370 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



diet w hicli indicate that there may be a close rehition between 

 the crude fiber content of the ration and a ciiick malady 

 called leg-weakness (see page 511). The chicks in the 

 se\ci-al lots fed on various diets exhibited this trouble to a 

 greater or lesser extent except the lot which was fed a ration 

 containing 10 i)er cent of crude fiber in the form of finely 

 ground paper, .lust wliat relation this result bears to practi- 

 cal chick feeding it is too early to state. The lots ferl were 

 small and the number of lots was not large. ]^\irther work 

 will be awaited with interest. 



Too much crude fiber in a ration is also disastrous. Gowell' 

 reports that hens that had been bedded with oat straw, and 

 giving a 60 per cent egg yield, were suddenly reduced to a 

 yield of less than 10 per cent by bedding the house down with 

 oat hay cured green. The hens ate freely of the finer parts, 

 which immediately caused acute digestive disorders. The 

 hay was removed at once, but it was twenty days before the 

 birds regained their normal production. 



Cochel and Jackson- found that rations carrying .3..") per 

 cent of the total weight in crude fiber gave better results 

 for laying hens than those with lower or higher percentages. 

 Fowls were kept in fairly good condition on a ration carrying 

 5 per cent of crude filler, but showed a decreased egg yield. 

 Serious intestinal disorders occurred when a ration carrying 

 over .5 per cent was fed. 



They further found that fowls did not seem to make 

 any appreciable use of coarse floor litter to supply a defi- 

 ciency in the fiber content of a ration; that the amount of 

 succulence consumed was governed to some extent by the 

 proportion of crude fiber in a ration, and that fowls with 

 unlimited alfalfa or bran will make up rations carrying 

 approximately 3.5 per cent of crude fiber. 



Composition. — If the best results are to be obtained from 

 feeding, the ration must be complete and properly balanced. 

 If the ration is improperly balanced with regard to the pro- 

 portions of the nutrients, the fowl is compelled to consume 

 a larger amount of one nutrient to secure the necessary 



' Maine Bulletin No. 144. 2 Pennsylvania Bulletin, No. 120 



