CHAPTER III 



REARING CHICKS NATURALLY AND ARTIFICIALLY 



THE DIFFICULTIES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM— CONDITIONS THAT AFFECT THE HEALTH 

 AND GROWTH OF YOUNG STOCK— HATCHING AND BROODING— FEEDING CHICKS WITH 

 HENS AND IN BROODER S— SOFT FOOD BEST TO PRODUCE EARLY MATURITY 



H. E. MOSS 



N WHAT other business is there such a 

 multitude of "Don'ts as are associated 

 with the poultry business? To attempt 

 to enumerate them would be an endless 

 task. What is often called "horse sense," 

 or good judgment, or brains, must de- 

 termine between the right and the wrong; 

 but many occasions will arise where ex- 

 perience is necessary upon which to base 

 judgment and where the experience of 

 others can be had and applied. It is 

 equivalent to so much tim^ and money 

 saved, for without it we must test the 

 question ourselves and if found to be a 

 failure it is just so much paid for experi- 

 ence or paid up capital. We shall, therefore endeavor to be 

 as clear and explicit as possible, assuming that the large 

 majority who will avail themselves of this advice are ama- 

 teurs or beginners who are willing to profit by the experience 

 of others, and to whom success or failure means much. We 

 shall avoid the don'ts and write from the positive, not the 

 negative viewpoint. 



The rearing of domestic poultry should show a profit 

 and will do so in proportion to the intelligence with which 

 it is conducted precisely as in any other business; but where 

 the highest order of talent is employed, the profits on the 

 capital invested will far exceed those in any other legiti- 

 mate business. 



Start With the Chick 



We will start with the chick as it emerges from the shell. 

 If the eggs begin to pip in the evening they should all be 

 excluded by the next morning. In cool weather compel the 

 hen to keep her nest for twenty-four hours longer; this will 

 permit the chicks to sleep and gain strength, which they 

 will do very rapidly, as the absorption of the yolk now 

 begins and the new functions are fully established. Then 

 remove her with the brood to the coop, but before doing so, 

 dust her thoroughly with a good insect powder and apply 

 a little grease or oil on top of the chicks' heads and under the 

 wings. This will prevent much future trouble in fighting 

 lice. This should be repeated once a week until they are 

 past danger and can dust themselves in soft moist earth as 

 their instinct teaches them. 



Have Your Coops Ready 



In severe cold weather they should be placed under shel- 

 ter, but where they get as much direct sunshine as possible. 

 An open shed facing south or east is preferable where the 

 chicks can have a dry run when a late snow covers the 

 ground. A gravel or sand floor is very desirable, and if 

 dry, will be found very satisfactory. Your coop will require 

 no bottom, but can be shifted its width every day, thereby 

 insuring a clean floor. Otherwise a, wooden floor is indis- 

 pensable and should be covered with chaff, fine litter, ashes 

 or any suitable material and renewed frequently. 



Food and Warmth 



Food and warmth are now the two factors upon which 

 success depends. The latter need' not be considered here, 

 as the hen is to brood them, and she will take care of them; 

 but in cold weather we render it more comfortable for them 

 by placing the coop in a sheltered location, at the same 

 time allowing the chicks liberty to run in the sunshine dur- 

 ing the middle of the day. Should the snow be deep, clear 

 a place for them. They thrive better, grow faster and make 

 stronger, hardier fowls than the later hatches that have the 

 extreme heat of summer to contend with before they are 

 half grown. A long protracted hot spell checks their growth 

 in a very marked degree. Cold does less harm than heat, 

 provided they can run under the hen and get warm whenever 

 they are so inclined, and if the hen or the warmth is always 

 to be found when they want it, there is little danger of 

 them becoming chilled. The best results will usually be 

 had where. the hen is kept in her coop until the chicks are 

 weaned, thereby compelling her to hover the chicks when 

 ever they demand it and avoiding the enforced excessive 

 exercise she would often subject them to, tiring them out 

 and making them leg weary. Scatter a shovel of sand in 

 front of the coop, which will serve as their first grit. Have 

 a, feeding board or trough ready; also drinking fountain, 

 which wash out daily and keep filled with pure water. After 

 your chicks have been out of the shell thirty-six hours, give 

 them a feed of stale bread crumbs soaked in milk and 

 squeezed almost dry. They will eat sparingly at first, as 

 they should. They have been nourished by the yolk which 

 was taken into the abdominal cavity just before hatching 

 and they would not suffer from the lack of food for three 

 days. The bread and milk does not overtax the delicate 

 digestive organs, which as yet have been unemployed, and 

 it cleanses the crop, gizzard, and intestinal tract and pre- 

 pares them for their functions. Feed every two hours for 

 the first three days, but only what they will eat up clean 

 each time. Little and often is the rule for little chicks up 

 to ten days old, then the capacity of the crop increases and 

 the intervals can be lengthened. 



Foods To Be Avoided 



We have seen so much of the hard boiled egg nonsense 

 and the fataUty from it that it is surprising that any one 

 should recommend it. Others will advise corn meal, johnny 

 cake, meat stew, hash — anything. Now, it would be just 

 as consistent to feed these things to a new born babe as to 

 a chick. It has been done and no doubt some survived, but 

 only because green food happened to be accessible, and the 

 chick after eating the poison, found' the antidote. A dog 

 can eat Rough on Rats and then drink a pan of milk and 

 suffer no injury, but that does- not justify me in advising it 

 as a steady diet for dogs. Those who prefer the dry grain 

 ration should after the third day use pinhead oat meal and 

 a little millet seed until they can eat cracked wheat, finely 

 chopped corn, and hulled oats, which latter should constitute 



