Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-27
BRooDlNo LITTLE CHICKS.
Mortality Can Ge Greatly Reduced
 By Proper Care.

In a normal season Connecticut poultrymen hatch about 2,5o0, 900 chicks with a mortality loss of about 20 per cent. Much of this could be overcome by more careful methods of care and management from the time the breeders are selected until the chicks are. feathered. Strong, healthy checks may be brooded with very little loss.
 Chicks should be kept in the incu- batter 36, or better still 4S hours after they are matched before being placed in the brooder. During the process of incubation the albumen in the egg is used for the development of the chick and the yolk is used almost entirely for nourishment. The remaining part of the yoik is absorbed into the chick S body cavity before it breaks out of the she'll There is sufficient nourish- ment in this yolk to maintain the chick for several days. Heavy feed ing at first retards the digestion of the yoik and is apt to cause bowel trouble.
 It is worth while to purchase sour skinned milk at almost any price for the first feed for little chicks. When the chicks are moved from the incu- ! bator to the brooder their beaks may Y little labor. This ensures each chick getting a little sour milk into it's di- gestive system before any other food is taken. The result is start in growth which means cheaper gains and less mortality. Milk may be kept before the chicks in shallow pans with indh wire stitched across the top tc keep them from getting wet Soul milk does not feed down well in the ordinary drinking fountain. Some poultry men who have an abundance of milk use milk and no water for the first four or five weeks with excellent results.
 It is usually considered best to move chicks to the brooder in the after moons so that they may become ac- eustomed to the hover before takir- I very much exercise. If chicks art well hover broken it means less worl i later on. A strip of wire. cardboard or roofing paper around the hover anC la few inches out from the edge O Il the hover will help to keep the chick: J from huddling outside during the frs two days. The temperature under tn, hover should be about sS degrees ol T the floor where the chicks are to lay Ehe heat should be reduced as rapid lE as possible and still keep th tiifChS Ou as soon as pOSS1Die help feather growth and hastens the tim, when they will go without heat anC take to the roosts
 There are many different ways O
 feeding little chicks which will giv
 good results. As the newly hatche,
 chick is we'll supplied with egg yoll
 and has a digestive system designe,
 to use just for grinding it seems iogi
 cal that the first feed should be gri
 and fine tracked grain The objec
 the first week is to develop a stron
 digestive system: this done heav
 feeding can follow. Home mike
 chick feed or a good grade of com
 mercial chick feed is entirely satisfac | tory. The chick feed should be scat
 tered very sparingly in a thin lave , which the chicks will soon learn t
 work fir it. Don't make the mistaS ; of overlooking at first. Keep tn chicks so hungry they will come t
 meet you each time you come to feet
 Feed chick feed three times a day tn , first four or five weeks.
 ! It usually takes about one pound c j chick feed to grow a chick up to tn