pouivtry experiments. 7^ 



Growing the Chickens. 



The chicks are allowed to remain in the incubator until they 

 are about 48 hours old. They are then strong, steady on their 

 legs and hungry. 



The temperature under the brooder hover is kept between 95 

 and 100 degrees during the first week ; reducing it about 5 

 degrees during each of the next three weeks. Great care should 

 be exercised that the floor of the brooder does not get too warm. 

 After they are 3 or 4 days old, they are taught, little by little, 

 the road down, and out on to the floor, which is covered with 

 half an inch of sand and an inch or two of dry cut clover, or 

 clover leaves and chaff. 



The best method of feeding young chicks is at present a mat- 

 ter of some uncertainty. Many different kinds of food and 

 different ways of feeding give good results. 



One condition appears to be imperative and that is, that the 

 young things, vnitil they are at least three weeks old, be not 

 allowed to overeat. We have guarded against this by watching 

 them closely and examining their crops for emptiness just before 

 feeding time. This enables them to eat 4 good meals a day and 

 be hungry at feeding time. Where regular full meals are given 

 them they are allowed at the troughs only a short time. A long 

 drawn out meal to enable them to clean up the dishes impairs 

 their digestion, and ruin follows. 



Where small broken grains and meals are kept constantly 

 within reach of the young things, either in the litter or small 

 troughs, the crops never appear to be empty, neither are they 

 ever crammed full as they are when fed at regular hours, and 

 yet the birds live well and seem to thrive when they are within 

 easy reach of food all of the time. 



At the present time the Station is studying young chick feed-' 

 ing closely, for it is the most difficult feature of the whole poul- 

 tr}^ industry. We can now give no better method than that 

 practiced in raising the chicks during this and the last season, 

 because by it few birds have been lost and good thrift has been 

 secured. 



Infertile eggs are boiled for half an hour and then ground 

 in an ordinary meat chopper, shells included, and mixed with 

 about 6 times their bulk of rolled oats, by rubbing both 

 together. This mixture is the feed for 2 or 3 days until the 



