SUCCESSFUL CHICK GROWING 



KEEP THE CHICKS GROWING— AN OUT-DOOR BROODER IN WINTER-HARDEN 

 THE CHICKS GRADUALLY— SUNSHINE AND FRESH AIR— DRY FEEDING A FACTOR- 

 HINTS FOR WEANING TIME— KEEP QUARTERS CLEAN-TABLE OF WEIGHTS, ETC. 



P. T. WOODS, M. D. 



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DRDINARILY weaning time is a critical period in 

 the life of small chicks, particularly those which 

 are grown by artificial means. It is at this time 

 and in the failure to properly lead up to it, that 

 many beginners make fatal mistakes in the care 

 and management of brooder chicks. 



When brooder chicks are from six to eight 

 weeks old, depending on the season, the weather 

 and the development of the chickens, they should be ready to 

 leave the brooder for colony coops, except in the case of mid- 

 winter chickens, which of necessity must be kept in buildings 

 warmed by artificial heat. Unless chickens are properly handled 

 at weaning time there is liable to be a cessation of growth 

 which means loss of time and many mean that the chick will 

 fail to develop properly. Stunted, imperfect chicks and even 

 increased mortality may resuft irom errors at this time. If 

 intended for breeders or profitable market stock, chicks must be 

 kept growing all the time from the start; there must be no set- 

 backs like "Standing stiU," with no apparent gain or temporary 

 stops in growth. With a healthy 

 normal chick you should be 

 able to almost "see it grow," 

 so continuous and rapid is the 

 development. 



A WEIGHT STANDARD TO GROW TO 



In the following table are 

 given the weights which it is 

 possible to attain in growing 

 chicks of the American class. 

 These weights were actually 

 attained with a flock of early 

 hatched White Wyandotte chick- 

 ens. While somewhat unusual 

 and extraordinary, this sched- 

 ule of growth represents actual 

 development, and what has 

 been done may be again ac- 

 complished. It is not to be 

 expected that every flock of 

 chicks can be kept up to this 

 standard, but it is an end to 

 work for, not an ideal, but an 

 accomplished fact that it is 

 perfectly possible for others to 

 attain if they will strive hard 

 for it. 



These weights represent the actual weights of several chicks 

 selected as average representatives of the flock. A few of the 

 birds ran a trifle under weight and several ran a little over 

 weight, so that the above table may be accepted as a fair esti- 

 mate of the entire flock. 



Aside from the normal standing still which occurs in the 

 first four days, these chicks grew continuously from the start; 

 there were no set-backs. It has frequently been stated that 

 "chicks are heirs to nothing but health and enjoyment of life, 

 while the ills come from mismanagement." There is a deal of 

 truth in this for it is the natural tendency of a healthy chick to 

 grow and thrive. 



CHICKS GROWING OUTDOORS IN WINTER 



The writer has a flock of White Wyandotte chicks which 

 are being grown in an outdoor brooder, which has been running 

 out of door without shelter or protection from the weather 

 since the middle of February. The weather has been stormy 

 and very cold. Extreme changes have been frequent, the out- 



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5!— AN OUT-DOOR BROODER IN OPERATION 



TABLE OF ACTUAL WEIGHTS 



The following weights were attained by a flock of seventeen 

 White Wyandotte chicks in ten weeks: 



Weight of chick when newly hatched 2 ounces 



Weight of chick when four days old 2 ounces 



Weight of chick when ten days old 4 ounces 



Weight of chick when three weeks old —8 ounces 



Weight of chick when four weeks old 12 ounces 



Weight of chick when eight weeks old- -2 pounds 



Weight of chick when ten weeks old 3 pounds 



door temperature ranging from 50 degrees above zero at noon 

 on some days to zero on several nights, with only a few nights 

 when it was warmer than 12 or 14 degrees above zero. On 

 several occasions the wind has blown a gale of 60 miles or more 

 an hour. Quantities of snow on the ground and only a little 

 bare place in front of the brooder cleaned by shoveling. Yet 

 these chicks have done remarkably well, they are covered 

 with heavy down and are growing rapidly. The hover space is 

 kept quite warm, several degrees higher than the brooder direc- 

 tions call for, in order to keep the apartment outside the hover 



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