999 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 57 



QUESTION Are chicks when first hatched the same color as 

 the adult fowls? 



ANSWER No. Some varieties are very different. Most chicks 

 of black breeds will show a yellow or creamy color in some places, 

 and chicks of the white breeds may be smutty or have dark patches 

 in the down. The parti-colored breeds produce chicks irregular in 

 color. The true color begins to appear when the first feathers begin 

 to show and after the first downy covering of the chick has disap- 

 peared. 



QUESTION Are chicks properly incubated and in good condi- 

 tion when they hatch on the 2Oth day? 



ANSWER Yes ; 21 days is the time which is accepted as the 

 correct period of incubation, but strongly fertilized eggs from 

 healthy, vigorous stock will begin to hatch on the 2Oth day, and 

 some of the eggs in any particular lot may begin to pip on the iQth 

 day. 



QUESTION Is there any way to determine the sex of the chick 

 during the period of incubation or before the egg is set? 

 ANSWER No. 



QUESTION How often should -chicks be fed during the first 

 ten days? 



ANSWER Do not feed them at all till they are 48 hours old. 

 Then feed them five times per day till they are ten days old. 



QUESTION In punching the webs of the feet of chicks, when is 

 the best time to do it? 



ANSWER It may be done any time, and it is best to do it when 

 the chicks are taken from the nest or the incubator. 



QUESTION How can very small chicks best be resuscitated, 

 that have been caught out of the brooder in a heavy rain and are wet 

 and chilled to the point where they are apparently dead ? 



ANSWER Heat the brooder or incubator to 103 degrees and 

 place the chicks in it for an hour or two, after they have first been 

 revived by applications of water to their bodies which has been 

 heated to about 103 to 105 degrees. The better plan is to saturate a 

 flannel cloth with the warmed water and wrap the chick in it for a 

 moment, after which place it in the incubator or brooder. 



QUESTION How can the sex of very young chicks be ascer- 

 tained ? 



ANSWER The male is a little larger and coarser, his comb is 

 also larger and the tail feathers more developed. 



