VII 



STUDYING FEEDING VALUES 



Losses from Feeding Errors — Adapting Feeds — Good 

 Feeds the Basis of Hen Health — Chief Sources of 

 Protein — The Common Grains — Tables of Food Val- 

 ues — Grouping Feeds for Economic and Rapid Food 

 Combinations for Daily Use 



The matter of right feeding presents itself with the 

 first bunch of chicks or the first lot of fowls acquired. 

 It has such an important bearing on the whole question 

 of success or failure that it must needs be studied with 

 earnest care by all who would handle stock of any kind. 

 In the case of poultry, a single loss among common 

 stock counts for nothing as compared with a loss among 

 the larger animals, the latter often being a tragedy to 

 the poor man. But, inasmuch as there are large num- 

 bers of individuals in all important flocks, and necessarily 

 housed in groups, it must follow that a feeding error (or 

 any error) will affect the matter of productiveness at a 

 multitude of points, and may determine by itself alone 

 whether or not there shall be any profit whatever. 



I am not of those who would make a change in the 

 feed every time the flock fails to begin laying at the exact 

 period when eggs are expected. The frequent expres- 

 sion, " Those hens ought to be laying," may mean, in 

 essence, only that their owner ought to know more 

 about his work, or have more conscience toward it. I 

 would rather make a careful study of the feeding habits 

 of the fowls and of the prominent classes of feeds, and 



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