HATCHING AND REARING CHICKS 
great aid in keeping the chicks busy and contented. 
Chicks that do not get sufficient exercise are suscep- 
tible to leg weakness, bowel diseases, and other ills; 
therefore, make them work for all they get, and 
have no fear that they will not get enough food 
because it is buried in litter. Chaff from the mow 
floor makes the best scratching material, especially 
when the chicks are quite small, as they greatly 
relish the minute hay seed it contains. 
If you make use of soft food, first of all be sure 
that you are feeding a mash and nota slop. Then 
be careful to place all food in small troughs or 
pans; never throw soft food upon the ground or 
upon the floor of the brooder, where it quickly 
becomes fouled and a potent source of disease. 
Only as much should be placed before the chicks 
at one time as they will eat up clean in a few 
minutes. The troughs or pans should be thor- 
oughly cleaned after each meal and scalded with 
boiling water every week or ten days. In a word, 
keep everything sweet and clean; soured, contam- 
inated food and filthy troughs are frequent sources 
of bowel disorders among little chicks. 
Wheat screenings can often be fed at slight cost, 
and in such cases their use is all right; but where 
they cost nearly as much as wheat, use the latter 
grain, as it contains more nourishment. Milk I do 
not consider quite so excellent a food for little 
chicks as do many people, not because the milk is 
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