POULTR?Y-CRAFT. 181 
rather dry food, and boiled milk to drink. The chicks ought not to be allowed 
to reach the stage of being ‘‘ gummed up behind” before treatment is begun; 
nor should the treatment be carried so far that it will bring on the opposite 
evi! —constipation. Even in the best lots there will be from time to time 
isolated cases of this; but with right conditions it cannot become epidemic. 
‘* Roup,” colds, and kindred ailments, are due to dampness, exposure, filthy 
quarters, over-crowding. Wrong conditions should be corrected, and such 
remedies used as are prescribed for hens in § 174. 
‘‘Cramps” are often nothing more than the death struggles of chicks that 
have been ailing for some time. The cramps which kill healthy chicks in a 
short time are mostly caused by drinking too heartily of very cold water, by 
choking, or by extreme heat of the sun when the chicks are not hardened 
to it. 
‘““Droopinc WinGs” are due to general debility, which may result from 
any one, or from several of a great variety of causes. The‘chick simply lacks 
strength to hold itself together properly, eect would be said of a human being. 
The fault is most noticeable in Leghorn chicks, but is common in poor con- 
ditioned chicks of all varieties. Prevention must begin in the condition of the 
parents, and continue in the management of the chicks. Proper food and care 
will correct the trouble if not of too long standing. Chicks which have been 
going about long with drooping wings, are not worth trying to cure or rear. 
262. Keeping the Chicks Growing. — Success with chicks requires 
that they be kept constantly growing from the shell to maturity. The slightest 
check is a loss that cannot be made good. Growing chicks is exacting work. 
One must get up early in the morning (unless he adopts the method of the 
breeder who said it was not necessary to get up early, if one sat up late enough 
planning how to get the work done without early rising). The beginner 
cannot expect to do uniformly good work. With the best of instruction, 
advice, and attention, mistakes will sometimes occur. To do everything as 
and whez it ought to be done, requires greater familiarity with the work than 
any one can reach in one or two seasons. 
263. Weaning Chicks.— No definite age can be given as the right one 
at which to wean chicks. The condition of the stock and of the weather must 
guide. Chicks should remain with hens or in brooders as long as they need 
or are likely to need heat in addition to that generated in their own bodies. 
Early in the season they need some heat until ten or twelve weeks old. They 
may not die without it, but exposure to a temperature so low that they huddle 
together, will always retard growth. Chicks reared by hens may be left in the 
coops, only the. hen being removed, as long as they are not too crowded at 
night. In coops as shown in Fig. 44, they will generally roost on top of the 
coop or lie outside on the ground as soon as it becomes uncomfortable inside. 
One of the best methods of handling weaned chicks is in coops of the 
