320 



POULTRY PRODUCTION 



however, do the birds operated upon return to apparently 

 normal health so that the results of the trials are trustworthy. 

 The digestive coefficients of the three organic nutrients for 

 those feeds upon which trustworthy work has been done is 

 Table XXXVII. 



given m 



Table XXXVII. — Average Digestion Coefficients of the 

 Nutrients with Chickens.'' 



Digestive Powers of Chickens. — The dili'erent structure of the 

 alimentary tract of chickens as compared with other farm 

 animals would lead one to suspect a different digestive 

 capacity and different digesti\'e coefficients. In comparison 

 with other animals, fowls show digesti\'e j)owers most 

 nearly comparable with swine, except that in the digestion 

 of fat they correspond most closely to the ruminants. Unlike 

 ruminants, they digest very little crude fiber. 



While they consume over twice as much feed as is required 

 by the same weight in cattle, they cannot make use of the 

 coarser kinds of feed, such as hay and fodder. They must 

 be fed a concentrated ration made up quite largely of grains 

 and their by-products. 



' Rearranged from Bartlett, Maine Bulletin No. 184, who secured the 

 data from various sources. 



