The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-30
FEEpINc YOUNG cHIcks-


Bulletin, Raising Chicks Artihcially,'
West Virginia Experiment Station.
Next in Importance to the temperature
at which the little chicks are kept is the
food which they receive. In the case of
a chick nature provides for its sustenance
until it is able to run about and obtain
food partly by its own efforts. The food
material thus provided consists of the
contents of the yolk sack which is slipped
into the abdominal cavity a few hours be-
fore the chick is Matched. The yolk sack
is connected with the intestine by a duct
through which the semi-fiuid mass passes
into the digestive system where it is alb
sorbed. 1t is due to this provision that 1t
is not wise to feed chicks until they are
two or three days old If fed too soon or
too much there seems to be a tendency
for the material which is present in me
yolk sack to remain unabsorbed When
this occurs putrefactlve changes soon be-
gin to take place, some of the products
thus formed pass into the circulatory sys-
tenn of the chick, bowel trouble results,
and the chick dies. Not only may the
non-absorption of the contents of the yolk
sack be caused by feeding too soon or too
much, but 1t is quite probable that this
trouble may also be caused by the breed-
ing stock being too fat or otherwise out
of condition, or by too variabl tempera-
ture or by a lack of SUFFICIENT ventilation
during the incubation of the eggs
During the first two or three days after
the chicks are Matched they require
warmth and the opportunity to gain
strength rather than to receive food They
should be supplied with water, however,
and it will do no harm If they have a
little fine chick grit at which to peck.
After the second day they are usually
fed as follows: The infertile eggs are
boiled and run through a food chopper
shell and all. The ground egg is then
thoroughly mixed with five or six times
its bulk of rolled oats. This mixture con-
stitutes the first and last meals of the day
for the first two weeks, and is fed on
shallow troughs or on plates. At the
morning meal care should be taken that
the chicks do not eat too much. They
should be left somewhat hungry at this
meal so that they will exercise during
the middle of the day by scratching for
the hard grain which is scattered in the
litter. At the evening meal they may be.
fed more literally on the egg and rolled
oats mixture. The hard grain consists of
mixture of cracked corn, cracked wheat,
oatmeal, millet seed, broken rice, etc. For
small chicks the grain should be cracked
fine, the pieces of corn not being larger
than one-half of a kernel of wheat. At
times have used the prepared chick foods
for scratching material and have found
most of them satisfactory. The fine
cracked grains should be scattered in the
litter as often as convenient so that the
chicks may be kept busily engaged all day
long hunting for the grain, and care
should be exercised that they do not find
ii too easily.
After two or three weeks cracked wheat
and cracked corn are gradually substituted
for the prepared chick food, and a mash
composed of corn-meal, wheat-bran, wheat
middlings and beef scrap is substituted
for the egg and rolled oats.
1 have also had excellent results in feed
ing chicks according to the method advo-
Gated by the Maine Experiment Station.
Briefly this method is as follows:
mixture of three parts of corn-meal,
one part wheat bran, and one part wheat
middlings or flour Is used from which to
make bread. This is mixed very stiff with
skim milk or water and sailed as usual
for bread 1t is baked in a slow oven,
and when done the loaves are split open
and returned to the oven where 1t remains
until the bread is thoroughly dry. The
crusts are then pounded until they are
pulverized The infertile eggs are hard
boiled ana ground. shell and all, in a sau-
sage mill. One part ground egg and four
parts bread crumbs are then mixed to-
gether and the mixture run through the
sausage mill or food chopper
The chicks are fed in the morning and
at night on the bread-and-egg mixture,
and during the middle of the day they
scratch in the litter for the dry cracked
grain or chick food which is provided for
them. The egg mixture is used for about
two weeks and although 1T is expensive
when infertile eggs are not available, yet
1t makes the chicks thrive wonderfully
well. Grit and charcoal must be freely
provided, and after the chicks are a few
days old green food in some form becomes
a practical necessity.