Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-03-28
THE REARING or LITTLE CHICKS.

III Mt
Before proceeding directly to the dis.
~cussion Of rearing little chicks, a brief
word In regard to the importance of
highly fertilized eggs, and how to pro-
cure them, will not be out Of place.
As I have stated in a former article, the
breeding stock must be strong and vigor-
Gus for generations back, thay must have
had no signs Of weakened vitality, no
roup or kindred diseases. They must
have clean, dry, comfortable and comnho-
dious quarters. Birds crowded in close
quarters will not produce highly fertili-
zed hatchable eggs. I do not say eggs
from such stock will not hatch, but the
chicks will be weak and In two ar three
weeks you will be crying bad luck.
Fowls must be fed properly with q
balanced ration. Where the birds have
farm range, as most of them do in this
country, they will balance their "
ration. Where they are kept in. pens
they must be given tive proper feed and
compelled to exercise for il.
Fowls will not exercise for exercise
sake, and they must take plenty Of it, as
nothing is more necessary for strong,
fertile and hatchable eggs. In a word
crowding, lice, cold, wet, disease, filth,
forcing, stimulaitts, over or under feed
lug, an exclusive diet on one thing, in
fact anything that lowers the vitality of
the breeding stock lowers the vitality of
the young chick and lessons it, chances
of reaching maturity.
Where the incubator is used, IL con-
ditions in that are wrong, the vitality of
the egg is impaired, and again we have
sickly chicks.
| have seen it stated a great many
times that it is ersy enotXk to hatch
chickens but the trouble lies iu raising
them.
take exceptions to that statement.
I claim a chick well hatcfped is half ysis-
ed. During the season of 1905 I raised
90 per cent Of the chickens Matched, with
the exceptions Of those the crows and
hawks took, and have already reported a
fixture for this season, due to wrong con
hitions ir the incubator.
After a chick is properly Matched keep
it warm, dry and properly fed and you
have a fine promise Of "A cackliiE hen or
A Growing rooster.
Where one uses brooders for rearing
the little fellows it should he perfectly
dry, warmed to a temperature of about
100 degrees under the hover. Chicks
should be carried to il in warm covered
baskets to prevent chilling, as a chill is
quickly followed by howell trouble and
death. Watch the chickens and if they
are spread out like sheep on a hillside
they are warm enough. if huddled toget.
her they need more heat. if there is no,
enough beat the chicks will pile W
undar the hover, and the weaker ones be
trampled to death or pushed to the out
side and chilled. Tbey should be con
fined very close to the hover for ripe first
two or three days until they are used te
it, then their run can be enlarged.
One very great advantage in rearing
chicks i'll breeders, is in their being alb
~so,utely free from lice, and lice is one o
the very greatest CAUSES of thcgreat NOR
tality among young chickens. When
they begin to droop and stand arount
with their eyes closed, dying with on
any apparent cause examine their head.
and you will find great lice stalsling OIL
end with their heads buried in the littl,
fellows, sapping their life.
For fear Of crowding that rooster of
. the earth again ! will stop right here
Will continue next week with "Feedin,
young chickens"
Mas. W. s. GREER.