FOOD OF POULTRY. 169 



time. If the number of fowls be considerable, other vermin iers 

 may be constructed, so that when one is exhausted, another 

 may be ready for use. These repositories are more valuable 

 in winter than in summer, and should therefore be constructed 

 where they may best be defended from the inclemency of the 

 season. 



Care should, however, be taken, in using this sort of food, 

 that too many worms should not be given at one time. Reau- 

 mur fed a hen entirely on worms for a fortnight, and she seemed 

 well pleased with her fare. She grew very fat, and as she had 

 as many as she could devour, her appetite, so far from decreas- 

 ing, became every day more keen. At first she ate about a 

 pint, soon increased to a quart, and at last she devoured nearly 

 three pint measures per day. Of course, her health suffered 

 from such gluttony. On the whole, it may be said that worms 

 are both a useful and economical food for poultry. 



Fish, Flesh and Fowl. As fowls appear to be omnivorous, 

 they eat readily both fish and flesh meat, and they have no 

 reluctance to feed on their own kind. They will pick bones, 

 even more faithfully than quadrupeds. Blood of any kind is 

 esteemed a delicacy by them, and fish, even when salted, is 

 devoured with a relish. 



It seems to be a matter of comparative indifference to them 

 whether animal food is given in a boiled or raw state, so far as 

 the gratification of appetite is concerned, though, if any prefer- 

 ence can be observed, it is for raw meat. They are sometimes 

 so greedy that they will attack their fellows in order to taste 

 the blood which flows from the wounds they inflict, and it is 

 quite common for them, in the moulting season, to gratify them- 

 selves by picking at the sprouting feathers belonging to their 

 companions and to their own bodies. They appear to be partial 

 to suets and fat, but they should not be allowed to devour these 

 15 



