Gasoline-IIeated Brooder-House. ■ 205 



ers in large, continuous brooder houses, would be more satisfactory on 

 account of tiie saving of labor and economy of fuel. It is possible that 

 gasoline could be used more satisfactorily for this purpose than kerosene 

 or hot water heated with coal. We have not yet tried this method 

 experimentally. 



The plan for using gasoline as here described is not adapted to the 

 rearing of chickens in small flocks. We have not yet succeeded in find- 

 ing or making a burner small enough to satisfactorily and economically 

 heat a small brooder. Therefore, until a gasoline burner is found which 

 is adapted to small brooders, the person who intends to brood only 50 or 

 100 chickens at a time will be at a disadvantage in using the colony house 

 as here recommended. The only alternative is to increase the hatching 

 capacity and make fewer hatches during the season. Where a limited 

 number of breeders is kept, this plan may not be feasible because it would 

 require holding eggs too long before incubation, and might bring the 

 hatches too far apart. Nevertheless, we believe it will be true economy 

 in many instances to run the large colony house system with small flocks 

 on account of the great saving of labor in caring for lamps and because 

 of the fact that the house can be used all the year round. 



17. Placing the colony house. 



About the same amount of land should be provided for rearing 

 chickens each year as is given to the mature fowls, the rule being that 

 as many chickens should be reared each hatching season as there are 

 fowls to be kept. This provides for rearing one-half the flock each year, 

 assuming that about one-half the chickens will be pullets. This would 

 mean that about one acre of land should be provided for every 400 to 

 500 chickens raised, and the same amount of land for 400 to 500 mature 

 fowls kept. 



A good disposition of the colony brooder houses is to place them in 

 a large park surrounded by a 6 ft. narrow mesh poultry wire fence, the 

 park being divided into temporary yards 150 ft. long and at least 50 ft. 

 wide. This fence is used to prevent the chickens in the different houses 

 from getting together until they are able to fly over a two and one-half 

 to three foot fence, at which time the fence can be removed. Chickens 

 of different ages should never be placed in the same house nor allowed 

 to run in the same yards until they are well feathered. 



18. A summer house for cockerels. 



The principles involved in a good summer house for cockerels are 

 shelter, an abundance of pure air, dryness, shade, plenty of perch room, 

 convenient arrangements for feeding and cleaning, and a reasonable first 

 cost. The summer house shown (Fig. 78) is offered as a suggestion. 



