268 POULTRY CULTURE 



birds are very sensitive to unfavorable conditions, and much more 

 susceptible to disease than adults. 



It is commonly said that the first three weeks are the critical 

 period in the life of a chick, that the chick which lives to that 

 age is likely to live to maturity. That is not a general truth, for at 

 later periods there are many losses of chicks which were thrifty in 

 early life, but it is true for certain classes of cases, particularly for 

 cases of acute disorders directly due to wrong conditions at that 

 time or during incubation, and to improper feeding. In the first 

 few weeks of the life of young poultry mortality is, as a rule, 

 heavier than at any other period, not only because the birds are 

 actually more delicate then, but because, during the early part of 

 that period, those greatly lacking in vitality, and those affected by 

 unfavorable conditions during incubation, or by wrong brooder 

 temperature, die or begin to show marked symptoms of disease, 

 while it is not until after the second or third week that birds that 

 were originally vigorous begin to show the effects of other conditions 

 that are radically wrong, especially of wrong feeding. Favorable 

 conditions and good management at this time help (sometimes a 

 great deal) to remedy troubles originating in the parent stock or in 

 incubation. On the other hand, unfavorable conditions and bad 

 management at this stage of development will have bad effects and 

 often spoil young birds beyond remedy. It is possible by good care 

 to grow good birds under unfavorable conditions, but it is doubtful 

 whether in any case this can be done at a profit when the value of 

 labor is considered. Most poultry keepers who persist (unsuccess- 

 fully) in trying to grow poultry under unfavorable conditions fail 

 because they either will not or cannot do for the poultry the work 

 which the circumstances demand. 



Overcrowding the prime cause of trouble in growing poultry. 

 Although other causes may seem more disastrous at times, there is 

 no other wrong condition as prevalent as overcrowding. Whatever 

 the kind of poultry kept, and whether natural or artificial methods 

 of rearing are used, the almost universal tendency is to overcrowd 

 the birds both as to the numbers in a specified area and as to the 

 continuous use of land for poultry. The remarkable results occa- 

 sionally secured under intensive conditions seem to make more 

 impression on the average poultry keeper than do the failures 



