POULTRY FOR PROFIT 207 



day, for turkeys are more sensitive to filth than 

 chicks, and the wood coop should be hosed or sprayed 

 with disinfectant, and supplied with clean litter very 

 often. All coops for poults should have board floors, 

 and an oilcloth cover for the wire run should be 

 ready for rainy days or foggy mornings. In really 

 rainy weather it is better to move the coop under a 

 roof, if possible, and keep the poults indoors till the 

 sun shines, for damp weather is very hard on them. 



As the poults grow older they can stand more 

 dampness, but they should be kept out of the wet 

 grass till they are several weeks old. If the hen is 

 confined the poults may go far enough to wet their 

 feet a little, but they will always come back to be 

 warmed, and the hen will be ready to warm them. 



When the poults are old enough to roost, at five 

 or six weeks, it is a good plan to provide a coop 

 with low roosts. Cover the ground under the roosts 

 with clean straw or leaves and let the poults cuddle 

 on the floor or roost as they please. They will soon 

 learn to roost and then they will look for a higher 

 perch on fence or tree-limb. 



GRIT AND CHARCOAL 



Sharp grit and powdered charcoal are both very 

 necessary to a young turkey's diet. Grit should al- 

 ways be within reach, and it is a good plan to add 

 it to the chopped feed the first few weeks to make 

 sure that they get enough. Charcoal is a prevent- 

 ive of diarrhea and indigestion. 



LICE 



Next to overfeeding, lice are probably the most 

 potent cause of untimely death in young turkeys. 

 One reason for this is that it is hard to see the lice 

 on turkeys for they hide among the quills of the 



