CHAPTER X 



RAISING THE CHICKS 



To raise good chicks, it is really necessary to go back to the stock 

 and know what they come from, but we c-an't all do that so must start 

 with what we have. If they have been bought from the Hatchery and 

 come any distance, give the shipper credit for sending you good 

 chicks and don't start in to spoil them. 



Have your brooder ready, and that means strictly clean; and if 

 it has been used before, to be clean it must have been washed or 

 sprayed and every little odor of "chicken" removed from it. This 

 being done have it running at about ninety degrees. Sprinkle fine 

 ground oyster shells around and give the chicks fresh sweet butter- 

 milk. If there is sour milk on hand churn it until it turns to butter- 

 milk. Just give the shell and buttermilk for the first half day, then 

 sprinkle a little rolled oats on a board for them to pick at. For the 

 first three days care must be taken not to feed much at any one time, 

 but just what they will clean up in a few minutes. After the first day 

 mix equal parts of dry bran, chick feed and rolled oats with a little 

 ground oyster shell. This is for the general feeds to be changed off 

 with appetizing bits, mash, green feed, etc. Always remember that 

 too much rolled oats is laxative. This can be offset by cutting up a 

 stale loaf of bread, toasting same brown all through in the oven, and 

 then grinding it in a food chopper or coarse coffee mill. Wet, or 

 rather, moisten this ground toasted bread with a little hot water or 

 milk and feed when cool. And here you have one of the finest and 

 most nourishing chick feeds possible. Another nice way to serve 

 stale bread, and it can usually be bought for 25 cents a sack, is to 

 toast as above, grind and put in food hopper dry. They love to pick 

 out the dark colored crumbs and this is a good feed for chicks. 



About the fifth day give them a dry mash. The mash should be 

 two parts good wheat bran, one part middlings, one part cornmeal or 

 fine ground barley meal, one part rolled or pinhead oats and one part 

 good beef scrap. Mix all together adding only a very little salt, a 

 little charcoal and some ground oyster shell. This mash can be 

 kept before them, all the time and they will never eat enough at one 

 time to hurt them. 



As the chicks grow, increase the quantity of chick feed adding a 

 little extra cracked wheat to the bill of fare. No matter whether you 



