Traditional Feed Recipes
from
THE POULTRYMAN'S HANDBOOK:A Convenient Reference Book For All Persons Interested in the Production of Eggs and Poultry for Market and the Breeding of Standard-Bred Poultry for Exhibition
by International Correspondence Schools, Scranton, PA
INTERNATIONAL TEXTBOOK COMPANY
1912
(Everything is quoted from the book, unless it is in square brackets "[ ]" in which case it is an entry by the ChickenFeed website.) RATIONS FOR SIXTEEN HENS FOR 30 DAYS. The accompanying table contains twelve desirable rations for feeding to hens. The quantities given in each division are sufficient for feeding 16 hens for 30 da., and provide about 4 oz/ of food daily for each hen. The whole grain in all these rations is fed by hand; the meal and meat in each is mixed together and fed either as a wet or a dry mash. Rations
(i) and
(j) are double, or two-part, rations. One-half of the daily ration is fed from each; the two answer for 60 da. Rations
(a),
(b),
(c), and
(d) are best suited to a promiscuous lot of fowls ranging in age from 6 mo. to several years. Rations
(e),
(f),
(g), and
(h), being largely composed of concentrated foods, are best suited for laying hens. Rations
(i) and
(j) are for laying hens that have free range and are able to pick up insects enough to supply their demand for animal food. Rations
(i) and
(k) are fed in hoppers as dry mash. The molasses feed used should be of good quality. Ration
(l) consists of meals, wheat and milk; the meals should be moistened with the milk. In the use of all rations where meals only are mentioned, a daily ration for each hen should consist of 2 pz. or dry meal, fed wet or dry, and an equal quantity of whole grain.
[None of these rations furnish sufficient mineral matter for egg formation and for the other demands of nature. Grit, limestone, oyster shell, or some similar material must be supplied in addition, especially if chickens are confined in any way.]Note: GRIT and OYSTER SHELL or SEA SHELLS are two entirely different things. Sea shells and other calcium-containing substances just dissolve in the chicken's. They cannot be a substitute for grit.
[Grit is hard rock.] It is what grain-eating fowl need in place of "teeth" and it must be available in the right sizes. Substituting sea shells for "grit" is like giving someone false teeth made of chalk. I think the old timers had so many free range hens (notice the early use of the term "free range") that the hens got enough grit when they were out and about, so it wasn't a concern.
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30-DAY RATIONS FOR SIXTEEN HENS
Food.........................Pounds
(a)Corn............................50
Oats or barley..............24
Wheat bran..................10
Middlings.......................5
Corn meal....................25
Meat scrap ....................8
Cut clover....................10
(b)Corn............................50
Oats or barley..............24
Wheat bran..................10
Flour middlings..............4
Corn meal...................28
Animal meal..................7
Cut clover....................10
(c)Corn...........................50
Wheat.........................25
Corn meal...................28
Flour middlings..............2
Hominy chop...............10
Meat scrap....................7
Cut clover...................10
(d)Corn...........................50
Wheat.........................25
Corn meal...................25
Wheat bran..................10
Middlings.......................5
Alfalfa meal...................4
Meat scrap ...................7
(e)Alfalfa hay or meal........18
Wheat bran...................10
Middlings.......................30
Coconut-oil-cake meal....10
Meat meal......................6
Wheat...........................60
(f)Alfalfa...........................18
Wheat bran....................14
Middlings.......................17
Linseed-oil-cake meal......6
Blood meal.....................4
Barley or oats................25
Wheat...........................50
(g)Corn meal.....................24
Wheat bran...................18
Alfalfa meal...................10
Blood meal.....................3
Meat meal.......................6
Oats or barley...............30
Wheat...........................40
(h)Wheat shorts.................18
Corn meal.....................25
Blood meal.....................5
Alfalfa meal....................5
Cottage cheese.............12
Wheat...........................60
(i)Wheat bran...................40
Middlings.......................20
Corn meal.....................20
Alfalfa meal...................40
(j)Wheat...........................60
Cracked corn.................30
Oats..............................15
Barley...........................15
(k)Corn meal......................10
Molasses feed.................20
Middlings........................40
Wheat bran.....................30
Meat scrap .....................10
Clover hay.....................10
(l)Middlings........................30
Wheat bran.....................24
Meat meal........................6
Skim-milk.......................90
Wheat............................60
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FEEDING FARM FLOCKS Farm flocks, to be profitable, must have a ration suitable for the production of both eggs and good table meat. No error in feeding farm flocks is more common or more disastrous than that of giving too much fat-forming food. [Note: this is confirmed by modern breeders.] An all-green ration renders the hens excessively fat, sometimes induces apoplexy, and causes the production of but few eggs. A grain ration for farm flocks may be composed of grains in the following proportions, by weight:
Food...........................Parts
Cracked corn.................20
Wheat...........................40
Oats..............................15
Cracked corn is preferable because it is small, and, like wheat and oats, when cast into litter must be sought for by the fowls. During the winter all grain should be thrown into dry chaff or litter of some kind in order to keep the hens busy hunting for it.
During the winter months the hens on the farm should have a noonday feed of warm mash, the mixture being composed, by weight, as follows:
Food...........................Parts
Corn meal......................40
Meat..............................30
Short-cut alfalfa
or clover hay..................30
Oyster shell......................2
Grit.................................1
Charcoal..........................1
The meat and hay should be cut into small pieces and voiled to a pulp, and before cooling the mass should be mixed with enough meal to make a dry, crumbly mass. This should be fed cool in troughs."
