POULTRY FOODS 185 



Bran. Bran is the coarser part of ground wheat. Pure bran is 

 much lower in feeding value than is indicated by its analysis. 

 Much of the product now sold as bran contains a large propor- 

 tion of middlings and is also sold under the names " mixed feed " 

 and "" shorts." 



Stale bread. The greater part of the stale bread used for poul- 

 try food is white bread, but often the refuse bread from city 

 bakeries, hotels, and restaurants contains considerable propor- 

 tions of other kinds of bread and of cake. All such articles 

 are valuable foods for poultry and, at the usual prices, are 

 cheap " foods. 



Note. A comparison of the nutrient ratios and fuel values of these wheat 

 products "with those of whole wheat indicates for them a feeding value closely 

 approximating that of wheat, but stale bread is the only one of them that in 

 practice gives the results that the comparison suggests. Though usually fed 

 only as a part of the ration (in a mash), it has been used for long periods, with 

 excellent results, as the only grain food for fowls and chicks on range. The 

 nutrient ratio is nearly the same as that of wheat. The low fuel value indi- 

 cated is due to the high per cent of water. Low-grade flour, differing little 

 from wheat in the proportions and values of principal nutrients, can, because 

 of its form, be fed only in combination with coarser and less glutinous materials. 

 Middlings and bran both compare very closely with wheat, and good rations 

 for continuous use may be compounded, having the nutrient proportions and 

 fuel values of these by-products ; yet neither of them alone, nor the two in 

 combination, will go very far in feeding. The percentage of fiber is high in 

 both, and especially high in bran. Their chief service in poultry feeding is to 

 dilute and temper the corn meal, which is the basis of most mashes and which 

 supplies in cheaper form some of the nutrients in the wheat flour of which 

 these are by-products. 



Corn. In nearly all parts of the United States field corn is the 

 principal grain used for poultry food. In percentages of nutrients 

 it does not differ greatly from wheat, except in fats. The grains of 

 corn are from four to six times as large as grains of wheat. As a 

 rule, when poultry have access to a variety of whole grains, they 

 eat the corn first. When cracked corn is mixed with other grains, 

 this preference is less marked, which suggests that the larger size 

 of the grain may be the attraction. Yellow and white corn show in 

 analysis no difference in principal nutrients. In feeding practice 

 no difference is noted, except that yellow corn gives its color to 

 the fat of birds fed on it and to the yolks of their eggs. Many 



