46 FIRST LESSONS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 



(2). Weaning the chicks too soon. 



Many hens would leave their chicks at two to three weeks old, if allowed to do so. Some 

 will brood chicks while laying, but many will not, and as a well fed hen is likely to begin laying 

 within ten to twenty days after hatching her chicks, many chicks will be forsaken while still in 

 heed of a mother, if the hens could leave them at will. 



These are the general faults against which cooping is an insurance. The other special faults 

 will be considered briefly under the next heading. 



Selecting Hens for Mothers. 



A hen that makes a good sitter does not always make a good mother. Some hens that sit 

 very quietly become very fussy with a brood of chicks, are a constant aggravation to the 

 keeper, and frequently injure chicks. The ideal mother is the hen that has made a good hatch, 

 and, that on removal from the nest with chicks, settles down quietly in the quarters assigned 

 her. If she tramps about and seems to move without regard to the chicks, change for another 

 hen if possible. If she is vicious, don't use her for another unless you have to. The hen that 

 fights for her chicks, with or without provocation, will do in fiction, but in practice she harms 

 more than she helps them. For the sake of the chicks as well as for the sake of the attendant, 

 only docile hens should be used as mothers. 



Taking Chicks from the Nest. 



Chicks should be removed from the nest about twenty-four hours after the first chicks in it 

 hatched. If hatching has been uneven, there may be some chicks not ready to leave the nest 

 then. If so, they may be put under other hens, or if that is not practicable, remove to a warm 

 place, and keep them wrapped in flannel or cotton until well dried and up on their feet 



By the time the first hatched chicks (which are generally the strongest), are a day old they 

 want to get out from under the hen and move about a little, and may make her so restless that 

 if the nest Is open she will leave it with such chicks as can follow her, and if closed so that she 

 cannot get out, may scratch around in it and do a good deal of damage. 



Except in warm bright settled weather, it is not, as a rule, advisable to take chicks at this 

 age direct from the nests to outdoor coops. Though they want to move about a little, and soon 

 eat some, for the first few days warmth and quiet are of greatest importance. To secure these, 

 have boxes with open tops protected by slats or wire netting, into which the broods can be put 

 for a few days, and kept indoors. 



The hen and chicks can be fed and watered in these, and can move about a little, but must 

 keep quite quiet, and in case a hen is not disposed to brood her chicks the greater part of the 

 time, she can be " persuaded " to do so by throwing a bag over the top of the box, making it 

 dark. Chicks kept close and warm and quiet this way for a few days go to the outdoor 

 coops strong and lively. 



In bad weather they may be kept in such boxes a little longer, but never more than four or 

 five days, or they fret at confinement and do not thrive. 



Before putting chicks into the box, put a sprinkling of chafF, hay, leaves, or finely cut hay or 

 straw into it. Use just enough to cover the bottom. Too much will often make trouble, the 

 hen scratching in it and burying some of her chicks with it. 



Harking the Chicks. 



If the chicks are to be punch marked in the feet to identify them, it should be done as they 

 are taken from the nest. For this purpose use a small size spring punch made for marking 

 chicks, and sold by all supply houses and many poultry journals. (We advertise one in this 

 paper). 



If chicks are marked at this age, the operation gives as little pain as possible. The cut bleeds 

 but little, sometimes not at all, and as the chicks remain under the hens most of the time for a 

 day or two, there is less trouble with chicks, attracted by the blood on feet that bleed, picking 

 each other to pieces. 



In making the punch mark, mark well into the web, but not so far as to injure the bones of 

 the foot. 



