PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 89 



box to within about three inches of the floor. Pails 

 made of wood-fiber hold the heat better than metal pails 

 and give out the warmth of the hot water gradually to 

 the little chicks which hover beneath and around the 

 filled pails. A board cover is made to fit closely the top 

 of the pail. A little chick-door, cut in the side of the 

 box allows the chicks to go in and out of the hover at 

 pleasure. Several half-inch holes cut in the front side 

 of the box near the top will help to give needed ventila- 

 tion. If it is desired to use a thermometer in the hov- 

 er, one may be inserted through a hole made in the side 

 or top of the box, letting the bulb of the thermometer 

 come about three inches above the hover floor. 



If necessary a larger box may be used and two pails 

 of water set into its top. The water used to fill the pails 

 should be of a temperature of 140 to 160 degrees and 

 one filling will usually maintain the desired warmth of 

 the hover through the night. If necessary, on very cold 

 nights, papers or blankets may be used to cover over 

 the pails and the back and ends of the hover but the 

 front should be left uncovered to ensure sufflcicent ven- 

 tilation. If the room outside the hover is chilly at night 

 the chick door should be nearly closed so as to prevent 

 any of the chicks coming out and failing to return to 

 the warm hover. If, however, the room is abundantly 

 warm, the chicks may be shut out of the hovers and 

 compelled to hover in the chaff where the air is less 

 confined than in the box hovers. 



DOUBLE-DEGKEB BROODERS. 



If more room for chicks is needed, than is furnished 

 by the floor pens, it is practicable to construct board 

 platforms three feet above the floor. Each platform 

 may be made three by seven feet, allowing about three 

 square feet at one end for a home-made hover and leav- 

 ing an exercising space of about three by six feet. These 

 platforms may 'be arranged in continuous rows with 

 paths between, two and one-half or three feet wide, to en- 

 able the attendant to easily manage the brbods. The ele- 

 vated platforms have sides eight to twelve inches high 



