PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 

 A Word of Caution 



In the foregoing discussion we have pointed out the nature, 

 composition and value of the raw material required by poultry 

 and have enumerated some of the more important foods which 

 are available to the farmer in preparing rations for his flock. 

 A few cautions regarding the selection of materials will not 

 be out of place. 



1. Select feeds that the fowls relish. Rye is not relished 

 by poultry and should not be fed, if other grains are available. 

 Fed alone it will poison the flock and cause many losses. Oats 

 and buckwheat are not relished on account of their indiges- 

 tible hulls. Therefore they should be provided in inviting 

 form. Palatability is the first requisite. 



2. Select feeds that are easily digested. Millet seed is 

 palatable but not easily digested, so is of little value as a 

 poultry feed. A food that has an excess of crude fiber is diffi- 

 cult of digestion and should be avoided. 



3. Select feeds that are high in nutrient value. Polished 

 rice is palatable and easily digested but it lacks in protein 

 and is not a safe feed for poultry. 



4. Select feeds that are farm produced as far as possible. 

 They are more available and less expensive. The concentrates 

 of animal and vegetable origin must be purchased, but why 

 purchase milo maize when corn is at hand. 



5. Select feeds that are free from mold and decay. This is 

 the path of safety. Moldy and rotten feeds are dangerous and 

 account for a large percent of poultry losses. Wheat must be 

 free from must ; corn should be hand-selected and shelled 

 especially for the flock ; oats should be examined for musty 

 and rotten kernels. So also all other feeds should be given 

 the closest scrutiny. 



How Food is Used 



The changes which take place in the raw material, or food, 

 as it is being transformed into the component parts of the 

 body, involve several processes : Deglutition, swallowing ; mas- 

 tication, pulverizing the food; digestion or dissolving and . 

 chemically changing it so that it can be transfused through the 

 walls of the blood vessels ; absorption, taking it up into the 

 blood and lymph ; circulation, transferring it to the parts of the 

 body where it is needed for repair and growth; assimilation, 



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