August. 1913 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



remainder of the yolk is drawn 

 into the abdomen, and, passing 

 int'O the dig'estive canal, consli- 

 tutes the lirst lood of the newly- 

 liatchoxl animal. ' Dnring incuba- 

 mm, the blood of the ohieU is 

 . I orated by passing through a 

 series of vessels in a temporary 

 lesjiiratory membrane whieh lines 

 the porous shell ; this makes its 

 appearance on the third day, and 

 i^ives risx> to that opacity of the 

 urtile egg which may alwavs be 

 observed. It is not 'mtil tlve ninc- 

 ueuth day of incubation that the 

 Ijeak of the chick ruptures the en- 

 larged air-vesicle, and it then only 

 commences to breathe by means 

 of its lungs. This is accompanied 

 by a peculiar sound known aS 

 '■ tapping," which is merelv respir- 

 atory, and is not, as is sometimes 

 supposed, caused by contact of 

 any kind between the beak of the 

 chick and the interior of the shell. 



— Drv Feeding. — 



Feeding chickens from their 

 hatching on a mixt<ure of small, 

 sound, dry grain keeps them singu- 

 larly free from diarrhoea, formerly 

 so troublesome and deadly, always 

 providing that the mixture is 

 made up of sound grain. This com- 

 parative freedom from the illness 

 must not be placed wholly to the 

 credit of the dry food, hnt to the 

 fact that using dr}- instead of soft 

 food, or food which can be affect- 

 ed by moisture, has removed the 

 cause of the diarrhoea. In mam- 

 cases this was started by the 

 'chickens picking jup fermented, 

 sour pieces of soft food, which in- 

 evitably woi'ild be within their 

 reach, unless the most scrupulous 



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and troubles\)me cleanliness over 

 the fee<ling was inces.sautlv adopt- 

 ed. Thousands of chickens are still 

 reared on soft foods, vet to do so 

 successfully the greatest care is 

 still requisite that no sour food 

 is eaten by them. Those) rearers 

 who yet follow the old plan of 

 moist food should be very careful 

 how they feed the chickens ; a 

 short, wide board well dusted 

 w ith earth or sand may ba laid 

 tlown for the day, and when the 

 la.st feed is over everything can 

 be removed and thoroughly clean- 

 ed. With the dry food such pre- 

 cautions are lunuecessary, unless 

 there be any coarse Hour which 

 absorbs moisture ; this is liable to 

 ferment and sour in the same way 

 as any kind of finely -ground meal. 



— Comb Picking. — 



Idle birds very soon^get into 

 mischief, and when they ohoe have 

 acquired bad habits, it ig, most 

 diilicult to break theni o2. One of 

 the vices most prevalent is that 

 of comb-picking. When hens are 

 noticed to picK the cock's comb, 

 they should receive immediate 

 treatment, otherwise they become 

 very fond of the blood they, draw 

 in this manner, and, if allowed to 

 continue, they soon acquire the 

 habit of comb-picking, which is 

 even worse than feather plucking ; 

 yet both vices originate from the 

 same source — ^idless or lack of 

 occupation. 'Whenever a hen is 

 noticed to be picking the male 

 bird's comb, she should at once 

 have her beak blunted either by 

 cutting or burning, cutting being 

 the most preferabie. If blood has 

 been drawn from the comb \ of the 

 cock, he should at once be taken 

 from the pen, otherwise the birds 

 will continue to pick at him. 

 After washing the comb in a weak 

 solution of permanganate of pot- 

 ash, a liberal application of car- 

 bolised vaseline should be made to 

 the affected parts. If the comb 

 bleeds freely some ointment should 

 be used, which will stop the bleed- 

 ing and help the wound to heal up 

 quickly. He must, however, not 

 be returned to the pen unti]. it is 

 perfectly healed. In the meantime, 

 occupation must be found for the 

 hens. 



— Feeding Troughs. — 



Soft food should never be thrown 

 on the ground. It is bad enough 

 to throw down grain, and even 

 this should not be done except 

 where the birds have ample room, 



or where, as in the case of birds 

 housed on the scratching-shed sys- 

 tem, the sheds are, or ought to 

 be, cleaned out and frcshlv littered 

 regularly. Kven when picking up 

 dry grain from a soiled lloor the 

 birds are sure to swallow, more or 

 less undesirable matter, but in 

 the case of soft food tho cj^uantity 

 swallowed is much increased, as thq 

 birds in their eagerness trample 

 the food into the ground, the re- 

 sult being that they Ijolt both the 

 food and whatever else may be- 

 come attached to it. The feeding 

 troughs may be of the simplest 

 characjter, provided theyj are there. 

 A piece of spouting cut into con- 

 venient lengths, with a bit of 

 board nailed across each end to 

 keep the food in, makes a very 

 useful trough, and one that is 

 easy to clean ; or a cheap tcough 

 can easily be made with a couple 

 of straight-edged boards of equal 

 length nailed in the shape of a V, 

 a shorter piece across each end 

 forming the feet, and to, prevent it 

 from being upset. If time or skill 

 permits, a revolving or even a 

 fixed guardrail fixed along the top 

 would prevent the birds from 

 standing in it when feeding, and 

 thus soiling the food. Enamel ware 

 or earthenware troughs are, of 

 course, the most suitable, and the 

 easiest to clean, but they are ex- 

 pensive, so where a quantity, of 

 troughs are required something 

 cheaper must be obtained. 



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