76 



SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



exception that those hatched by incubators are free 

 from liee. • 



It is almost impossible to raise to maturity chicks from 

 unhealthy and improperly cared for parents. It is equally 

 impossible to raise chicks that have been improperly incu- 

 bated, whether by hens or incubators. 



It is just as probable' that you will get improperly incu- 

 bated chicks from hens as from incubators; for how often 

 do you see a poor, run-down, emaciated hen bring into ex- 

 istence a flock of chicks when she" is so weak,' poor, and run- 

 down that she is barely able to stand.. This is not the fault 

 of , the hen, but of the failure of the proper attention having 

 been given her. One can readily understand how impossible 

 it would be to start and develop into active and vigorous 

 life chicks that have been brought into the world under such 

 unfavorable circumstances. Therefore, our first ain; is to 

 get our chicks from healthy, well cared for parents, and then 

 to have them hatched under the most favorable conditions. 



When the chicks are hatched we leave them under the 

 hen or in the incubator at least twenty-four- hours. If they 

 are taken out sooner than this, they are not so strong, and 

 the chance of raising them is much lessened. They are then 

 given a thorough dusting of Persian insect powder. This is, 

 very important, as they cannot thrive when lice are present. 



We raise our chicks in outdoor brooders, using Ifwo hun- 

 dred chick size, and put from forty to fifty chicks in each 

 brooder. " The brooder is gotten clean and is heated to ninety 

 degrees the day the chicks are due to hatch, so that every- 

 thing is in readiness for them. They are given plenty of 

 water at once, and their first food consists of fine dry rolled 

 oats. During the first ten days they are fed exclusively on 

 rolled oats and millet seed. They are fed six times a day," 

 alternating with rolled oats and millet. On the tenth day 

 they are given in addition to the rolled oats and millet, well 

 baked corn cakes, chopped fine. If • they become droopy we 

 add to and mix thoroughly with the corn cakes some finely 

 ground Mica Crystal grit. This is the only medicine, little 

 chicks need. It is surprising to note how quickly they 

 brighten up on this treatment. When three weeks old we 

 gradually add to their rations crackeed wheat and finely 

 cracked corn, cutting out the rolled oats. We continue to 

 feed the millet and corn cakes in conjunction with the 

 cracked corn and cracked wheat until they are six weeks old. 

 We then cut Out the millet and corn cakes and substitute 

 hulled oats and Amerjcan poultry food. The American 

 poultry food is given at noon, and to this is added twice a 

 week fresh ground green bone. 



We believe in feeding frequently and in small quantities 

 at a time, as overfeeding is sure to make chicks dull and 

 Btiipid and eventually bring on indigestion and inflammation 

 of the crop. In giving the different rations we alternate 

 and change as much as possible in order to keep them from 

 tiring of any one ration. We give them fresh water twice a 

 day, being very careful to keep the same in the shade. As 

 we use outdoor brooders we are able to have them constantly 

 on the move and thereby give the chicks pure fresh earth 

 and grass. 



It. is very important to provide plenty of shade in sum- 

 mer. It is equally important to place the brooder for one 

 .hour fiach day, while open, where it will be subjected to the 

 direct rays of sunlight, as this method and cleanliness are 

 the only means of preventing the origin and spreading of 

 tuberculosis, which is sure to occur in a close, crowded 

 brooder, ©specially if dark and damp. 



When the chicks are first put into the brooder they are 

 confined for from one to three days, the length of time de- 



pending on the state of the weather.. The .brooders being 

 placed on a nice green grass plot, we then provide for each 

 brooder, one hundred yards of wire netting, one foot wide, 

 with one inch mesh. .When the chicks are first, liberated 

 from the brooder we drive stakes into the ground and make 

 a coil enclosing about throe square feet of space. As the 

 chicks becom^ more active, and readily cover this space, it 

 is gradually enlarged from week to week, until the whole 

 hundred yards are in use. This method has saved us lots of 

 worry and trouble, for when the chicks are young and are 

 first liberated, if given too much space they are almost cer- 

 tain to stay away from the brooder, and it is Very difficult 

 to teach them to return to it. Then, again, brooder raised 

 chicks have no mother to look after them and in case of a 

 storm they can be very readily found and driven to a place 

 of shelter. We have found that it is not so much the size 

 of the run that makes healthy chicks, but it is the frequency 

 with which they are changed from old to .new quarters. 



When they weigh about one and a half pounds or are 

 .nicely feathered, we divide them into lots of twelve each, 

 being careful to have each lot the same size and devlop- 

 ment. These are placed in colonies, each colony being all 

 cockerels or all pullets. Each colony is provided with a 

 coop four by five feet, three feet high in front and two feet 

 in the rear. These coops are provided with a storm door, 

 and also wiith another door covered with fine mesh screen. 

 This latter door is used on warm nights, and protects the 

 chicks from vermin, etc., and the outer door, which is hinged 

 at the top, is lowered about one-third, which protects the 

 chicks in case of storms during the night. The bottoms of 

 these coops are covered with a thick bed of straw. This is 

 to prevent the breast bones of the chicks from becoming 

 crooked, which is very prone to occur with Cochins. We 

 never provide them" with roosts until they are one year old. 



When they are eight months old they are provided with 

 more commodious quarters, and those showing promise of 

 becoming choice exhibition specimens are. cooped either in 

 pairs or singly with the object of preserving their massive 

 foot and leg feathering. A. W. EUBY & SON. 



Limit the Number of Chicks in Brooders. 



The most successful way that I have found to raise; chicks 

 in brooders is the following. Build a brooder house for 

 each brooder, say about six feet by eight feet, with a door 

 and a window to the south. Have these brooder houses 

 scattered about the orchard, about one hundred feet or more 

 apart, each house to be furnished iwith a one hundred-chick 

 brooder. In this put from fifty to seventy-five chicks. It is 

 not advisable to put more than seventy-five chicks in any 

 brooder, fifty jwould be better, as I find that I usually can 

 raise more of the chicks when I only put fifty chicks in a 

 brooder than when I put in seventy-five or one hundred, be- 

 sides, you will have stronger and healthier chicks at matur- 

 ity. I have no yards for the chicks, but give them free 

 range. I tto not let them run out until about a week old, 

 after which I let them run out on all fine days, but always 

 keep them in until the dew is off the grass, at least until 

 they are well feathered. If this is doije you will not have 

 much trouble with gapes. 'Begin feeding when chicks are 

 about twenty-four hours old. For the first few feeds I find 

 nothing better than bread crumbs. Feed the first week 

 about four times a day with bread crumbs and oatmeal. 

 After the first week, when I let them run out, I feed three 

 times a day, soft food in the morning and either oatmeal, 

 cracked wheat, cracked corn or millet at noon and evening. 

 Change about from one kind to the other and then tie chicks 



