Profitable poultry

by W. B. Tegetmeier

The chicken require neither food nor drink on the day on which they are hatched; in fact, both are injurious, as they interfere with the natural digestion of the yolk, which is absorbed into the bowels at the period of hatching, and constitutes the first food. If grits, oatmeal, &c., are spread before the hen on the twenty-first day, she is induced to leave the nest, and the last hatched chicken, which are not perhaps yet dried, are unable to follow, and being weakly, perish; or unhatched eggs may be left.

If undisturbed, the hen seldom leaves the nest on the twenty-first day, and on the twenty-second the chicken will be found strong enough to follow her, and any unhatched eggs may be destroyed, for those chicken that are not then able to follow her will seldom be found to repay the trouble that may be taken with them. The plan of cramming peppercorns and other spices down the throats of chicken is cruel in the extreme, and moreover, exceedingly injurious. I have found the best food to be two-thirds sweet coarse oatmeal and one-third barley meal, mixed into a crumbly paste with water; this is very much relished, and the chicken make surprising progress upon it, they are also very fond of a little cold oatmeal porridge, and, by way of variety, I sometimes give them a few scalded grits dusted over with a little barley meal to cause them to separate.

Milk is frequently used to mix the barley or oatmeal, but from the extent to which it is then exposed to the air it soon becomes sour in summer, and is decidedly injurious if employed in that state; no more food, therefore, should be mixed with milk than can be eaten in a couple of hours. Sopped bread is by no means desirable, the chicken become weakly and affected with diarrhœa from its use, in fact it has not that degree of solidity which is requisite to afford an opportunity for the exercise of the natural grinding action of the gizzard. A little chopped onion, or, still better, some finely shred green onion tops mixed with the food is highly advantageous, and, in the opinion of many persons, lessens very much the susceptibility to roup.

With regard to animal food there is none equal to the natural supply of worms and insects obtained by the hen; small worms, or a barrow full of mould, containing an ant’s nest, may be given if the chicken are in a confined situation, and will be found far superior to boiled egg, chopped meat, or any more artificial substitute. Curds are frequently used, and, I believe, furnish the best substitute for the natural insect food, but I have had no experience in their use, as I have never kept, nor even think it desirable to keep fowls, or at all events to rear chicken, in situations where their natural food is unattainable. It is requisite that chicken should either have a constant supply of food or be fed at very short intervals—even every hour is not too often, if practicable.

Cooping, which is so frequently employed to restrain the wandering of hens with chicken, I regard as exceedingly objectionable. In many cases I admit it to be a necessary evil, but not the less an evil; a hen when cooped has no power of scratching for insects and worms (the best of all possible food), the chicken are therefore confined strictly to the artificial diet with which they are supplied. Whatever also may be the difference in the temperature of the day or change of weather, she cannot alter her position, or seek shelter from cold, wind, or wet; the ground under the coop becomes foul unless the latter is moved frequently, and the hen does not so soon recover the effects of her confinement in sitting as when she is allowed her liberty and obtains green food to peck at.

It is frequently said that when hens are not cooped they roam so far that the chicken become fagged, and that oftentimes they are left behind by the hen. I believe that if the hen and chicken are well fed, and at short intervals, this will not occur; but should giving them their entire liberty be objectionable, the plan of enclosing a small run with laths, wire-work, or netting, may be had recourse to. These contrivances may be either moveable or fixed; in the latter case the ground in the run may be turned up with the spade or fork occasionally, so as to give the hens fresh soil to scratch in. Many persons say they cannot confine their fowls in this manner, as they fly over; a little attention to the habits of the birds would enable them to prevent this inconvenience. Fowls never fly over any boundary, but always on to it, preparatory to descending on the other side, and if the top is constructed in such a manner that they cannot rest upon it, they evince a great disinclination to attempt the passage. The plan I adopt is to have five or six feet laths of a greater or less degree of stoutness as required, nailed three inches apart to two horizontal rails, the lower near the ground, the upper being eight inches below the tops of the laths, which are pointed.

I have found that this fence is sufficient to confine Dorking, Spanish, and even Hamburghs, but then the fowls have always an unlimited supply of every variety of food; and when I receive a bird I usually lighten one wing by running the scissors down each side of the ten primary quill feathers, which is a much better plan than cutting the shafts across, as in the latter case the bird is much disfigured.

In accordance with my suggestion, Messrs. Greening, of Church Gates, Manchester, have manufactured some of their patent fencing on the same plan, namely, spiked at the top and chicken proof below, as shewn in the cut; from experience I can recommend it as most efficient, and from its great strength and durability it is much more economical than the ordinary hexagonal pattern in common use.

During summer it is not requisite to remove the hen and chicken from these runs at night, but a little house made of a few boards nailed together, so as to resemble a dog-kennel, made water-tight, is necessary for shelter.