FEEDING VALUE OF BRAN.

Shannon News, 17 February 1925, Page 4

FEEDING VALUE OF BRAN.

There can be no doubt that the demand for bran for the feeding of all classes of livestock is largely due to its apparent cheapness, and, unfortunately, mapy people imagine that this particular form of feeding stuff is reasonably nutritious. Many or the milling offals used to-day are not all they should be, and it is a pity they are not graded or classified and sold under distinct names, consistent with their feeding value. Sharps is probably the most generally consumed of all milling offals, and one which varies more than any other, in many cases not being worth the money paid for it.

Coarse bran is fairly rich in albu. menoids or nitrogenous ingredients, which are the most valuable constituents in any food. It should now be general knowledge that bran is obtained in the manufacture of flour, and consists of the skin of the wheat grain, together with some of the outer part of the inside portion. The quality of the latter varies, being greatest in coarse bran, and on this account coarse bran is the most nutritious, although many animals are not -able to digest or assimilate the ingredients it contains, with the result that it passes through the Intestines in the form of an irritant.

Bran is a valuable food for the feeding of dairy cows, and is quite one of the best milk-producing foods if given in moderate quantities along with other concentrates, when, apart from producing a beneficial effect on the yield of milk, it has a still further Influence on the milk itself. It is wellknown that in the winter months the inclusion of bran tends to make the butter softer than would otherwise be the case.

The quantity of bran fed to dairy cows may vary from 1 lb. per head per day upwards. This, of course, is too small a quantity to have any influence on the milk yield. The aver, age quantity fed may be taken as about 4 lbs., and the mixture about 8 lbs