PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



Thia is'a convenient type of small colony house 



Fat. Fat is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, btit the 

 hydrogen and oxygen are not in the proportion found in water. Fat, 

 taken as food, is oxidized in the lungs to produce heat and energy. 

 It occurs as vegetable oils in grains and seeds and as animal fat in meat 

 scrap, bone meal, etc. The fat in the fowl's body, deposited in the inter- 

 cellular spaces and as masses of adipose tissue, is manufactured in the 

 body and serves as a reserve supply of fuel for the body and as material 

 for the manufacture of eggs. A hen to lay well should carry a good 

 supply of fat. Lean hen's with thin breast bones are invariably poor 

 layers. 



Ash. This term comprises the mineral salts and charcoal. They 

 enter into the bones and other structures and form the shell of the egg. 

 Grains and animal feeds usually provide sufficient ash to meet the hen's 

 needs. Some is obtained from the water and some from the soil. Fowls 

 are fond of eating soil, especially if released from confinement, indicat- 

 ing that the ash element is lacking in their food. Charcoal is a cor- 

 rective, is not digested, but should always be supplied, as it absorbs 

 poisonous gases, aids indigestion, and contributes to the health of the 

 fowl. 



Vitamines 



Vitamines. A vitamine is a substance whose presence in the food is 

 essential to growth and health. There are three substances of this 

 nature, known as Fat-soluble A., Water-Soluble B, and Water-Soluble 

 C. Hopkins says: "No animal can live on a mixture of pure protein, 

 fat and carbohydrate; and even when the necessary inorganic material 

 is supplied the animal still cannot flourish." Not only is a balanced 

 ration important, but the growth principles must be present in due pro- 

 portion or the results will be disappointing. 



Vitamines have not been chemically analyzed. Their existence is 

 known by experiment, their absence invariably resulting in such serious 

 diseases as rickets, scurvy and polyneuritis (Beri-beri). 



[32] 



