The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1915-04-09
The Time of Year
for Baby Chicks

This is the time of the year for
ssBaby Chicks" There are very few
sights which cause ones face to light
with smiles more than to see brood
OF nice, fluffy, thrifty, little chickens.
Too often the scene changes in four
or five days, and the hopes Of the
owners are blighted for the little
chickens grow sick and weak, finally
dying, and the owner cannot locate
the trouble. Many causes Of trouble
with baby chicks may be traced to
one of three sources, namely, heat
(too much or not enough,) feeds, or
crowding.
While the chick was yet in the shell
the egg may have been heated to such
an extent that the yolk was hardened
till it could not be used by the chick,
vet the heat was not great enough to
kill the chick. Chicks in this condition
look strong and healthy for few
days, but soon get sick and die. This
condition is found with chickens
hatched in incubators only, as the
hens temperature does not get high
enough to cause this trouble.
After the chicks hatch, the mistake
is often made Of keeping them too
warm, which has tendency to
weaken them. The best brooders are
arranged so the chicks can find the
temperature they like.
Letting the chicks get chilled is
just as injurious.
The second cause for losses among
baby chicks is the feed. Just before
the chick is Matched it takes the yolk
into it's body. This is little lunch
basket given to the chick by nature to
supply it with food until it learns how
to eat after it comes out into the big
world. Much has been said about feed
ing baby chicks as to what, when, and
how to feed. Some people seem to
think that because little chick is
picking at everything it sees that il
is hungry, SO they feed 1T at once
The little chick is new creature in a
strange land investigating through
curiosity and is not really hungry
Other people know that the chick has
the yolk inside its body and that II
contains food enough to last the chick
for several days so do not feed it fol
three or four days.
These are the extremes and may
either of them do injury to the chick
To feed them as soon as hatched would
gorge the digestive system with too
much food, and to wait four or five
days, the labor required of the diges-
tive system would be too great for its
strength.
The better plan is to begin feeding
small quantities Of food at from "A to
48 hours and increase the feed as the
yolk decreases. Nature does not like
abrupt changes. Hard boiled eggs
ground fine, shell and all, mixed with
bread crumbs are good for the first
two days, then change gradually to
rolled oats and wheat bran. After the
chicks are five or six days old, feed a
mash composed Of equal parts of
wheat bran, rolled oats, shorts, corn
meal and to each 100 pounds, add one
half pound fine table salt and two
pounds of fine charcoal.
In the afternoon moisten enough of
the dry mash with sour milk or butter
milk that it will take the chickens
twenty or thirty minutes to clean il
up. Do not mix enough feed that
some will be left to spoil.
Begin gradually to feed good
grade of scratch feed, feeding but
very little at first. Keep grit before
them all the time. 1t is good prac.
tice to give few drops of sour mill
or butter milk to the chick as soon al
it matches. It helps to control diar'
rhoea. Keep either good grade Of
sour milk or water before them at al
times.
The third cause for trouble is GROVE
ing. A chicken cannot sweat like any
animals do, for they have no sweat
glands in the skin, therefore, much Of
the impurities and moisture must bt
carried out through the breath. Il
the chickens are crowded without pro.
per ventilation, the air becomes lader
with moisture and impurities so that
the air cannot do the work it should
This places an unusual strain on the
kidneys, which results in weakened
system. The chickens come out in
the morning weak and lottery with
little or no appetite. This is otter
responsible for the weak, low vitality
birds after they get older.
If a chick is properly hatched, fec
and cared for, there are very few dis
eases which will affect it.
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