POULTRY FOR PROFIT SI 
weeks of the life of the chicks are past, they 
will need less care and attention. These first 
few weeks are the critical weeks of the bird’s 
life. After the chicks get accustomed to the 
temperature out in the run of the brooder, it 
is advisable to cut a small hole at the run end 
of the brooder box, so that on pleasant days 
they can run outside on the ground around the 
brooder. In this case, however, they must not 
be allowed to run very far at first, and only 
for a short while until they gradually become 
accustomed to the practice. 
Another important consideration in raising 
the young chick to maturity is the matter of 
food. Probably no other thing is responsible 
for such a high mortality in young chicks, as 
is improper feeding. We have learned in a 
previous chapter that it is exceedingly danger¬ 
ous to feed the chick anything ^n the line of 
food for the first two days of its life. Many 
people are afraid the chicks will die if not fed 
immediately after hatching, and hasten to feed 
the chick all that it will eat. Unless the chick 
is endowed with a wonderful digestive system, 
it will succumb to this over-feeding through 
digestive disorders. It is permissable to put 
