BROILERS AND ROASTERS. 83 



it is necessary. In this they are probably wrong, for it is 

 certii in that many lots of chicks have got along very well 

 without grit, and I have had reports on a good many cases 

 where there was good reason to suspect that chicks kept 

 too long without food, but given grit freely, swallowed 

 much more grit than was good for them with the result 

 that the digestive apparatus became deranged at the start. 

 Chicks need some grit, but not more than they will take 

 freely when well fed. If prepared chick foods are used 

 for- even half the ration there will not often be need of sup- 

 plying more grit than these contain. There is probably 

 none of them in which the proportion of grit is too small, 

 and many contain several times more than is necessary. 

 When chicks are fed wholly on preparations containing no 

 grit they should always have access to a supply of it. 

 Their need of it seems to depend on the food given them, 

 and to vary much in different chicks. 



46. Charcoal. — The charcoal question is very like the 

 grit question. Many growers keep it before the chicks. 

 Some chicks thrive without it. Its properties being such 

 that it aids digestion and purifies the blood, it is clear that 

 the need of it will exist, and the beneficial effects be appar- 

 ent in case of chicks that have weak digestion or indiges- 

 tion, or poor circulation, as it would not in chicks that 

 were in good condition. Considering the number of suc- 

 cessful growers who use no charcoal, it cannot be said that 

 there is as much need of keeping it always before chicks, 

 but if chicks are not thrifty it is one of the simple things 

 to supply before changing foods or beginning to give 

 medicines. 



