/'/, V.l/Of TH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 415 



CHAPTER II. 



CARE OF THE GROWING STOCK. 



After the little chicks are well started on life's journey, 

 under the old hen or in the brooder, it is necessary to see that 

 they have proper care throughout the growing period. A 

 setback at any time in their growth can never be entirely over- 

 come and the more severe the setback, the greater the harm. 

 The brood should be kept with the hen or in the brooder as 

 long as artificial heat is necessary, which is until they are 

 well covered with their chicken feathers and sometimes longer, 

 depending on the season of the year. They may, of course, 

 remain in the same quarters if the weather continues cold 

 and be allowed to run out doors only when conditions are 

 favorable. Unless the accommodations are ample, they are 

 likely to soon outgrow them and more room must be fur- 

 nished. A brood mothered by a hen can sometimes be kept 

 in a good sized brood coop for a short time after the hen weans 

 them, but they soon fill a coop of ordinary size so completely 

 that they are crowded at night. Before that occurs they 

 should be removed to what are generally known as roosting 

 coops. 



Roosting Coops. These roosting coops are of various 

 sizes, but a common size is six feet long, three feet wide, three 

 feet high in front and two feet high at the rear. If the chicks 

 use these little buildings during the heat of the summer, it is 

 customary to make the front entirely of wire netting or slats, 

 so that the air can circulate freely. To provide protection 

 against the storms and occasional cool weather, especially 

 in the fall, a burlap or cotton cloth curtain is often arranged 

 so that it can be rolled or dropped down to cover the open 

 side, in this way shutting out strong winds and driving rains. 

 This curtain should not be kept down except when necessary 

 for the before mentioned reasons, because at any other time 

 it confines the air too much and makes it too warm for the 

 youngsters. 



When the brooder chicks are ready to be put out on the 

 range, that is, when they no longer need the protection of the 

 brooder or colony house in which the brooder is operated, 

 they are usually put into the roosting coops which are dis- 

 tributed over the range. The same procedure is followed in 

 the case of hen-brooded chicks. 



