37 



done with the chickens. 'No unthrifty ones should be allowed on 

 the premises, and the thrifty and vigorous should not be over- 

 crowded. If thej' are, they do not long remain vigorous and 

 thrifty. 



Besides being a constant menace to the welfare of the flock and 

 a burden to the caretaker, the weakl}' and runty chickens are 

 rather costly property. It takes a great deal more food to make 

 meat on them than on strong and thrifty chickens. No scientific 

 experiment is needed to demonstrate this. Any one who has 

 weakly chickens in his flock can demonstrate the matter for him- 

 self by separating them, by taking an equal number of healthy 

 chicks of the same age, and noting how the two lots eat and 

 how they grow. The weakly lot will eat nearly if not quite as 

 much as the others, and hardly grow at all ; while the others are 

 gaining perhaps over an ounce a day. When finally the weak 

 ones that live have attained marketable size, they will in most 

 cases have cost more than they will bring, and they never make 

 good poultry. Tlie loss on them is least when they are cleared 

 out as early as possible. Not one time in ten is anything gained 

 by keeping them, in the expectation of finally realizing a little 

 something on them. It is safe to say that this class of losses cuts 

 the profits of nearly all poultry keepers far more severely than 

 they realize. 



The matter of overcrowding has been mentioned. It is a thing 

 to be avoided as one would avoid a contagious disease. People 

 do not comprehend how injurious overcrowding is, unless they 

 have opportunity to compare results when two similar lots of 

 chickens are kept, one in crowded quarters, the other with abun- 

 dant room ; and this opportunity for comparison seldom comes 

 exci>pt to those who intentionally make it. 



" Farm range" for growing chicks ought to mean a great deal. 

 Too often it means very little, — means only that the chicks are 

 on a farm, and are not confined. The " range " is so overstocked 

 that they get next to nothing of what the}' are supposed to get on 

 a range, — green food and insect food ; and, these not being sup- 

 plied to them (because, Vieing on " free range," (?) they can pro- 

 cure them by foraging) , they are in effect worse off than yarded 

 fowls, to which these things are supplied. If one desires to use 

 free-range methods, he must take care not to overstock his range. 

 If he desires to keep more fowls than can be suitably kept on his 

 place by such methods, he must to some extent ado[)t llie methods 

 of intensive poultry culture. 



Overcrowding, overstocking premises with poultry is a fault 

 common to all classes of poultry keepers. It is only here and 



