BROODER CHICKS, THEIR FEED AND CARE. 



One Who Has Raised Flocks of Incubator Hatched Chicks Without Loss Tells How to Feed and Care for Them Bowe 

 Trouble a Result of Careless Feeding— Regularity In Feeding Desirable. 



By Mrs. Bert H. White. 



w 



'HERE can one make a beginning in this never 

 ending, inexhaustible subject? I consider the 

 feeding of little chicks the most important part 

 of poultry raising. The welfare not only of the 

 «hlckg themselves, but of future generations of chicks de- 

 pends upon how we feed and care for the young. "Tlie hand 

 that rocks the cradle is the hand that moves the world" 

 liolds good in poultry as well as with humans, and the hand 

 that has fed the little chicks and fed them right this year, 

 is the hand that will move the poultry interest in the coming 

 years. 



I raised two hatches last year, one of seventy-nine, the 

 other of sixty-three chicks, and did not lose a single one. 

 This fact has given me the presumption to venture to let 

 others know how I did It. We hatch our chicks with incu- 

 bators and hens — when the hens will sit. I am a great 

 friend of the incubator, and while I have just as much re- 

 spect now for the old biddies as I ever had, I have less con- 

 fidence in them. I feed the incubator hatched cblcke just 

 the same as I do the chicks hatched by the hen-mother. I 

 do ni>t think there is quite as much danger from over-feeding 

 the chicks with the hen, as they are less liable to lack the 

 proper exercise. After the hatch is over I remove the chicks 

 to the nursery brooder, which is heated and prepared for 

 them, and feed. We read so much in the various poultry 

 Journals about not feeding chicks until they are twenty-four 

 to thirty-six hours old. I do not believe you could make a 

 chick eat before it is ready to eat, and that is when it is 

 strong enough. 



The first food consists of hard-boiled eggs, cracker or 

 bread crumbs, and grit, made very fine. This is in propor- 

 tion of two parts of the crumbs to one of egg, and a little 

 grit mixed in. There are several kinds of grit for little 

 chicks, but I prefer the shell grit and roll it fine myself. 

 If this food is prepared right it will be a crumbly dry mix- 

 ture. That is always the first food, and I remove all they 

 do not eat. This, with a little pin-head oatmeal and rolled 

 oats, and a little millet seed sprinkled in the litter in the 

 bottom of the brooder, is the first three or four days' bill 

 of fare. I give water on the second day and after that sweet 

 milk once a day. On the fifth day .1 add baked corn bread 

 to this bill of fare. And this is how I make it — two parts 

 coarse cornmeal, one part prepared poultry food, one part 

 bran (counting quarts as parts), a small handful of salt, 

 and a tablespoonful of soda. I prefer to bake it in one large 

 pan rather than several small ones, as there is not so much 

 crust. Bake it until it is thoroughly done, and if it is just 

 right it will be dry and crumble fine and not stick to the 

 hand. This I always keep on hand, and it is one of the 

 principal meals of the day until the chicks are old enough to 

 eat wheat and cracked corn. I always mix a little grit in 

 one of the feeds of the day. 



After the chicks are two weeks old I feed some coarse 

 cornmeal moistened with sweet milk, and it can be made just 

 moist enough so that it will be mealy. I know it is right 

 when I take a handful and squeeze it and no moisture sticks 

 to the hand. If it is mealy and not sloppy there wijl be no 



danger from bowel trouble. Feed this sparingly at first, aa 

 well as any other change in food. I always feed five times 

 a dav until after the third week, and then only three times a 

 day. Great care must be exercised in order not to over-feed. 

 I believe a great many chicks die from over-feeding, and 

 those that do survive over-feeding are stunted. I think one 

 must always govern the amount of food by the number of 

 chicks in a brood, and no particular amount can be specified 

 for each meal. All conditions being equal, just what they 

 will clean up each time, and no more, is about the proper 

 amount. 



I begin to feed a little wheat and cracked com at the 

 end of the third week, and when the chicks are four or five 

 weeks old I feed wheat in the morning and cracked corn at 

 night, with oats for variety. I think oats is a splendid food 

 for growing chicks, but I never have dared to feed it with- 

 out first boiling it. It takes some time to teach them to 

 like oats, but after a time they will relish it as much as they 

 do wheat and com. 1 think that chickens of all ages are 

 fed too much corn. Wheat and oats are the best grains 

 for chicks. I like to feed a little millet seed wherever the 

 chicks are in the habit of scratching. It makes a nice little 

 lunch for them at noon— just a few handfuls sprinkled 

 around the brooders, so that they will find it when they 

 come back for a drink and a rest at noon. Once or twice a 

 week I boil the wheat for their breakfast. I boil it the 

 evening before and let it stay on the stove until morning 

 and it is just warm enough to feed. I do not pretend to 

 say that all this is strictly necessary for the successful rais- 

 ing of chicks, but I have tried it and have had good results. 



Variety in feeding forms an important item. I never 

 mix the grains for variety's sake. Try feeding the same 

 kind of grain every night for four or five nights without any 

 change, and the chicks will not seem to care whether they 

 eat or not. They seem to say to me — "That old stuff again!" 

 It may be partly imagination, but I believe that variety is 

 necessary to keep their appetites in good condition. I al- 

 ways keep a box of oyster shell and grit near each brooder. 



Hatch your chicks early, "the quicker the sooner," as 

 David Harum would say. Spring is the only nesting time 

 for wild birds and it is the only good time for domeetio 

 breeds. If by any mischance or continued spell of damp 

 weather, any bowel trouble may result, the feeding of boiled 

 rice or scalded sweet milk will very soon adjust that trouble. 

 I never feed any condition powder, pepper or any of the 

 poultry cures advertised, but I use plenty of prevention, and 

 never need any cures. Regularity in feeding is a very im- 

 portant matter in successful poultry culture. Havei a regu- 

 lar time for each meal and do not vary from it. The first 

 meal should be at daylight, and the last as late as possible 

 before the chicks go tO' roost. Chicks are early risers and 

 should be let out of the brooder as soon as it is daylight. 

 I always build an enclosure around each brooder, and do 

 not let them out of the brooder, and do not let them out of 

 this enclosure until after the dew is dried off, or on cold 

 windy mornings I can keep them there and put them back 

 in the brooder to keep them from getting chilled. It is a 



