vni. PHEASAXT REARING (PART VII} 127 



In dry weather, on a dusty soil, the feathers near 

 the tail of a chick often cake together and hecome so 

 glued one with another that the bird cannot relieve 

 nature ; in this case clip the under-feathers short, and 

 anoint with salad oil. 



If the birds suffer from diarrhoea, mix plenty of 

 well-boiled good rice with their custard and meal at 

 every feed. A keeper should daily observe the dis- 

 charges from his birds in the rearing field with a 

 view to checking this complaint at the outset. 



If you have a brood of young chicks in a drooping, 

 sickly condition, and you cannot improve their health 

 or discover their ailment, take the risk of their being 

 destroyed by vermin, and place them with their hen 

 loose in a wood without any coop. 



I have many times done this as a last resort with 

 complete success. The change of food and ground 

 will often cause the birds to recover rapidly, when, 

 had they remained in the rearing field, they would 

 have certainly died. 



