minimum degree of heat should be reached at 

 about the sixth week. 



It is not necessary to use the thermometer after 

 once adjusting the heat supply of a brooder, 

 because (with a proper brooder) you can tell by 

 the action of the chicks if they are too warm or 

 too cold. If too warm they will put their heads 

 out from under the hover or come out entirely. 

 If too cold they will chirp in a tone which no one 

 can mistake for a signal of satisfaction. Learn 

 to tell the right temperature by placing your hand 

 under the hover it is very simple and easy, and 

 less trouble and more satisfactory than a ther- 

 mometer. Some persons will advise you to have 

 a brooder too hot rather than too cold. We say 

 have it just right. If the brooder feels comfort- 

 ably warm to the hand, and the chicks stay under 

 the hover (at hovering time), seem contented and 

 do not cry out, you may be sure they are all right. 



Brooders with either "top heat" or "bottom 

 heat," and having a square or oblong hover, say, 

 eighteen to twenty-four inches square or wide, 

 either with or without flannel or woolen drapery, 

 are open to very serious objections. When the 

 chicks in the middle get too warm they try to 

 move to the outer edges or to get outside entirely, 

 but those on the outer edges, being comfortable or 

 just a trifle cool, refuse to stir, and the ones in the 

 centre must remain there and become overheated 

 and sick. Or, if the chicks on the outer edges 

 become cold they crowd toward the centre and 

 crush or smother .the chicks that are there. You 



