54 ELEMENT AEY AGRICULTUEE 



time, and does not mope. A moping hen does not 

 lay well, as exercise is necessary. Chickens in a 

 pen need animal food, such as meat scraps and 

 skimmed milk, to take the place of the insects that 

 they get when they are allowed to roam. Cracked 

 o5^ster shell furnishes lime for making the eggshell, 

 and grit must be provided for grinding their food. 

 Fresh water in clean dishes should always be within 

 reach. During the winter season, corn may be given 

 once a day because it is a warming food. Ground 

 bone, table scraps, cooked potatoes, turnips, and 

 vegetable tops are given instead of green food. 

 Eggs, like milk, often show by their color, flavor, 

 and odor what food the hens eat. 



Hatching Little Chicks. Hen's eggs are hatched 

 by keeping them at the same warm temperature for 

 twenty-one days. Many farmers prefer the hen to 

 incubators for hatching. Perfect-shaped eggs with 

 good firm shells should be selected for hatching. 

 The fresher they are the better. When two broods 

 of chicks are hatched at the same time, one hen 

 may be able to mother both. 



How to Care for the Brood. Little chickens must 

 be kept dry and must be carefully fed three times 

 a day. Corn meal and bread crumbs and the yolk 

 of hard-boiled eggs are a good beginning. If chicks 

 are in a pen, cut grass from the lawn makes good 

 green food. Soon a little chicken will eat wheat 

 and cracked ,corn. Chicken lice are a great trouble 

 to the tiny chicks and the mother hen, and the nest 



