CAUTIONS ABOUT BROODERS. 



105 



find the chickens grow well when fed in this 

 way, with a minimum of trouble. It is found 

 that they do not take more of the meat than 

 they require. 



The food should be given outside the hover 

 on every occasion ; and although at first, in 

 severe weather, or for a day or two, feeding in 

 the outer chamber or end of the chamber may 

 be allowed, as soon as possible it should be 

 always in the open air. To get them out is a 

 main object to keep in view, and chicks that 

 will not come out freely at feeding-time are in 

 a bad way. However little food it may seem, 

 if they do not appear hungry at lecdmg-time, 

 feed less and less till they do. It is quite 

 astonishing how little they need in the very 

 early days, and it is in the first weeks that 

 most mischief is done. Brooder chickens also 

 especially require green food regularly and 

 freely, unless there is plenty of clean grass run 

 for them, and even then they should have the 

 small-cut grass for a week, to get tliem into 

 a habit of eating it. 



The chickens as they grow should be system- 

 atically hardened off from the heat, till they 

 can do without any, but the age for this will 

 of course depend upon the season ; in April 

 they will often do very well in a coop without 

 heat at four to five weeks, while early in the 

 year it may take two months. The heat will 

 be gradually brought down to 70" ; then the 

 lamp will only be lit at night ; then later at 

 night ; then only once or twice a very small 

 flame allowed for cold nights ; and then they 

 are independent, and the an.xiety is over. In 

 large establishments it is more convenient to 

 liave separate and larger " cool " brooders, but 

 still warmed, to which the partly grown chicks 

 can be transferred at the proper time. Such 

 brooders are furnished with smaller lamps in 

 proportion, by which the lower temperature is 

 more easily controlled. 



Our advice is very decisive to all ordinary 

 breeders, not to place more than fifty chickens 

 together in one brooder, but to rather multiply 

 brooders than increase their size. 

 Number ^g regards many people, twenty- 

 Ono Brooder, ^^e or thirty would be a sounder 

 course. If anything goes wrong, 

 it is very apt to affect the whole batch, and then 

 obviously the loss is heavier. Again, the larger 

 the lot the greater the likelihood, upon any 

 provocation from one or two weakly chicks, of 



that habit of crowding already referred to, 

 which, whenever it happens, is a great drawback 

 to the brood. In choosing a brooder for a given 

 number, again, spare space should be provided, 

 so that there shall be enough when, say, three 

 weeks old. It is, of course, possible to operate 

 on a much larger scale, and descriptions of 

 these big plants are familiar in connection 

 with American poultry-farming. But even in 

 America, where such operations are common, 

 the ordinary breeders of stock, by a large 

 majority, find the limit of about fifty suit their 

 purposes best in the end. 



One more caution may be needed. The 

 young chicks especially should never be allowed 

 upon any smooth hard floor, in brooder, or 

 chamber, or run. We have seen a plate of 

 zinc, with only such a sprinkle of earth or 

 peat-moss upon it that the claws went through 

 to the metal, The result is that the birds slip 

 on such surfaces, and the efforts to recover, or 

 to prevent slipping, at best strain the tender 

 joints, and sometimes the two feet will even 

 slide apart, and severe sprains may occur. 

 Many cases of deformity, or lameness, or 

 crooked toes are caused in this way. The 

 peat or other litter should be deep enough, 

 upon any hard surface, to make firm walking. 



When a brood is through, the litter should 

 be emptied out, all swept clean, and the whole 

 opened and exposed to the sun and air, lest 

 any hidden germs of tuberculosis 

 afur°Use. ^'^'^y ^^^^'^ found lodgment. When- 

 ever there is any real cause for 

 suspicion, it is best to give a thorough double 

 fumigation, which is easily managed, if a large 

 lidless box is provided that will cover the whole 

 brooder, when inverted over it, with space to 

 spare. When this has been arranged, burn out 

 a " sulphur candle," leaving things to stew a 

 good while in the fumes. Air well after this, 

 and then give a doing with chlorine in the 

 same way, placing chloride of lime in a saucer, 

 pouring on sulphuric acid, and letting down 

 the box to confine the fumes. We are here 

 only supposing that there is definite reason to 

 believe tuberculosis has prevailed in previous 

 broods, in which case no pains are too great 

 to prevent recurrence ; but do not, of course, 

 mean that any such measures are commonly 

 necessary for chicken brooders. As a rule, 

 reasonable cleaning and airing are all that can 

 be required. 



