118 PRACTICAL POULTRY PRODUCTION 



they may scratch. Chicks should be examined frequently 

 to see if they are infested with lice or mites. When these 

 are found, every effort should be made to exterminate them 

 by following the methods suggested in Chapter X. 



General management. As soon as the chicks develop 

 sufficiently so that the cockerels want to mate with the 

 pullets, they should be separated from the pullets in order 

 to assist the proper growth of both pullets and cockerels. 



As soon as the cockerels are of sufficient size, those not 

 intended to be kept for breeders the following year should 

 be marketed (See Chapter XVI) or caponized. When chicks 

 become 2 or 3 months old, it is often advisable to teach them 

 to roost; for, when they are allowed to remain on the floor, 

 it is difficult to keep them clean and to keep them from 

 crowding. Such roosts should be from 3 to 4 inches wide, as 

 this width tends to eliminate the danger of forming 

 crooked breastbones, which are the result of chicks' roost- 

 ing on narrow roosts. The chicks can usually be induced 

 to roost by placing the perches near the floor. If it is found 

 that only a few of them take to roosting, the others can be 

 made to roost, if placed on the roosts after dark for a few 

 nights in succession. In the late summer and early fall the 

 pullets that mature and begin to lay should be removed 

 from the growing houses to their permanent winter quarters. 

 When possible, this change should be made before they begin 

 to lay, so as not to disturb them. When the stock has been 

 wing-banded, it is well to note at this time the numbers of 

 those pullets that started laying first. Other things being 

 equal, these pullets may make desirable breeders the follow- 

 ing spring. 



QUESTIONS 



1. Why is it so necessary that the chicks should not be fed until 

 they are 36 or 48 hours old? 



2. Discuss the method of feeding chicks up until they are 10 

 days old. 



