CARE AND FOOD 



47 



Locate these brood coops on grass land or in the orchard. 

 Keep the hens confined and let the chicks have the run of 

 the coop for the first week, then begin to give them an out- 

 door run, gradually increasing the range as they become 

 used to it. They can have free range by the time they are 

 two weeks old. If wire enclosed runs are used to protect 

 chicks from cats change coops to new ground frequently or 

 keep earth well scraped and spaded. 



Brooders of the outdoor pattern with chick shelters at- 

 tached make ideal homes for flocks of twenty-five to fifty in- 

 cubator chicks particularly where space is limited and where 

 there is danger from cats or other four-footed pests. 



Care of Newly Hatched Chicks 



Newly hatched chicks need rest and warmth for the first 

 thirty-six hours after hatching. They need time to begin 

 digestion of the egg yolk remnant which was taken into the 

 body just prior to hatching and they do not need other food. 

 Clean out the egg shells and dead eggs and then let the little 

 fellows alone, taking care that they do not fall out of the 

 nest; a strip of burlap will keep them in. 



When thirty-six hours old they are ready for their first 

 food which for hen hatched chicks should be given in the 

 brood coop. Litter the brood box well with hay or straw, 

 mow chaff or cut clover and place it in the brood coop. Keep 

 the hen confined and supply just outside of the slatted front 

 a little heap of commercial chick food and a box containing 

 ground grain mixture made as follows: Equal parts by 

 measure best wheat bran, corn meal, leaves sifted from cut 

 clover and fancy wheat middlings; to each ten pounds of this 

 ground grain mixture add one-half pound of best fine-ground 

 beef scrap. Be sure that beef scrap is pure and sweet. Cheap 

 or poor beef scrap is dangerous and may cause losses. If 

 not sure of the scrap omit it and feed instead, two or three 

 times a week, a little fresh beef scraped from sweet, clean 

 shin or chuck. Supply sand or other grit, granulated bone, 

 charcoal and pure fresh water just outside of brood box 

 where hen and chicks can have free access to them. 



After the third day keep a supply of chick food just out 

 of^reach of the hen mother and supply her with cracked corn 

 and a little wheat. There is no need to feed the hen on the 

 more expensive chick food. The dry mash should be kept 

 where they can have access to it at all hours of the day, but 

 the chick food may be given in regular feedings four times 

 daily if desired. A supply of pure fresh water in a clean 

 galvanized iron drinking fountain is of the greatest import- 

 ance. Begin by the close of the third week to substitute 

 cracked corn and small wheat for a part of the chick food. 

 The close confinement in brood box will not hurt the hen 



mother and often she will begin to lay within two weeks after 

 she is put out with her brood. She will usually wean her 

 brood by the time they are five to seven weeks old. If the 



How canvas and awning cloth combined with 

 shade and shelter. 



"A" coops will supply 



Outdoor Brooder with Chick shelter attached in use on lawn at Dr. 

 Woods' Home. i 



nights are cold they may be allowed to use the brood box for 

 a bed room until they are well feathered, it saves them from 

 dangers of chilling at this time. When they are well feath- 

 ered remove the brood box and let them occupy the brood 

 coop until ready to roost. Clean the coops and boxes often 

 and renew the litter. In warm weather sand will serve for 

 bedding material. Dust hen and chicks with Persian insect 

 powder when flock is ten days old. 



Brooder Chicks 



Brooder chicks require a little more care at first than 

 flocks with hens but after they learn to care for themselves 

 they thrive as well or better than "natural" broods and be- 

 come wonderfully independent little fellows well able to look 

 out for themselves if given a fair chance. We like individual 

 out-door brooders with chick shelters attached and on a 

 grass lot they are easy to care for. Flocks of from twenty- 

 five to fifty chicks yield best results; it is never wise to put 

 more than fifty chicks in any brooder. 



The brooder should be warmed to 90 degrees under the 

 hover and waiting for the chicks, having been run long 

 enough to get warmed throughout and regulating properly. 

 Litter the floor well with cut clover and a, little chick size 

 grit or clean sand. Place a little pile of dry mash and com- 

 mercial chick food side by side in the litter in hover apart- 

 ment and provide a galvanized iron fountain containing pure 

 fresh water. Place chicks in brooder when twenty-four to 

 thirty-six hours old in time to have their first meal before 

 dark in the afternoon. 



Keep the hover space always warm enough to have the 

 chicks comfortable at all times. Always be guided more 

 by the comfort of the chicks than by the temperature as 

 indicated by the thermometer. Remember that brooder 

 chicks only know what you teach them and exercise a little 

 patience in teaching these motherless little fellows how to 

 use the hover to warm up, and how to find food and water. 

 Keep them confined to hover apartment for first two days, 

 then teach them to go back and forth to exercise room. By' 

 the time they are a week old get them outside brooder for 

 an outdoor run and get them gradually accustomed to more 

 run until they have freedom of chick shelter and know 

 enough to go back and forth. Don't let them huddle in 

 sunny places or anywhere in corners of brooder or run, drive 

 them under the hover to warm up. Clean brooder frequently 

 and change run to fresh, clean ground often. Remove ho.ver 



