No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICUL.TUKE, 257 



all of the chickens were killed during the first or second week of 

 incubation, due to excessive heat, particularly where little cooling 

 was given. We anticipate publishing a bulletin, in the near future, 

 giving the results of our investigation as soon as we can make posi- 

 tive recommendations. 



Of equal importance to the successful hatching of chickens is the 

 method of brooding. There are four ways of brooding chickens. 

 1st, long house, with hot water pipes which is particularly intended 

 for rearing chickens during the winter. 2nd, the out-door brooder 

 holding 50 to 100 chickens, intended primarily for the smaller poultry 

 farms. 3rd, the long house heated with individual iu-door brooders 

 which is a combination of the first and second types and has the ad 

 vantage of saving labor, but has the disadvantage of serious loss by 

 fire, and the difficulty of keeping the air pure. A fourth type, which 

 in my opinion, is very much to be preferred, except, possibly, for 

 winter broilers, is the colony house with an in-door brooder. (See 

 Fig. 8.) The advantages of this system are that the houses are porta- 

 ble and can therefore be moved with ejise from place to place in order 

 to give chickens fresh ground and larger range. For instance, they 

 can be grouped close to the buildings during early spring where 

 they can be easily cared Tor and moved to the meadows, pastures, 

 orchards, and corn fields later in the season. If these houses are 

 built, as they should be, 8 feet square, they are large enough to be 

 used the year around so that there is no idle capital invested. Such 

 a house will accommodate fifteen fowls for egg production during 

 the winter which makes a nice breeding pen. The house shown in 

 the illustration is one which we designed at Cornell University, with 

 the double object in view of the greatest economy of material with 

 sufficient head room' to do the work conveniently. It is built on 

 runners, one foot high, which form the sills on two sides. This idea 

 we got from Brother Orr and are very much pleased with it. "The 

 advantage being that the chickens have the benefit of a cool, shady 

 place during hot weather and a quick retreat from the hawks. A 

 point of no little importance is, that rats and other vermin cannot 

 use it as a breeding and hiding place as they do with all types of 

 brooder and colony houses which are close to the ground. This 

 particular type of house, shown in the illustration, we heat with 

 gasoline heaters especially designed for the purpose. Gasoline has 

 two decided advantages over kerosene. First, it furnishes a much 

 higher heat so that we can keep 200 chickens in a flock without 

 crowding instead of 50. We therefore save about three-quarters the 

 labor of feeding, watering and caring for the chickens. Second, the 

 five gallon tank of gasoline, which is stored in the peak of the build- 

 ing, does not need to be refilled more than once in two or three 

 weeks, depending upon the weather. There being no wick to trim, 

 the heat system therefore requires scarcely any attention from one 

 week to another. You will observe that the house is provided with 

 both cloth and glass in front. The glass window furnishes warmth 

 and sunshine necessary to the health and dryness and the cloth gives 

 ventilation. Bulletins will be issued during the year, from the ex- 

 periment station, giving details as to the construction of these houses 

 and system of heating which will be free to all who apply for them. 



The four slides which follow are the results of an effort to solye 

 and show graphically some of the laws governing egg production. 

 17_7_1906. 



