372 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



follows: An egg ration is composed, in addition to grit, shell, 

 charcoal, bone and water, which are before the fowls at all 

 times for all purposes except fattening, of whole or cracked 

 grains and mash mixtures. A laying ration should have a 

 nutritive ratio between 1 to 4 and 1 to 5, the lighter hens 

 requiring a proportion coming nearer to the latter and 

 heavier hens coming nearer to the former ratio. 



A fattening ration is usually composed entirely of finely 

 ground grains or grain by-products, mixed with buttermilk 

 or skim milk to a consistency of a porridge. Wheeler' suggests 

 a nutritive ratio of 1 to 8 as proper for a fattening ration for 

 mature fowls. Bittenbender and Lippincott^ found a ratio 

 of 1 to 6.3 gave better gains than any narrower ratio, while 

 Lee' reports that in commercial establishments and packing 

 plants where fattening is carried on on a large scale, rations 

 having a nutritive ratio of 1 to 6.2 gave the best results. In 

 both cases, however, the birds were young and still growing. 



The fattening ration is made up entirely of ground grains 

 and milk, because it is desirable that the ration be of con- 

 dition consistency and palatability to be consumed, digested, 

 and assimilated rapidly and in large quantities. This is be- 

 cause the fattening period rarely lasts over three weeks, and 

 usually not over two. 



A growing ration for young chicks is similar to a laying 

 ration, save that the ingredients are smaller and the pro- 

 portion of both ash and protein is greater. 



The breeding ration is frequently exactly the same as the 

 laying ration. Many poultrymen, however, hold the view 

 that the fertility of eggs and the vitality of offspring are 

 injured by encouraging the laying of large numbers of eggs 

 by feeding a narrow ration, and prefer to widen it somewhat 

 for feeding breeding birds. This view appears to be borne 

 out by experimental evidence. Others feed only whole grain, 

 so that the birds will be kept in good trim by plenty of 

 internal exercise in grinding the grains, as well as by the 

 usual exercise in scratching for them. 



■ Jordan's Feeding of Animals. 



2 Unpublished data, Iowa State College. 



1 Bureau of Animal Industry, Bulletin No. 146. 



