96 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
Mixture, made in the following manner, is one of the very best : 2 oz. of sulphate of iron, ^ oz. diluted 
sulphuric acid, and 4 oz. of Epsom salts, to one gallon of boiling water. One teaspooiiful of the mixture to 
each quart of drinking water will be sufticient, and will improve the condition and appearance of the stock 
considerably. 
We have given in Chapter VI., on the feeding, rearing, and management of chickens, full instructions 
how to proceed, and it is not necessary to make any further remarks, beyond mentioning that the best-bred 
chickens, like all others, once neglected never come to much good, and to ensure success in after life inust 
be kept griiwin}(. The green cut bone, which we have on previous occasions strongly recommended, is one 
of the greatest aids to chicken raising, and acts as a preventive to that plague of high-class Poultry breeding, 
leg icciikncss, which so many of the major breeds are prone to. Bone dust is alse an excellent preventive of 
the same complaint. Andalusians, Leghorns, Hamburg.s, or Bantams rarely suffer from this ailment; but the 
heavier birds, such as Brahmas, Cochins, Langshan.s, Plymouth Rocks, Australian Game, Malays, etc., suffer 
considerably, owing to the great and preponderant amount of flesh formed in proportion to bone. Growing 
cockerels, especially early hatched ones, frequently become completely prostrated, and at times, if neglected, 
rendered worthless. \Vhen a valuable chicken becomes prostrated by leg weakness suddenly, Parrish's 
Chemical Food, administered in half-teaspoonful doses twice daily for three days, then miss a day or two, 
again repeating, keeping the bird perfectly dry and well housed, will generally effect a cure. 
When the chickens are from two to three months old they are, as a rule, able to dispense with the 
services of the hen, and, in fact, do better at that age without her. It is now necessary, if a large number 
are bred, that they should be marked in some manner so as to distinguish them, and keep a record of their 
breeding. This can be done in various ways, as described previously in Chapter XII. 
This is also the time to separate the cockerels and pullets. Without this is done trouble is likely to 
ensue, besides having a deterrent effect upon their future size. Cockerels may be allowed to run together 
until they are five or six months old, providing one is not taken away and replaced later. The pullets will 
agree together for an indefinite time. At this age little difficulty will be experienced in distinguishing the 
sexes, the cockerels, as a rule, taking longer to fledge, and developing combs quicker than the pullets, and 
the process of " weeding," or discarding those which are not likely to make Show birds should now be 
proceeded with. There is, as a rule, but a small proportion in any flock of chickens of high-grade birds fit 
for exhibition purposes; but to select the good from the bad is a task which can only be executed by one 
having practical experience, especially in the Asiatic and Game Breeds. Often a chicken at this age, being 
raw-looking and ungainly, will frequently turn out quite the best of the season's breeding. Birds that 
are weedy or small in comparison with their fellows of the same age, or which have any glaring faults, such as 
wry tail or crooked breast, had better be killed, so that those left would not be hampered, or the room they 
required occupied. Scarcely any beginner is likely to make a mistake where the above faults are noticeable, 
and with practice will be able to easily distinguish at even a much earlier age those thai are worth keeping 
from those that had better be eaten. 
Chickens that are intended to be kept for exhibition purposes should be prevented from roosting at an 
early age, this being one of the chief causes of crooked breasts, and - it is far better to compel them to sit on 
the ground (providing it is quite dry) until their breastbones have " set " sufiliciently. " Slipped wing " is 
another unfortunate tendency many of the very best birds are subject to, especially if bred and reared in a 
confined space. The primary feathers, or those which are hidden from view when the wing is closed properly, 
protrude in a more or less state of disorder, and completely spoil the bird's appearance, practically amounting 
to disqualification in the Show pen ; at any rate, we have never seen a bird, no matter how good in other 
respects, successful in the Show pen if suffering from slip-wing, and, we think, rightly so. We have strong 
reasons for stating that, to a great extent, this fault is hereditary, and, if any other course were open, would 
not advise the using of a bird faulty in this respect to breed from. If this is noticed at an early age, say 
from four to five months, if merely a displacement of the feathers, the difficulty can often be overcome by 
tying a bandage of tape around the wing, fixing the feathers properly, then continuing the tape outside the 
