As so few breeders seem to have any clearly-defined ideas as to the
proper mode of caring for newly-hatched or growing chicks, and beginners
are not only wholly at sea in this respect, but have no place to which
they may turn and acquire the information that they have not yet been
able to gain through experience (which is by odds the best teacher, as
we are seldom able to profit by the experience of others), we have
thought best to prepare a few distinct and common-sense instructions,
which we have endeavored to render as full and explicit as possible,
without being so tedious or complicated as to mislead in any way the
novice.
To start with, there is one essential point in raising these delicate
little creatures—_care_. Give them plenty of care, and they will
thrive—_proper_ care, we mean. There are three primary things to be
guarded against in caring for very young chickens:
1. Chilling.
2. Vermin.
3. Indigestible food.
For the first week, perhaps, nearly every old hen is faithful to her
little brood, and guards them with that maternal tenderness for which
she has been made the symbol of motherly love. But this care soon
wearies her, and in a few days she begins to neglect them, marching
around in the chill and drenching rains of spring, and dragging her
little brood after her through the damp grass, entirely oblivious of
their sufferings; and one by one they drop off and are left behind,
chilled through, or seized with cramp. Only the most persevering are
able to keep up, until, perhaps seized with a pang of remorse, she
spreads her wings and allows the little ones to find a temporary shelter
beneath her warm feathers. Even the strongest often succumb to
rheumatism and die after this dangerous exposure. This picture is not
overdrawn; it is of common occurrence. A proper coop, therefore, for the
hen and chicks, as soon as they are able to leave the nest is, and
always will be, regarded as a necessity.
Vermin is the second evil to be guarded against. Examine the chicks
carefully when first hatched, and should you find any lice on either
them or the hen, let your first move be to rid them of these pests,
which will else surely prove fatal to the young birds. Procure some
Dalmatian or Persian Insect Powder, and dust them thoroughly with it
until their tormentors are exterminated. And here let us recommend
_cleanliness_ in everything. The tender chicks cannot live in filth,
which breeds disease more rapidly than anything else. Keep your coops
clean, your houses clean, and your runs clean. It is a very important
element of success—indispensable, in fact.
On the _food_ depends in a great measure the growth and health of the
chicks. _Indigestible_ food avoid by all means. By indigestible we mean
sloppy and dirty food, and that which is sour. The best feed at first is
pure, sweet bread and milk, and hard-boiled eggs and bread crumbs mixed
together and crumbled with the fingers. Let them always have access to
plenty of pure water. Any form of grain is good for them as soon as they
will eat it, and after they are a few days old they will thrive on
cracked corn and oatmeal. As they get older whole wheat is an excellent
growing food. Green stuff they should have constantly after they are a
week old, and if it is too early in the season to give them grass, feed
a little lettuce, clipped fine with scissors, at least once a day. At
ten days of age they are ready to thrive on whole wheat as they will on
nothing else. Give them plenty of bone now, and never let your efforts
flag to _keep them growing_. When the chicks are fully feathered the
many dangers which constantly beset the lives of the youngsters are
usually safely passed, and, barring all accidents, it is pretty safe to
suppose that they will now pull through.
Nine out of every ten breeders then breathe a sigh of relief, and settle
down to a quiet summer, or leave home. The tenth breeder is sharper. He
not only stays at home, but he redoubles his attentions to his young
flock. He realizes that _now_ is the time when these future prize
winners demand all the care which he can bestow to _keep them growing_
finely. And he is right. It won’t do to slack up now. They need a
different kind of care. From endeavoring to keep the breath of life in
the little things, he changes his attention to a system of judicious
feeding, calculated to keep them growing rapidly during the propitious
summer weather. Alas, for the chick whom the cold weather catches
half-developed and half-feathered! August, September and October are the
finest growing months in the year, and those chicks which now have a
good start, if properly cared for and judiciously forced, will be the
ones to make a fine showing at the next winter’s exhibitions. In growing
they need plenty of bone meal and oyster shells, and an occasional
supply of fresh meat, if worms are not plentiful. Do not force them too
much, as in Hamburgs it induces the comb to lop and grow to an
undesirable size. Again let us recommend plenty of pure, cool water, and
vegetable food in quantity. Little attentions are never thrown away, but
will be amply repaid in time in a vigorous, large and healthy flock of
fowls.