THE CHICK BOOK 



to produce eggs that will bring forth chicks that live, thrive 

 and make a profit. In this connection it is safe to remember 

 that appearance, although a good indicator of health, is 

 not infallible, for a bird may seem to be in the best of 

 condition, when it is unable to produce a fertile egg. Sup- 

 ply the food and conditions required and trust to nothing 

 less, whatever the appearances, to bring about the desired 

 results. 



Every effort should be made to conserve the energy and 

 maintain the strength during the winter, when conditions 

 are largely artificial. This does not mean that all profit 

 from the birds in a practical way must be lost or that hens 

 may not lay well during the winter and produce fertile 

 eggs in the spring. The best rule to follow is this: provide 

 as well as possible the exercise, fresh air and foods that 

 the hen would get if allowed her freedom on a grass range 

 in summer. 



We cannot lay down a rule for feeding. What will pro- 

 duce good results in one yard will not always do so in an- 

 other, because of different conditions. Sufficient informa- 

 tion upon the feeding values of ail commercial foods and 

 their effects upon birds under various conditions is avail- 

 able, so that a little experience and intelligent observation 

 will enable any one to compound the ration best adapted 

 to the needs of his flock. 



Incubating the Eggs. 



Ttiat the up-to-date hatchers can be depended upon to 

 do their full share toward making the poultryman inde- 

 pendent recjuires no ajgument. Good eggs and proper hand- 

 ling by the operator will assure goad hatch,es of vigorous 

 chicks. An understanding of the machine and how to con- 

 trol it, with some knowledge of how to treat eggs during 

 the period of incubation and of the essentials of correct 

 environments, constitutes the wisdom required for successful 

 hatching. 



We find incubators operating in dark cellars, where 

 there is no light except that of burning kerosene; where 

 good air enters by chance and not from intention, and the 

 atmosphere is damp and laden with germs of decay and dis- 

 ease. Again we find them located in rooms above ground, 

 In houses built for the purpose, in dwellings and in rooms 

 partitioned off in the barn, poultry house and shed where 

 the air, though dry, is seldom renewed and light from the 

 sun is rigidly excluded that a more even temperature may 

 be maintained. 



A strong man could not stay in one of these places an 

 hour and the flame that heats the incubator frequently has 

 difficulty in collecting enough oxygen for perfect combus- 

 tion. To expect to develop so delicate an organism as an 

 embryo chick under such conditions, is nothing less than 

 folly; yet some people attempt it and, failing, denounce the 

 machine and artificial incubation. How to provide the 

 proper environment and successfully operate the machines 

 is plainly told in succeeding pages. 



Brooding the Chicks. 

 There are good brooders and brooding systems, and 

 good foods ready to feed. These ready made factors in 

 success are easily obtained, but for their efficiency they 

 depend upon the discriminating mind of one skilled in the 

 work. In no other branch of the business is the effect of 

 level thinking and well directed effort more noticeable. 

 Five minutes in a brooding house will frequently enable 

 the Intelligent observer to estimate correctly the ability of 

 the man in charge; for the appearance of the chicks is the 

 best possible evidence and no flock of chicks is healthy and 

 vigorous that does not look so. 



It is of primary importance that every aid to good 

 health is supplied, for enfeebled constitutions are as fre- 

 quently caused by bad housing, brooding and care as by 

 improper feeding. 



Cleanliness, good ventilation and exercise ecxert more 

 influence than the novice is prone to believe. As the black- 

 smith's arm grows strong by constant use, the physical 

 structure of the chicks grows strong and is kept In trim by 

 running about and scratching In clean quarters, where fresh 

 air supplies the material for myrials of life-giving blood 

 corpuscles and the digestive organs are made capable of 

 converting to the body's use all the nutriment the food con- 

 tains. 



Hatching and Eaislng With Hens. 



There are more than a few who, though! they admit 

 the practical worth of artificial methods, still cleave to the 

 ways of their grandparents and find satisfaction and profit 

 in so doing. The usefulness of the broody hen is by no 

 means a thing of the past. The breeder with a sitting of 

 eggs from a favorite hen to be hatched and the chicks reared 

 by themselves, the owner of the farm yard flock and the 

 village poultryman with a dozen hens find biddy up-to- 

 date and sufficient for their needs. 



So much latter-day intelligence has been applied to 

 chicken culture that sometimes it becomes too great a bur- 

 den and the hen is divested alike of her natural responsi- 

 bilities and of her opportunities. Our forefathers allowed 

 the old hen to have pretty much her own way and she, 

 taking advantage of the good thfngs that nature provides, 

 not alone hatched and raised the chicks at less cost, but 

 presented better chicks. Nature's ways are more resultful 

 than the made-to-order methods sometimes recommended. 

 The hen that is allowed to run with her chicks in the day- 

 time, searching for the nutritious worm and balancing the 

 supplied ration by the food selected from field and swamp, 

 will raise a brood that is a credit to the breeder and that 

 will stand him In good stead the following winter. The suc- 

 cessful raisers approximate these conditions as closely as 

 the circumstances permit. 



Maturing the Flock. 



A chick well started is half raised; but it must be well 

 cared for, or it will not win in the show room, or command 

 a premium in the market. Good care does not mean that 

 manner of feeding and housing which pampers the birds, 

 but the care that supplies them with plenty of good food 

 and an environment conducave to their physical welfare. 

 The plan of colonizing the youngsters in roomy, open front 

 roosting coops, works wonders toward the production of 

 sturdy stock and hopper feeding not alone reduces the 

 labor involved, but in many cases seams to hasten growth 

 faster than the time honored system of three meals a day. 



The Value of Common Sense. 



This is an age of practical things in poultry culture 

 and the application of common sense to all its problems is 

 fast clearing it of much of the theory which has been 

 "thrust- upon" it. It is the person who goes at the work 

 with sleeves rolled up whose success can be counted in big 

 round dollars and whose advice is worth all it costs to every 

 earnest worker. 



The experience of such men, and women, too, is given 

 in detail in this book and we recommend their articles to 

 the reader with full assurance that their advice may be 

 taken for Its face value. H. A. NOURSB. 



