Leaflet No. 229. 4 
liable to become egg-bound owing to broken shell-less eggs 
in the oviduct. The dietary must necessarily vary according 
to the weather and conditions, but may include ground oats, 
barley meal in moderation, biscuit meal, middlings and 
greaves, with grain at night. Some breeders prefer a whole 
grain diet for Ijoth morning and evening feeding, using 
wheat, barley and oats (a greater proportion of the latter), 
together with cabbage and such roots as swedes, when the 
pasture is poor, but considerable variation is possible and 
necessary, according to the character and condition of the 
range. The importance of a generous supply of grit and 
calcareous material should be emphasized. 
Beariyig. 
The principle of the roost house should, as far as possible, 
be applied to the coops, the doors of which should be wire 
netted and covered with sacking in severe weather if 
necessary. The birds should be cooped with their natural or 
foster mothers upon short turf in a dry sheltered position 
with a sunny aspect ; a rich medium soil is the most suitable 
for them. The coops must be moved a short distance daily 
to a fresh patch, and the hens allowed out with the young 
birds when possible. 
A suitable food for turkey chicks consists of steamed rice 
and biscuit meal, dried with tine sharps ; as an alternative 
some rearers start their birds with curds and fine oatmeal. 
They may, however, be reared from the time of hatching 
upon Sussex ground oats in the same manner as chickens are 
in the south-east, and with equal success. With any soft 
food an admixture of finely chopped dandelion leaves is 
especiallj' beneficial — the whole being sprinkled with fine 
sharp grit. The feeding should be commenced early and 
continued until late in the day ; not much food is required 
at one time, but it is necessary to give it at frequent intervals, 
commencing with six meals daily. 
At about the third week the diet may be changed to 
include most of the foodstuffs given to ordinary chickens. 
Boiled wheat is also a useful food during the early days, 
although it is too expensive a diet for any but the grower to 
adopt to any extent. Later on the new corn is helpful, the 
birds being subsequently run upon the stubbles. Turkey 
chicks must at all times be comfortably cooped or housed at 
night, and it is important to keep them dry during their 
early days. Unless plenty of natural food is available a 
proportion of meat should be included in the ration. During 
the summer months woodlands and spinneys are of much 
