NATURAL HATCHING AND REARING lOl 



fifteen minutes. Either method will give satisfactory 

 results in the hands of a careful person. Where such 

 good care cannot .be given, the dry method of feeding 

 will prove mpst satisfactory, for there is no danger of 

 sour, tainted feed causing diarrhea and other troubles. 

 There are now made and sold rnany- prepared chick 

 feeds, most of whi'ch will give good results. 



Bahy Chick Food — Cracked wheat, twenty-five 

 pounds; pin head oatmeal or rolled oats, twenty 

 pounds ; millet seed, ten pounds ; cracked corn, fifteen 

 pounds ; granulated charcoal, three pounds ; chick size 

 grit, five pounds ; beef scraps, five pounds. This is the 

 same as one of the best grades of chick food largely 

 advertised. 



In addition to grain young chicks require grit, 

 charcoal, and some material to make bone. Sharp 

 coarse sand will answer, but the fine grit from lime- 

 stone rock is best. Keep a box of it where' they can 

 have free access to it. Charcoal is a great corrective 

 for stomach and bowel troubles. A little of this may 

 be mixed in the feed several times a week. The need 

 of something to furnish material for the growth of 

 bones is very important. A large proportion of the 

 :hick's body is composed of mineral elements and unless 

 enough of these are supplied the chick will not make 

 the fastest growth. It will grow only as fast as it can 

 get mineral matter from the feed, and grain furnishes 

 only about one-half as much as needed. Tests by the 

 New York experiment station show that if mineral 

 matter is supplied in addition to the grain a much more 

 rapid growth results. Fine bone flour is one of the 

 most convenient and best substances for this purpose. 

 In this form it can be mixed with the mash or bread, 

 or granulated bone can be kept in a box where the 

 chicks can have access to it. Green cut bone is prob- 

 ably as good a form as any to supply this material, but 



