White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1872-02-29
for the fmuler.
sPRuNas CHICKENS.

Very early spring chickens are generally dear,
and nav extraordinarily well for raising aud they
are much easier brought through the cold weath-
er of the latter part of February and Maren tnan
,,eople suppose, and practical knowledge Is
worth more than aught else, what am going to
say can been done, and has been accomplished ex-
tensiyely by the writer and hs better hail. Having
little birds, rather larger than pigeons, sell for
scventy-tive cents each IN Apni aud May, giving
fast enough to satisfy reasonable people. The
way to do it is to have the hens all comfortable
lodged in warm roost by the LIST of January.
Have some nice, snug, warmly situated nests in a
Mace near the rO0st for the hens to lay in, and
contrivc that they can 60 to and from it without
going ont into bad weather, and If they have been
we'll fed they will be laying when the new year
begins and if Brahma blood is in them (half will
do) they will set by the end of the month; after
hatching pnt them in eocps which can be closed
and made dark by fastening up a front board
then in bad weather the chickens can be fed by
letting down the board, and be shut up again as
soon as they have eaten, which will cause the hen
to sit still and nurse them till they fed again
have no bottoms to the coOps and move every
day, putting dry fine straw, any kind of litter,
under the coop when the ground is wet, but in
moderate weather, of whenever dry, let them he
on the sod. Keep the hen confined till the
chickens are month old, unless unusually mild,
and let these cOOps be ON slope facing the south,
and away from the haunts of theold fowls. There
are many days in February when the chickens
will run around the coop picking blades of grass,
&C., enjoying the sunshine, which puts them in
strong health to bear closer confinement in cold
spells and during snow storms, which, with these
coops, do not hurt them at all and their will be
no dropping wings and crying, as there in
varably is when little chickens are raised i'm glass
lighthouses or any kind of houses or barns; for in
any of these places they miss the fresh ground to
be daily moved on, and the fresh air and sunshine
which give them an appetite Out-of-doors which
they loose indoors, however spacious the apart
ments may be. have had to dig the snow away
from the coops several times in one season, and
brush places for them to be placed on, which is
quickly done by having a spare coop, and going
from one to the other with basket; and by ten
or eleven o'clock the whole Of the brOOds, from
thirty to forty cOOps, would be seen as brisk as
bees, a dozen or more at each coop, and racing to
meet the feeder.
The feed requires variation, and shOuld be CIV
en- every two or three hours-say one day scaded
meal at z, wheat OF barely at 3, cracked corn at
IL, liver or other meat, chopped fine, at 2, and
bread sopped in milk, with oats, any dry grain.
at 4, and then shut up. Next day, egg shells bro
ken fine mixed with the mornings first meal,
and give one feed of some kind of sprouted grain
in about such a stage malt is made, and vary
this feeding as convenient, and as the chickens
seem to prefer one form to another; for generally
what they like best is hest for Them nature sell
dom desires for that which is not good and in the
case of anything being too rich it will clOy them
until the system requires mOre.-Country Gentle
man.