208 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



wasteful of food. In short, the fowls must be fed enough hard 

 grain to maintain the gizzard and all other organs in their normal 

 state. It is therefore considered good practice to feed from one- 

 third to one-half ground feed. 



Table XV 

 In a test at the Maine Experiment Station it was found that a flock of two 

 thousand Barred Plymouth Rocks were raised to laying age on an average of 

 the following quantities of feed per fowl: 



Pounds 



Grain and mash 28.0 



Granulated bone 0.75 



Oyster shells 0.5 



Grit 2.25 



Charcoal 0.5 



Total 32.00 



Controlling the Diet. — ^There is still another important point 

 about mash feeding: The feeder is better able to control the 

 flock's diet. This statement is easily explained. When whole 

 or broken grain is fed, it is more good luck than good manage- 

 ment if some hens do not eat more corn, others wheat, and others 

 oats, or whatever are the ingredients. And since no one kind of 

 grain is a complete ration, the error of this method is apparent. 



In a properly compounded, well -mixed mash, which has the 

 exact proportion of protein, carbohydrates and mineral sub- 

 stances required to preserve health and stimulate egg production, 

 the hen has no selection. She simply gulps mouthfuls of the 

 mash, and every mouthful has practically the same ingredients, 

 consequently she is made to eat just what the feeder has pre- 

 scribed. Furthermore, if the mash is accessible at all times, 

 which is the generally accepted method of feeding it, the fowls 

 soon learn that they can eat it at will, and this habit tends to 

 eliminate gorging by the stronger birds, and under-feeding on 

 the part of the weaker or more timid members of the flock. In 

 other words, there is no mad rush for the mash hopper like there 

 is for a periodical distribution of scratch feed. 



Mash Constituents. — The feeder has a wide list from which to 



