324 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



cubation has been properly conducted, hence there is no reason 

 why it should not develop just as quickly and profitably. Like 

 most of us, however, the chick is a creature of habits, some of 

 which are pernicious, and generally inspired by simply watching 

 the other fellow do it. For example, toe-pecking and feather- 

 pulling are two of the most troublesome habits to combat in the 

 brooder, and unless controlled at their inception, they will fre- 

 quently lead to a heavy mortality. Therefore while it may be 

 perfectly normal for a brood to develop toe-pecking, yet the 

 habit must have been induced by an abnormal condition — lack 

 of exercise, idleness due to exhaustion from overheating, over- 

 feeding or improper feeding. Usually it is improper feeding, 

 either as to quantity or an insufficient variety; not necessarily 

 a lack of variety in the grains, but an improper balance of the 

 nutritive elements — ^the greens, grains, grits and grubs. 



Last, but not least, of the suggestions for brooding — be sure 

 to get chicks on the soil at the earliest possible moment. No 

 matter how well equipped the brooder. Mother Earth is the 

 chick's natural habitat. The chick has an affinity for dirt, — 

 and it won't be genuinely happy till it gets the dirt 



