' 45 



hatched chickens a mixture of hard-boiled egg and 

 bread crumbs, exacth^ like the old-fashioned orthodox 

 diet for young Canaries. Some gave this food for the 

 first day only, others gave it for three daN's, but it was 

 generally recognised, (and this point is worthy of 

 note), that it did more harm than good if continued 

 after the third day. But some years ago many large 

 breeders took to giving from the first nothing but 

 biscuit meal, made crumbly moist, and found that 

 chickens did just as well on this as they did on the 

 egg; and in course of time egg-food for chicken 

 became almost a thing of the past with poultry- 

 keepers of progressive tendencies. Biscuit meal thus 

 prepared is still used by many poultry-breeders from 

 the shell until the chickens are old enough to be fed 

 like the adult fowls. It is undoubtedly a valuable 

 food, but when using it care is necessary that the 

 feeding pans are kept thoroughly cleansed every day, 

 for when "sour" it readily becomes a cause of the 

 fatal disease septicaemia, to which some breeds are 

 much more susceptible than others. This applies, 

 of course, equally to all moist foods, and not merely 

 to biscuit meal. 



But within the last two or three ^^ears the "dry- 

 feed " system has come into vogue, and appears likely 

 to supersede the practice of supplying moist food to 

 young chickens. This dry food consists of a mixture of 

 crushed wheat, canary seed, groats, small rice, or any 

 other small or crushed grain, with a proportion of fine 

 flint-dust or gravel. This last is essential, and with- 

 out it dry feeding cannot be successful. A small 

 quantity of animal food is generally added in the 

 .shape of fine crLssel and dried flies. The mixture 



