MASTAGE3IEXT OF YOTOG CHICKEXS. 133 



may, of course, be discontinued when the birds are 

 strong enough to pluck it for themselves. Millet seed 

 is excellent for young chicks, and for fowls of all ages 

 for that matter, but it is more expensive than corn in 

 proportion to the nutrition it contains ; the latter, 

 cracked, and the meal and also the coarser particles 

 sifted out, is the main reliance for encouraging young 

 chickens to range for the sake of exercise a considerable 

 distance from the coops containing the mother hens. 



Occasionally, the broadcast sower should make a trip 

 parallel to the row of small chicken coops at a distance of 

 three or four to eight or ten rods, according to the age 

 of the chicks, and scatter a slight sprinkling of fine 

 cracked corn. It is not necessary to do this every day, 

 for the remembrance of what they have previously found 

 will cause them to ramble freely, especially as there will 

 be a few insects on the range, even if not many. It is 

 very important that the chicken coops shall be set in a 

 single row and at a distance from other fowls, so that 

 all the insect forage possible may be secured for them, 

 and, at the same time, they will be encouraged to ram- 

 ble far and wide, exercise and employment of their 

 natural hunting faculties being as beneficial as the forage 

 itself. If you double up the rows, even if they are 50 

 or 100 ft. apart, the chicks will not do as well. Locate 

 the row near your crops, for they will do no damage 

 before weaning. Crops grow insects ; insects grow chicks. 



The chicks of the main laying stock should be kept at 

 a place separate from the selected pedigree chicks and 

 those of the breed of sitters, because, as the former grow 

 toward maturity, they should gradually receive feed more 

 forcing and stimulating than the latter. The adult 

 fowls designed for breeders should be fed sparingly, and 

 forced to literally scratch hard for a living ; the sitters 

 must be allowed a stimulating diet in winter, to induce 

 them to lay so as to be ready to sit early in the season, 



