Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 509 



tions are removed so as to divide the house into two parts, the 

 chicks which come from the four hens are brooded by two. Then 

 when the chicks need no hen the remaining partition can be re- 

 moved, roosts installed, and the house used for raising the young. 

 This house does away with the small coop for summer use. 



A critical period in a chicks' life is when the hen weans her 

 chicks. The chicks accustomed to heat will naturally seek a bunch 

 of chicks and often large numbers crowd into one coop. Those in 

 the bottom of the pile will sweat and have their vitality sapped out 

 unless divided up into smaller flocks, this often being necessary 

 after dark for several successive nights. 



Chicks with hens should be confined until after the grass be- 

 comes fairly dry. Wet chickens become chilled by being dragged 

 around through the grass by a hen. This chilling causes digestive 

 disorders to arise, such as diarrhea. Chicks which get wet should 

 be brought into warm quarters until thoroughly dry. The writer 

 has saved large numbers by making a search after a storm and by 

 placing them in a warm place for a few hours. 



Artificial brooding is largely a question of supplying the heat 

 necessary for the chick by artificial means and, also, it requires 

 more attention on the part of the attendant, in that the chicks 

 often need to be taught to eat and to seek their own shelter. It 

 has the advantage in that large numbers can be kept in one flock, 

 requiring less labor in feeding, watering, etc., and, also, there is 

 greater freedom from lice than with the use of hens. Where chicks 

 are brooded in large numbers, artificial methods are the most eco- 

 nomical and are also under the more direct control of the poultry- 

 man. Artificial brooding is done by the fireless individual lamp 

 brooders and by a series of brooders arranged along hot water 

 pipes. The fireless brooder has created considerable attention dur- 

 ing the last few years. The theory is that the chicks furnish a 

 sufficient amount of heat to keep themselves warm by keeping the 

 chicks in a small space and retaining the heat. Small boxes 18 

 inches square with material such as felt, or old comforters hung 

 so as to touch the back of the chicks, the amount varying with the 

 severity of the weather, constitutes the fireless brooder. The fire- 

 less is best adapted to partially heated quarters or when the 

 weather is reasonably warm. People are usually more successful 

 with lamp brooders. The fireless has small capacity — 30 chicks — 

 and requires more care than a lamp brooder. If all the chicks are 

 out and one returns to the brooder, it will not warm up unless all 



