Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-02-20
IMPORTANCE OF RAPID GROWTH AND
UNCHECKED DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKS
Feeding, Ventilation and
Avoidance of OOercroWd-
ing Should Be Watched
Profits Lie in Quick and
Steady Maturity of the
Flock
BY James y. Hopkins
Poultry Editor, Lecturer and Author.
COPYRIGHT, 1915

The beginner cannot fail to note
to perfect maturity. He may get dis
couraged by results obtained by the
more experienced poultryman. But
chicks aren't like 'Topsy"
don't just grow. They must be helped
to grow. They must be helped to
grow, and such things as proper feed
Ing, avoidance of overcrowding, COR
rect ventilation, etc, should be care
fully watched. Strong. healthy, egg
bearing hocks will be the reward of
care in these matters. The following
article is full of good advice.
The beginner of last year, in look
ing back on his first effort at rearing
chicks will realize the fact that he did
not grow all the chicks hatched and
that the chicks that did pass from
chickhood to maturity were not as
large or as strong, or did not mature
as fast as these, raised by the eXpe-
rienced poultry raiser. For this con-
dition there is cause.
The beginner in any line of busi-
ness cannot hope to do as well as the
more experienced manager, yet with
vice cleaned from the poultry press,
good foundation for his future work
is laid out. But even with all the ad-
vice from the pens of those who have
made good, experience must in a
measure be the final stepping stone to
success and this cannot be gained in
one short setson's work. 1t is cor
recting the mistakes made and never
repeating them that assure final sue
cess.
One and a very important essential
to success in poultry raising, is the
proper rearing of the chicks. Incu-
baton plays an important part and,
before that, the breeding stock. But
after the eggs have, been properly
hatched from good strong stock,
comes one of the most important con-
lsideration in poultry raising, namely,
the successful rearing of chicks.
Many a good breeder has sent to the
beginner the best eggs and has had
the blame of selling eggs from scrub
stock because the beginner neglected
to properly raise the stock, with the
result that the matured stock was
both under weight and of poor shape.
1t is an undisputed fact that to Sc
cure the best and proper shape in any
breed the chicks must be grown prop
erly. Many a breeders success in the
showroom is due to his knowledge OF
growing the proper matings without a
check. 1t holds good on the CONNER
cial egg farm, where the winter eggs
must be produced in order to make a
profit. The experienced growers on
these egg farms know how to prop
erly grow the pullets SO they will ma
ture at the proper time. To grow
many hundred of pullets and have
them checked in development would
mean loss that even a good spring
production could not overcome. So
the importasce of properly growing
the chicks can be readily seen.
Value of Improved Breeders
With the improved brooderS now on
the market that give uniform heat
and many of them good ventilation,
the brooding problem is being solved
rapidly, yet there are still many how
ers that are poorly ventilated, and
great care should be used in the Sc
lection of the brooder.
Proper heat essential and too
much heat rather than too little is de-
sirable, for a chilled chick during
the first ten days is as good as a dead
one. Extreme heat, is weakening.
Therefore the beginner should see
that a proper degree of heat is main
tanned for the first ten days.
In the smaller hovers not more
than fifty chicks should be placed un-
ers, with capacity for 500 to 1900
chicks, one-half that number will do
better. In many cases the brooders
now made are too small for fifty
chicks after they reach the age of four
to eight weeks, and a secondary
brooder with more space should be
provided, or the flock should be di-
vided.
Again, every beginner should realize
be cannot always follow the footsteps
with the same success of the breeder
of years of experience. So the smaller
flock is the best in the long run. One
need not employ forced feeding meth
ods If the chicks are properly
handled.
4 WelI-balanced Ration
But well-balanced ration of bran,
ground oats, mealed alfalfa, middlings
in dry mash and placed before the
chicks at all times after they are eight
or ten days old is good practice. The
writer uses 200 pounds of bran, 100
of middlings, 100 of ground oats, 100
of mealed alfalfa and 10 per cent. of
high-grade beef scraps. The best
grade commercial chick feed is scat
tered in the litter four or five times
a day, until the chicks are eight
weeks old, when coarser grains are
fed. When milk can be obtained
cheaply enough it is a welcome addi-
ton to the ration.
Wbnn taken from the brOOder and