HIGH-POWERED ORGANISMS 



313 



Remarkable Growth.— When one considers the remarkable 

 growth made by chicks during the first month or two, it is easy 

 to understand why they require a watchful attendant. At 

 hatching time the chick weighs about one and a half ounces. It 

 doubles this weight in six days, and under normal circumstances 

 it can be made to weigh two and a half pounds in three months, 

 which is more than twenty-five times its original weight. 



If we humans grew that fast, we would weigh about two hun- 

 dred pounds at the age of three months. This comparison fur- 

 nished some idea of the naturally intensive, high-powered ca- 

 pacity of the chick, and of the need for suitable nourishment. 



(Courtesy Wisconsin Experiment Station) 



Fig. 204. — Summer-hatched chicks require plenty of shade. Inexpensive 

 coops like these are easily moved from place to place, which moving gives 

 the chicks fresh greens and clean soil. 



Proper nourishment is the crux of the whole business. Chicks 

 require a great deal of food in relation to their size, but do not 

 mistake this to mean that you should simply pile the food in 

 front of them. On the contrary, they must be fed in just the 

 right quantities. The feeding program is the most important 

 consideration ; it is paramount ; it makes for success or failure. 



Overfeeding. — Oddly enough, perhaps, more chicks die from 

 overfeeding than from underfeeding. And the trouble usually 

 starts by feeding the brood too soon after it has left the incubator. 



The last development in incubation prior to breaking the shell 

 is the embryo chick's absorption of the yolk. This highly nutri- 



