Editor of " The Encyclopedia of Poultry" etc.

Hints on Suitable Coops - Precautions against Insect Pests - Methods of Feeding the Chickens Necessity of Pure Water - The Time for Weaning

When the mother-hen has hatched out her brood, and the little ones are thoroughly dry and active, they should be transterred to a roomy coop placed out in the open. The coop should not be less than two feet square and the same in height. Smaller coops, of which there are many in use, are not to be recommended, as they not only prove stuffy in hot weather, but cramp the hen and brood so much that the former is liable to trample many of the latter to death.

If the chickens are hatched out very early in the year, the coop in which they are reared should be provided with a boarded floor, and it should have a roomy wired run attached to it. The sides of the run should not be less than one foot in height, the object being to protect the chickens from cold winds. Should the chickens be cooped out in genial seasons it is not always necessary to have a floor to the coop, but care should be taken that the ground upon which it stands is dry, otherwise the chickens will be liable to get cramp. It is advisable to have the coop made with a removable floor, so that it can be adapted to suit the varied conditions under which it may be used.

Before newly-hatched Chickens are transferred to the coop, it should be well disinfected, lime-washed inside, and, if necessary, painted outside. It should be allowed to dry thoroughly before being occupied. To of newly-hatched chickens in damp structres is to court failure, and especially is this true with respect to birds hatched out early in the season, when the weather is cold. damp, and dull.

The location of the coop will depend upon the season of year in which it is used. In January and February, should the weather be stormy, it will be as well to place the coop under an open-fronted shed facing south, and to move it into the open during such days the weather is favourable. During the springtime, which is the chickens' natural rearing season, the coop may be placed upon grass land, but in a dry situation, and one open to the full light of the sun. In summertime, when the sun's rays become very powerful and the earth is in a parched condition, the coop should stand where the rays of the mid-day sun will not penetrate, whilst in spells of hot weather and drought, it is best placed beneath the shade of a tree or hedgerow.

When the mother hen has hatched out her brood, and the chicks are thoroughly dry and active, they should be transferred to a roomy coop placed in the open

Although chickens can be reared tolerably well in coops placed on ground devoid of grass, undoubtedly the best method is to move them about a rich pasture, where grass is kept in a short condition with the scythe or mowing-machine . When running upon grass, the chickens obtain a great amount of natural food in the Way of insects and tender succulent vegetation. This conduces to health and rapid growth. Upon bare earth, however, the little ones are dependent upon their owner for the whole of their food, and such food being, as it Were, artificial in nature and artificially served up, results in slowness of growth.

Before being placed in the coop, both hen and chickens should be well dusted with insect powder, or powdered sulphur, to rid them of any lice that may be upon them. The hen should be first dealt with, the powder being Well dusted, by the aid of a dredger, under the wings, about the root of the tail, and among the loose feathers forming the neck hackle. When finished, she should be placed in the coop which, previous to its occupation, should have received a good bedding of sifted ashes on its floor, if a floor is in use. The chickens should be next dusted with the insect powder, and carried to the coop, and given to the hen. It is as well to do this in the evening, so that the mother and her brood may become settled down to their new quarters during the night. Presuming that the little ones have only been out of the shells for twenty-four hours,

Woman's Work they will do without food during the first night the hen is brooding them without taking any harm, and will be well on their legs and ready for their first food by the following morning.

The food given to chit kens for the first few days must be of a Light, nourishing nature. Eggs boiled till hard, finely-minced, and mixed with stale breadcrumbs by the additics of a little milk are excellent. Rough oatmeal and breadcrumbs moistened with milk make a good food. The little ones may have either of these foods for a couple of days, when fine biscuit meal, scalded, and allowed to stand until swollen, may be used as the first feed of the day, whilst the second feed should consist of a mixture of fine grains, or that mixture known to chicken rearers as "dry chick food." This food should be given two hours after the breakfast feed, followed two hours later by a feed of soft food, composed of oatmeal and milk worked into a nice crumbly state by the addition of sharps. The next feed, two hours later, should again be fine grains, and the following feed soft food, and the last, or supper, fine grains.

It will be seen from the above that the chickens need feeding every two hours during the daytime, but the attendant should only allow the birds enough soft food to keep them eating about ten minutes, at the end of which time any left uneaten should be removed. The object should be to keep the little ones a bit on the hungry side by under, rather than over, feeding them. Their hunger will keep them actively employed hunting for the fine grains scattered among the grass or, in the case of birds running on bare earth, among chaff litter placed in the runs attached to the coops.

When the chickens are a week old, they may be fed four times daily, being given soft foods and grains in rotation. Sussex ground oats, moistened with hot water and rendered crumbly by the addition of sharps, is a splendid food to promote the rapid growth of chickens, and, where possible, it should be largely used.

As a change in the soft-food dietary, scalded biscuit meal, boiled rice, mixed with oatmeal, or bread soaked in milk may be given. The birds may be so fed until they are a month old, when three feeds a day will suffice. The same kind of soft foods may be used at breakfast-time, after which the meals should consist of grains in .variety. Fine wheat, buckwheat, lentils, dari, and millet seeds may be given at dinner-time, whilst for supper good sound red wheat should be allowed. From a month until six weeks old, the birds may have morning mashes of a less concentrated nature. Sussex ground oats, barley meal, and bran in equal parts scalded and mixed with sharps, may be given for breakfast, whilst wheat may serve for dinner, and plump or ' clipped " oats for supper.

An easily made feeding trough for little chickens

Soft foods should not, at any time during the rearing period, be scattered on the ground or the floors of the coops, but should be placed on pieces of board, or in shallow dishes, but grain given to the birds should be scattered about among the grass, or lightly buried in chaff or other short litter, the object being, in the first instance, to keep the food sweet and clean, and, in the second, to induce bodily exercise among the youngsters.

Animal and vegetable foods are essential to the well-being of chickens. The former is best given in the form of fine granulated meat, which can be supplied by most poultry food-dealers. It should be scalded, and allowed to steep and swell. It should then be pressed, to free it of water, when a little may be scattered daily among the litter, or mixed with the soft foods. Failing the granulated meat, any kind of meat that is sweet and wholesome can be minced for the birds. Finely-chopped vegetables should be given, and especially to such birds as are not reared on grass land. Lettuces, greens, and young onions are all good. Should the chickens be slow in feathering, a little sulphur dusted over the mashes will assist, but it should be used only in mild weather.

As to the drink most suitable for chickens, it is best to give skim milk during spells of cold weather, and pure cool water in mild seasons. Failing the skim milk, milk and water should be used. The troughs containing water, etc., should be placed out of reach of the sun's rays, and should be frequently scalded out with boiling water.

While the chickens are being reared, the mother-hen must not be neglected. She should receive a light handful of corn each morning and a like quantity at night, and grit must be kept within her reach. This latter material, but of a finer grade, must be scattered upon the feeding boards or dishes for the chickens, as, without it, they will not be able to digest their food properly.

The coop in dry weather must be removed daily to fresh ground, and its floor kept clean by the renewal of the materials covering it whenever it becomes fouled. Should the midday sun be very hot, the front of the coop should be turned away from it, to give the hen and her brood shade.

The sexes should be separated as soon as their sex can be determined, and the birds should not be allowed to perch until at least five months old, but should sleep on a bedding of peat moss, or other clean litter. This will prevent injury to the breast-bone during the time when it is soft and gristly.

1 he next article of this series -will deal with "The Common Ailments of Chickenhood."

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