BROODING THE CHICKS 73 



of chickens are killed by kindness. Too much 

 coddling is as fatal as neglect. 



Chicks running with a hen occasion but little 

 trouble. The coop should be large enough so that 

 the hen will have plenty of room to move about with- 

 out trampling on the chickens, and should have a 

 board floor if out of doors early in the season. 

 After the weather becomes warm, earth floors are 

 better. Sand should be spread over the floor and 

 over that, after the first few days, a litter of hay 

 cut into short lengths or chaff from the barn, the 

 latter being preferable, to anything else. 



The chicks wili need nothing to eat for at least 

 thirty-six hours and may go longer without suffer- 

 ing at all with hunger. Some kind-hearted but 

 mistaken people have insisted that it is cruel to 

 withhold food from a newly hatched chick, but ex- 

 perience has shown the wisdom of doing so. It is 

 true that a chick will try to eat as soon as it can 

 balance itself on its legs, but this is not because of 

 a sense of hunger, and it is just as well satisfied with 

 sand. That is the reason the floor of the coop 

 should be sprinkled with sharp sand ; the chick eats a 

 little and so obtains the grit which will aid it in di- 

 gesting real food when it comes. 



