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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 74

Rearing

Rearing.

Chicks do not require any food for the first twenty-four hours; after that they should get a little every two hours for a week, then every three hours for a month, and thereafter four times a day. The food for the first day or two should be hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, shells and all, mixed with coarse oatmeal or stale bread-crumbs. Then oatmeal, mixed pretty firm with boiling water or skim-milk, and then crumbled up. Later on, oatmeal or barley-meal-mixed with pollard or with boiled potato. Start feeding at daybreak. An occasional change does good. After a week a little grain should be given at night; wheat is best, for there is no husk. Cracked maize should not be given regularly, but may benefit for a change. After grain is given, broken gravel must be always kept within their reach. Boil their grain occasionally.

The best way and least troublesome is to bring up in a movable coop, wired on bottom as well as on top, where they are safe from rain, wind, cats, and rats. Keep the coop on short turf, on well-drained ground, Chicks cannot be reared on a bare wooden floor. If the chicks be reared on bare ground, grass finely cut up should be given every day.

Milk is a useful addition to chicken diet; skimmed milk does very well.

Place water near them from the first, and keep it fresh and sweet.

A little chopped-up meat once a day strengthens them when feathering. During the time they are growing their feathers—say, after the first week—pure-bred chicks are much strengthened by getting sulphate of iron put into their water, in the proportion of a piece the size of a large pea to o quarts. The cross-breds are stronger, and do not require this. Giving an extra feed by candle-light helps early chicks.

Feed the hen by herself, if you can.

If the chicks show signs of diarrh œ a change their food, A little flour in the soft food, boiled milk to mix it or drink, and dry rice at night are ill good for diarrhœa.

Bone-dust mixed in the soft food twice a week is very strengthening, bid prevents leg-weakness.

Chickens must not be over-fed, especially in hot weather, and no food should be left about.

If they appear to be drooping in hot weather, liver-weakness may be suspected. If a chick dies of it, on cutting it open its gall-bladder will be found very much enlarged. For this complaint, a very common one in confinement, feed moderately, and two or three times a week mix a tea-poonful of carbonate of soda in the soft food for every dozen chicks of three weeks old; if older, a larger quantity.

When the chickens are half-grown it is a great mistake to neglect them. To make fine birds, they require care and special feeding till full grown, With this object they should be kept separate from the general flock, and shut up, so that they cannot run their flesh off. Movable coops will be found very useful. Separate the cockerels from the pullets. Do not shut up young birds of different ages together. See they are not overcrowded.

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At four mouths the cockerels may be fattened and sold. Between four and six months they do not grow much, their strength going more to making feathers.

A crooked breast-bone injures the sale of a table-bird, and, to preverd this, chickens of the heavy breeds at least should not be allowed to roost till they are four months old, and even then should not be put on a round or narrow perch.