The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1915-04-22
CARE OF LITTLE CHICKS.
REARED BY Hem

The first care Of the little chicks
should be before the eggs are laid.
from which we expect to hatch them.
The parent stock should be strong.
healthy and vigorous; thus winning
one-half the battle for the chicks life
and giving il fair start.
Now for the hen. she should be Of a
kind disposition. Be sure that she is
is good and ready to set, sometimes
we can put eggs under hen thinking
she is ready to set when in day or two
she will leave the nest entirely. but il
she has stayed on well fer three or four
days and shows signs of fight by peck
ing when approached then she is likely
to do alright. Remove the hen to
separate house or shed or some place
provided for the purpose of setting
hens. where YOU can confine them.
Give her nest well filled with new
clean straw and few china nest eggs
under her. then If she accepts these
you can put your eggs under her. II
the hen is in place where other hens
can get to her nest to lay. then mark
the eggs by putting a small dot on
them with blueing. This will enable
you to tell her eggs from those laid in
the nest.
During the setting period, dust the
hen well every few days with some
good insect powder. and use plenty of
lice killer around the setting boxes.
"a good louise killer is three parts
kerosene to one part crude carbolic
acid.
On the twenty first day the chicks
will begin to hatch. then when they
are all out and well dried remove them
carefully to the brood coop, putting the
hen in first. Keep them confined here
for day or two in order that they can
gain strength. See that this brood
coop is rat proof, and be very careful
in removing them from the nest to the
coop to see that they do not get chilled.
The yellow of the egg. just before the
chick matches is enclosed in the abdo-
men end remains there 20 nourish the
chick until it is strong enough to get
about. Now if this nourishment gets
chilled it will harden in the abdomen
and cause the chick to have Indigestion
and bowel trouble from the very be-
ginning.
As was stated in the last paragraph
the chick is provided with food sufficient
to nourish it until il is forty eight
hours old. then at the end Of this time
feed little hard boiled egg. ground up
in an ordinary meat chopper. shell and
all. Place some fresh water before
them. Now there are many kinds of
watering fountains on the market, but
| always try to get one that they can
not paddle il to get wet. Now for the
first day or two feed eggs then go to
adding bread crumbs until YOU can do
away with the egg. Then after -four
or five days | go to feeding commercial
chick feed, which is a variety of
grains well cracked. but splendid re-
suits have been obtained from con-
tinuing with the diet.
Keep plenty of fresh water before
them at all times and remember to feed
often but not much at time. feed
FIVE times a day for the first two weeks.
They need all the sun shine they can
get at this time Of the year. DO not
be in too great hurry to let them out
of the coops of morning. wait until
the dew is off the ground, if the day is
at all gloomy and wet. feed at the coop
and let them remain up. See that
every thing about them is kept per-
fectly clean and sanitary. Wash the
drinking fountains often and clean the
coops also. The chick should be sepa-
rate from the regular poultry yard. so
that the older fowls will not bother
them. Remember the more time and
attention you give them the better
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