228 POULTRT-CRAFT. 



the crowded condition of the nest, and prevent the little ones being trampled. 

 Some of the best growers, however, advise letting the turkey hen alone until 

 she brings the brood from the nest. This method is probably the better one 

 to use with hens not accustomed to being handled, or of vicious dispositions. 



337. The Care of Young Poults. The young turkeys will not eat for 

 twenty-four to thirty-six hours after hatching ; hence no food need be offered 

 them the first day. The mother should be fed. If the nest in which the 

 poults were hatched is such and so situated that a small pen can be made in 

 front of it, the brood can remain there for some days ; if not, they should be 

 removed to a suitable coop one with board bottom being preferable with 

 pen attached. The pen for a brood of turkeys should be made of boards 

 twelve to sixteen inches wide, set on edge, and enclosing a space about eight 

 feet one way by twelve to sixteen the other. To this pen they should be 

 confined for a week or ten days until they are strong enough to run about. 

 If the pen cannot be placed on grass land, green food should be provided from 

 the start, for little turkeys seem to need green food about as soon as they need 

 anything, and suffer if they do not get it. Grit and charcoal should be pro- 

 vided. Lice must be fought just as on little chicks. Dampness is to be 

 avoided by keeping the coop dry, by keeping the poults in the pen, or if 

 the pen is on grass, in the coops while the dew is on the grass, and by 

 getting them under cover before rain storms. 



While the young turkeys are confined to the pens, these should be moved as 

 often as necessary to new ground. The coops should be kept scrupulously 

 clean. When five or six weeks old they may be allowed to range freely, but 

 still need watching when severe storms threaten, and to insure their being 

 home at night. A great advantage in giving an evening feed, even when it is 

 not really needed, is that it induces the turkeys to come home regularly, and 

 saves the trouble of hunting them up. At six to eight weeks of age the poults 

 begin to roost, and roosts placed three or four feet from the ground should be 

 provided, either under cover or where they have the partial protection of trees 

 or buildings. 



From the time they " shoot the red," that is, from the time that color begins 

 to develop on the head and throat, turkeys become hardier, and if their range 

 is good, need little care beyond what is necessary to protect them from their 

 natural enemies, and to prevent their becoming too wild. 



338. Feeding Turkeys from Shell to Market. REMARK. The 

 rations given here are those used by successful turkey growers. It will be 

 observed that good results are secured from quite different systems of feeding. 

 Differences in systems may be due sometimes to differences in circumstances ; 

 but as a rule they depend more on the keeper than on conditions. The fact 

 that some growers are successful with very simple rations, shows that much 

 of the work done by those who furnish more elaborate bills of fare is super- 



