AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 
any other conditions that are liable to surround 
them. By “ colonizing” is meant the removal of 
the chicks to small colony houses or to brood coops, 
similar to those described in Chapter Five, where 
each one must look out for himself and depend 
upon the warmth from his own body and the pro- 
tection of his feathers. At this age chicks will 
stand cool weather much better than dampness, 
which is very hard on them. The Mediterranean 
chicks feather out the most rapidly of all, and can 
usually be safely colonized when they are eight 
weeks old. The American varieties are some- 
what slower in clothing themselves, but may usu- 
ally be colonized at the age of ten weeks. The 
Asiatic breeds are the slowest of all and often 
require twelve weeks, or even longer, before they 
become well feathered out. 
Small portable houses should be used where any 
considerable number of chicks are to be carried 
Housing through the summer, for with these 
the Chicks the birds may always have a dry, com- 
fortable protection, and it is easier to look 
after a few colony houses than two or three 
times that number of brood coops. Where 
portable houses are used, one hundred chicks may 
safely be housed together until they get pretty well 
matured. Where mere brood coops are used, the 
number of chicks in each had best be limited to 
twenty-five or thirty, and the chicks should be got- 
170 
