510 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



are forced into the brooder. Because of this, for a few days it is 

 necessary to watch the chicks very closely. The tireless is quite 

 often apt to be poorly ventilated. Chicks are apt to be sweated in 

 the morning and too much air results in their being chilled. Some 

 of the experiment stations do not hesitate to make the statement 

 that they do not produce as vigorous a chick, while many poultrymen 

 claim that they incur too much detail and labor to be economically 

 used. Another tireless is the use of jugs of hot water around 

 which the chicks may hover, the water being replaced at regular 

 intervals. In mild weather this method is worthy of practice. 



Lamp brooders are of various types. Those which heat the 

 floor are said to produce leg weakness, and nearly all have their 

 heat radiated from above. The lamp brooder affords more perfect 

 ventilation and the chicks require less attention, for they very 

 quickly learn to return to the hover when cold. The care of the 

 lamp incurs considerable labor, which is quite largely eliminated in 

 the use of the hot water pipe system. For the man who is keep- 

 ing poultry on a small scale, the lamp brooder is perhaps the best 

 adapted. Outdoor brooders are simply little houses with a single 

 unit of lamp brooders. The person who purchases an outdoor brooder 

 has to pay the manufacturer for this extra equipment, and usually 

 at a large price. 



The Universal hover is being manufactured by several com- 

 panies, this consisting only of the heating apparatus. Because of 

 its economical features it has proved exceedingly popular. It con- 

 sists of a lamp connecting with a circular drum through which the 

 heated lamp fumes pass. On the upper side of this drum is a 

 circular disk from which hangs felt. The drum is high enough 

 from the brooder floor so the chicks can hover underneath. These 

 hovers can be so arranged that the lamp may be on the outside of 

 the house or on the inside. They can be set up in houses of any 

 size and should be so arranged as to be easily cleaned. Most of 

 the brooding at the University is to be by the use of these hovers. 

 The brooding house at the University is 8x12 on runners so it can 

 be moved. The lamps are placed on the inside of the house so as to 

 permit more easy handling of the brooder and also avoid dis- 

 comfort and trouble during stormy and windy weather. Three 

 hovers are placed in each house, and the lamp fumes are piped out 

 at the back of the house. Runways run down from the brooder 

 the complete length of the front. This eliminates any possibility 

 of a chick crowding into a sharp corner and not finding its way back 



