66 POULTRY FOR PROFIT 



old, for a normal chick doubles its size in three 

 weeks. See that the growing- chick has room to 

 grow in. If it has not, it will be a runt. Chicks do 

 better in flocks of not more than fifty, and when 

 particularly fine chicks are wanted, they must be 

 raised in smaller flocks than this. On large plants 

 it is necessary to brood hundreds of chicks together, 

 but losses are greater. The Leghorn, however, 

 which is always kept on these large egg farms, can 

 bear much more crowding than other breeds. 



Protection from lice and mites and from all sorts 

 of animal foes is a vital part of chick raising. No 

 chick can thrive when it is infested with lice, and 

 the red mite, which sucks its blood at night, is a 

 deadly enemy. Dusting or greasing hen-hatched 

 chicks when they are first hatched, and once a week 

 afterward; dusting brooder chicks every week; 

 keeping all sitting hens free from lice, and using 

 some good lice paint on coops and brooders to keep 

 mites from finding a hiding place in them, will keep 

 chicks free from these troublesome pests. 



Cats, dogs, hawks, squirrels and the like are not 

 so easily guarded against. Covered runs are the 

 best solution of the problem, but chicks ought to 

 have range, if it is at all possible, after the first 

 week or two, and it is a pity to be obliged to deprive 

 them of this because of marauding animals. Every 

 poultrykeeper will find his own way of controlling 

 the neighbor's dog or cat. Sometimes the chicks 

 will have to be shut up ; sometimes the animals can 

 be confined. 



In California coops and runs for baby chicks 

 should always front east, so that the chicks may 

 have the morning sun and be protected from the 

 western coast winds. Exposure to these winds is 

 very detrimental to young stock, and they should 



