Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-06-05
HINTS ON CHICKEN RAISING.

twenty-four houIs do not feed the
chicks at all. The yelk of theegg,
which has been absorbed by the
chick just before Matching, gives all
the nutriT"nt required during this
time. Keep the chicks quiet and
warm, and after twelve hours they
can have a little milk, sweet, sour,
or buttermilk. Water is not need
ed during the first two weeks Of
the chicks life, but milk must be
given in small quantities at a time
and often. The drinking vessels
must be kept perfectly clean, in
fact, should be washed out every
time a drink is given. Impure
water is one of the IN Ost important
sources of disease.
For the first two weeks chicks
may be fed as follows: Take one
dozen eggs, break them into one
Quart of sweet, sour, or buttermilk,
stir the eggs and milk together, as
for a custard, and use this custard
to moisten the meal made from the
following grains Two parts wheat,
one part oats, one part buckwheat,
one part barley, and one part corn,
all ground together. Mix this meal
with the eggs and milk; use bak-
ing power, yeast, or soda and bake
1t as you would bread. When baked
hard, grind it into coarse meal,
which can be done by using COM
mon coffee mill. Add to this a
generous quantity of bone meal
and finely ground oyster shells /;
this is absolutely necessary to pre-
vent leg weakness. For the first
three days finely ground oatmeal,
moistened with milk, adding a
little black pepper and salt makes
very good food, and is greatly
relished by the birds. For the first
two weeks the chicks should be
fed every two hours, early morning
and iate at night, and in very small
quantities at time. After two
weeks give solid cut wheat twice a
day. During the first four weeks
meal must be fed prepared as
above stated, with wheat, buck
wheat, and fine cracked corn alter
mated with it after the first two
weeks. After the first four weeks
the use of the prepared meal may
be discontinued altogether, and
wheat, buckwheat, cracked rn,and
millet seed fed.
Green food is absolutely essential,
a little every day, the best of which
is as follows Grass, lawn clip
pings, or grass chopped up fine,
lettuce or cabbage heads hung up
so that they will not touch the
ground, and the chicks allowed to
pick at them as they wish. Also
rye, wheat, or oats may be sown,
and when six to ten inches high cut
off and tied up in handfuls just
within their reach, and the chicks
allowed to pick at it. In winter
fine rowen hay run through the
hay-cutter aud soaked in warm
water is m)st excellent for green
food. Finely chopped onions
twice a week are a splendid tonic
also finely chopped turnips or ap.
pies. The choicest and best green
food in winter is a cabbage head
hung up two inches from the
ground, so the chicks may pick at
it. Meat is also essential to health
and rapid growth. This should be
supplied even where the chicks
have q good range, as they cannot
pick up enough insects to supply
their needs. Get refuse meat from
the butcher and chop it up fine and
let the chicks have a little at a
time, or get livers, lights, beef or
sheep heads, or anything Of this
nature, and hang up the same for
chicks to pick at. The exercise III
flying up and picking at green food
and meat is Of benefit to them.
An excellent course Of meat OF
insect food is as follows: Take
meat scraps or fresh blood from an
animal recently killed and fresl
horse manure in layers; place the
same in a box or barrel where the
flies can get at it and in three oil
four days it Will be alive with mi
lions of maggots. Feed them tC
your chicks and they will soor
prove their appreciation.
Always add a sprinkiing of sal
to soft feed given to chicks, also
little cayenne pepper occasionally
In fact, season their food as you
would for yourselves. Charcoal Is
fine tonic, appetizer, and cleanser
of the blood, stomach, and crop
Pulverize it and mix it with their
soft feed or break it up in small
Jumps and place it in a little box
where they can always have access
TO it. Also furnish liberal sup
ply of bone meal and CT acked Oys'
ter shells.
Cleanliness is as important as
proper food. Air-slaked lime seat
tered around the cOops, yards, and
houses every week will go far to-
ward keeping the chicks healthy
DO not feed sloppy food, such as
corn meal wet up with cold water
IfSou must feed corn meal alone
make q johnny cake Of it or boi
potatoes and meat scraps to a sof