1905.] 



Day-Old Chickens. 



593 



obtained at the Reading Poultry Farm has been that when 

 chicks are hatched either by the hen or by the machine, it is 

 better to leave them in the place of hatching for twenty-four 

 to thirty hours before removal to coop or brooder, and the same 

 is largely true when they are to be sent away. But it must not 

 be too long delayed, for when once they begin to eat there 

 must be a regular supply of food for them. Chicks two days 

 old do not travel so well as twenty-four hours before, and every 

 day after they feel the effects more rapidly. When sent off at 

 the right age, in suitable boxes, they will travel long distances 

 by land or sea quite safely, even when the journey occupies as 

 much as thirty-six hours. 



The best packages are light wooden boxes, with several 

 ventilating holes near the top of the sides and in the lid, and 

 fitted with a handle made of thick cord, or tied round with 

 thick string. For a dozen chickens a box about 14 in. by 9 in. 

 and 9 in. high is large enough ; for two dozen, 15 in. square. 

 The floor should be thickly covered with cut chaff, among which 

 may be scattered some coarse oatmeal, dari, and canary seed, 

 and the sides, more especially the corners, lined with soft hay. 

 The lid is better if lined with coarse flannel tacked at the edges, 

 but loose enough to hang down in the centre. If the journey 

 is to be a long one, a lettuce or two may be hung where the 

 birds can reach it. The box should be well made, and tied 

 down, not nailed. There is much greater risk during very 

 severe weather, more especially in cross-country journeys, when 

 the danger is of exposure at open stations, and care should be 

 taken to despatch them by fast trains making good connections, 

 and if possible at night. But the sale of these birds is generally 

 in the milder spring months, when the risk is not so great as 

 it would be earlier in the season. Boxes should be prominently 

 labelled " Live chickens — this side up," and experience has 

 shown that railway officials take pleasure in expediting their 

 transit. 



Not the least important point is the treatment of chickens 

 on arrival at their destination. Unless that is favourable, all the 

 efforts of the vendor may be lost. It is to his interest to satisfy 

 his customers by sending them hardy birds, but he has no 

 means of controlling them when once they have left his charge, 



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