70 POULTRY FOR PROFIT 



will always know where to find her if they want her. 

 The hen is the best mother for chicks, but she must 

 be managed. 



It is a good plan to have an oil cloth cover for 

 the run, in case of rain, but burlap sacks are a better 

 protection from the sun. Never leave hen or chicks 

 without shade. The glare of the sun is uncomfort- 

 able for the hen and may kill the chicks. 



Give fresh water every time the chicks are fed, 

 and keep grit in a shallow box or pan where they 

 can always reach it. On very gravelly soil this may 

 not be necesary, but it is always safe. 



Dry mash should be kept before the chicks at all 

 times, and the grain scattered in the run or kept in 

 a feeder. Where chicks have range they will not 

 overeat even if not made to scratch for their grain, 

 but where they are confined in the run they must 

 be made to scratch. 



Protection from lice is a more serious problem 

 with hen mothers than when chicks are artificially 

 brooded. The hen should be kept clean during incu- 

 bation and dusted just before the hatch comes off. 

 If the head and throat of each chick are greased 

 with lard when they are put in the brood coop, there 

 will be no danger of head lice, but hen and chicks 

 must be dusted once a week or they will soon be 

 infested with ordinary hen lice, and their growth 

 hindered. This matter of lice is a vital one with 

 chicks and turkeys and is of itself enough to make 

 the difference between success and failure in the 

 chicken business. 



The coop should be cleaned out at least once a 

 week, and clean nesting material put in. Hose out 

 the coop whenever it is cleaned, and once a month 

 paint with kerosene and crude carbolic acid — one 

 part acid to three or four of kerosene. Coop and run 



