318 AN EGG FARM. 



breathe as much or even more than the adult bird, and 

 always the introduction of fresh, cool air interferes with 

 the maintenance of steady heat. Of the two things, 

 warmth and pure air, one is as important as the other. 

 The earlier brooders all had covers or tops, two, two and 

 a half, or three inches for the youngest birds, according 

 to the breed, from the floor, and made adjustable so 

 that they could be raised half an inch at a notch as the 

 birds grew older. This cover was preferably removable 

 for convenience in cleaning the floor of the hover and 

 was made of boards with six or eight holes of one-half 

 inch or three-fourths inch diameter bored through it for 

 ventilation, some of which could be stopped with corks 

 in cold weather if desired. But the use of this cover is 

 always more or less antagonistic to a proper supply of 

 both pure air and warmth, if the temperature of the 

 brooder house is decidedly cooler than that of the hover. 

 For if you close too many holes the air will be impure 

 under the cover, shut in as it is by the curtain or fringe 

 surrounding it, while if you open too many holes it will 

 be too cool. 



It is so natural to conclude from the example of the 

 mother hen that young chicks must have something to 

 touch their backs, that operators unanimously adopted 

 tops to their brooders lined with sheepskin, with the 

 wool on, or soft cloth depending in numerous folds. Says 

 Von Culin : 



"The flannnel or woolen drapery which hangs down from the hover 

 and helps retain the heat and gives a feeling of cosy comfort to the 

 chicks is essential. Nature gives them side heat from the hen and 

 soft covering, the feathers of the hen, and so must we if we want them 

 to be comfortable and thrifty. Heated floor or ceiling is not enough. 

 Would you like to heat a bedroom \ip to 70 or 80 a)id lie on the bed or 

 floor with no covering ? We think you would'prefer to have the room 

 at 30 or 40 and put on a few blankets." 



The above would at first seem to be conclusive, but 

 after all, the brooder top is but a sorry imitation of the 



