1954 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



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

 find the different kinds of food, the grit, the charcoal, and the 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 outside. 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 between feeding times a little onion, lean meat, or other " chickens' 

 dainty," cut to a suitable fineness, should be scattered in the litter. Only 

 a quantity 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. 

 Fairly good results can be obtained by feeding chicks three times instead 

 of five times a day from the start, but, for rapid growth, five times a day 

 will produce the best results. 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 nimiber 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 

 to them. The subsequent feedings should be sufficient to satisfy the appe- 

 tite. Green food should be given at least twice a day. At night the 

 chicks should have all the food they will eat, with just a little left over to 

 be eaten by the earliest light. They should not be fed in the morning 

 until they are hungry. 



Small hoppers or boxes should be used for grit or for charcoal; one 



