CARE AND FOOD 



55 



Fresh meat will analyze much the same, so far as protein 

 contents are concerned, and should be used in preference. 

 If a little more bread is necessary to mix with the egg, it 

 may be used. 



After the chickens are one or two weeks old the egg 

 food will become scarcer or perhaps too expensive and it 

 becomes necessary to have a substitute. We wish to make 

 the change of food Without making too great a change in 

 the ratio. In looking around for a suitable food we think 

 of cracked wheat. One pound of cracked wheat contains 

 about eighty-nine per cent dry matter, of which .075 is pro- 

 tein and .700 carbohydrates. Once more we take beef scraps 

 to be fed in conjunction with it. We have given the amount 

 of protein and carbohydrates in beef scraps. Now add the 

 total to that contained in wheat and we have .525 protein 

 and 1.170 carbohydrates and fats. Dividing the latter by 

 the former gives us a ration of 1 :2.2. 



Finely cracked corn may be substituted for the wheat. 

 In which case the follo_wing result would be attained: 



Dry Matter Protein Carbohydrates 



One pound corn 89 .062 .752 



One pound beef scraps 93 .45 .47 



.512 1.222 



Nutritive ratio.— 1 -.2.4. 



By the time the chickens have been fed this way for 

 another week we reduce the proportion of beef scraps to 

 one-half, which, in connection with cracked wheat, g;ives us 

 a nutritive ratio of 1 :3.2. This is a very satisfactory ration 

 until the chickens are three weeks old. 



As far back as we can remember we have known eggs 

 and bread crumbs to be a first food for cage birds and for 

 chicks, and now having examined the composition of these 

 articles of food, what does it prove? Simply that the "old 

 woman's nonsense'' of eggs and bread crumbs is scientific- 

 ally and naturally correct and that, knowingly or unknow- 

 ingly, our grandmothers have been following nature's way 

 as closely as possible. 



If it is not desirable to go to the trouble of figuring out 

 a ration, the easier way is to choose from the list such a 

 variety of foods as will give a^ ration near enough for general 

 purposes. It should be remembered that the larger the pro- 

 portion of carbohydrates and fat, the wider the ration. If 

 you wish to make the ration narrower take a food that pos- 

 sesses little carbohydrates and fat; bran, for instance, is 

 one of the best of foods, but too bulky and indigestible for 

 use except with a more concentrated food. 



In this connection we must warn the reader to use very 

 little, if any, cottonseed meal. We have before informed 

 readers that it is very indigestible. Linseed meal is more 

 easily digested, but it, too, should be used sparingly. 



Hemember to give the chickens all the green food they 

 need. There is nothing better for them than clover, lettuce 

 or cabbage. 



From the age of three weeks or a month to the age of 

 two months, nearly any grain may be fed that is suitable in 

 size; that is, anything except whole corn. I generally feed 

 hulled oats, finely cracked corn, millet and wheat, the greater 

 the variety the better. If the fowls are on a good sized 

 range they will provide themselves with nearly enough animal 

 food. At this period the basis of the ration is wheat. I 

 feed as much wheat as all the other grains combined. 



Bation for Growthy Youngsters 



Early hatched birds cause little worry, Uttle trouble, 

 and it is a pleasure to see them grow. 



An extensive run where shade is available is desirable. 

 A grass run, an alfalfa patch, a clover or cornfield are alike 

 ideal poultry runs and provide an abundance of insects that 

 coax the rangy youngsters to exercise while furnishing them 



with a substitute for meat. Chickens from two to five 

 months old gain size and health under such conditions. If 

 they are on a farm where range is unlimited they need only 

 a little additional food' morning and evening, the variety 

 depending upon what the fields afford. Where the range is 

 less extensive it provides fewer insects and little or no grain. 



We will assume that green food is plentiful. 



Of what tten shall the ration consist? Such foods as 

 promote the formation of muscle and bone, — that means 

 size; flesh and fat — that means vigor. 



What shall the foundation of the ration be now? 



Oats. 



"But oats are so seldom fed," you say, "partidularly in 

 sections where corn is plentifully grown." 



Where oats have been tried they are seldom discarded. 

 They are the best grain I know to put size on a fowl, and 

 they have formed the foundation o£ my ration for growing 

 stock for many years, and my strain is noted for its size. 



To form feathers which are continually being renewed 

 in fowls of this age we require more animal matter than can 

 be secured on the range. It is better to give more rather 

 than less at such a stage and a ration of about one part pro- 

 tein to four parts carbohydrates is none too narrow. It may 



An Open Roosting Coop for Warm Weather. 



be composed of the following each day: One feed of oats, 

 one feed of wheat and one of meat or out bone and corn. 

 For the purpose of forming the ration we will take one 

 pound of each with exception of meat and corn, of which we 

 give half pound each. More or less than these quantities 

 may be used, depending upon the number of fowls to be fed, 

 but the proportion will be the same. 



Upon examination of the list of foods given herfewith 

 we find that in a, pound of oats there is .092 protein and .532 

 carbohydrates and fat; in a pound of wheat .075 and .700 re- 

 spectively; in a half pound of corn .035 and .392, and in a 

 half pound of beef scraps .225 and .235 respectively. To 

 illustrate, we will add these quantities: 



Protein Carbohydrates 

 and Fats 

 One pound oats. _ 092 .532 



One pound wheat- 075 .700 



One-half pound corn.- 035 .392 



One-half pound beef scraps 225 .235 



.427 1.859 



Upon dividing the carbohydrates and fat by the protein 

 we find the proportion of these important constituents to be 

 one part protein to 4.35 parts carbohydrates and fat. This 

 is a little wider than we intended, but it is near enough for 

 all practical purposes, even if we did not consider the green 

 food and insects secured in the run during the day. The 

 addition of these will bring the ration down to the desired 

 point. 



The foods composing the ration will be changed fre- 

 quently with the exception of the oats. We will use oats 



