For about twenty-four hours after birth, the chickens can not only do
well enough without any extraneous nourishment, but will be far more
likely to thrive subsequently, if let alone, than if crammed or incited
to eat prematurely. More chickens are destroyed by over-feeding than are
lost by the want of it. It is, however, well to turn them in among other
chickens that already feed themselves; they will, in such cases,
generally follow the example of the rest, and pick away at whatever is
around.
[Illustration: MARQUEE OR TENT-SHADED COOPS.]
A roomy, boarded coop, in a dry, sunny spot, is the best position for
them during the first month; after which it may be left open during the
day, for the hen to retire to when she pleases. In quiet grassy places,
it is scarcely necessary to coop the hen at all. As to food, they may
have every thing which is not absolutely poisonous; though if wet food
is given, the chicken is thus obliged to take water, whether it requires
it or not, in order to get a sufficient supply of solid food, and
diseased bowels will be likely to follow; whereas, if the food is dry,
they can supply themselves with food and water according to their
pleasure. If Indian meal is well boiled, and fed not too moist, it will
answer a very good purpose, particularly after they are eight or ten
days old. Pure water must be placed near them in such a manner as to
enable them to drink without getting into the water, which, by wetting
their feathers, benumbs and injures them. Meat and insect diet are
almost necessary; but, whatever the food, the meals must be given at
short intervals; as much as they can swallow, and as often as they can
eat. With all their industry, they are only half-clad till flesh and
bone stop growing for a while, and allow down and feathers to overtake
them.
Chickens should not be let out of their coops too early in the morning,
or whilst the dew is on the ground; still less should they be suffered
to range over the wet grass, which is a common cause of disease and
death. They should also be guarded against sudden unfavorable changes of
the weather, more particularly if attended with rain. Nearly all the
diseases of gallinaceous fowls arise from cold moisture.
The period at which they are left to shift for themselves depends upon
the disposition of the hen. Some will continue their attentions to their
chickens till they are nearly full-grown, while others will cast them
off much earlier. In the latter case, an eye should be kept upon them
for a few days; for chickens in this half-grown state are much more
liable to disease than when they were apparently tender little
weaklings, crowded under their mother's wings. They should be kept in a
dry, warm, place; dryness is especially necessary.
If the chickens feather rapidly when very young--as is the case with the
Golden Pheasant, Black Poland, Guelderland, and some others--they are
always weakly, however healthy in other respects, from the fact that
their food goes to sustain their feathers rather than their bodies; and
they frequently languish and die, from this circumstance alone. If, on
the other hand, they feather slowly, as do the Cochin Chinas, Shanghaes,
and others, the food in early life goes to nourish and sustain their
bodies until they become more vigorous, and old enough to sustain the
shock of feathering without detriment. Pure tan-colored Dorkings are
more easily raised than others of the race, because they feather more
slowly.
Chickens which feather rapidly must be kept perfectly dry and warm, or
they will die; while naked chickens, as they are termed, or those which
feather at a more advanced age, and very slowly, seldom suffer from the
cold, from the fact that their down is very warm, and their blood is
hotter, and circulates more rapidly; since their food principally goes
to blood, and flesh, and bones, and not to feathers.
REARING OF GUINEA FOWLS. For the young of these, ants' eggs, so called,
hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, small worms, maggots, bread-crumbs,
chopped meat, or suet--whatever, in short, is most nutritious, is the
most appropriate food. This need not be offered to them in large
quantities, as it would only be devoured by the mother Bantam as soon as
she saw that they had for the time satisfied their appetites, or it
would be stolen by other birds; but it should frequently be administered
to them in small supplies. Feeding them three, four, or five times a
day, is not often enough; every half hour during daylight they should be
tempted to fill their craws, which are soon emptied again by an
extraordinary power and quickness of digestion.
The newly-hatched Guinea fowl is a tiny creature, and its growth is,
consequently, very rapid, requiring incessant supplies. A check once
received can never be recovered. They do not, in such cases, mope and
pine for a day or two; like young turkeys under similar circumstances,
and then die; but, in half an hour after being in apparent health, they
fall on their backs, give a convulsive kick or two, and fall victims, in
fact, to starvation. The demands of Nature for the growth of bone,
muscle, and particularly of feathers, are so great, that no subsequent
abundant supply of food can compensate for a fast of a couple of hours.
The feathers still go on growing in geometrical progression, and drawing
the sources of vitality still faster than they can be supplied, till the
bird faints and expires from inanition.
A dry, sunny corner in the garden will be the best place to coop them
with their bantam hen. As they increase in strength, they will do no
harm, but much good, by devouring worms, grubs, caterpillars, maggots,
and all sorts of insects. By the time their bodies are little longer
than those of sparrows, they will be able to fly with some degree of
strength; other additions to their complete stature are successively and
less immediately developed, the spurs, comb, and ornamental plumage not
appearing till a subsequent period.
When they are about the size of thrushes, or a little larger, unless the
summer be very fine, the bantam may be allowed to range loose in the
orchard and shrubbery, and no longer permitted to enter the garden. The
young must, however, still receive a bountiful and frequent supply of
food; they are not to be considered safe till the horn on their head is
fairly grown. Oatmeal is a great treat; cooked potatoes, boiled rice, or
any thing, in short, that is eatable, may be thrown to them; they will
pick the bones left after dinner with evident satisfaction. The tamer
they can be made, the less troublesome will they be when grown; the more
kindly they are treated, the fatter will they be for food, and the
better price will they bring in market.
For rearing the young of the _pea fowl_, the same directions will be
found useful, and should be carried out in practice.
REARING OF TURKEYS. Much quackery has been recommended in the treatment
of young turkeys. Nothing, however, should be given to them, nothing
done for them; they should remain in the nest, under the shelter of
their mother's wings, for at least eight or ten hours; if hatched in the
afternoon, till the following morning. The hen should then be placed on
the grass, in the sun, under a roomy coop. If the weather is fine, she
may be stationed at any point desired, by a long piece of flannel-list
tied round one leg, and fastened to a stump or stone.
At first, a few crumbs of bread should be offered; for some hours, the
little ones will be in no hurry to eat; but, when they do commence, they
should be supplied constantly and abundantly with chopped egg, shreds of
meat and fat, curd, boiled rice mixed with cress, lettuce, and the green
of onions; melted mutton-suet poured over barley-meal, and cut up when
cold, as also bullock's liver boiled and minced, are excellent things.
Young turkeys do not like to have their food minced much smaller than
they can swallow it, preferring to make a meal at three or four
mouthfuls, rather than to trouble themselves with the incessant pecking
and scratching in which chickens so much delight. Pepper will be found
particularly useful in feeding them; as, indeed, all stimulating
vegetables, such as horse-radish, and the like.
Young turkeys are sometimes attacked by _fasciolae_, or worms in the
trachea; but not so often as chickens. Cramp is the most fatal to them,
particularly in bad weather. A few pieces of board laid under and about
the coop are useful; sometimes rubbing the leg with spirit will bring
back the circulation.
The time when the hen may be allowed full liberty with her brood depends
most upon the season, the situation, etc. Some think that if the young
are thriving, the sooner the old ones are out with them the better,
after the first ten days or so. A safer rule may be fixed at the season,
called "shooting the red," when young turkeys approach the size of a
partridge, or before the granular, fleshy excrescences on the head and
neck begin to appear; soon after, the whole plumage, particularly the
tail-feathers, shoot into rapid growth, and liberal nourishment is
imperatively required. If let loose at this time, they will obtain much
foraging, and still be thankful for all that is given to them.
Caraway-seeds, as a tonic, are beneficial, if added to plenty of barley,
boiled potatoes, chopped vegetables, and refuse meat. At this time the
turkeys, naturally enough, begin to be troublesome and voracious; they
have to grow from the size of a lark to twelve or fourteen pounds, in
eight or nine months. One great merit in old birds is, that in
situations where nuts, acorns, and mast are to be had, they will lead
off their brood to these, and all of them will abstain, comparatively,
from ravaging other crops.
[Illustration: DUCK-POND AND HOUSES.]
REARING OF DUCKLINGS. The best mode of rearing the young of ducks
depends very much upon the situation in which they are hatched. It is
customary to dip their feet in water as soon as they are hatched, and
then to clip the down on their tails close with a pair of scissors, to
prevent their becoming drabbled and water-logged; and before their
introduction to the pond, which should not be until a day or two after
hatching, it is thought advisable by many to let them have a private
swim or two in a small pan of water, that they may try their strength
and practice their webbed feet before venturing upon a larger space.
For the first month, the confinement of the mother under a coop is
better than too much liberty. Their first food may be boiled eggs,
nettles, and a little barley; all kinds of sapped food, cornmeal and
water mixed thin, worms, etc., suit them; they will also greedily eat
cabbages or other greens, mixed with boiled bran; and this mess, with
the addition of pepper, forms a valuable dietetic. In a few days, they
require no care, being perfectly able to shift for themselves; but at
any age they are the most helpless of the inhabitants of the
poultry-yard, having no weapons with which to defend themselves from
vermin, or animals of prey, and their awkward, waddling gait precluding
their seeking safety in flight. The old duck is not so brave in defence
of her brood as the hen; but she will, nevertheless, display at times
much spirit. The young seldom die of any disease, and with proper
precaution there will be no trouble in raising almost as many ducklings
as are hatched. They come early to maturity, being nearly full-grown and
in fine eating order at three months old; far excelling, in this
respect, all other poultry, except geese.
None are more successful in rearing ducklings than those who keep them,
for the first period of their existence, in pens two or three yards
square, and cram them night and morning with long, dried pellets of
flour and water, or egg and flour, until they are judged old enough to
be turned out with their mother to forage for themselves. They are
cheerful, harmless, good-natured, cleanly creatures, carefully washing
themselves, and arranging their dress, before commencing their meals;
and the healthy heartiness of their appetite is amusing, rather than
disgusting.
REARING OF GOSLINGS. For the first three or four days, goslings must be
kept warm and dry, and fed on barley-meal, or oatmeal, mixed with milk,
if easily procurable; if not, with water. They will begin to grow in
about a week. For a week or two, they should not be turned out until
late in the morning, and should always be taken in early in the evening.
Their great enemy is the cramp, which can be kept off by making them
sleep on dry straw. A little boiled rice, daily, assists their growth;
with corn, of course, as soon as they can eat it. When goslings are
first allowed to go at large with their mother, every plant of hemlock
which grows within their range should be pulled up, as they are very apt
to eat it, and it generally proves fatal. Nightshade is equally
pernicious to them; and they have been known to be poisoned by eating
sprigs of yew-tree.
The young of _Bremen geese_, when first hatched, are of a very delicate
and tender constitution. It is best to let them remain in the
breeding-box in which they are hatched for twenty-four hours after they
leave the shell. This should, however, be regulated by the weather;
since, if it is fair and warm, they may be let out an hour or two in the
middle of the day, when they will wet their little bills and nibble at
the grass. They ought not to be out in the rain at any time during the
first month; and both geese and goslings should be shut up in the boxes
at night, during the same period, as a protection against rats and
vermin. A very shallow pool, dug in the yard, with a bucket or two of
water thrown into it, to suit the temporary purpose of bathing, is
sufficient during that period. If well fed on grain from the time they
are hatched, twenty-five pounds weight can be secured, at seven or eight
months old. By feeding them till four days old, and then literally
turning them out to grass, an average weight of from seventeen to
eighteen pounds each has been attained, at that age after the feathers
are cleanly picked off.