PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



but on account of its high protein content should be used in 

 limited quantity. About 10 per cent of the mash mixture is 

 advised. Used in excess it is liable to produce gout, rheuma- 

 tism and other afifections. 



Fish scrap, prepared from dried fish, is valuable as a proteid 

 food and is used extensively in commercially prepared feeds. 

 It frequently imparts a fishy flavor to the flesh and eggs. 



Milk in some form is very valuable for poultry, It may be 

 fed sour or sweet. Granulated milk and dried buttermilk are 

 convenient forms to use when skim milk, is not accessible. 



Other Constituents of the Mash 



Charcoal is a corrective and aids digestion. It should be 

 used in every dry mash to keep it sweet and dry, and should be 

 kept before the fowls constantly in hoppers. 



Salt stimulates the secretions and aids digestion. Used in 

 excess, it brings on bowel trouble and often acts as a poison, 

 producing death. Used sparingly, it is of great value in a dry 

 mash. About one-half pound in one hundred pounds of mash 

 is the correct quantity. Dry, finely granulated table salt, free 

 from lumps, is the kind to use. 



Ash comprises the mineral salts such as soda, lime, salt, 

 magnesia. The combinations are chiefly chlorides, carbonates, 

 phosphates and sulphates. These substances are usually sup- 

 plied in foods of vegetable and animal origin. 



Fowls also obtain some of the mineral salts from the soil 

 and the water they drink. A fowl given nothing but distilled 

 water and foods containing only pure protein and carbohydrate 

 would soon perish. Phosphate and carbonate of lime are 

 needed to build bone and the shell of the egg. Ash enters 

 into the structure of the feathers and is more or less needed 

 in all the tissues of the body. If the supply in food and water 

 is not sufficient, and this certainly occurs when fowls are 

 kept in confinement, it should be supplied. This is done by 

 feeding oyster shell, soil that is not infested, rock phosphate, 

 ashes, crushed limestone and granulated bone. An adequate 

 supply of mineral salts will prevent fowls from eating their 

 droppings and increase the health of the flock. Oyster shell 

 contains carbonate of lime, phosphate of lime and some 

 organic matter. It should be kept before the fowls at all 

 times. Its importance in egg production is shown by the 

 sudden decrease in eggs when the supply runs out. 



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