70 The Roaster and the Broiler. 



their days. When things are conducted favorably, a loss of 

 one to two per cent, is all that is necessary in growing chicks. 



It is well for all to understand that chicks can be forced to a 

 greater weight in a given time when hatched and grown arti- 

 ficially than can possibly be done under hens. I was never 

 able in a 30 years' experience with hens, to grow chicks at four 

 months old as I am now doing artificially ; for instance, on 

 April 10 last, I put 300 chicks right from the incubator into 

 two of my outdoor brooders. The loss among these was lest 

 than one per cent, up to 10 weeks old, when quite a large num- 

 ber tipped the scales at four pounds each. In a previous 

 hatch I put 20 pairs on the market when n weeks old, quite a 

 number of which weighed five pounds each when killed, and I 

 must say they were the heaviest chicks of their age that I ever 

 grew. It was a special test with me to make the conditions as 

 favorable as possible to see how heavy a Brahma chick could 

 be forced to weigh at a given time. For the first six weeks the 

 food given was largely nitrogenous, after which I gradually 

 fed more cornmeal together with raw ground bone. I always 

 start my chicks with bread-crumbs, three parts, into which I 

 mix one part of infertile eggs boiled hard and chopped fine. 

 I do not feed any more than that, as an exclusive feed of eggs 

 will surely give them the diarrhrea, like one of meat. I also 

 feed granulated oatmeal two or three times a day, and after 

 the first three days, two parts of cornmeal and one part of 

 bran should be substituted for the bread-crumbs and egg. It 

 is well to scald for a while. Keep water by them constantly. 

 Care should be taken to feed no more than the chicks will eat 

 clean, as food kept constantly by them will always get more or 

 less mixed up with their excrement and an abundance will 

 sooner or later clog them. It is well to scatter a little sharp 

 sand upon their feeding- troughs so that they will naturally eat 

 a little with their food until they are old enough to supply 

 their own wants. 



If brooders are used, great care should be taken not to over- 

 heat them, as chicks when uncomfortable will usually crowd 



