FEEDING.
There is, perhaps, no subject on which a greater diversity of opinion exists among poultry keepers, than respecting the relative value of the different substances used as food. This difference of opinion arises from the general ignorance that prevails with regard to the true principles of feeding. It cannot be too strongly impressed on all feeders of stock that the food eaten has to serve several distinct purposes when taken into the body. One portion is consumed in supporting the natural warmth of the animal; another set of substances supplies the nourishment required for the growth of the body, and replaces the daily wasting that occurs; a third yields the materials from which the bones are formed; and a fourth supplies the fat which is stored up in the bodies of animals; we may, therefore, speak of the following classes of foods:—
1st.Warmth-giving Food.—As starch, which forms almost the entire bulk of rice, and the solid portion of potatoes; gum, sugar, &c.
2nd.Flesh-forming Food.—As gluten, &c., which exists in large proportion in wheat, oatmeal, peas, beans, middlings and sharps, and in somewhat smaller quantity in barley, Indian corn, &c.
3rd.Bone-making Food.—Which is found in larger proportion in the bran, or outer part of the grain, than in the inner parts.
4th.Fat-forming Food.—Consisting of fatty or oily substances; these occur, to a considerable extent, in Indian corn (the yellow variety), oatmeal, middlings, bran, &c.
All experiments that have been made tend to prove that eachof these kinds of food is unable to serve the purposes of the others; thus, to give an example, neither warmth-giving nor fat-forming substances are capable of adding to the flesh of a growing animal, nor can flesh-forming food increase the quantity of fat. In a mere elementary work, like the present, it is impossible to go into this subject at any great length. Those who desire the facts on which these statements are grounded are referred to the works of Johnston, Liebig, and other eminent agriculturists and agricultural chemists. We must take the principles as granted, and apply them to an examination of the different substances usually employed in poultry feeding.
Grainforms the staple food of poultry, the varieties used being generally either barley, oats, wheat, Indian corn, or rice.
Barleyis perhaps more frequently used than any other grain; it is better relished by fowls than oats, and its first cost is considerably below that of wheat. It contains from ten to eleven pounds of flesh-forming, sixty of starchy substances, and two to three of oil or fat in every hundred.
Oatsare not taken so freely as barley, which is apparently owing to the large proportion of husk they contain, which lessens their value as poultry food; but when used in the form of grits or oatmeal they are eaten with great avidity, and in this state furnish one of the most wholesome and nutritious varieties of food, containing eighteen of flesh-forming, sixty-three of starchy substances, and six pounds of fatty materials in every hundred. No grain contains a larger proportion of flesh-forming substances than oatmeal—it is, therefore, the one best adapted to growing animals, and I have found that chicken make much more rapid progress when it forms the chief portion of their food than when fed on any other substances. Cochin, and Spanish chicken especially, show its good effects by the rapidity with which they feather when fed with it.
Wheat, contrary to the popular opinion, is not more nutritious than oatmeal; it contains about twelve pounds of flesh-forming nutriment, seventy of starchy, and two to four of oil, in every hundred. Its cost operates considerably against its employment, although it is extensively used by some breeders of choice poultry, with whom expense of feeding is a secondary consideration.
Indian Cornis remarkable for the large proportion of oil contained in the yellow varieties, which averages eight pounds in every hundred; its capability of putting on flesh is not greater than that of barley, as it contains only eleven per cent. of flesh-giving food, and sixty-six of starchy matters. Cochins seem remarkably fond of it, but I have found that it is refused by Dorkings and Spanish, when they are able to obtain other grain.
Riceis the least nutritious of all grains, and therefore the worst that can be given to growing animals. In the husked state in which it is usually found in this country, it contains scarcely any fat, or bone-making materials, and only seven per cent. of flesh-forming food, (less than half the quantity contained in oatmeal,) being almost entirely composed of starch. Boiled rice is a useful variation in the food of fowls, and is much relished, but as the main support of growing chicken it is very objectionable.
Buckwheat Flouris about equal in nutritive properties to that of wheat, but the large proportion of husk that the unground seeds contain, must be taken into account in estimating its money value; it is commonly supposed to cause a greatly increased production of eggs, but its chemical composition does not shew any superiority over many other varieties of food.
Dhoora, or Indian millet, a small grain largely cultivated in the east, is employed by some poultry keepers; it is much relished by fowls; the nutritious properties of the flour are very similar to those of wheat, and as it contains very little husk, it may be regarded as a valuable addition to the poultry dietary.
Malt Dust,Malt Culm,and Cummins, are names given to the small sprouts of the barley which are broken off in the process of malting, and form a coarse fibrous powder. Malt dust contains from two to three times as large a proportion of flesh-forming food as wheat, and in this respect far surpasses any of the substances ordinarily used as poultry food; its value not being generally known, it is frequently used as manure; mixed with soft food, it is much relished by fowls, and as it may be obtained at a remarkably cheap rate, its employment is very advantageous.
Bran,Pollard or Randan,and Middlings or Sharps, particularly the latter, I regard as most valuable additions to the food of poultry. In the first place they are economical—and they contain a very high proportion (eighteen per cent.) of flesh-forming substances, and a very considerable quantity of oil (six per cent.) Another circumstance which adapts them to the use of chicken is the large proportion of bone-making materials they contain.
Many poultry feeders are in the habit of preparing the grain before use; some simply soak the barley or other corn, by placing it in water the previous evening, this lessens the time it has to remain in the crop, before passing on into the gizzard; others boil their corn, a proceeding which has the advantage of rendering it more digestible, as it effects an important change in the starchy part of the grain. Rice, especially, should always be boiled before use, and it should be cooked in such a mode as to allow the grains to remain separate, which may be easily managed by boiling it in a large quantity of water, to which a small piece of fat, as lard or dripping, has previously been added. The experience of all experimental agriculturists is in favour of cooked food for live stock of all descriptions: from the change effected in the starch it is more nutritious, and is more rapidly digested; hence, there is less work for the stomach and digestive organs to perform, and therefore they are less liable to become diseased. From considerable experience in its employment, I can strongly recommendthe following cooked food, as being exceedingly well adapted to supply all the substances requisite to support a healthy and vigorous existence. A quantity of middlings, with or without half its bulk of barley-meal, or a corresponding proportion of malt-dust, is placed in a coarse red ware pan, and baked for about an hour in a side oven, or until the mixture is thoroughly heated throughout; water is then poured in, and the whole stirred together until it becomes a crumbly mass; if too much water is added, the mixture becomes cloggy, a defect which is easily remedied by stirring in a little dry meal. The advantage of this method is that the food is prepared with scarcely any trouble, and there is no fear of its being burnt as in boiling. Sometimes the barley meal is omitted, and the baked middlings mixed with rice which has been previously boiled. This mixture forms the stock food of my old fowls, a liberal supply of grain being given during the day. I have found that since its adoption they cost less in food, and that they are in equally good or even in better condition than when fed on an unlimited supply of grain alone. Should the convenience for baking not exist, it will be found more desirable to scald the middlings and meal with boiling water than to mix them with cold.
If grain of any kind is broken or crushed, it should only be done shortly before use, unless it is thoroughly kiln dried; for when this is not done, the grain, from the moisture it contains, soon becomes musty, sour, and unwholesome. Inferior samples of grain contain so large a proportion of husk that they are not desirable, and if regarded with reference to their nutritious properties the best will be found the cheapest.
Potatoes, when plentiful and free from disease, may be advantageously substituted for rice, which they closely resemble, in containing a large amount of starch; there is less waste in their use, if steamed, than when boiled.
Peas,Beans,and Lentils, either whole or ground, are muchused by many feeders; they contain a larger amount of flesh-forming food than grain—on the average about twenty-four per cent., whilst the quantity of fat is very small, not usually more than two in every hundred; but they are not easily digested, and are too stimulating to be regarded as a wholesome diet. I have traced many cases of disease, such as white comb in Cochins, inflammation of the stomach and egg passage, &c., &c., to their employment.
Hemp Seedis frequently given to cause the increased production of eggs, an effect which it can only produce at the sacrifice of the health of the fowls. Hemp is used in India as a most powerful medicine; the evil effects of the seeds on caged birds are known to all bird keepers. I regard it as one of the most injurious substances given to fowls.
Fresh Green Vegetablesform an indispensable addition to the food of poultry. Those having a free range in the country supply themselves with this kind of food; when they are kept in other situations they should be supplied daily with turf, cabbage, lettuce, or turnip leaves, and in the absence of these substances, as on shipboard, a little moistened corn, allowed to sprout, will be found very advantageous.
Cooked Vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots, turnips, &c., are much relished, particularly the former; they form an useful and wholesome variation in the diet.
Animal Food.—The most advantageous animal food for fowls, and on which they make the most rapid and healthy progress, consists in the worms, snails and insects that they obtain naturally when unconfined; I do not think that there is any other kind of food which conduces so much to their healthy condition; where it cannot be obtained, a small quantity of fresh meat (either raw or cooked) may be chopped small and given to them; it is, however, but a poor substitute for the natural insect food. Themaggots of the flesh fly, obtained by hanging up some meat to putrefy, are often employed, but I doubt very much, whether, in wholesomeness, they are at all equal to worms, and the plan is objectionable from the offensive odour of the putrefying meat; if it is thought desirable to employ maggots the best mode is to allow the animal substance to remain exposed to the air until thoroughly fly-blown, if it is then buried eighteen inches deep, the maggots remain under ground until they attain their full size, when they work their way towards the surface, before changing into the perfect insects; the fowls soon discover their approach, and by scratching obtain a plentiful supply; the maggots by working their way through the soil are cleansed from any adhering putridity, and the search for the gradual supply affords amusement for the fowls; even employed in this way, however, I do not think flesh maggots so desirable as worms.
Tallow Chandler’s Greaves, which are left on melting the fat from the stale scraps of the butchers, and the putrid accumulation of the marine store shop, are strongly recommended by some persons as causing an increased quantity of eggs. Animal substances which have once been in a state of putrefaction cannot by any subsequent process be formed into healthy food, and I can state from experience that greaves are exceedingly injurious to laying hens. Even dogs, when fed upon greaves, become offensive, mangy, and out of condition; their effect upon fowls cannot be less injurious.
It will not, I trust, be thought that the subject of food has been treated at an undue length, for I am confident that by far the greater number of diseases that occur in fowls arise from improper feeding. I have, therefore, arranged the following Table, in order to render the comparison of the relative value of the different substances more easily made.
TABLEShowing the number of pounds of different substances containedin every 100lbs. of grain, &c., &c.[When a (—) is used it signifies that the quantity has not been exactlyascertained.]
My position in connection with theCottage Gardener, has given me the opportunity of examining more dead and diseased fowls than perhaps ever fell to the lot of one individual; and, as the most certain result of my experience, I can state that more than one half the cases that come under my care, or that are examined by me after death, are caused by errors in feeding.
Inflammation of the digestive stomach (which is situated between the crop and the gizzard), caused by the use of peas, beans, hemp seed, or by the endeavour to force fowls forward for exhibition, or to make them up for the sale room, is a most frequent result. Apoplexy from over-feeding, especially in laying hens, and paralysis from the same cause, are frequent. Inflammation of the egg passage is a common, and unless timely treated, another fatal complaint, generally taking its rise in over-stimulating food; and leg weakness, from the weight increasing faster than the strength, is common in Cochins.
Water feeder
Water.—A daily supply of fresh clean water is indispensable to the health of fowls. Many diseases are caused by their drinking from stagnant ditches and the impure and filthy drainings of manure heaps, &c. A cheap fountain, the best that I have ever seen, inasmuch as it is capable of being cleansed internally, may be made out of any wide-mouth earthenware jar and common glazed flower-pot saucer; by boring a small hole in the jar, an inch or an inch and a half from the edge, then filling it with water, putting the saucer on the top, bottom upwards, and quickly turning them both together upside down, when the water will be found to flow into the saucer to the height of the hole in the jar.