The hovers are raised every morning to learn the exact condition of the entire brood after the night.
Green Food Third Day
On the third day green food is added to the ration, in the form of the tops of Sprouted Oats. Never feed the rooty mass to the youngsters for it is almost sure to upset them. The smallest chick has no difficulty breaking up and getting away with Oat Sprouts from one and a half to two inches long, and there is nothing they like so well.
Animal Food Tenth Day
The regular ration is continued with judgment, for in feeding it is to be remembered that judgment must be exercised at all times. After the tenth day animal food is added to the ration, commencing with a small handful of The Corning Egg Farm Mash, thrown on top of the litter. Where beef scraps are used to supply the animal food they may be fed alone, and this was done at first on The Corning Egg Farm, but for the last three years we have fed the green bone in the mash mixture. It, however, must be fed with great care, and the bone used for this purpose must be most carefully selected, and must be absolutely fresh.
It must be remembered that even one or two ham bones, or corned beef bones mixed in the ration would mean the loss of a great many chicks. Shank bones and briskets, when obtainable, are ideal for this purpose, and during the Brooding season these are selected out and kept for what is termed the “baby’s mash.” With the introduction on the tenth day of the Mash, the noon-day feeding of Corning Chick Food is discontinued.
By the time the youngsters are four weeks old the hovers have been removed entirely, and one finds that the little fellows will lie very contentedly, spread out on the floor, so long as the temperature in the Brooder House is kept up to 85° three feet above the floor, as before indicated.
Avoid Moving Chicks Often
The removal of the chicks from the hover runs into the nurseries, as formerly practiced on The Corning Egg Farm, has been entirely discontinued. A chick in many respects resembles a flower; every time it is moved or transplanted it receives a certain setback. For this reason the great Brooder House has all been turned into hover runs, and the chicks make one move from the Brooder House to the Colony House. A moving generally represents not only a slight setback, but some mortality through accident and the change itself.
The small chick doors into the outside runs are opened, if the weather is propitious, about the fifth or sixth day in the early part of the hatching season, and on the third or fourth day later on. The chicks are never driven into the yard, any more than they are driven down the inclined plane, but it is always our method to allow the youngsters to seek a new field for themselves, and slowly. When they go out into the yard they are watched, and if there is any inclination to huddle up against the warm side of the building they are driven back into the Brooder House.