340 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



When buckwheat feeds of any kind, either whole grain or 

 ground, are fed, they have a tendency to lighten the color of 

 the yolks of the eggs. 



The average amounts of nutrients found in 100 pounds of 

 buckwheat middlings are 12 pounds of water, 4.8 pounds of 

 ash, 28.3 pounds of crude protein, 47.5 pounds of carbo- 

 hydrates, of which 4.8 pounds are fiber, and 7.4 pounds are 

 fat. The amounts digestible for chickens are unknown. 



Condiments. — The advisability of feeding stimulating foods 

 like pepper and mustard is a point upon which opinion is 

 divided. The belief that such feeds will sometimes stimulate 

 egg production appears to be well founded. It is also true 

 that there is always a reaction in the animal body when it 

 has been artificially stimulated. In practice it is safe to use 

 condiments only with great moderation, not more than is 

 necessary to season the mash fairly well. 



Com Meal. — For use in mashes, corn meal possesses the 

 same desirable qualities as it does in the whole grain for the 

 grain portion of the ration. It is also very valuable for 

 fattening rations. The bolted corn meal, which has much of 

 the bran removed, differs somewhat from corn in the amounts 

 of digestible nutrients it contains. On the basis of 100 

 pounds, it contains 6.9 pounds of protein, 3.3 pounds of fat, 

 59.1 pounds of nitrogen-free extract, and 1.4 pounds of ash. 

 The nutritive ratio for chickens is 1 to 9.8. The crude fiber 

 content is 1.9 pounds. Meal made from new corn is quite 

 likely to heat in the bin, or even in the sack. Heated meal 

 is undesirable for old stock and absolutely unfit for chicks. 



Cottonseed Meal. — The evidence relative to the value of cot- 

 tonseed meal as a source of protein for poultry is somewhat 

 contradictory. Morrison' found "that cottonseed meal used 

 as a chief source of protein is palatable to fowls" and further, 

 "that as far as can be determined (after a six montlis' trial) 

 the general condition of the cottonseed-meal-fed fowls seems 

 just as good as the condition of those on beef scrap." 

 Bittenbender and Lippincott^ found in crate-fattening trials 

 that cottonseed meal could be successfully substituted for 



'^Mississippi Bulletin No. 162. 

 '^Unpublished data, Iowa State College. 



