FEEDING WHEAT TO LAYING HENS Wheat is commonly included in most formulas for laying hens. The agricultural experiment station at Ames, Iowa, recommends a grain ration of which one-half is wheat, one-fourth oats, and onefourth corn. This grain ration is fed with a mash which contains equal quantities of wheat, oats, corn, and meat scrap. Dr. E. W. Henderson, head of the poultry husbandry work at Ames, says: "When prices are favorable or if there is shortage of corn, wheat can replace as much as three-fourths of the corn in a grain ration for laying hens." The Missouri station recommends a ration of which one-third is wheat and one-third is corn, the remainder being made up of yellow corn meal, bran, shorts, and meat scrap. The Pennsylvania station recommends a grain ration consisting of half and half, wheat and corn, together with a mash consisting of ground oats, yellow corn meal, bran, middlings, meat scrap, fish meal, alfalfa meal, bone meal, dried skimmed milk, cod-liver oil, oyster shells, and salt. Formulas for mixing 1 ton of ration for laying hens are shown in Table 8. In most cases a scratch grain mixture is recommended in addition to a mash. Both the mash and grain mixtures may contain from 400 to 1,200 pounds of wheat per ton. TABLE 8.-Laying hens: Ingredients for 1 ton (2,000 pounds) of grain ration; formulas recommended by experiment stations in various States Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds 1,000 500 400 500 178 363 150 1 Mill run mixture of bran and shorts. Whole shelled corn. For instance, the Virginia Experiment Station recomThis is fed with a mash consisting of 600 pounds of wheat, NOTE.-Table 8 shows the formulas recommended in various States for 1 ton of grain ration and mash for laying hens. mends a scratch or grain mixture consisting of 1,100 pounds of wheat, 400 pounds of oats, and 500 pounds of cracked corn. 400 pounds of oats, 400 pounds of bran, 400 pounds of meat scrap, and 200 pounds of yellow corn meal. FEEDING WHEAT TO HORSES In a number of instances wheat is recommended for horses. It is not suggested that wheat should replace all of the corn or oats in a grain ration for horses but that it may be used to supplement part of the other grains. Dr. F. B. Morrison, of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., says that from his experience, "Wheat gives good results when carefully fed to horses, but caution is necessary, on account of the heavy, concentrated nature of the grain. * * * mixture of half wheat and half oats is suitable, or 25 per cent by weight of wheat bran can be included in the mixture. If oats or bran are not available, the wheat can be mixed with chopped or ground alfalfa hay." The Pennsylvania Experiment Station recommends a ration for horses consisting of 6 bushels of ground wheat, 11 bushels of oats, and 100 pounds of wheat bran. Another ration recommended by this station consists of 4 bushels of wheat, 8 bushels of oats, 41⁄2 bushels of shelled corn, and 100 pounds of wheat bran. "When at hard work, feed 1 quart for each hundredweight. Example: A 1,400-pound horse should receive 14 quarts per day. On Sunday and idle days feed one-half quart per hundred-weight." The Federal Farm Board is indebted to the following 25 experiment stations for the facts summarized in this bulletin concerning feeding wheat to livestock: College of Agriculture, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Ark. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University, La Fayette, Ind. Agricultural Experiment Station, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanics Arts, Ames, Iowa. Agricultural Experiment Station, Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kans. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. Agricultural Experiment Station, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich. Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn. College of Agriculture, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Montana, Bozeman, Mont. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebr. Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. Agricultural Experiment Station, North Dakota Agricultural College, Fargo, N. Dak. Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio. Agricultural Experiment Staton, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Stillwater, Okla. Pa. Agricultural Experiment Station, Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, Oreg Agricultural Experiment Station, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Agricultural Experiment Station, South Dakota Agricultural College, Brookings, S. Dak. Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, College Station, Tex. Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State Agricultural College, Logan, Utah. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Additional copies of this bulletin may be obtained free upon request. Address Director of Information, Federal Farm Board, Washington, D. C. U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1992 |