The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-05-23
CARE OF CHICKS
Discussed BY University Professor In
Weekly Bulletin.

J. J. Hopper Professor of Animal In
dustry at State University, has issued
the following bulletin:
The death rate among young chicks
in this state is very high A large per
centage of this loss is due to misman-
agement At the Experiment Station
we have had splendid success in rails
ing young chicks.
The vitality of the young birds de-
ponds very largely upon the vigor of
the birds that lay the eggs. We have
ound that we get the best results from
eggs that are produced at that time in
the spring when the flock is allowed
considerable range on grass and other
green crops. During the winter it is
a common practice among poultrymen
to house their birds closely. At this
time fertility and vitality are very low
while later when the birds get out of
doors, these qualities increase.
We have found that in comparison
with the incubator andbrooder, the hen
can very satisfactorily hatch the eggs
and care for the chicks. We make
the nests out of hay or some material
that is very fine in texture. Straw
is rather coarse and allows theheat of
the broody hen to escape, while the
hay holds the heat in the nest.
When the chicks are Matched we
keep them in an incubator or allow
them to stay twelve hours with the
mother before feeding anything. Then
we feed a fine chick grit and supply
| luke warm water. The next day we
give the first feed of fine cracked
l ;ol-
but we have had splendid results from
| feeding nothing but chick feed and
grit for the first week. At the end of
ten days we feel a finely powdered
grow feed" which has in it beef
scraps, fish scraps, wheat shorts and
other ingredients. The young birds
are very fond of this and it makes
them grow rapidly. We also sprinkle
powdered charcoal in the feed once a
day. Clear water is supplied in san
| itary fountain. The water is chang
ed several times a day, as the chicks
require very large quantity of water.
When the chicks are about two weeks
| old we pull handful of green clover,
tie the stems together with a string
and hang the bunch of green material
where the little chicks can pull off the
leaves. Too much green feed will
cause the scOurs, but some of it Is
needed
The earthwOrm serves as host for
the gapeworm. Therefore chicks that
are allowed to roam over infected
| ground will contract gapes By keep
ing your chicks on the ground that
| has not become infected, we have
never had case of gapes at this Sta
ton.
When the chicks are with the hen
we provide a warm nesting box sepa-
rate from the remainder of the flock.
If we are brooding the birds under a
heated hover we are very careful to
keep the temperature at 103 degrees
F. while the chicks are young. If
the young birds become chilled they
will be weaken. Any defOrmed or
weak chicks are killed during the first
twelve hours of their lives. 1t is not a
good practice to take weak chicks
from the incubator and allow them to
run with stronger mates, because they
will contract diseases and infect the
entire flock.
If there are no trees in the yard
where we put the young birds, we
provide shade by making an awning
out of feed sacks, or cotton cloth.
Sunf1owers also make a good shade.
If the young birds when they are a
month old can run in a cultivated field
it gives them exercise and furnishes
considerable feed.
By following these methods we have
had a splendid success in the rearing
of young birds.