28 



The best plan I know of to get the broody hens to take the chicks is to give the 

 hen two or three eggs out of the incubator on the 18th or 19th day and allow her to 

 hatch them. When your incubator hatch is over take a dozen or fifteen chickens 

 and put them under the hen after dark. Even if they happen to differ in color from 

 those she has hatched, she vnW mother them all the same. If you give them to her 

 in the day time she may not do so. Never neglect to give the hen a thorough dust- 

 ing before giving her any eggs. If there is one thing more than another that 

 requires careful attention in rearing young chickens, it is to keep them free from 



Fig. 16. Coop A.— Each side of roof 24 in. by 30 in.; bottom 2 ft. 4 in. 



lice. If lice get upon them, from the hen or elsewhere, a large proportion of them 

 will be almost sure to die. 



There are many good brooders upon the market which are well described in 

 the manufacturers' catalogues; hence a description here is unnecessary. The 

 brooder lamp should always be arranged so as to give little chance of fire. 



If the brooder can be placed in a small portable house, it is a good plan, as the 

 brooder is thus protected from stormy cold winds in the early spring; also from the 

 heat later on. The house protects the chicks from rain, and serves as a roosting 

 coop after they become too larafe to stay in the brooder. 



^- -i^. -i.-,—-;^ :h^-_^«-^:^?<. fr" -- 



Fig. 17. Coop B.— Length, 6 ft.; width, 2 ft. 6 in.; height in front, 

 2 ft. 4 in.; height at back, 18 in. 



Chicks should not be fed until they are at least 36 hours old. It is a serious 

 mistake to feed them earlier. Too early feeding is the cause of indigestion and 

 bowel trouble in many cases. We try to keep the temperature of the brooder be- 

 tween 90 and 95 degrees (at the chick level) throughout the first week. After the first 

 week the temperature is gradually lowered, generally speaking, about 1 degree a day. 



