228 POULTRY-CRAFT. 
the crowded condition of the nest, and prevent the little ones being trampled. 
Some of the best growers, however, advise letting the turkey hen alone until 
she brings the brood from the nest. This method is probably the better one 
to use with hens not accustomed to being handled, or of vicious dispositions. 
337. The Care of Young Poults.— The young turkéys will not eat for 
twenty-four to thirty-six hours after hatching; hence no food need be offered 
them the first day. The mother should be fed. If the nest in which the 
poults were hatched is such and so situated that a small pen can be made in 
front of it, the brood can remain there for some days; if not, they should be 
removed to a suitable coop — one with board bottom being preferable — with 
pen attached. The pen for a brood of turkeys should be made of boards 
twelve to sixteen inches wide, set on edge, and enclosing a space about eight 
feet one way by twelve to sixteen the other. To this pen they should be 
confined for a week or ten days — until they are strong enough to run about. 
If the pen cannot be placed on grass land, green food should be provided from 
the start, for little turkeys seem to need green food about as soon as they need 
anything, and suffer if they do not get it. Grit and charcoal should be pro- 
vided. Lice must be fought just as on little chicks. Dampness is to be 
avoided by keeping the coop dry, by keeping the poults in the pen,—or if 
the pen is on grass, in the coops—while the dew is on the grass, and by 
getting them under cover before rain storms. 
While the young turkeys are confined to the pens, these should be moved as 
often as necessary to new ground. The coops should be kept scrupulously 
clean. When five or six weeks old they may be allowed to range freely, but 
still need watching when severe storms threaten, and to insure their being 
home at night. A great advantage in giving an evening feed, even when it is 
not really needed, is that it induces the turkeys to come home regularly, and 
saves the trouble of hunting them up. At six to eight weeks of age the poults 
begin to roost, and roosts placed three or four feet from the ground should be 
provided, either under cover or where they have the partial protection of trees 
or buildings. 
From the time they ‘‘ shoot the red,” that is, from the time that color begins 
to develop on the head and throat, turkeys become hardier, and if their range 
is good, need little care heyond what is necessary to protect them from their 
natural enemies, and to prevent their becoming too wild. 
338. Feeding Turkeys from Shell to Market. — Remarx.— The 
rations given here are those used by successful turkey growers. It will be 
observed tuat good results are secured from quite different systems of feeding. 
Differences in systems may be due sometimes to differences in circumstances; 
but as a rule they depend more on the keeper than on conditions. The fact 
that some growers are successful with very simple rations, shows that much 
of the work done by those who furnish more elaborate bills of fare is super- 
