Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-11
POULTRY YARD NOTES.

| without bottom, resting on the ground
When the chicks hatch their coop should
be placed in a shady place and as long
as the morning dews are heavy they
should be kept in until the grass is dry.
! Late-hatched chicks should not be fed
as heavily as chicks are fed in cooler
weather. and cracked corn and cornmeal
should be almost entirely eliminated from
| their diet. They should have cool water
always before them. During warm
| weather water for the little chicks should
! box standing on its side in which the
| water fountain is set helps to keep the
water cool
The chicks must be provided with
ly watched for lice, especially head lice.
They should be examined for these at
least once week, and il head lice are
found the chicks should Immediately
have their heads creased with mix
ture of two parts of melted lard to one
part of kerosene, kept thoroughly
mixed
These late chicks must have runs to
mingle with the larger chicks they will
quickly be stunted by being run over and
trampled at feeding time and by being
crowded away from the mash boxes.
They should have roomy. cool resting
places and should not be allowed to
crowd at night
There is no doubt that chicks take
plenty of care. but. while all these
precautions nave 10 ne TAKEN, tHeIe al Z
other compensations. For one thing,
there are fewer heavy rains in the
summer than in the spring, and also
if too Industrious hen begins to lay
and will pay no more attention to her
brood. the weather is warm enough
so that they do very we'll without her.
At any rate. whatever trouble these
late chicks are is generously paid for
when some of them mature into valu-
able breeding or exhibition birds, which
he rel "a from twice
to five times the amount of money
paid for the eggs.
The practical experienced poultry
man seldom loses a chick by disease.
unless operating on a very large scale,
writes a correspondent of the Ameri-
can Agriculturist. But it has been my
pleasure to meet several beginners In
the poultry field this year. Their en-
thusiasm is an inspiration, but l am
very thankful that it was not my lot to
be a chicken under their well mean
ing but laundering care. One begin
ner had lost several matches by white
diarrhea. Inquiry developed the fact
that their food for the first two weeks.
which was time enough to wipe out
the brood. had consisted wholly of
rolled oats and boiled eggs. with. OF
course. plenty of water to drink:
are several weeks old and then in
mixture with other grains I found
that it invariably made the chickens
paste up behind. The same is true
strong in protein to be fed alone.
always keep my infertile eggs in the
cellar until the chicks are two to three
weeks old. and then begin feeding
few at time in a mash. The eggs
will keep for weeks. and at that rate
the chicks make first-rate use of them.
Another inexperienced chicken wom-
an was losing a large number with
gapes. They were kept on the same
old roosting coop sites that had been
The simple plan of putting the broods
in the orchard or on the other side OF
the buildings from that used in pre-
vious years would have prevented this
by keeping the fowls away from in
fected ground.
Failure to plan the coops and brood
ers for good protection from heavy
rains caused a great loss with an
other poultry farmer. If possible l
place my GOODS under an old shed. or
at least am sure that retreat from the
storm is not only possible but the easy
and natural thing for the chicks to do.
Another friend lost over seventy
chicks in one night from rats. and
trouble, but it has never come my
way as we keep good cat and use
traps frequently when signs of them
are seen. This year We found large
.. d
as they continued We placed coal tar
at the entrance of the holes and then
sprinkled cayenne pepper around the
outside.
Indigestion troubles are prevalent in
the poultry flock and can almost al
Ways be traced to food or care. Too
close confinement is another great
trouble breeder. I give all the liberty
possible under the circumstances, with
the hens turned loose If possible. Lack
of exercise and too close quarters lead
to poorly developed bodies and other
ills. such as pecking each other and
feather or toe pulling.
brooder in order to be satisfactory
must have a provision for constantly
introducing fresh. warm air under the
hover for the chicks to breathe. A
warmed box with no provision for eff
fective ventilation compels the chicks
to breathe the same air over and over
again and it soon becomes practically
poisonous.
Crude oil is good for chickens that
have scaly legs. Dip or rub their legs
in 1t every other day or so. 1t will
remove all the scales.
POULTRY, DOGS, PET STOCK.