THE CHICK BOOK 



63 



is a wire screen door In front, so as to give plenty of air, 

 also to make It vermin-proof at night. 



As to our method of feeding, we give com ground rather 

 coarse, so the chicks will have something to pick at. Bach 

 morning we take what corn meal we want for a day and 

 moisten it with milk that has been heated to the boiling 

 point, being careful to mix thoroughly so all the meal is 

 scalded, thus preventing danger of bowel trouble. We feed 

 three times a day just what they will eat up clean each time. 



When they are about three months old we omit the corn 

 meal and give whole oats In the morning and noon, and 

 whole 'com at night. We let them forage through the day 

 for bugs, grass, etfc., which they need to keep In good grow- 

 ing condition. There is plenty of good clean water for them 

 to drink at all times. This Is one of the most Important 

 parts In raising healthy chicks. H. TIBBBTTS. 



BEST OF CARE— PLENTY OF POOD— WELL VENTI- 

 LATED COOPS. 



We give our chicks farm range (farm consists of 269 

 acres) and plenty of fresh well water, also a variety of food 



consisilng of 

 cracked' corn, 

 wheat screenings, 

 com bread, pota- 

 toes, etc., and 

 plenty of natural 

 grit from a grav- 

 el bank. In au- 

 tumn their range 

 affords a good 

 Fig, 6— Coop Used by Simon Lynch S Son, supply of grass- 



hoppers. We sweep the feeding space each day, sicald and clean 

 the drinking vessels, and try to keep the chicks as free from 

 lice as possible by keeping the floor of the roosting houses 

 clean and the walls, etc., whitewashed frequently. We aim 

 to give at all times the best of care and plenty of food. We 

 keep our fowls well sheltered at night in well ventilated 

 roosting houses, ranging in size from four by eight feet to 

 six by twelve feet. The illustration (Pig. 6) shows a build- 

 ing six by twelve feet; front, six feet six inches; rear, 

 four feet. The roof projects one foot to protect 

 ventilators from rain. The door (D) is two by six 

 feet. C are doors twelve inches, hinged at bottom, to be 

 opened for light and thorough ventilation. Above this door 

 is a wire screen six inches wide (B) for ventilation at night 

 or when other doors are closed. Above the door, running 

 full length of house, is a board four Inches wide to give 

 support to roof. SIMON LYNCH & SON. 



PARM RANGE— PLENTY OP GREEN FOOD— ROOMY 

 QUARTERS. 



We have never aimed to raise over four or five hundred 

 chickens a year, as we raise geese and turkeys and cannot 

 accommodate a much larger flock. The young have good 

 comfortable coops, with board floors, closed up according 

 to the weather, with the brood hen confined accordingly. 

 They have farm range, an abundance of grass, good water 

 at all times and plenty of grit. Our coops are too small to 

 accommodate them after they are quite large, so as soon as 

 they begin to think about roosting on top of coops or a limb 

 of the nearest tree, we put them In our large buildings, 

 where the most of them are to be kept through the winter. 

 Most of our old stock, kept for sitting, laying, etc., has been 

 marketed by this time. 



Our buildings are clean and free from vermin. The 

 youngsters, if they like, can use the perches, which are two 



inches wide and have rounded edges; or they can roost on 

 the floor, which is earth, thickly covered with straw. There 

 is plenty of room either place, with no crowding (chicks 

 won't crowd if comfortable). When the cold rains and win- 

 ter snows come unexpectedly they are comfortable. They 

 are free from colds, nor do they have crooked breasts as 

 some might think, for they do not have to go on the percn^ 

 till they want to. We have had to put as many as one hun- 

 dred and fifty in a large room, but that Is too many; fifty 

 to seventy-five are better. 



These chicks are taught to roam and scratch when quite 

 young, and are not over-fed on grain too easily gotten. 

 When past their chick food they are fed twice a day with a 

 mash consisting of corn meal, middlings and bran, about 

 equal parts, scalded and salted. A third meal, the night 

 one, consists of cracked corn, wheat or screenings, fed in 

 the straw so that they have to work for it. A little meat in 

 some form is fed every few days, and they are given any- 

 thing In the form of vegetables, cooked or raw, that they 

 will eat that we happen to have, and we usually have some- 

 thing of the kind. Our large orchard and grove furnish an 

 abundance of shade, sometimes too much when it is a little 

 cool. We never neglect the young, nor feed them more or 

 less in quantity than they require, which varies according 

 to age and weather, and no one but the feeder can tell how 

 much. We used to overfeed, which is easily done, though 

 some people actually starve their poultry and of course have 

 "bad luck," while the real cause is death from neglect. 



We do not expect to raise every chick,- but are satisfied 

 with a good per cent. We lose but few after they are placed 

 in the large buildings, and those are by accident. This 

 season we expect to keep many of the incubator chicks ia 

 the brooder houses till late fall or winter. The flocks spoken 

 of wtere raised by hens. B. F. HISL.OP. 



A COOL AND SAFE COOP FOR FORTY YOUNG FOWLS. 

 —MOVED TO FRESH GROUND WEEKLY. 



I have several coops for young chickens that are two 

 and one-half feet high at back, three and one-half feet 

 in front, three and one-half feet wide and from six to 

 eight feet long, with heavy water-proof paper on top of 

 roof. I try to set from three to five hens at one time and 

 put all the chicks with two or three of them in one of these 

 coops. When the chicks are about a week old, if the 

 weather is good, I let them out. They will return at night 

 and when weaned will roost in these coops of their own 

 accord. Then I make a frame in front (two feet wide) cov- 

 ering it with 

 poultry netting 

 (small mesh). I 

 leave an opening 

 m the back eight 

 inches ahove the 

 roosts and cover 

 with wire netting 

 The fowls are 

 then safe from 

 minks, raJts, or any other animals, and still have a circula- 

 tion of fresh air. The roosts in coop are about a foot from, 

 the ground. 



I clean the coops once a week and set them on fresh 

 ground. These coops will accommodate about forty chicks. 

 Lata in the fall I line them with paper to prevent drafts, 

 and when cold weather comes the chicks are in fine shape ta 

 go into the houses. As to food, I am feeding small shrunken 

 wheat from the mill. Of course fresh water is before them 

 at all times. D. F. PALMBR. 



Fig. 7— Mr. D. F, Palmer's Movable Coop 

 tor Forty Chicks, 



