CHAPTER XV 

 AVAILABLE GRAINS AND MEALS 



Fowls are omnivorous feeders, in that they eat both animal 

 and vegetable foods. They require both kinds of food to do their 

 best. Under domestic conditions, they might be classed as 

 granivorous, or grain eaters, because they subsist mainly on a 

 grain diet. Their digestive tract is especially well adapted to 

 the grinding and digesting of cereals, which the fowls relish. 



Left to forage for themselves over a range that is abundant in 

 plant life, the natural food of fowls would consist of grains, seeds, 

 roots, grasses, worms and insects, tidbits of greens, berries and 

 so on. The ration would comprise a wide variety of things, and 

 in the main it would be wisely balanced. When kept in confine- 

 ment the fowls must be given food that resembles this natural 

 diet. It is impracticable to give them precisely the same articles 

 which are found on free range, but these articles can be closely 

 imitated, and the poultry keeper has a large list from which to 

 choose. 



How Foods are Grouped. — For convenience we will divide the 

 available foodstuffs into four groups, about as they are grouped 

 in everyday practice: (i) grains; (2) meals and prepared foods, 

 or mash constituents ; (3) green foods, or succulents ; (4) mineral 

 and condimental foods. We will analyze them in this order, 

 confining ourselves more or less to the commonplace products. 



Value of Wheat. — If it were necessary to limit the flock to a 

 single article, wheat would probably give the best results, be- 

 cause it is the nearest thing to a well-balanced ration. It is not 

 perfectly balanced, however, and gives best results only. when 

 fed in conjunction with other products. Wheat contains more 

 protein and ash than corn, and less fiber than oats. At the same 

 13 193 



