| Show IRE AND tiel OF BABI CHICKS within the next three months washington county will have added to her chicken population 10 baby chicks how are we going to feed and care for these chicks it is the purpose of this article to dis cuss briefly the care and feeding of baby chicks when the chicks are removed from the incubator they should be placed in a brooder which has a a tern tem pera ture of about 95 degrees F this temperature should be regular eded carefully for the first few days fountains of water and it if available buttermilk or sour skim milk should be placed just out side the hover or brooder it if chicks are fed all the milk they will drink meat scraps need not be fed one pound of ground meat scraps is equal in feed value to about 16 15 pounds of butter milk or skim milk the chicks should not be fed until they are about 65 hours old when the chick is hatched a good portion of the yolk is still undigested in its body and should be absorbed before the chicks digestive organs are ready to handle other food if the chick Is 24 hours old when put in the brooder it will have from 36 to 40 hours in which to gain strength and pre pare the digestive system for other food if the chick la Is 24 hours old when put in the brooder it will have from 36 to 40 hours in which to gain strength and prepare the diges tive system for other food the university of california poultry farm advises the feeding at first arst a mixture of equal parts by weight of cracked wheat fine cracked corn and fine chopped hulled pats or barley barfey this grata grain feed should be left before them all the time while they are learning to eat which will take about two days it will ba be observed that chicks pick a lot at first but swallow very little after the second day the above chopped grain teed feed should not be fed in a hopper but sprinkled upon the sand just out side the hopper after the fourth day a little fine cut alfalfa hay should be scattered over the sand and the chopped grain sprinkled in this in this the chicks will scratch and get the desired exercise which will make them strong and help prevent disease when the chicks are about 7 days old this scratch feed should be fed twice a day about pint of grain at each feeding to each chicks will be sufficient As the chicks grow the about of grain should be increased this may be done by watching the litter and feeding only the amount they will clean up tip when the chicks are 7 days old a dry iry mash should be introduced la the diet this mash should be fed for about two or three hours in the morning and then removed A dry mash of the following proportions by weight may bs be used 26 bran 26 25 shorts 12 clo corn meal 12 very finely ground bone meal 26 25 meat scrap if the chicks are fed all the milk they will drink the meat scraps need not be used the above ration may be fed until the chicks are two months old then the whole grain scratch feed and the laying dry mash feed should bs be cra gradually dually substituted dr raymond pearl of the expert ment station orono maine obtain ed good results by feeding infertile eggs boiled for half aa an hour and then ground in a meat chopper shells in eluded and then mixed with about six times their bulk of rolled oats this mixture he fed for two or three days andl the chicks had learned how to eat on the third day he in produced trod a chopped grain ration as discussed above prof lewis of the new jersey tion calls attention to the necessity of feeding grit and shell the giz eard zard of the chick should be made to function soon after hatching and this is possible only as its the chick gets the desired grit its teeth during the first or second week the shell will supply the allm so essential in the tor formation mation of the bone fresh tender greens such su e h as its fa lawn clippings lettuce beet tops cabbage young green barley etc should be fed three or four times dally after the chicks are a 9 week old it must be kemem remembered bared that the method of feeding is fully as important as the feed materials fed the rearing of a large percent of strong chicks is the insult of 1 vigorous well bred breeding stock 2 skilful feeding and 3 roomy healthful quarters V M tanner dept of agriculture D N C it may be possible to reform the dance in this country provided we first reform the dancers hope they thoy gay my arwa as it |
