OATS AND BARLEY 199 



so called because of the large proportion of hull to kernel, which 

 makes a bushel of oats weigh light, is not a desirable poultry feed. 

 Heavy oats, with a smaller percentage of husk, are greatly rel- 

 ished by chickens, and should form an important part of the 

 diet. Hens are quick to recognize the quality of oats. They 

 will refuse to eat oats which contain a great deal of shuck, seeming 

 to know instinctively that it is as indigestible as straw. 



No grain varies so much in weight per bushel as oats, which, of 

 course, is due to the variation in the proportion of husk to kernel. 

 It will pay to get heavy oats, though the price is more, because 



(Courtesy Purdue Experiment Station) 

 Fig. 132. — Chickens require an abundance of fresh drinking water at all times. 



of the waste in the hulls. Hulled oats or oatmeal is an excellent 

 food for growing chicks. Some breeders maintain that oats con- 

 tain an ingredient not found in other grains, which has a stimu- 

 lating effect on the nerves and thereby promotes rapid growth. 

 Whether or not there is any truth in this belief, the fact remains 

 that there is no better food for baby chicks than pinhead oat- 

 meal or hulled oats. It is expensive, but the results seem to 

 warrant the additional expense. Ground oats are used ex- 

 tensively in fattening poultry. 



Barley ranks between oats and corn as a growing and fattening 

 feed. It contains less fat, fiber and ash than oats, but more 



