1468 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



the hover. In the morning of the second day the hover should be raised 

 and all the chicks shotdd be forced out to the food dishes. By this 

 time the greater proportion will know where to find food and drink; 

 the backward ones should be encouraged, otherwise some of them may 

 starve. A small quantity of cracked grain may now be scattered in light 

 litter, the attention of the chicks being attracted to this action. If 

 some of the grains strike the chicks in falling, the food is more quickly 

 seen. 



After the first few days, or as soon as all the chicks have learned to 

 find the different kinds of food, the grit, charcoal, and granulated bone 

 may be put into a separate dish and the green food need not be so finely 

 shredded. Under favorable circumstances the chicks should be allowed to 

 leave the brooder when three days old, but they should not be forced out- 

 side. In order to teach the chicks the way back into the brooder, a little 

 train of food may be laid from the ground along the entrance and to the 

 inside of the brooder. When a few of the chicks find this food, most 

 of the others will follow them inside, but care should be taken that even 

 the most backward learn quickly the way to the source of heat. A little 

 food scattered outside the brooder will encourage the chicks to get out 

 on the ground; but the greater part of their food, including some of the 

 green food, should still be put in the brooder. On rainy days, when the 

 chicks remain indoors, it is especially necessary that they be kept 

 busy. The meals should be somewhat lighter on such occasions, and be- 

 tween feeding times a little onion, lean meat, or other " chickens' dainty," 

 cut to a suitable fineness, should be scattered in the litter. Only a quan- 

 tity sufficient to induce a scramble should be given. 



The daily meals. — For the first two weeks the chicks are usually 

 fed five times a day, and should be given all they will eat. After the 

 second or third day they should be required to clean up their food once 

 daily. The number of meals is later reduced to four and then to three, 

 and finally the method is changed to hopper-feeding; the age at which 

 these changes are made being influenced by the conditions under which 

 the chicks are reared. If kept in small yards, the chicks should be 

 fed more often and given a smaller quantity at a feeding than if allowed 

 a larger run. In case chicks accustomed to range are kept for a day 

 in the brooder, it may be best to increase the number of feedings, giving 

 a less amount at each meal. 



The morning meal should consist of grain, and the conditions should 

 be such that the chicks will be obliged to hunt for the food. The amount 

 fed must be controlled by the appetites of the chicks. If they become 

 overfed, no more food should be given until they are eager for it. They 

 should not be fed with any particular material that becomes distasteful 



