The Care of Brooders 219 



on. The temperature at which the brooder 

 should be kept will depend largely upon the 

 age of the chickens. It should be warm enough 

 so that the chickens will not huddle together to 

 keep warm, and of course, should be cool enough 

 for the greatest comfort. Bowel disorders are fre- 

 quently caused by exposure and improper brooder 

 temperatures. The person who makes his chick- 

 ens the most comfortable will probably succeed 

 best with the brooder. 



The following conclusions in regard to im- 

 proper feeding and brooder conditions are given 

 by the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment 

 Station:* "Post-mortem examination showed that 

 the diseases may be classified under four heads. 

 Disorders ascribable : 



"A. To heredity or to environment during period 

 of incubation. (Recent experiments have 

 demonstrated that successive alternate 

 periods of heat and cold during incubation 

 are responsible for a very large proportion 

 of abnormalities.) Thirty-three per cent 

 of the chicks examined showed more or less 

 trouble under this head. 



"B. To mechanical causes, e. g., overcrowding 

 in the brooders, resulting in death by 

 suffocation, trampling, etc. 



* Bulletin No. 61, p. 53. 



