138 HATCHING AND REARING 



feet. Then they should be transferred from the incubator 

 to the brooder in covered baskets, especially when they are 

 apt to become chilled. They should be placed carefully 

 under the hover. This practice teaches them where the heat 

 is and they will more quickly know where to go in search of 

 it later. In the small circular hover, about two feet in diam- 

 eter, no more than 50 to 75 chicks should be put. More 

 can be crowded in, but in most cases it will only result in 

 an increased mortality. The best plan is to put them in the 

 brooder just after dinner, and for the remainder of that 

 day give them all the clean, fresh water and grit they can eat. 



Degrees of Warmth. The following temperatures on the 

 floor at the level of the chick will be about right for the 

 average brooder. At the start run the brooder at from 98 

 to 100 degrees, from 94 to 96 degrees the second week, from 

 90 to 92 the third week, and from 80 to 85 the fourth week. 

 The idea is to keep the brooder fairly warm, and allow the 

 chicks to get away from the heat when they wish to. They 

 will come back to it when they need it. A very high brooder 

 temperature is not desirable, as it lowers the vitality, causes 

 digestive disorders, and will carry off many of the chicks. 

 On the other hand, too low a temperature is apt to chill them 

 and make them crowd together. A uniform temperature, 

 starting at 98 and very gradually becoming cooler, is the best. 



Feeding the Baby Chicks. The following outline describes 

 a very effective method of feeding baby chicks, but there 

 are probably numerous rations equally as good. Whatever 

 ration is decided upon, the idea should be to feed little but 

 often during the first few weeks. Keep them hungry, and 

 make them scratch in the litter in search of feed. 



The first eighteen hours in the brooder the chicks should 

 be given fine grit, shell, and fresh water, and short cut 

 alfalfa and clover put on the floor for them to pick at. The 

 next day they should be given pinhead oatmeal or rolled 

 oats; three feedings will suffice, and they should be given 



