Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-04-30
Care of Young Chickens.

where they lay or sit. If the hens that
sit on the eggs for Matching have lice
upon them, the nests will soon be
full of them, and as soon as a chick
is Matched they will begin their work.
says the Country Gentleman. Never
place a hen on eggs for the purpose of
having her hatch them without
thoroughly busting her feathers with
insect powder, so as to rid her abso-
1uteIy of all living insects. Soak or
paint the nest box with coal oil, kero-
hen, for by so doing you start right,
and thus insure against the lice get
ting the start of you. After the hen
has been on the nest week or 10
days, dust her again with the powder,
SO as to destroy any lice that may
have Matched from eggs deposited
among her feathers. Nests made
from tobacco stems are not of much
value. The smoke from the stems
will destroy some of the small insects
that infest plants, and some are of
the opinion that the tobacco odor will
destroy some hen and pigeon lice, but
we have no proof Of this. Lice are not
killed by an odor, unless, like tobacco
smoke, it smothers them.
Feeding the chicks is of equal i'm
pOrtance with other things. Much
contention has come up in regard to
when to feed and what to feed for the
first meal. The first meal should be
DIV hn win
eat Let the chicks be the Judge
You cannot make them eat before they
will, nor can you force them to eat
more than they want. If deprived Of
food when needed they will suffer for
want of it. For these reasons place
the food where they can get it if they
want it, and let them alone Small
rolled oats, bread crumbs, or crumbled
corn bread is best at first. After this,
use the hard boiled egg mixed with
bread crumbs-once or twice a day
for this, not oftener. With this food
alternate the rolled oats, bread crumbs
or broken corn bread for the first
week. After this give them oatmeal
cracked wheat, very fine broken corn
and some millet seed. The mixture
of small broken grains and some corn
bread crumbled fine will grow them to
a size where they can have whole
wheat, hulled oats and broken corn
Nothing is better than this mixture of
grains. Hulled oats are the oats taken
out Of the husks-same as wheat Is
taken from its chaff.
Corn bread should be made from
corn meal mixed with sweet or sour
milk, whichever you have, few eggs
mixed with it, and some baking pow
der to make it light. Bake it as you
would if you were going to use it for
yourself. When cold crumble fine
for the young chicks. Some make it
with only water and meal, but milk
and eggs add greatly to the benefit de
rived from it's use. Mash feed, if prop
erly made aid fed, is of untold value
for growing chicks fast and large.
Considerable harm is done through the
improper use of mash or mixed food.
The benefit derived from using
mashed food is through the quick
handling of it through the crop and
into the system. Properly prepared
foods, mashed or cooked, aid in the
handling of them and quicken the
growth, and for this reason such foods
are beneficial. but poorly-prepared,
sloppy foods are injurious to them.
Finely ground corn, oats and barley,
mixed with wheat bran and middlings,
equal parts by measure. make a splen-
did mash or mixed feed. With this
may be mixed some nice, clean, sweet
meat scraps-just a little at first, and
as the chickens become used to it you
may have one-ffth Of the whole mash
of it if you like. This amount will
make the combs grow fast, and it does
not injure the market fowl. It de-
tracts, however, from the exhibition
fowl. In preparing the mash, scald
it with boiling water or milk, mixed
well. Have it just wet or moist
enough to mix nicely. When we'll
mixed, cover it with a cloth and let it
stand to swell and cool. Feed warm,
but never hot. When thus prepared
it is partly cooked and cannot do them
any harm; but when mixed cold and
fed to them raw and in watery state,
it is liable to do as much harm as
good. Much depends on the prepar-
ing and mixing of the food for good re-
suits, and all should take pains to
have it right.
At first the chicks should be fed
every two hours. AS they grow older,
feed them three or four times a day
each time as much as they will eat.
II you feed them mash, give them one
full feed OF it each day. At night
feed all the grain they will eat, and
feed it as late in the day as they can
see to eat it; and give them enough,
so there will be some for morning as
soon as they get up. Grit, green food
and fresh water they should have at
all times; and have these where
they can help themselves at will. Wet
weather will not do them so much
harm if there is a dry place for their
feet and a clean, dry coop for them to
go into out of the wet. As soon as
the chicks are large enough to shift
for themselves, they will do best in
colonies scattered about the place. The
chicks will do better if the hen is kept
continually in her coop, while they are
allowed to have their freedom. When
the hen runs with the small chicks,
they walk too much for their good.
When growing the chicks for mar
ket, feed them as much and as often