POULTRY 



657 



they should be regularly fed some form 

 of animal food. 



Mortality in incubator chicks — All 

 the usual diseases of poultry are treated 

 in Chapter III. Here may be men- 

 tioned the diseases peculiar to brooder 

 chicks. Many deaths may be due to 

 mechanical causes, such as overcrowd- 

 ing in the brooder, death by suffocation 

 and trampling, bad ventilation and lack 

 of cleanliness and sunlight. Overfeed- 

 ing is also responsible for a large por- 

 tion of the losses. For the first two or 

 three days chicks normally live on the 

 contents of the yolk sack, which is ab- 

 sorbed into the stomach at birth, and if 

 the chicks are fed too soon, or too much 

 they may die from non-absorption of 

 this material. 



For the first three or four days the 

 chicks may seem hearty and vigorous, 

 after which they may appear drowsy 

 during the day and stand nodding. 

 Deaths are most rapid from the sixth 

 to the tenth day. The abdominal cavity 

 if examined at this time, will be found 

 to contain a considerable quantity of 

 semifluid matter which has undergone 

 putrefactive changes, causing death. 

 Sometimes death does not occur for two 

 or three weeks, in which case, the con- 

 tents of the yolk sack may be yellowish 

 and cheesy in nature. 



The most common disorder of brooder 

 chicks is bowel trouble. The feces be- 

 come soft and sticky and the chicks 

 drowsy, with a tendency to remain in 

 the hover. Either improper food, over- 

 feeding, or chilling, may cause this trou- 

 ble. The remedy is to change the feed 

 and maintain as uniform a temperature 

 as possible. If the disease is caused by 

 non-absorption of the contents of the 

 yolk sack, there is no remedy. 



Any marked variation in the tempera- 

 ture of the brooder house is likely to re- 

 sult in many deaths from inflammation 

 of the lungs. Where little attention is 

 given the sanitary condition of the 

 brooder, deaths from tuberculosis occur 

 in about 15 per cent of the chickens. 



In an examination of over 800 brooder 

 chicks which died from various causes 

 at the Rhode Island station, about 75 

 per cent had abnormal livers and 38 per 

 cent various forms of intestinal dis- 

 orders. Diseases of the liver and gall 

 bladder can usually be recognized from 

 the green stain which is observable on 

 the right side of the abdomen close to 



the posterior end of the breast bone. 

 To overcome this more animal food 

 must be fed with the grain ration. Liver 

 of various animals, fresh fish, refuse 

 meat boiled and chopped fine, skim milk 

 or meat meal, when of good quality, are 

 recommended, but at most should not 

 constitute more than about 10 per cent 

 of the ration. In nature, chicks spend 

 most of the time during the day in 

 search of food; in artificial feeding this 

 habit should be taken into account and 

 the chicks fed often but in small 

 amounts. 



For guarding against tuberculosis, 

 the interior of the brooders should be 

 given all the sunlight and air possible 

 on pleasant days. An excess of animal 

 food and chilling may also cause diar- 

 rhoea. The extensive use of rich mashes 

 may result in leg weakness. More hard 

 grain scattered in the litter for exercise 

 is the remedy. 



Growth and classes of chicks Chicks 



grow rather slowly for the first two 

 weeks. By the end of the fourth week, 

 under normal feeding they should 

 weigh 8 to 10 ounces each. From then 

 on, with ordinary good feeding, they 

 should gain on the average close to a 

 pound a month. A large business is 

 done in the vicinity of cities and towns 

 in^ the production of broilers, roasters, 

 fries and capons. 



Broilers are young chicks under 3 

 pounds. The first fresh broilers of the 

 year appear early in the winter months 

 and weigh from 1% to 2 pounds a pair. 

 Such birds are known as squab or club- 

 house broilers, and are used largely in 

 hotels, restaurants and clubs. 



Boasters are chickens weighing about 

 4 pounds each, while "Fries" are inter- 

 mediate in size between broilers and 

 roasters. Capons are castrated cocks 

 and are no better than cockerels unless 

 allowed to mature fully, when they are 

 tender, juicy and of very delicate flavor. 

 What are known as soft roasters are ex- 

 tensively grown in the "South Shore" 

 section of Massachusetts. These birds 

 are easily produced. Cracked corn, beef 

 scraps and water are kept constantly 

 before them. Green food is supplied 

 in the form of cabbage or green rye sown 

 in the fall. They are especially desired 

 in early summer and reach the required 

 weight without other forcing than this 

 simple diet. 



