SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



79 



week old. After that time feed four times a day until a 

 month old, then three times a day will suffice. 



6. Keep a little box of ground charcoal, one of clean 

 ground bone and one of small sharp flint, before them, with 

 plenty of coarse, sharp sand on the floor. Also a box of 

 ground oyster shells, as grit, but in recommending these 

 substances- it may be stated that any kind of sharp small 

 grit will answer. 



7. The first feeding may be of pinhead oatmeal, rolled 

 (or flaked) oats are ready prepared, and can be had of any 

 grocer, being the prepared oatmeal for instantaneous prepar- 

 ation of oatmeal gruel. Peed them to the chicks dry, but 

 they should not bo used except as a variety, the pinhead 

 oatmeal being preferred. Stale broad moistened with milk 

 may also be given. Crumbled stale bread fed dry is also an 

 excellent food. 



8. On the third day after beginning to feed, vary tne 

 food by- giving- the oats one meal and prepared take the 

 next. The prepared cake is .made by using equal parts of 

 bran, ground corn and oats (corn and oats are usually 

 ground together) and middlings (shipstuff) which should be 

 salted to season it, intimately mixed, and cooked in a, pan in 

 the stove oven. Sift the corn and oats first, and feed the 

 coarse parts to fowls. If fresh milk can be had the food 

 may be mixed with it before cooking, if not, use water. 

 Crumble the cake fine when feeding. It should be fed dry. 



9. Millet seed, a gill to 100 chicks, may be scattered in 

 litter, between meals, to induce the chicks to scratch, but 

 never leave in the troughs food that is not eaten. 



10. Grounld meat is sometimes used for chicks, but re- 

 sults show that too much of it causes bowel trouble. If a 

 pi'.'ce of lean butcher's meat be cooked to pieces (or chopped 

 fine after cooking), and fed twice a week, it will be suffi- 

 cient. A gill of linseed meal to every part of the dry mix- 

 ture (f-or making the prepared cake) given once a week, will 

 be beneficial. 



11. After the first week any kind of food,, such as 

 mashed potatoes, cooked turnips, crumbled bread of any 

 kind, or any wholesome food, will be of advantage. 



12. When ten days old the oats may be omitted, ■ and 

 wheat one day a^d cracked corn the next, may be used. Be- 

 gin to teach the chicks to eat wheat and cracked corn early 

 by sprinkling a little on the floor (about a tablespoonful 

 daily) after they are a week old.v 



13. Young chicks do not eat much at a time, but they 

 eat often. Do not omit a meal. Feed' at regular hours. 



14. After the chicks are three weeks old the cake may 

 be omitted, the food being varied instead," but the quantity 

 of bran should be reduced one-half. , 



15. Bran is indigestible if fed raw, and sometimes 

 causes bowel disease, but if cooked, or well scalded, so as to 

 soften it, the bran makes a good food, as it largely abounds 

 in the phosphates, being the best bone-forming element that 

 can be given. 



16. Water should be given in a manner that only the 

 beak of the chick can become wet. The chicks must not be 

 allowed to tread in the w;ater. Dampness is fatal. 



17. , G-et some fresh stone lime, slack it with boiling 

 water, then make a quantity of lime water. Keep it in a 

 jug, corked. To every quart of drinking water add a gill of 

 the lime water. 



18. If the chicks appear weak, or have weak legs, from 

 rapid groiwth, put a teaspoonful of tincture of iron in each 

 quart of the water; , 



•19. A young chick is nalced, like a babe just born, the 

 down being no protection, hence everything depends on 



plenty of heat. Bettor have the brooder too hot than too 

 cold. If the chicks are with hens they must have a warm, 

 light place, as a hen can not raise chicks in winter as well 

 as it can bo done artificially, as it is not her natural period 

 of the year for so doing. 



20. No thermometer is needed in the brooder, or under 

 the hen. If the chicks crowd together, especially at night, 

 they need more warmth. When they shove their heads out 

 of the sides of the brooder ,or from under the hen, the heat 

 is just right. Whenever the chicks do not sleep near the 

 edges of the brooder, but get as close to each other as pos- 

 sible, give them more heat. 



21. When the thicks show signs of leg weakness, have 

 clogging of the vent, and bowel disease results, there is a 

 lack of warmth in the brooder, especially at night. The 

 night is when the chicks meet with the greater number of 

 difficulties. 



22. When chicks have leg weakness, and the floor of the 

 broder is very warm, the cause to too much bottom heat. 

 Bottom heat is excellent for chicks until they are a week old, 

 but after that time there should be only warmth enough on 

 the floor to not have the floor cold. All warjuth should come 

 from over the chicks. They feel the warmth on the back 

 with more satisfaction than on any other portion of the 

 body. 



23. When the chicks have good appetites, but have i3g 

 weakness, the chicks move on their knees, but otherwise ap- 



• pear lively, it denotes rapid growth, and is not necessarily 

 fatal. Follow directions in paragraph 18. 



24. Feed the chicks -on clean surfaces, or in little 

 troughs; never leave the food to ferment. Clean off the 

 brooders and floors daily. Keep dry earth in the corner of 

 the brooder house for the chicks to dust in. 



25. When you see the chicks . busy and scratching, it is 

 a sign of thrift. ' ■ 



26. A single night may ruin all. Never let the brooder 

 beconle cold for an hour. Once the chicks get chilled they 

 never fully recover. 



27. When the chicks seem to be continually crying it 

 means more warmth needed. The warmth is more import- 

 ant than the food. ' 



28. If the chicks are stupid, drowsy, continually cry, 

 or have fits, look on the heads and necks, and under the 

 wings for the latge lice. Also examine for " the little red 

 mites. 



29. Never feed raw corn meal to very young chicks. 

 Crumbled stale bread is always good for them. 



30. Clover hay; cut very fine, and steeped in boiling 

 water over night, and sprinkled with corn meal slightly, fed 

 three times a week, is excellent, but unless it is exceedingly 

 fine the chicks can not -eat it. One of the best invigorators, 

 however, is the decoction from the clover (clover tea) given 



' in place of the drinking water ocoasio.nally, but it must be 

 fresh and not stale. 



31. Drinking water in winter should be tepid, not cold, 

 and always fresh and clean. 



32. Feed very early in the morning, as soon as the 

 chicks come out of the brooders. Never keep them waitiig 

 for their breakfast. Do not leave food overnight, as it may 

 sour. Get out of bed and feed them. 



33. MJilk may oe given, but should be fre^h and the 

 residium carefully removed, but do not substitute it for 

 water. Give water to the chicks from the start. Curds may 

 be given two or three times a week. Also fresh buttermilk. 

 Milk, however, is not necessary where it is difficult to pro- 

 cure. 



