172 THE COMPLETE POULTRY BOOK. 



but if they come out strong, they are generally safer in the nest than else- 

 where. If any are removed from the nest to the house for safe keeping, they 

 should be restored to the mother again at night. They need no food for the 

 first day after hatching, and you only need to feed the hen while she remains 

 upon the nest. 



"If the weather is favorable, they should be removfid from the nest on the day 

 foUoiring the hatching, or when the last chick is a day old. If the turkey is 

 gentle, you can take the most of the brood from under the hen and put them 

 in a basket before she will move. If she is uneasy and likely to flutter, and in- 

 jure the young, catch her first by the legs, and catch the chicks after- 

 wards. To guard against lice, wash the old turkey on the underside of the 

 wings and on the body with a strong decoction of tobacco. This will do no, 

 harm if she is free from vermin, and will be sure to kill them, if she has them. 

 If the young turkeys get lousy, put on ointment made of yellow snuff and 

 grease, on the under side of the wings and naked parts of the body.. An ounce 

 of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this case. If they are drooping and 

 act sleepy you may know there is trouble. Yard them immediately. Kzamine 

 every bird, and apply the snufi' ointmenit. You cannot expect to raise a large 

 flock of turkeys without careful attention to little things. It is a good plan to 

 mix a little sulphur with the dough occasionally, which is distasteful to the 

 parasites that infest them. 



" When first taken ofij the chicks should be confined, while the mother has 

 her liberty. I have never found anything better for this period of their lives 

 than a pen made of boards a foot wide, twelve or fourteeii feet in length, and set 

 up edgewise in the form of a triangle. A shoft board laid across the corners 

 will make a good shelter in case of Tain The hen may be left at liberty. She 

 will not go far from her brood, and it will be several days before they will be 

 strong enough to get over the top of the board fence. Set a shallow pan in the 

 yard, and see that it is supplied with fresh water every morning, and with a 

 dough made of coarse ground Indian meal, fine chopped boiled eggs and new 

 milk, or other suitable food. They do not want a great deal of food, but want 

 it often after they begin to eat. They may be kept confined in this yard for 

 two or three days, then taken out for a few jdays after the dew is off in pleasant 

 weather, and returne.d again before night. If any of the chicks are wet, and 

 need more hovering than the old bird gives them, they may be wrapped in cot- 

 ton or wool and put in a basket under a stove or near the kitchen fire, or what 

 is better, put under a sitting dunghill fowl for a few hours. 



" The natural instinet of the turkey leads her to wander about in search of food 

 for her young. This is a necessity for herself and for her brood, and the habit 

 of roaming should be encouraged as soon as the chicks are able to bear it. For 

 «>e first month they should not be out of sight of the attendant for more than an 

 hour at a time, except at night, and then he should know where she broods her 

 flook and where to find her in the morning If the old birds are inclined to 

 wander too far or into the mowing and grain fields, tie a shingle across the 

 wings of the old ones, with the string close to the body, so that they cannot fly 

 ^en if your fences are in good orderthey can be kept in place about as readUy 

 as sheep or pigs. This wiU not interfere with their covering their Youwt at 



