124 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. t. 



state of pulp, carnivorous birds, whose food 

 is more digestible, are not supplied with that 

 intestine. 



There is no general rule for the period of 

 separation between the hen and her chickens, 

 though it usually takes place when the latter 

 are six to eight weeks old. She does not, 

 however, desert them until they are well 

 feathered and strong enough to take care of 

 themselves ; but when that time arrives, her 

 solicitude for them ceases, and she feels again 

 inclined to lay. She therefore then begins to 

 roost and leave them ; but they commonly fol- 

 low her example ; their connexion is forgotten ; 

 ajid they know each other no longer. 



When they want to go to roost, let the 

 perches be covered with coarse woollen cloth, 

 to give them a firm hold ; but round, and not 

 more thick than they can gripe with ease, to 

 preventtheir either becoming "crooked breast- 

 ed " or " duck-footed:" the former of which 

 is occasioned by permitting them to roost, 

 while growing, upon anything sharp, and the 

 latter, by letting them roost, when young, upon 

 anything flat. The uppermost perch should, 

 also, not be placed higher than, at the most, 



