BROODING AND REARING YOUNG STOCK 



(6) Inherent weakness due to carelessness in the selec- 

 tion of the parent stock or to careless breeding. 



(7) Disease. 



Protection for the Poults 



When the hatch is completed and the young turkeys 

 begin to run about outside the nest it is time to move the 

 turkey hen and her brood to a suitable place which should 

 have been prepared for them previously. Such a coop 

 must provide the brood with shelter from the rain, should 

 have sufficient room to allow the turkey hen to stand 

 up and to walk about, should be so constructed that it 

 can be closed at night so that animals cannot get at the 

 turkeys, and at the same time must provide plentiful 

 ventilation. 



Any type of coop which embodies these requisites will 

 be found satisfactory. One coop should be provided for 

 each hen and her brood, and there should never be any 

 attempt made to place two hens together in the same coop. 

 A coop 3 by 6 feet or one 4 feet square will be found a 

 suitable size for a hen and brood. One successful turkey 

 grower recommends the use of a coop which is 36 by 40 

 inches and only 12 inches high. This particular coop 

 has a galvanized iron top with slats all the way around 

 the outside. The idea of using a low coop is that it com- 

 pels the hen to squat or sit so that as long as she is con- 

 fined to the coop the young poults can crawl under her if 

 they become chilled and will not find her standing up, when 



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