236 FEEDING 



get it in shape for feed. A common practice with poultry 

 keepers is to purchase winter wheat from grain farmers in 

 the vicinity, such wheat costing from 90 cents to $1.00 per 

 bushel. It is usually of excellent quality, and if it is possible 

 to store a large quantity, it should be purchased in the fall. 

 An acre of wheat will yield about 20 bushels and this at 

 market price should be worth 11.00 per bushel. This gives 

 the total value of the feed raised per acre as $20.00. The 

 profit in growing such a crop can best be determined by com- 

 paring it with the cost of purchasing the same. 



Oats. — Oats are cheaper to grow than to purchase. When 

 raised on poultry farms they are not generally threshed, 

 but harvested just like hay, then stored up in bams, and fed 

 as litter in the poultry house. A combination of Canadian 

 peas and oats makes a desirable crop. They can be cut 

 before they are ripe, which prevents them from shelling out. 

 The addition of the peas, which carry a high protein content, 

 makes this combination almost a balanced ration. Some- 

 times the peas and oats are allowed to ripen before harvest- 

 ing, then are threshed, and the resulting mixture of peas 

 and oats is ground and fed in the mash. The straw can be 

 used for litter. 



Buckwheat. — If land is available it is usually more econom- 

 ical to grow buckwheat than to purchase it. Two or three 

 acres will keep 1000 birds supplied with buckwheat the year 

 round. The best way is to harvest the crop before the grain 

 is ripe. Grain and straw can be fed as litter without thresh- 

 ing, and a bundle of straw can be put in the pen each week. 

 Of the four grains mentioned, com is probably the most 

 profitable one to raise on the poultry farm. 



DRY FODDER 



The dry fodders used by the poultry men are clover and 

 aKalfa. Short cut alfalfa and clover are expensive to pur- 

 chase, and the quality can not always be assured from the 



