382 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



it should be moistened only enough to render it crumbly. 

 Sloppiness should be consistently avoided. 



Feeding Little Chicks. — Chicks should not be fed for from 

 thirty-six to forty-eight hours after hatching. The exact 

 time will be determined by the chicks calling so lustily as 

 to leave no uncertainty about their being hungry. 



It has been found that when feeding is somewhat delayed 

 the yolk material which is taken into the body just prior 

 to hatching is more quickly and satisfactorily absorbed. 

 It is the fact that the yolk furnishes an ample supply of 

 feed for two to three days after hatching that makes possible 

 the practice of shipping baby chicks. Tongl (as reported 

 by Lusk') found that "48 per cent of the original energy 

 in the egg is largely found in the abdomen of the chick" 

 and is absorbed by the intestine during the early days of life. 

 Before giving any grains the chicks should be provided with 

 clean fresh water that is not too cold, bone meal, and clean 

 sand or very fine grit. Grit, bone, and charcoal should be 

 before them at all times thereafter. 



When regular feeding begins, frequency of feeding is an 

 essential of good practice. This is particularly true in the 

 case of artificially brooded chicks which do not have the 

 hen to hunt up their feed for them bit by bit and keep them 

 interested. Little and often should be the rule, with periods 

 of not longer than three hours elapsing between feeds. 



Successful poultrymen differ as to the advisability of 

 feeding moistened feed to chicks, as well as to laying hens, 

 though the number that prefer the dry feeds seems to be 

 increasing. 



"A soft feed of dried bread-crumbs soaked in milk is 

 very nourishing and supplies all the elements essential to 

 growth, but is open to the criticism of being softer than the 

 food supplied by nature. A mixture of hard-boiled egg 

 chopped fine, shell and all, and mixed with four to six times 

 its bulk of dried crumbs or rolled oats (one egg to 100 chicks) 

 seems a little nearer to the natural diet of bugs and seeds. 



' ScieDce of Nutrition. 



