32 CHICKS 



Hopper feeding is seldom successful when chicks are with- 

 out range though it may be used with advantage where free 

 range is enjoyed. The free range chick needs no mash 

 food unless it is necessary to force a more rapid growth, 

 than is usually desirable. The component parts of the 

 mash may be mixed dry and placed in hoppers, one hopper 

 near each coop. Another hopper at each coop should con- 

 tain a mixture of dry grains including cracked com, wheat 

 and oats, or, it may be divided in sections and each variety 

 of grain placed in a section by itself. Another hopper 

 or box should contain charcoal, which is one of the best and 

 cheapest preventives of digestive disturbances. This 

 may seem to some to be considerable equipment for each 

 brood of chicks, but when you have added the water foun- 

 tain and located it in a satisfactory place, you are enabled 

 to care for your flock by visiting the coop twice a day. In 

 the morning the chicks may be let out and fresh water fur- 

 nished. ■ In the evening, after nightfall, the caretaker 

 should make the rounds of the coops and close them for the 

 night. This latter proceeding may be dispensed with if 

 there is no danger from hostile animals. 



The hoppers may be refilled as often as the supply is 

 nearly exhausted, but they should be of sufficient size that 

 not more than two fillings per week will be required. The 

 coops should be cleaned twice a week and fresh sand or loam 

 placed upon the floors. Floors may be dispensed with in 

 case the coops are on high ground, dry land, and there is 

 110 likelihood of marauding animals digging under the coope 

 and attacking the occupants. 



This is the sum total of the work required to care for the 

 chicks, unless the presence of lice makes it necessarj^ to paint 

 the interior of the coop with lice killer occasionall.y. Ver- 

 min seldom get a foothold on birds that have free range 

 and were properly cared for and free from lice before they 

 were weaned. 



A Satisfactory Colony Coop. 



A coop for fifty chicks should be six feet long and four 

 feet wide, four feet high in front and two and a half feet at 

 the rear. It may be built with or without a floor, accoi-d- 

 ing to the requirements. The entire front may be of wire 



