204 Farm Poultry 



arranged that all the chickens may readily be 

 seen by the attendant. If dark and inconvenient 

 corners are permitted to exist, weak chickens 

 find these nooks a place of refuge, and may es- 

 cape the attention of the attendant. As it is 

 important that all of the chickens be seen at 

 each feeding, the ease of thorough inspection 

 is of considerable importance in the care of 

 brooders. 



(5) A brooder must be dry. At no time in 

 the life of the hen is she so sensitive to mois- 

 ture as in the early stages of her existence. 

 All parts of the brooder should be kept dry and 

 clean. Whenever the floor of the brooder becomes 

 moist, some means should be taken at once to cor- 

 rect the evil. There should be sufficient bottom 

 heat or enough heat near the floor to keep it dry. 

 Too much bottom heat is objected to by many 

 poultrymen. A somewhat popular belief is held 

 that bottom heat, if considerable, is likely to pro- 

 duce what is known as "leg weakness." 



(6) It is of some importance to have a brooder 

 that is economical of heat, or, in other words, 

 one that makes good use of the fuel consumed. 

 The provision of fuel is an item of expense. 



(7) It is of considerable importance that the 

 brooder be simply constructed. Machines that 

 are more or less difficult to build are necessarily 

 more expensive than those that are easy of con- 



