The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-04-05
CARE OF THE HEN AND CHICKS,

Washington, March 29.-The proper
brooding Of chickens is one Of the
most dithcult operations on many pOul-
try farms, especially for the beginner.
Many poultry keepers who are able to
obtain good egg yields and fair
matches make failure of brooding
chickens, either in raising only a.
small percentage of the chickens
Matched or in failing to rear strong,
vigorous birds which develop into
good breeding stock. BroOding is
still in the experimental stage, and no
one system has given perfect satisfac-
ton. The poultry specialists of the
U. S. department of agriculture advise
the following procedure:
Rearing Chickens With Hens
Sitting hens should be confined to
slightly darkened nests at Matching
time and not disturbed unless they
step on or pick their chickens when
Matching, in which case the chickens
should be removed as soon as dry, in
a basket lined with flannel or some
other warm material, and kept near
a fire until all the eggs are Matched;
or the eggs may be removed and plac-
GU uAuSA a 40AOSOA ASA VAOoO 1850 "a
Matching at the same time.
An incubator may also be used to
keep the earliest Matched chickens
warm, in case they are removed from
the nest. If the eggs hatch unevenly,
those which are slow in Matching may
be placed under other hens, as hens
often get restless after part of the
chickens are out, allowing the re-
| naming eggs to become cooled at the
very time when steady heat is neces-
sary. Remove the egg shells and any
eggs which have not Matched as soon
as the Matching is over. Hens should
be fed as soon as possible after the
eggs are Matched, as feeding tends to
keep them quiet; otherwise many
hens will leave the nest. In most cases
it is best that the hen remain on the
nest and brood the chickens for at
| least "a hours after the Matching is
over.
Powder the hen with a good insect
powder before moving her and the
chickens to the brood coop. The hen
should be busted every two weeks or
as often as necessary until the chick
ems are weaned. If lice become thick
on the chickens, or if they are trou-
bled with head lice," very little
grease, such as lard or vaseline, may
be applied with the fingers on the
head, neck, under the wings, and
around the vent. Great care should
be taken, however, not to get too
much grease on the chickens, as it will
stop their growth and in some cases
prove fatal.
The brood coop should be cleaned
at least once week and kept free
from mites. If mites are found in the
coop, it should be thoroughly clean
ed and sprayed with kerosene oil or
crude petroleum. From one to two
inches of sand or dry dirt or thin
layer OF straw or fine hay should be
spread on the floor of the coop. Brood
coops should be moved weekly to
fresh ground, preferably where there
is new grass. Shade is very essential
in rearing chickens, especially during
warm weather; therefore, the coops
should be placed in the shade when.
ever possible. A cornfield makes fine
range for young chickens, as owing to
the cultivation of the ground they get
many bugs and worms and have fresh
soil to run on most of the time and en-
joy abundant shade.
All the chickens should be toe
punched or marked before they are
transferred to the brooder or brood
coop, so that their ages and breedins
readily can be determined after they
are matured. Farmers frequently
keep old hens on their farms and xiii
the younger hens and pullets, because
they are unable to distinguish between
them after the pullets have matured