92 GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY. 



The feeding will not differ from that already given. Hard- 

 boiled eggs chopped up, and very coarse oatmeal moistened 

 with milk or water, is best to commence with, as the chickens 

 will begin to peck much more readily at such tiny morsels 

 than at anything in the shape of sop. Groats chopped up small 

 are also very useful in teaching them to feed. This is, in fact, 

 the only difficulty, and is best got over by tapping on the floor 

 with the end of the finger, at the same time clucking like a 

 hen. But very few chickens give any trouble in this way, 

 and the art of feeding is one which, once learnt, is fortunately 

 never forgotten. Let not animal or green food be neglected, 

 or the chickens will never be superior specimens ; and let 

 grain be added by degrees, but still letting the chief diet, till 

 at least three months old, consist of soft food. This, however, 

 has been fully treated of already, and we will only add a 

 caution that the young birds be never neglected. Remember 

 that chicks with a hen, if at liberty, can almost always pro- 

 cure some food enough to maintain life at least if their 

 regular meal be forgotten, whilst those reared in this manner 

 are entirely dependent upon their owner's care, and one for- 

 gotten meal, even if not fatal at the time, frequently lays the 

 foundation of mortal disease, by leaving the poor little things 

 with no strength to endure any inclemency of the weather. 



Finally, it ought to be mentioned that it never answers to 

 rear chickens partially upon this system. If they are allowed 

 to get used to the hen's call, they fret and pine for days, and 

 some of them never recover. Or if there are hens with their 

 broods in the same run, they will run to them and get pecked, 

 and fret in the same way. But if either hatched in an in- 

 cubator, or taken from the nest before the hen has called them 

 to food, they thrive at least as well as with the natural parent, 

 and grow up tame and familiar to a degree almost beyond 

 belief, knowing, as they do, no other friend but the hand which 

 feeds them. 



