|
The domestic hen, from the moment she is hatched, down through the
various stages of her growth, has a wonderful facility of accommodating
herself to her environment and conditions. She frequently gives the most
surprising results on a very meagre variety of feed and what are
apparently most unpromising surroundings. Some of her more curious
achievements are as yet unexplainable, but we may have confidence that
chemistry, which has discovered so much in the last decade in the field
of dietetics, will as time goes on, enlarge our knowledge of the
finer processes of physiology and make clear the reason why a hen often
does so much in highly disadvantageous circumstances.
Successful feeding of poultry, however, generally requires that the
feeder have a thorough understanding of his/her birds and a genuine
fondness for them. The knowledge the poultry person has of the chemical
qualities of his foodstuffs, and their effect on their birds, the better
are they qualified to obtain the maximum effect on their birds, the better
are they also qualified to obtain maximum results on their feed costs.
Then, also, it is ordinarily necessary that poultry be fed for the
object sought: color, growth, maintenance, production, or fattening. A
growing bird requires a ration rich in bone and body-building materials,
while a non-laying hen requires 25 to 30 percent less feed than when in
full laying condition. For egg production, the feed must be high in
protein and ash content, while for fattening there should be an increase
of nearly double the amount of carbohydrates and fats by a laying hen.
THE HEN'S NATURAL FOOD:
In her wild state, the hen, being a natural forager, picked up all her
food. Her haunts were in the tropics, where there was an abundance of
green feed and insects, with varying amounts of seeds and grains, the
year round, and it was therefore easy for her to provide for her bodily
and reproductive needs, the latter of which were much less than they are
to-day. At that time her laying was confined to the production of a
sufficient number of eggs for one or two broods of chicks each season.
When removed from her native environment to new and dissimilar
geographic and climatic conditions, and depended upon to produce eggs
for human food as well as for the propagation of her race, the problem
for her became greatly involved. The feeding of hens must always differ
in a number of ways from the feeding of other farm animals, because
there are wide differences in digestion and assimilation of food and in
requirement for maintenance and production. The transformation of food
into bone and flesh in a growing chick and into eggs in an adult bird
are exceedingly rapid. Fowls, when in health, are never sluggish. A hen
is the quickest transformer of raw material into finished product that
there is on the farm. The activity of her bodily functions is truly
remarkable, and in that particular respect she stands in a class by
herself.
NECESSARY CONSTITUENTS OF A POULTRY RATION:
The various constituent elements which are necessary in the general
feeding of poultry are as follows:
-
Grain-Whole, cracked corn or ground-to provide the vegetable
proteins, the fats and the minerals necessary for growth, body
maintenance, reproduction and fattening.
- Meat-to supply the animal proteins, needed for high egg
production.
- Sharp grit-to grind the feed in the gizzard.
- Oyster shells-ground dry bone, crushed lime stone or other
forms of lime, to make egg shells and furnish the mineral nutrient
required for bone growth.
- Green-vegetable feed, such as succulent grasses, plants, and
roots, to supply the vitamins required as an aid to digestion.
- Charcoal-to aid digestion and cleanse the intestines.
- Water-pure and fresh, to keep the internal organs clean and
healthy, and to supply the liquid required for making eggs and
rebuilding body tissue.
THE GROWING AND MAINTENANCE RATIONS:
In feeding hens it should be borne in mind that there are five
fundamental rations:
- A growing ration.
- A maintenance ration.
- A laying ration.
- A fattening ration
- A breeding ration
The growing ration is one that enables a chick to grow naturally and
rapidly from hatching to maturity, supplies all its requirements for
development of bone, flesh, blood and feathers, and at the same time
provides for the maintenance of health and vigor.
The maintenance ration sustains the body in good, healthy condition,
with out gain or loss of flesh or production of eggs. In other words, it
is one which keeps the hens looking well and showing all the appearances
of production, but stops just short of enabling them to lay.
THE LAYING, FATTENING AND BREEDING RATIONS:
The laying ration is a maintenance ration plus those elements, which are
necessary to induce the highest egg production. In other words, to
obtain paying quantities of eggs of highest quality for table purposes,
the flock must receive the maintenance ration plus egg forming foods
which are high in protein and of the chemical nature to give fine bloom.
RETURN TO TOP
|
The fattening ration consists of the maintenance ration plus those
elements, which go to the formation of flesh. To fatten birds
effectively we must add to the maintenance ration foods which contain a
large amount of carbohydrates and fats.
The breeding ration is a maintenance ration supplemented by egg forming
material, but not in sufficient quantity to force egg production
unnaturally, such as is the case when a high percentage of animal
protein (except in the form of milk) is fed. An egg forcing ration will
seriously lower both the fertility and the hatchability of the eggs.
CONDIMENTS AND STIMULENTS:
There are many condiments and stimulants on the market, which it is
claimed, have most extraordinary power to increase body growth and egg
production. But fowls are, as a rule, just as well off without these
preparations. If given in very small doses, thay may assist in increasing
the flow of digestive juices; but beyond occasionally making the feed
more appetizing there effect is negligible. Stimulation is due to the
presence of an alkaloid, and alkaloids are distinctly injurious when
taken in large quantities.
Very few of these nostrums add much to satisfy the calorific needs of
the fowls or to repair waste tissue. When they have some appreciable
energy value, this does not belong to the condiment but to the food
stuffs mixed with it.
The prices charged for these "medicines" are out of proportion to their
value. They do not increase egg production or body growth, nor do they
add appreciably to the general health of the fowls. If a hen will not
respond to proper feeding and care, she is in an unhealthy condition,
and it is wise to destroy her.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BODY AND FOOD:
To understand feeding problems better, it may be well to consider
briefly the composition of the body of the bird, of the eggs she
produces and of the grains she consumes. All of these----body , eggs and
grains----are made up of four principle chemical elements known as
protein, carbohydrates, fat and ash. The composition of a birds body is
as follows:
- Water-------------------------55.8%
- Protein------------------------21,6%
- Carbohydrates & Fat-------17%
- Ash----------------------------3.8%
Fresh-laid eggs give this analyst:
- Water--------------------------67.8%
- Protein-------------------------13.2%
- Fat------------------------------8.9%
- Shell----------------------------11.4%
- Ash------------------------------0.8%
The feed, which the bird receives, is made up of these same four
elements in varying proportions, as shown in table 1
FOOD REQUIREMENTS OF POULTRY:
To give a more comprehensive idea of the food requirements of poultry at
different stages of growth, and of laying hens,
Table 2 has been
prepared. From this it may be seen that poultry require a rather large
amount of protein as compared with the amount of carbohydrates and fat.
Thus a suitable ration for growing chicks and laying hens is one that
has a narrow nutritive ratio: that is, a ration which the proportion of
protein to carbohydrates and fat is approximately one part of protein to
four and one half parts of carbohydrates and fat, the proportions
varying, as shown in the table according to the kind of production
required.
In other words, if your feed problem is with growing chicks, it will be
necessary to use those feeds that contain a large amount of protein. On
the other hand, if you are producing broilers, roasters, or fattened
fowls, the ration should be selected from those feeds that contain large
amount of carbohydrates and fat, and have an approximate nutritive ratio
of 1:7. If you desire egg production, the feeds should be heavy in
protein, with a nutritive ratio of approximately 1:4.5.
When viewed from this standpoint, the feed problem becomes some-what
simplified., and may be summarized in the following rule: Determine
first the object of production, then select those feeds that have the
largest amount of the elements desired.
SYSTEMS OF FEEDING:
There are many systems of poultry feeding in practice, the success of
any of which can be determined only by the results obtained. They may,
however, be classified in four combinations as follows:
- Trough feeding of wet mash
- Hopper feeding of dry mash.
- Scratch feeding whole or cracked grains.
- Hopper feeding of grains
Combinations of two or more of these are often used and undoubtedly give
better results than the exclusive use of any one alone. The method of
feeding generally practised by the successful poultry person involves a
combination of hopper feeding of dry mash and scratch feeding of whole
or cracked grain; that is, grain in litter and dry mash in hoppers at
all times.
The principal advantage of this method lies in the fact that it forces
the birds to exercise in order to secure the grain----a highly important
consideration, since there is a direct relation between activity and egg
production, Therefore the system of feeding which makes the birds
exercise, not only tends to induce egg production, but helps to build up
strong, healthy, vigorous bodies, which, on account of the exercise they
are thus forced to take, very rarely become over fat.
|
