Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry Part 16

~Hatching the Chicks~

For layers or broilers, hatch chicks early. For late markets and home use, you may bring off hatches at intervals throughout the entire summer.

The incubator and brooder are big helps where many chicks are hatched.

Pratts Poultry Service Department will gladly advise you regarding makes of such machines which are giving general satisfaction.

Just a word of caution. Operate incubators and brooders in accordance with the directions furnished by the maker. Go slow in making changes.

Sitting hens are very satisfactory if properly handled. Use only quiet, motherly sitters and place them where they will not be troubled by the rest of the flock. Feed whole grain and a little green food and supply plenty of water.

Dust the sitting hens occasionally with Pratts Powdered Lice Killer so they won't hatch a brood of lice with the chicks. And paint the nest boxes with Pratts Red Mite Special to keep the blood-thirsty mites away.

~Growing the Chicks~

Little chicks must be attended to no matter what else is done, because lack of intelligent care in early life will be reflected in poor performance when the chicks reach maturity. One can seldom, if ever, offset the mistakes of brooding time by the best of attention later on.

Protect your chicks against the weather, against their various enemies, against diseases, against lice and mites. Keep them comfortable and happy. Start them right, keep them growing steadily until they attain their full size.

Protection against unfavorable weather conditions--rain, cold winds, blazing sun--is secured by providing well-built coops and natural or artificial shade. Coops should be weather-proof, but well ventilated, and so located that surface water from sudden showers cannot flood their floors. They should also be sufficiently roomy to keep the flock happy during long hours of confinement in periods of stormy weather.

Chick enemies include those that do their work in the coops, usually at night, as rats, weasels and skunks, and those that prey upon the flock when it is at liberty, as cats, dogs, crows and hawks.

Protection against the former is found in proper construction of the coops, which should have tight floors and fine wire netting over openings left open at night. A good dog will discourage these night prowlers and steel traps placed at strategic points will often put a quick end to their activities.

Protection against ordinary diseases lies in keeping the little birds strong and vigorous through proper feeding, exercise, etc., and by close attention to sanitation. Keep the quarters and food and water dishes _clean_. Use Pratts Poultry Disinfectant at frequent intervals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A-SHAPED COOP]

Aim to _prevent_ rather than _cure_ disease. Should there be any evidence of bowel trouble, give Pratts White Diarrhoea Remedy in the drinking water. Don't let the condition become chronic or general. In "sour weather," when colds may be expected to appear, use Pratts Roup Remedy in the drinking water.

Lice and mites work practically unseen, but they are the source of heavy loss, both directly and indirectly. In extreme cases they actually kill many chicks.

+ ------+ | "~BABY FOOD FOR BABY CHICKS~" | | | |~Pratts~ b.u.t.termilk Baby Chick Food raises every good chick. It won't | |prevent losses from accidents, but it does prevent death from digestive| |troubles and the more common chick disorders which are so often due to | |improper feeding. | | | |The original Baby Chick Food--PRATTS--contains all the food elements | |required to build muscle, bone and feather, to nourish the whole body, | |to give that strong start in life which a.s.sures rapid growth, even | |development and profitable maturity. | | | |Feed the original Pratts for the first three weeks--the critical | |period--at least; it may profitably be used much longer. Refuse | |subst.i.tutes and imitations. These may be slightly less in _first cost_,| |but in _results_, as measured by _number_ and _quality_ of chicks | |_reared_, Pratts b.u.t.termilk Baby Chick Food is | | | | ~The Cheapest Food on Earth~ | | | | "~YOUR MONEY BACK IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED~" | | | + ------+

[Ill.u.s.tration: PRATTS PRACTICAL POINTERS]

~POULTRY~

Early in life, when two to four days old, all chicks should be treated with Pratts Head Lice Ointment. Rub a little of the mild preparation on top of the head, under the throat and beneath the wings. At the same time dust with Pratts Powdered Lice Killer. Treat the mother hens most thoroughly, subst.i.tuting Pratts Lice Salve for the ointment. When the youngsters are ten days old, treat them again, this time using the salve. And repeat the treatment at reasonably frequent intervals to insure complete freedom from the trouble makers.

The deadly blood-sucking mites do not live on the bodies of the birds, but make their homes in cracks and crevices of walls and floors of the coops. Attack them there. Clean coops carefully, then spray or wash walls and floors with Pratts Red Mite Special. Repeat as necessary. That will fix 'em. But you had best do the work on a bright, sunny day when the flock can be kept outside until the coop dries.

~Feeding the Chicks~

Do not feed chicks for forty-eight hours after hatching. In fact, you may safely wait until they are seventy-two hours old before giving them their first meal. Nature has provided for nourishment during this period and it is best not to upset things.

If possible, start the youngsters off on their life's journey with a drink of _sour milk_. Let them have sour milk to drink exclusively for the first ten days at least, and give it to them all through life, if this excellent food drink is available.

The princ.i.p.al feed for the first three weeks and profitably for a much longer time should be Pratts b.u.t.termilk Baby Chick Food, a real "baby food for baby chicks," a mixture which is properly balanced in composition and in the right mechanical condition to insure quick digestion. As chicks eat so little during this period, as measured by pounds, one is fully justified in paying a relatively high price per pound for this special feed which will give them a strong, vigorous start and put their digestive organs in proper condition to efficiently use less expensive foods when food consumption becomes heavy.

The ideal baby chick food, Pratts, is made of a variety of foodstuffs so blended as to supply, in proper proportion, the nutrients required to build flesh, bone and feather. It is ground exceedingly fine so it may be consumed freely and yet not tax the digestive organs. Obviously such a feed cannot satisfactorily be prepared at home, which explains the rapidly growing demand which has arisen for Pratts b.u.t.termilk Baby Chick Food during recent years.

For the first day or two, feed Pratts b.u.t.termilk Baby Chick Food exclusively at intervals of two to three hours. At first, spread it upon a shingle or piece of board. Later place it in little troughs or shallow dishes. Let the chicks eat a reasonable amount, what they will take in twenty to thirty minutes, then remove it. Supply a bit of fine, bright grit during this time.

_Rohrerstown, Pa.

I have used the Baby Chick Food this season and have had excellent results. I find it to meet all requirements. It makes rapid growth and at the same time maintains vigor.

L.B. SPRECHER, Director, Penna. State Poultry a.s.sociation._

The second or third day after feeding has begun, cut out a meal or two of the baby chick food and instead sprinkle a little regulation chick feed (scratch feed) in the litter. There are many good brands of such feed on the market. If preferred, one may be made as follows:

~Scratch Feed for Chicks~

Cracked Wheat 15 lbs.

Fine Cracked Corn 15 lbs.

Pinhead Oats 10 lbs.

Broken Rice 3 lbs.

Charcoal 2 lbs.

At the beginning of the second week the scratch feed may be given three times daily, just the quant.i.ty they will clean up and hunt for more, and the baby chick food left in open hoppers or dishes to which the chicks may run at will. By this time, too, grit may safely be left in open hoppers before the flock. And if milk is not given freely it is well to supply some additional animal food each day. Fine fish sc.r.a.p or beef sc.r.a.p--always of high quality--may be fed sparingly in troughs or on pieces of board. Do not feed too much of this material. If bowel trouble develops, reduce the quant.i.ty of animal food. The amount given may be increased progressively as the youngsters gain in size.

While Pratts Baby Chick Food need not be fed longer than the first three weeks, it is good practice to continue its use for two to three weeks longer. But at any time after the critical twenty-one day period one may safely begin to subst.i.tute a somewhat coa.r.s.er and heavier developing or growing mash for the baby chick food. We advise the use of Pratts b.u.t.termilk Growing Mash. Here is a good home-made mixture:

~Growing or Developing Mash~

Cornmeal 10 lbs.

Wheat Bran 20 lbs.

Feeding Flour 10 lbs.

Fine Ground Oats, Sifted 10 lbs.

Fine Fish or Beef Sc.r.a.p 10 lbs.

_"The regular use of Pratts Poultry Regulator in the ration for growing chicks prevents deaths from common disease, increases the appet.i.te and hastens growth. This means less loss, earlier laying or market maturity, bigger profits.