THE POULTRY DOCTOR. 19 



until the grass were dry it would be better for the little 

 ones. 



Mr. Judd, in his book on poultry, makes some good 

 points on the feeding of very young chickens. He very 

 strenuously objects to the common Indian, or corn, meal 

 dough that constitutes the sole food of so many young 

 chicks. It is tumbled out to them, and if not all eaten 

 allowed to stand until it is eaten ; it usually sours, the 

 chicks, perforce, must eat it, as nothing else is provided, 

 and then they sicken and die. Mr. Judd says : " For 

 the first morning meal I give all my young stock boiled 

 potatoes mashed up fine and mixed with an equal quan- 

 tity of Indian meal and shorts. I find nothing so good 

 and acceptable as this food, and I use only small and 

 unmarketable potatoes ; they prove more profitable than 

 anything else I can employ." This food is followed 

 with fine cracked corn. But whatever is fed to the 

 young chicks the gist of the matter is, do not feed them 

 anything that has turned stale or sour. There is death 

 in such a mess, and it is economy to throw it away. 



We know that wild and domestic animals require 

 salt, and from this it would seem right to assume that 

 fowls require it too, though the want appears not so 

 pressing in their case. It is said that fowls who eat 

 their own feathers cease to do so when given salt. How 



