LECTURE XCVI. 



REARING CHICKS FEED, CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



The little chicks should have a good start when they first 

 emerge from the shell in order that they may be able to make 

 the best of their opportunities afterward. In giving them 

 this start we have an important part to perform in seeing 

 that the parent stock are fed and managed so that they will 

 produce eggs possessing highly vitalized germs. To do this 

 we must furnish them plenty of vegetable and animal food 

 and an abundance of pure, fresh air. The egg chosen to give 

 birth to the chick should be large and be covered with a 

 sound shell. The egg should be set under a hen that has 

 given evidence that she will be a good mother. Strong, 

 healthy chicks when hatched may soon succumb to the at- 

 tacks of parasites the three varieties of lice that infest 

 fowls. Precautions must be taken to prevent the ravages 

 of these pests. Do not set a hen in an old nest, as it is al- 

 most sure to be infested. Put a moth ball, some tansy or 

 sulphur in the nest before placing the eggs under the hen. 

 Dust insect powder into the feathers of the brooding hen 

 two or three times during her sitting period. Take a cloth 

 that has been moistened with coal oil and rub it over the hen's 

 breast. These precautionary measures should kill all lice that 

 may have infested either the hen or the nest. If the future 

 quarters are well removed from the hen house and kept clean 

 there should te no trouble from lice. After the little chick 

 is born warmth is much more necessary than food. He re- 

 quires a temperature of at least 90 degrees F., and this will 

 be furnished by the hen if the chicks are left in the nest with 

 her. No food is required by the chick for thirty-six hours 

 after it is hatched. Nature has provided for it, so that we 

 need not concern ourselves in regard to his diet until this 

 period of from thirty to thirty-six hours has elapsed. Many 

 chickens are lost from the attack of diarrhoea. This is caused 

 by giving them cold water to drink, sloppy food or by allow- 

 ing draughts to blow over them. "An ounce of prevention is 



