CHAPTEB IX. 



BEARING THE TURKEY CHICKS. 



The turkey chicks having been hatched, they will 

 require the breeder's utmost and constant attention for the 

 first eight or ten weeks, for on the management of the 

 chicks depends the success or failure of turkey rearing. 

 Turkeys, when chicks, being exceeding delicate (the most 

 delicate of any domesticated poultry), and liable to be 

 not only decimated, but entire broods exterminated by a 

 sudden cold wind or a slight shower, and requiring, as 

 they do, feeding every two hours, or six times a day, 

 it is advisable for those who are unable to spare the 

 time to give the necessary attention, not to attempt 

 breeding turkeys, for they will only meet with severe 

 losses and disappointment. 



The chicks, having broken the shells by themselves, 

 without any fussy interference by the owner, may be left to 

 themselves for twenty-four hours, though the shells may be 

 removed and something placed in front of the nest, if it 

 be made in a box, to prevent any of the chicks falling out 

 and getting cold. The chicks having, just previously to 

 emerging from the shell, drawn into their body the yolk, 

 they are sufficiently sustained for twenty or twenty-four 

 hours or so, and require no feeding until the following 

 day. If the day be warm and fine, they may be placed 

 outdoors, in a dry situation ; if cold and damp, or windy, 

 they are better kept under cover, though not in a close 

 atmosphere, but where there is plenty of ventilation, a 

 large open shed protected from the wind being the best. 

 A warm bed having been provided, made of chaff, dry saw- 

 dust or dry horse droppings, all over a bed of dry sand and 



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