ioo THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



more chickens than tainted ground. If possible, the 

 youngsters should be raised each year on ground 

 which has not been used for poultry since a green 

 crop of some kind has been grown on it. Plowing 

 up the land and sowing oats or rye will help to 

 purify the soil. If the land used for the young 

 chickens can be planted to winter rye in the Fall, a 

 double purpose will be accomplished, for the ground 

 will be put into condition for chicken raising the 

 next season and the rye will give the hens green 

 food in Winter, for they can be allowed to range 

 over it when there is no snow on the ground. 



Where there is little land, the chicks with hens 

 may be confined in small coops easily made of dry 

 goods boxes with a chicken wire run. The end of 

 the run may be divided into a small feeding com- 

 partment for the chicks by making a partition of 

 laths far enough apart so that the young birds can 

 pass freely through. If fed here the chicks can 

 be given any kind of food and it will not be wasted 

 or spoiled by the hen. If coop and run are made, 

 solid, that arrangement is an advantage, for the 

 whole outfit can easily be moved by two people and 

 a shift every few days will keep the chicks always 

 on fresh ground. Even when it is safe to give the 



