CHAPTER XIII 



REARING THE YOUNG BIRDS 



From the time the chicks leave the brooder house until 

 they are placed in the laying house in the Fall the aim should 

 be to promote their uniform and steady growth. Any check 

 or set-back in their growth will result in delayed maturity, 

 and retarded development often leads to lack of vitality, 

 and sometimes death from disease. Slow, irregular growth 

 means adults of small size. Hence, every effort should be 

 made to create a congenial environment, conducive to the 

 best development of the birds. 



Early Care. — When the chicks are taken from the brooder 

 and put in colony houses, every precaution must be taken 

 to prevent their becoming chilled. The danger, of course, 

 depends somewhat upon the season of the year. If properly 

 weaned in the brooder house until six weeks old, they can 

 be safely put on range any time dm'ing May or June. Earlier 

 in the season than this, it is wiser to keep them in the brooder 

 house until they are ten to twelve weeks old. If it is necessary 

 to move them early while the weather is cool, it is a good 

 plan to provide a temporary hover in the colony house. This 

 should consist of a board, three to four feet square, suspended 

 from the ceiling by cords, with a burlap drop curtain, eight 

 inches deep, around the edge. When the chicks are in the 

 colony house, this hover can be let down to within ten inches 

 of the floor, and the chicks will naturally hover imder it 

 and their body heat be conserved, which will prevent chilling. 

 As the chicks grow older the hover can be raised two or 

 three inches a day, until finally dispensed with. 



Crowding, or putting too many chicks in the colony 

 house, should be guarded against. A colony house 6x8 

 1-12 



