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Show SPRING CHICKENS. Hon u Pi .)..!. .) the Itcst Ones ill the tioo.l Old Way. In the middle states it is a good plan for the housewife to set every hen that shows a desire to sit after the first of March, and continue to do so until she has provided a liberal supply of chicks for family use, besides allowing herself the privilege of selecting a sufficient number of handsome pullets to take the place of superannuated old liens in the fall. By adopting this plan she will have most of her chicks come off iu April and May, the most suitable time for them, and the work of taking care of them will be soon done and over with. If she keeps one of the three most popular general purpose breeds Plymouth Rocks, Wyan-dottes Wyan-dottes or Houdans the young cockerels of the early hatch will be large enough to begin using them for the table by the first of June, while the pullets should begin to lay iu the fall, or if they contain con-tain a strain of Leghorn, during midsummer. mid-summer. Every poultry keeper knows ' that the earlier he can get his pullets to mature and begin laying, the greater profit will there be in his work. In fact, unless one does gets the pullets to laying well by September, 1 do not see how it is possible pos-sible to keep a year round engagement for eggs, for after tho moulting season sets in adult hens lay very few eggs, and often none at all for several months. Taking these facts into consideration, all keepers of fowls, whether on a large or small scale, will see at once the advantage ad-vantage of feeding young chicks liberally liber-ally from the start. Keep them growing grow-ing straight along with no stopping long enough to get sick. A healthy, robust chick will throw off a disease which a feeble, half starved little one will succumb suc-cumb to without a struggle. Keep good, wholesome, rich food within reach of them until two weeks old, then feed thrice daily until six weeks of age, after which a liberal meal morning and night is sufficient, compelling them to go off between whiles and forage. Scarcely any two people believe iu feeding fowls, alike, bnt'-tlie following is the most successful ..method 1 have tried : For the first two weeks give stale bread, one-half each of flour bread and conimeal, egg bread preferred. Soften this in hot. sweet milk and season with bits of meat chopped fine or dripping, adding. flavoring of red pepper in cool or rainy weather. For Ltlie.. ne'xt. four weeks prepare half their daily ration as at first, while the other half may consist con-sist .of Whole sound wheat and cracked corn boiled till soft. After this it ia better that one-Half their food shall consist con-sist of small dry grain, and the remainder remain-der of cither or both-kinds of "the soft cooked foods. Remember to. give1 all their food rather stiff, and let none re. main to sour or ferment. " Some feed dry grain after two weeks, or, indeed, earlier than that, but there is always .danger, that a greedy little chick may eat, more than he can manage, man-age, "and then it will swell in his crop and kill him. Scalding -the grain OTer night is to some extent a prevention. Keep some sort of grit near the coop always; al-ways; powdered eggshells, will do for the little one3. Supply green food until they are old enough to gather it for themselves, and if possible give sweet milk once a day in cool weather and twice in warm, allowing it to remain only long enough for them to drink, as much liquid is unwholesome for very young chicks. - Parasites are the most troublesome of all the little "chick's foes,' and so insidious insidi-ous are they iu their approach that we must be very watchful to circumvent them. Cleanliness is the best precaution, precau-tion, and when first putting out a brood . dust the hen and chicks with insect powder. pow-der. If this cannot be had, rub their thighs, breast and head with a bit of lard. Anointing the chicks in the same way wlu one or two weeks old .is also advised, and if a tiny bit of lard-be applied ap-plied and the .work be done at evening in clear, mild weather there is no dan-, dan-, No matter how loudly the chicks and their mother protest, keep them in their coops out of the rain, the dew and the cold, damp weather, for from whatever causes gapes accrue, we know that it seldom troubles chicks that are kept dry, warm and comfortable. To insure this, 1 find it best to place the coops of my early chicks under a long shed, which is open on one side to admit the sunshine. Here their feeding coops are also placed, so in bad weather the little fellows aro content with a nice dry run and their mother clucking in the coop near by, calling them in now and then to nestle for warnth -among her soft feathers. Such a shed as this mine is 8 by i6 feet, with an overhanging roof and earthen Moor may be built at very little expense, aud after the season for young chicks is over it forms an excellent dusting dust-ing place and-resting place too, for the rest of the Hock. H. C. Dudley iu American Amer-ican Cultivator. |
