64 
The Australasian Book of Poultry, 
eventually causes bowel disease and dysentery, making frightful inroads in the stock, and consequently 
heavy pecuniary losses — a truly costly object lesson to the beginner or to the Poultry Farmer who 
neglects to feed his stock systematically. Another point often overlooked is the neglect on the part of 
the breeder to destroy the runts or weakly chickens at an early stage, as invariably they will drop off 
later, or, if they manage to survive, cannot come to any ultimate good. There is frequently one Aveakling 
in every brood, and this should at once be destroyed. There are many causes for the constant recurrence 
of a miserable chicken or two in a large brood, such as the eggs from which they were hatched may have 
got chilled during incubation, by being pushed out of the side or front of the nest, or the hen having too 
many to cover properly. Again, an egg may have been broken in the nest, and the contents closing up 
some of the pores of the shell, retarding the growth oi the embryo chicken, naturally weakening them 
and causing them often to hatch later ; the chickens, having insufficient stamina to fight the battle 
of life, are generally plaintive, miserable objects for a day or two, then drop off. Another cause, and 
invariablv the prime one where weakl}- chickens are produced in numbers, is a lack of vigor and stamina 
in either parent bird. The cock may be semi-impotent, or, perhaps, being highl}- inbred, his consequent 
vigor is impaired, or he may have too many hens. The hen may be too fat and laz)', and, as a natural 
consequence, would not be in a fit condition for the breeding pen, or she may lay eggs rich in animal 
fats, but poor in other essential elements. Chickens hatched from eggs laid by such hens will be 
miserable weaklings ; or, again, a hen may be a high-class laj-er, and the severe drain upon her system 
by the constant and steady egg-production, the latter eggs of the batch being deficient in some degree, 
the chickens hatched would also be weaklings, so that if constitutional vigor is desired in the chickens 
the condition and stamina of the parent birds must be the first consideration. Much of the weakness 
and lack of vigor in the chickens produced are due to preventable causes, and stock birds should be 
always fed sound, sweet, healthy food if vigorous and healthy chickens are desired from them. Poor 
hatchings as a general rule means stunted chickens, for the simple and indisputable reason that 
the same surrounding influences which cause a portion of the eggs to be infertile also lowers the vigor, 
vitality, and stamina of the chickens hatched from the fertile eggs ; and it may be safely accepted as a 
truism that a good uniform hatching indicates healthy, vigorous chickens, while a poor or prolonged one 
exactly opposite. 
The principal causes of early mortality amongst \ery young chickens are those we have described, 
supplemented with dysentery, diarrhoea, lice, and want of grit. We have on a previous occasion written 
strongly on the lice question ; and, though thousands of young chickens are annually sacrificed to their 
attacks, this can easily be prevented by the application of simple remedies. One wa}' in 
which the lice kill the chickens is by a constant and steady drain upon their systems, causing the 
chickens to be susceptible to the slightest cold, wind, or rain, with the natural result that their 
bodies are so weakened they cannot rally against the attacks of the lice, and the results are either 
a speedy or lingering death. It is easy to clear out the lice, keeping the coops perfectly clean, 
dusting the hen every three days with insect powder while incubating, and also dusting her once a week 
while with the chickens, examining the latter occasionally. One thing is definitely certain — it is not 
wise to try and combine chicken and lice raising. If Ave want good healthy, vigorous chickens we must 
take drastic measures to destroy all vermin that attack them ; but, if we want lice, if they are let alone 
there need be no fear of being bothered with chickens. 
Bowel diseases also carry off thousands of promising chickens each year ; and the main causes of 
these are improper food, being chilled by extreme cold or wet weather, and neglect of giving a good 
supply of grit. It is often difficult to ascertain to which of the three causes mentioned they are 
attributable, but frequently the three will be found combined ; in the majority of cases, no doubt, it can 
be distinctly traced to want of grit. Without the latter the gizzard is unable to perform its proper 
function, and places the chickens in exactly the same position as a hungry man without teeth, by 
being unable to masticate food. A chicken, being hungry, greedily swallows the food offered, the 
