
POULTRY OBSERVATIONS. 
By C. K. Graham. 
CAUSES OF DEATH OF YOUNG CHICKS. 
There have been many reports of artificially hatched chicks 
dying during the first ten days in the brooder. Most of these 
die from looseness of the bowels, or what is commonly known 
among poultrymen as white diarrhea. 
Different breeders have different theories as to the cause 
of this trouble, among them being irregular temperature, lack 
of vitality of breeding stock, improper feeding, and poor ven- 
tilation; the latter applying not only to the brooder but also 
to rooms in which incubators are run. 
The Ontario Department of Agriculture appointed a com- 
mission a year ago to investigate the cause of this mortality, 
and they seem to think the last mentioned cause is the primary 

Fic. 1, —Sick Chickens. 
one (Ontario Agricultural College Report, 1905). This sta- 
tion never had such a case till last spring. In January about 
150 chicks were hatched, and no symptoms were seen, but in 
February about 400 chicks were hatched in different incuba- 
