204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mar. 15 



cent talk with Chas. McClave, of New Lon- 

 don, 0., he informed me that all the great 

 layers of recent date have come from nigh- 

 scoring strains of fowls. The perusal of Kel- 

 lerstraus' new book has given me faith in 

 the results of years of careful work in per- 

 fecting a strain. 



WHY MR. ROOT LOST HIS LITTLE CHICKS. 



In Gleanings for Feb 1st Mr. Root gave his experi- 

 ence with rats and other animals killing his chicks, 

 which was really as sad to me as it was for him. 



I have found it best, when buying an article of any 

 kind that was new to me, and I did not know a 1 about 

 the thing, to read the instructions thoroughly and 

 follow them. Mr. Root, having bought a lampless 

 brooder, did not put his 60 or 70 chicks into it for two 

 weeks after hatching, which was most decidedly 

 wrong. In this case he thinks a basket and a cheap 

 burlap covering is better, thereby showing to me that 

 he did not have any faith in a lampless brooder until 

 the chicks were partly grown. And when he did 

 change the chicks from the basket to the brooder it 

 had to be a forced change, because it is not a chick's 

 nature to change its location or roosting-place. 



Now, if Mr. Root had taken "my word for it," and 

 placed his chicks direct from the incubator to the 

 brooder, and placed the brooder out in his yard, and 

 closed the doors up tight for twelve to eighteen hours 

 out of every twenty-four for at least three days, he 

 would undoubtedly have had all his chicks now. The 

 brooder is animal-proof when the doors are shut un- 

 less they gnaw through the material. Having placed 

 the brooder in the yard, the "prowler" would have 

 given Mr. Root warning of its presence long before the 

 ten days were up, at the end of which time I recom- 

 mend leaving the small door open for more air, and in 

 the meantime the chicks would have learned that the 

 brooder was their protection from storms : and when 

 it rained it would have been Mr. Root's pleasure to see 

 the chicks " put " for the brooder instead of trying to 

 catch them under such difficulties. 



The best way to catch chicks is with a broom. Take 

 it in the right hand about half way down the handle, 

 and circle it around over a chick, just heavy enough 

 to stop its running, and then pick the chick up with 

 the other hand. With a little practice Mr. Root will 

 be able to pick up one hundred chicks in five minutes. 



My advice to Mr. Root is to "try again;" follow the 

 instructions, and be happy next time. I have learned 

 to raise chickens "just nature's way "—Mr. Root may 

 call it God's way. I am trying to impart my knowl- 

 edge to others through my instructions: and when 

 followed it will lead to a most satisfactory success. 



Chicks are prey to cats, hawks, and a large number 

 of animals. A great many animals will go through 

 and under a fence — the cats and hawks, over it. A 

 good watch-dog for night and a shotgun for daytime 

 are about the best protection for a chicken-yard. 



Aurora, 111., Feb. 10. V. W. Clough. 



But, my good friend, how about that in- 

 complete "dooryard"? Surely $2.50 is 

 enough to pay for a dooryard 2>^ ifeet square 

 and 6 in high [thin lumber), finished com- 

 plete. Because th^s is a warm climate, I 

 sent for the dooryard so the chicks cou'd 

 have good ventilation on hot nights; and 

 when I saw it was netting only overhead I 

 was, as I have said, a li'tle fearful. I did 

 read "directions" carefully, and the chicks 

 had been in the brooder a week or more, 

 and knew where to go. After I put on the 

 netting that you omitted, the "night prowl- 

 ers " tunneled clear under it and under the 

 brooder, g'^ing under ground on one side 

 and out the other in their frantic efforts to 

 get the chif'ks. Thanks for your plan of 

 ca*^ching chirkens with a broom. I wonder 

 if some woman didn't suggest the idea. A 

 dog and a shotgun are probably all right; 

 but while poultry netting, even small mesh, 

 is so cheap, why not have your fowls, big 



and little, where they can be locked up 

 nights and still have such ample ventilation 

 as T B. Terry is writing about? It is worth 

 something to me to know, when I go to 

 sleep nights, that all my fowls, big and little, 

 are absolutely safe I know it is some trou- 

 ble to go around and shut all the doors after 

 they are "gone to roost," and then get up 

 at "peep or dawn" and let them all out; 

 but after a faithful trial I feel sure it is worth 

 all it costs to make these frequent visits in 

 getting acquainted with the chickens so you 

 can be on familiar terms with them, aside 

 from the security from prowlers. 



DO HENS LAY IN THE SUMMER TIME IN 

 FLORIDA? 



When I was on the island I was told by 

 the people there they seldom got eggs of 

 any account in summer; and when I reached 

 there in the middle of November, they said 

 the hens had just started to lay. I have al- 

 luded to this matter before; and as a proof 

 that that they do lay every month in the 

 year, if properly cared for, I tive below a 

 report from my neitfhbor who took my fowls 

 while I was in Ohio during the summer. 



EGGS FROM A. I. ROOT'S HENS DURING THE SUMMER. 



April, 1166; May, 834; June, 741; July, 683; August. 

 767; September, 578; October, 420. Average number of 

 hens, about 65; average number of eggs per day, 24. 



You will notice October was much the 

 lowest on account of moulting; and, if you 

 recall, when I arrived here in November I 

 got very few eggs for some little time. 

 Many of the above 65 are two years old, and 

 a few three years. 



FIRELESS BROODERS. 



It is refreshing to note that so good an au- 

 thority as Poultry Record has arrived at ex- 

 actly the same conclusion I have already ex- 

 pressed in regard to fireless brooders and 

 a brooder-house for the fireless brooder. 

 Read the following: 



For a hover for a fireless brooder I prefer a loose 

 sagging blanket to slitted rags, as the chicks are apt to 

 become tangled up in the rags or ravelings from them. 

 With a sagging blanket there is no danger of this. 

 Any one can make a tireless brooder. There are a 

 great many patterns and some complicated affairs; 

 but so far as I know they are no better than the simple 

 patterns. I m 'ke mine out of cracker-boxes; pad the 

 sides and have a warm sagging blanket attached to a 

 fratie that rests on cleats on the inside of the box. I 

 have a pad o*- pillow stuffed with hay, feathers, or cot- 

 ton which I lay over the frame holding the hover 

 blanket to conserve the heat when the weather is 

 cold. I have intake holes for fresh air near the bot- 

 tom, and outlets above the blanket. It is a very sim- 

 ple affair, and can be made in a short time at a cost 

 for materi il of from 25 to 50 cts. The brooders are so 

 inexpc' sive that there is no necessity for crowding 

 the chicks. 



The expensive part of operating a fireless brooder is 

 the coop in which it is placed. A brooder-house or 

 colony-houses are necessary. The small low-down 

 coops which we see recommended are not practical, in 

 my opinion. I once used some of these coops, and 

 every time I opened them the chirks would fly out ; or 

 when it was necessary to close them during a storm 

 the chicks were in darkness. I then came to the con- 

 clusion that, to raise chicks with any kind of brooder, 

 it is necessary to have it under shelter where the at- 

 tendant can get in among the chicks. 



