, however, that eggs have a certain com- 

 position and to produce them the hen must have 

 certain elements in her feed. The composition of 

 the egg varies scarcely at all. The hen must, there- 

 fore, have the proper feeds to supply the demand of 

 the egg. If she cannot get these she will stop 

 laying. If fed exclusive!}^ on wheat she may eat a 

 quarter of a pound a day. Of this she will probably 

 consume three ounces to supply the demands of her 

 body, thus leaving i ounce with which to make 

 eggs. In this ounce there is about one-tenth of an 

 ounce of protein. Supposing that this were all 

 digested — which is never the case — there will not 

 be enough protein to make an egg, because each 

 egg contains about one-quarter ounce of protein. 



