368 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



of the gizzard to keep the digestive tract in good tone. The 

 consensus of opinion at present seems to be that the pro- 

 portion of two pounds of the whole and cracked grain to one 

 of the ground is proper. The amount of mash eaten may be 

 controlled by the amount of the more palatable whole and 

 cracked grain given. 



It is also customary to use cracked corn in the scratching 

 feed for the purpose of making the birds scratch and hunt 

 for more particles. Gowell^ found, however, in a test with 

 1000 pullets, lasting from November to April, during which 

 half of them received cracked corn and half whole corn, that 

 there was very little difference in actual results, the balance 

 being slightly in favor of the birds receiving the whole corn. 



Palatability and Attractiveness. — Palatability and high 

 digestibility usually go together, as is noted by Brown,* 

 who holds that it " should be emphasized that in incorporating 

 grains into poultry rations, the relative palatability should 

 be correlated with the digestion coefficients." The amount 

 of feed consumed depends quite largely upon its palatability. 

 It is a safe rule to use very little or leave out of the ration 

 entirely any ingredients that are not palatable where fed 

 singly. Rye, cottonseed meal and blood meal are' examples 

 of unpalatable feeds. Jeffrey' found that pullets ate sparingly 

 of a mash containing cottonseed meal and as a result were 

 slower in developing and coming into laying, where it fur- 

 nished the main source of protein, than when the protein 

 was furnished by the more palatable meat scraps. 



Grits are selected by fowls according to their attractiveness, 

 those which shine and sparkle most being the ones chosen. 



Nutritive ESect. — ^The nutritive effect of a feed or ration 

 must be considered as -well as the amount of the various 

 digestive nutrients it contains. Linseed meal is a valuable 

 source of vegetable protein, but if fed in a greater proportion 

 than 10 per cent, of the ration it is likely to be very laxative 

 in its effect, or to impart an undesirable greenish cast to 

 the color of the egg yolks. Winter rye offers a convenient 



' Maine Bulletin No. 144. 



' Bureau of Animal Industry, Bulletin No. 56. 



» North Carolina Bulletin No. 211. 



