THE BANTAM FOWL. 



65 



tile ones, it gives them a much better chance ol keeping 

 the proper temperature. The front of the nest should be 

 covered either by a piece of board or sack, and each night 

 carefully remove each hen to feed and keep her off for ten 

 to fifteen minutes. The best food for the sitting hen ia 

 maize, and let them have plenty of water, and a good supply 

 of cinder ashes for the hen to dust in. Should the nest be- 

 come fouled, or any of the eggs broken, take out the nest, 

 replace with fresh hay, and wash the eggs with lukewarm 

 water. If the nest is properly made, nice and soft, and the 

 hen allowed off sufficient time each nigh't until the wants of 

 nature have been attended to, and providing she is a suita- 



BANTAM HOUSE WITH SCRATCHING PEN. FRONT VIEW. 



ble hen, as I have already described, this trouble will very 

 rarely occur." 



Having tried the White Silky and its crosses for hatch- 

 ing Bantams, we are fully sa;tisfled that the best mothers 

 for Bantams of all kinds are the Buff Cochin Bantam hens. 

 One year-old Buff Cochin Bantam hens, or those that are 

 older, make by far better mothers and sitters than any 

 others. I have used all kinds of Cochin Bantams, both kinds 

 of Brahma Bantams, Silkies and their crosses, and am fully 

 convinced that none excels a BufC Cochin Bantam hen. 



THU MOTHER HBN. 



Returning to the sitting hen, Mr. Proud writes: "On 

 the eighteenth day of incubation, when she comes off the 

 nest for her usual feed, dust her again with insect powder, 

 and do not disturb her again until the next night, when 

 the chicks ought to have put in an appearance. Let hen 

 and chicks remain quiet until the next morning, when you 

 can give them their first feed. Before doing so, give the hen 

 a good feed of maize, and water to drink, or she will be 

 liable to eat all the food away from the chicks. Nature has 

 so provided that the chick does not require food for at least 

 sixteen to twenty hours after hatching, whilst in the large 

 breeds twenty-four hours can elapse before giving food. 

 The first feed then should be egg boiled for about five or 

 six minutes, just long enough to cause it to be set; this 

 should bo chopped up fine and mixed with equal pants cf 

 coarse oatmeal and stale bread crumbs. Continue this feed 

 for the first two days, by which time the brood should be 

 well on their legs. On the third morning give them for the 

 first meal Spratt's chicken or game meal scalded and al- 

 lowed to stand until nearly cold. The next feed should.be 

 given about two hours later, and this should consist of pure 

 oatmeal mixed with sweet milk until crumbly. This should 

 be given at least three times a day, with the addii'.ion at 

 noonday of a little lean meat chopped fine, for the first two 

 months. When the chicks are a fortnight old, groats can bs 

 given for the last feed at night, and when two months old 

 wheat should be given. 



The question has often been asked, how frequently 

 should chicks be fed? To a great extent this depends upon 

 the breed, but for Bantams, every two hours for the first 



week, and from that time till they are three months old, 

 four times daily will be sufficient. From three to five 

 months, three times a day. A fair allowance of animal 

 matter, such as lean meat chopped fine, granulated meat, 

 or maggots, should be given to chicks once daily, especially 

 during Februarj^ March and April. This will enable them 

 to withstand the cold winds and damp. Where chicks have 

 not the liberty of a grass run, boiled vegetables mixed with 

 the soft food should be given at the noon feed."- 



NO W.AI'KR MKTHOD. 



In the chapter on feeding dry grain, we made mention 

 of not having been in any hurry about giving the young 

 Bantams water, and in support of this I quote from some 

 writer who is very positive on the water question, and while I 

 am not prepared to go as far or state as strongly as he does, 

 I am fully convinced that many Bantam chicks are killed by 

 having too much water: 



"I know of many successful breeders and exhibitors who 

 rear from 200 to 500 chicks every season and the only water 

 they get is what they can obtain from the grass after a 

 shower or heavy dew. For my own part, I don't believe in 

 water for chicks. Since I discontinued the use of water for 

 my chicks I have not had one solitary case of diarrhoea, 

 but; let them have access to water, especially in hot weather, 

 then your trouble begins. If you never give chicks water 

 they never require it, and are much healthier without; but 

 once you start giving them water you must continue till the 

 end of the chapter. If your chicks have a grass run and are 

 fed as stated above, they will not require water. Of course, 

 when the bird reaches the age of, say four months, when 

 grain will be necessary for his principal food, then and then 

 only need water be given. 



When chicks are old enough to be taken away from the 

 hen, viz., about three months, the cockerels should be sep- 

 arated from the pullets and put on different runs where they 

 cannot get together. By doing this you will find that both 

 sexes will thrive better and settle down more contentedly, 

 and a good plan is to put an old cock along with the cock- 

 erels to prevent their fighting and maintain order. 



Although chickens do not require water, the hen must 

 not be forgotten, and to meet the necessity I fasten one of 

 the ordinary drinking tins inside the coop about eight inches 

 from the fioor. This enables the hen to drink what she 

 requires, and at the same time it is out of reach of the 



BANTAM HOUSE WITH SCRATCHING PEN. REAR VIEW. 



chicks. The tin ia easily kept in its place by a couple of 

 wire staples. 



During the months of February, March and April I 

 prefer false bottoms to the chicken coops, on account of the 

 damp, cold weather generally experienced at that time cf 

 the year, and by haying them loose they can be very readily 

 removed for cleaning. When the warm weather sets in it is 

 acjvisable to take ouit the bottoms and allow the chicks to 

 sleep on the ground; but where rats and other vermin 

 abound, the bottoms should be kept in all through the year. 

 It is advisable also to have a hinged shutter to the coop 



