THE COMMON FOWL. bO 



spread themselves out. This being accom- 

 plished, each down feather extends over a con- 

 siderable space, and when they all become 

 dry and straight, the chick appeal's completely 

 clothed in a warm vestment of soft down." 



It is usual as the chicks in turn make 

 their exit from the egg to remove them, and 

 keep them warmly covered up, till all are ex- 

 cluded and the hen is ready to take them 

 under her charge altogether. Within twenty- 

 four hours they begin to pick, and should be 

 supplied with crumbs of bread, soaked in milk, 

 egg boiled hard and chopped small, grits, and 

 other grain. It is desirable to keep the 

 chickens for the first week or ten days with 

 the hen under cover, in some convenient 

 place, so that the former may not be exposed 

 to Ti^et or to sudden changes of temperature, 

 to which in the spring more especially they 

 will be liable, and when during a sunny 

 morning they are allowed to run about, the 

 hen should be secured under a wicker coop, 

 lest she should wander abroad, followed by 

 her brood, to their risk, from various causes. 

 The clucking note by which the hen calls her 

 brood around her, and her fearlessness and 

 self-devotion in their defence, are universally 

 c 



