Milford chronicle., 1917-03-16
Having Trouble With Wing Feathers
By J. H. MeFAUL, Jr.
(4H Rights Ressyvedl

As has already been stated on a number Of occa
sons. The raising Of chicks is the most difficult OF
1 all poultry problems. While of course all fowls
whether old or young are quite susceptible to dis
I ease, yet the older birds with any kind of fair
treatment VIII remain fairly healthy. Not so
\ however with the youngsters. The least thing b
/ sufficient to throw them off their balance and
cause heavy mortality.
This is particularly noticeable among the fowls
which 80 10 make up the Mediterranean class. and
one OF the most common Of complaints with refer
ence to this class is that Of wing feathers
Many breeders. whether old and experienced
ones beginners are often heard to say that the,
youngsters wings grow so rapidly as to cause the
wings TO drop. which in turn cause loss OF vitality
in the chicks and ultimately results in the death
Of many Of them
Authorities in fowldom. as a result Of many re-
quests being made upon them for q diagnosis Of
this malady or condition, have been busy for sew
eral years in an effort to solve the difficulty and To
prescribe cure. The result Of these experiments
is many different kinds of treatment. Some auth
critics suggest the pulling of the larger wing
feathers which seemingly have grown too rapidly.
Just as soon as the chick shows the first signs of
druppings while others will suggest the feeding,
OF milk instead Of water as LIQUID nourishrent
Again, there are those who advise the clipping
Of the wings rather than pulling the feathers out.
thinking that this will perhaps get rid Of the trou
BILE. Keep the wings clipped until the chick il
fairly well developed and grown says one we'll
known authority.
Whether or not any Of these so-called treatments
have any bearing on the subject at hand will not
attempt to discuss, but this ] will say am not
treating this condition after these fashions
That there is a cause for everything is my firm
belief. The Good Book teaches US that if Old
Father Adam had not signed there would be no
sin IN the world today, and Just sure as this is
true, equally it holds that there is some other
cause for chick droopngs than the rapid growth
Of the wings.
To come directly to the point which desire to
make believe that the droppinRs is the cause of
the body failing TO develop IN equal proportion To
the wings ard the production Of such chickens
san almost invariably be traced TO the incorrect
methods employed by the breeder. This is the al
rect result Of negligence or inattention TO busi-
ness, which Of itself always spells failure
Therefore as dropping of the wings Is to nv
mind the result of failure of the body to deyelop in
to that of the wings. l fail to see any
in clipping the wings in effort to re-
ieVe the condition. 1t is but waste OF time and
rouble, for in a vast majority of cases the chick
will die anyhow. and should il live, will never |
mount to very much.
/ believe that 10 is far more profitable in the end
o Kill off such specimens as are unable to carry
heir wings in normal position while in the chick
tage rather than take the time and trouble to
aise them to maturity, when they win be Of so
tile use to you. don't believe know a single
ls lance where a chick that developed droopiness
lred bird
No matter what might be said concerning the
sseruon that the condition of such chicks is not
ne result of rapid wing growth there are those ,
no WI u not believe, and for the benefit of such
real test take two chicks, one that has devel-
1ed droopiness and the other that has not Tor
ither one that carries its wings in a normal posi-
on folded nicely TO the body. Pick up both of
lese chicks at one and the same time and notite 4