MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 253 



ingly on the nest. It is better in this case to put eggs 

 under her, taking care to mark them in order to dis- 

 tinguish them from those she may continue to lay, and 

 which latter must be removed, as they would not be 

 hatched at the same time as the rest, and would there- 

 fore be spoilt. 



When the hen has been sitting for a month, the 

 chicks make their appearance. Those which come out 

 first must be placed in a basket of feathers and kept in 

 a warm place till the rest appear, when they may be all 

 given to the mother. She appears, however, little com- 

 petent to the task of feeding them, or teaching them 

 how to feed themselves, and on this account a few com- 

 mon hens' eggs are sometimes put under the turkey, 

 about nine or ten days after she has begun to sit, that 

 the chickens, coming out at the same time with the little 

 turkeys, may teach them how to eat. For a few hours 

 after hatching, the young turkeys require no food, but 

 iu. some places a custom prevails of putting a pepper- 

 corn down the throat of each chick, then dipping its 

 bill in water, and. returning it to the nest. The pepper- 

 corn is doubtless given to gratify the love of stimulants, 

 which turkeys are known to possess, but at this early 

 stage it is much better to let the chick alone, and not 

 force it with food for several hours. The first meal may 

 be of hard boiled eggs chopped fine, and mixed with 

 bread or curd, and a few sprigs of nettle and parsley, 

 also boiled and chopped ; this is made into a paste, and 

 the chicks are encouraged to peck it from the palm of 

 the hand. Some persons give chopped egg alone for 

 the first fortnight, and say that it is the only safe food, 

 on account of the tendency there is in young turkeys 

 to fall into a sort of dysentery. 



The turkey-hen and chicks are housed for a month 

 after the hatching, unless the weather be particularly 

 warm : if they appear to droop, a little powdered car- 

 raway-seed and cayenne pepper may be cautiously mixed 

 with their food, taking care to avoid milk, which has a 



