86 MY POULTRY DAY BY DAY 
This dry mash should be fed out of a hopper or box, so arranged 
that the chickens can eat out of it without being able to scratch 
the food out on the floor. The hopper should be raised a few inches 
from the floor so that it will be clear of the litter. The chickens 
as they grow should be given greater liberty and, where possible, 
a large grass run should be provided. Where this cannot be done 
they must be given a plentiful supply of green vegetable food. 
The chickens, if the weather be mild, will now be separated from 
their mother and transferred to a suitable fowl-house where plenty 
of scratching work will be provided, and in addition to the constant 
supply of dry mash, kibbled wheat and maize should be buried in 
the litter twice or three times per day. On the dry-mash system 
the only attention necessary will be the supply of grain, water, 
green stuff, etc., twice a day. If wet mashes are given they must 
be fed at least four times in the twenty-four hours until the birds 
are three months old, when meals may be reduced to three a day. 
It is important to separate the cockerels from the pullets as 
soon as they can be told apart. With some breeds—notably 
Leghorns—it is quite easy telling the pullets from the cockerels 
when a few weeks old, but in some of the heavier breeds it is 
sometimes a matter of months before one is sure. The young 
cockerel is most easily distinguished by its tail feathers and the 
length and thickness of its legs, but in the case of the Leghorn, 
the comb, which develops very early, is perhaps the best guide. 
Even if the chickens of both sexes should run together for three 
months no harm will be done, excepting, it may be, that the 
cockerels will bully some of the less aggressive pullets. 
This rather detailed information may make it appear that 
chicken-rearing is a difficult and complicated matter. As a 
fact, it is about as easy and simple a process as one could imagine, 
especially if one brings them up on the dry-feed principle. Mixing 
wet mashes is more trying, more tricky and needs more skill. If 
it is desired to feed moist food after the first month, the same 
ingredients as in the dry mash may be moistened by hot water, 
but great care should be taken not to make the food too wet or 
sloppy. It should be made so that it can be stuck together by 
